measuring humanity.
Something flickers behind Izayaâs gaze. The lingering sharpness in his expression fades; in an instant, real boredom seems to take over, not just what he was pretending to be. Itâs something more than that â disappointment, maybe, a different outcome than he expected â but whatever checked in for Ruiâs little speech is gone.Â
âThrough⌠what? Geez, you and Mr. PresidentâŚâ They both like building suspense, even when it isnât necessary. Izaya drums the guard rail with the bottom of his palm, fingers curling inward before they splay. ââImprove the situationâ â thatâs so vague, too. We could âimprove itâ by baking them a cake. Or by killing them all. Come on. What scale are we talking?â
But itâs kind of obvious. He looks to the sky again, running through various ideas Ruiâs probably had. Violence is out of the question, and knowing her, sheâs thinking city-wide. She doesnât expect she can do it on her own. And if itâs not something sheâll say outright, thenâŚ
âYou were sure enough Iâd agree with you that you invited me here⌠but youâre still not sure Iâd go for it?â He sighs, closes his eyes, stretches restlessly. âYou think Iâm that cruel. Thanks.â
He tilts his head to work out the cricks in his neck, sounding tired.
âOr do you just not have any ideas?â
Rather than comment on anything--ah, but Rui, he can see more in people than theyâd imagine--he just goes ahead with his conversation, ever patient and polite despite Nakuraâs tone.
âSector-wide improvement, at first.â He tilts his head to the side, thoughtful, fingers on his chin. âIt could be expanded to city-wide in time, but you could say I want to run a little experiment first.â
The smile he gives the other is teasing. âOh ye, of little faith. I have an idea--several in fact--though hearing feedback is why I invited you out here. I donât expect you to lend a hand beyond that, and that is the truth.â
He returns to scanning the cityscape, taking in a slow breath.
âI intend to better arm the general populace--though Iâm debating the best way. Presenting physical artillery isnât the best idea...in fact, keeping others clear of the danger zones would be a better deterrent in this case, which is why X and I have been spending the last several weeks setting up a surveillance network around the entirety of the Sector and District Alpha. I intend to open the access to those not in the phonebook.â
He shows Nakura his city-issued cell.
âThe only numbers listed are those belonging to other test-subjects. This is step one...and you can see the benefits of this, canât you? And the cons.â










