measuring humanity.
Something flickers behind Izaya’s 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. It’s something more than that – disappointment, maybe, a different outcome than he expected – but whatever checked in for Rui’s little speech is gone.
‘Through… what? Geez, you and Mr. President…’ They both like building suspense, even when it isn’t necessary. Izaya drums the guard rail with the bottom of his palm, fingers curling inward before they splay. ‘”Improve the situation” – that’s so vague, too. We could “improve it” by baking them a cake. Or by killing them all. Come on. What scale are we talking?’
But it’s kind of obvious. He looks to the sky again, running through various ideas Rui’s probably had. Violence is out of the question, and knowing her, she’s thinking city-wide. She doesn’t expect she can do it on her own. And if it’s not something she’ll say outright, then…
‘You were sure enough I’d agree with you that you invited me here… but you’re still not sure I’d go for it?’ He sighs, closes his eyes, stretches restlessly. ‘You think I’m that cruel. Thanks.’
He tilts his head to work out the cricks in his neck, sounding tired.
‘Or do you just not have any ideas?’
Rather than comment on anything--ah, but Rui, he can see more in people than they’d imagine--he just goes ahead with his conversation, ever patient and polite despite Nakura’s tone.
“Sector-wide improvement, at first.” He tilts his head to the side, thoughtful, fingers on his chin. “It could be expanded to city-wide in time, but you could say I want to run a little experiment first.”
The smile he gives the other is teasing. “Oh ye, of little faith. I have an idea--several in fact--though hearing feedback is why I invited you out here. I don’t expect you to lend a hand beyond that, and that is the truth.”
He returns to scanning the cityscape, taking in a slow breath.
“I intend to better arm the general populace--though I’m debating the best way. Presenting physical artillery isn’t 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.”
He shows Nakura his city-issued cell.
“The only numbers listed are those belonging to other test-subjects. This is step one...and you can see the benefits of this, can’t you? And the cons.”
