Enjoy <3

(1217 words)
~~~

Ryuzaki put his hand over his bruising face, looking like he was going to burst any minute

Everyone knows Ryuzaki and you are lovers

Except for Light, of course

But they didn't know why you were so upset

"How could that small fight make her that upset, Ryuzaki?"
Light asked, crossing his arms

Ryuzaki was annoyed, and angered, trying to fight off the hints of jealously burning within him

He sighed and groaned
"She went through trauma. That triggered it to come back to her."

"Trauma? A little punch caused all that-

"Yes."

"But that's ridiculous, it sounds bogus-"

Ryuzaki took his hand away from his face and looked at Light straight into his eyes
"Ritsuko was beaten half to death by her parent throughout her entire life until Watari hired her and brought her along with me."

He watched as Light's eyes widen, the other men gasping

"Any little thing; Hitting, yelling, fighting, it triggers those memories to come flying back to her all at once at random times and levels of intensity. She had a panic attack the last time we had a physical fight, and that, Light, is why I had to go calm her down because when Watari is not here, i'm the only person here she trusts."
Ryuzaki responded in a strong, stern tone. A tone he's never really spoken in before.

"Is that what you wanted to hear, Light Yagami?"
He asking, his expression obviously annoyed

Light looks down
"Ryuzaki... i'm sorry.. I didn't know-"

"You were the first to hit in both fights. If you decide to do anything else like that again, consider the consequences."
Ryuzaki turned around to the other men

"Don't say a word about this discussion to Ritsuko. Don't pity her, don't try to talk about it with her. If you do any of the following, I will not hesitate to remove you from the Task Force immediately. Like I said before, I started this on my own, and I can very well finish it on my own as well. Do you all understand?"

The men nodded

"Ryuzaki, you sure do seem protective of her, don't you?" Light smirked. Ryuzaki wasn't haven't it.

"Watari took her in, not me. I have to take care of her, though she is also my assistant. It's nothing special. I don't have time for anything else, she has her own floor to herself for a reason."
He coldly stated, gritting his teeth.

Oh, he hated that.

He never wanted to say that again.

He held his fists so tightly that he drew blood from his own palms.

"Oh, I guess that's reasonable, given your position.."
Light sat back into his chair

Ryuzaki sighed and got back into his chair as well
"Perhaps..."

~~~

You sat on the bathroom counter, watching as Mastuda ran a rag over warm water and walked over to you.

He carefully cleaned the tears off of your burning face
"R-Ritsuko, are you alright? You seemed really upset when we were back there..."
He spoke softly

This reminded you of when you and Ryuzaki had just met, and he was cleaning off the wounds your mother had created

You sniffled
"Y-Yeah.. I'm fine.. I just d-don't like fighting..."

He smiled, handing you the rag
"You wanna talk about it?"

You shrugged, holding the rag up to your face and looking down

"Well, i-if it helps, I went through a lot too in the past... and now if I ever get reminded of it.. I think of the people I care about the most.."
He sat on the counter the sink was on located across from you

"I quit my job to be with you guys, you know...? I-I feel my best when i'm here.. I realize that i'm a bit of an airhead sometimes, but I do think about these things. I'm smart when I can be!"

A small, quiet chuckle escaped from you

"I hope you realize that you don't have anything to worry about now. You're safe when you're with us...I-I know you're hurting.. but maybe somewhere in that damaged heart of yours, you could replace those bad memories with good ones..."
He smiled
"You know...Ryuzaki will always be there for you, right? He loves you so much, I have to make sure he's paying attention to the screens because he always ends up watching you instead..."
He said, giggling
"The task force, too. Those guys may not show it, but they care about you too."

Fuck

Tears started to fall down again. This time, these weren't sad ones

Matsuda was right

"S-Sorry! D-Did I say something wrong?!"
Matsuda widened his eyes, getting off the counter and walking back up to you

"N-No.. No, you didn't.."

"Huh?.. Then why're you.."

You smiled. A soft smile, you could say. It's hard to smile when crying, but you tried
"Thank you..

"Ritsuko..?"

"I-I've been so hung up on the past.. that it took me until now to realize how amazing the people around me a-are..."

"...I think you need a hug."

You bit your lip, choking back a sob as you nodded. You held out your arms, and Matsuda smiled, wrapping his arms around you in a tight, warm squeeze. This reminded you of..

Your brother...

You hadn't thought about him all this time...

You both pulled away, Matsuda bending down a bit with a slight smile, wiping your tears away
"Come on, no more crying, 'kay? Ryuzaki hates it when you cry..."

You took small breaths, cleaning off your face with that rag once again.
"Y-You're right..thank you.."

This time, you learned something important from the person you'd least expect to learn from.

The importance of people you care for, and who care for you.

Though they may not be filled with your blood, they are filled with your love, and you are filled with theirs

That is what true family is

Love

You breathed in one more time and smiled brightly
"I'm ready.."

Matsuda smiled even wider and held up his hand high

"Let's go!"

~~~

You walked back in with a bright smile, as soon as Ryuzaki heard footsteps he turned around immediately and approached you, pulling Light with him
"Ritsuko, are you alright?"
He asked gently, his eyes glaring at Matsuda awkwardly standing behind you with a smile

You nodded and suddenly, you jump and wrap your arms around both Ryuzaki's and Light's neck, pulling you all together in a big hug
"-ah!"

"Matsuda, wh-what did you do to her..?"
Light asked, making you chuckle

"I-I just talked to her!"

Ryuzaki was too surprised to say anything. He awkwardly stood there, frozen with widened eyes

You pulled away

"Sorry, I just think I needed a little extra love today.."
You said, that same soft smile from before appearing on your face

Ryuzaki ruffled your haired affectionately with a smile
"I think so, too."

Beside him, Light chuckled
"It's okay, I don't mind."

Ryuzaki again glared at Matsuda who widened his eyes and shrugged

As long as she's happy....i'm okay...

~💜~
Luv u <3

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