Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Sayu threw herself face-first onto the bed and lay there, face buried into her pillow.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Once upon a time she'd never heard that clock, though it had been there her whole life. The house has been too full with sounds of life for her to notice it.
There had been a time not too long ago that she'd never even been left in the house on her own before. It seemed like an eternity ago.
Mother had gone to town. Father was out being a brave policeman. Brother was…
Sayu gave a small humourless laugh. She had a fair idea of what Light was doing.
That knowledge didn't make her any less lonely.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
The Yagami family had always been close. They'd gone out on picnics together of weekends. They'd always eaten together at the table for dinner. They'd shared everything with each other.
Now there was just the ticking of the clock in the hall.
Sayu knew she was different from Light. She knew that everyone else knew it too. She tried to take comfort in the fact that everyone was different from Light, but it wasn't easy.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Buzz.
She looked up sharply at the sound of the doorbell.
Could Light have come home? It was rare, but he did occasionally make time in his busy schedule to return. Sayu relished these times and jumped to her window to check.
Her head slumped slightly as she saw that it was not Light, but a young girl. A moment later, with hint of surprise, she realised that she recognised her.
Jumping up, she padded down the stairs and reached to open the door.
"Hello Amane-san." She said brightly. Sayu had not seen her brother's girlfriend for a good year or more.
She knew, of course, that Misa was a model. She'd seen her even before they'd met. Despite this, she always found herself startled by how beautiful Misa looked up close, even when simply visiting her boyfriend's family home.
Sayu gave a small sigh, hiding it in a smile.
Light could have anything he wanted, though she knew this girl probably wasn't it. It wasn't too hard to work out why they were still together.
"Oh, Sayu-chan!" Misa beamed. "Good afternoon! I'm sorry to intrude like this, but is Light in at the moment?"
"Sorry, he isn't here right now." Sayu said apologetically. "He rarely comes home at all anymore so I haven't seen him for a while myself."
"Ah." Misa frowned disappointedly. "Sorry to trouble you like this." She bowed politely. "It's been nice seeing you again."
"You too…" Sayu said uncertainly as Misa turned to leave. Her finger tapped uncertainly on the door handle for a moment. "Ahh…wait a moment!"
Misa stopped and turned. "Yes?"
"Would you like to come in for a while? I know Light isn't here and you probably have to be somewhere…" Sayu winced slightly. She knew that her reasons for asking were selfish, but she couldn't restrain herself.
Misa looked quite surprised for a moment, before the expression turned to one of delight. "I'd love to! Thank you for offering."
Sayu stepped back and pulled the door open wider, allowing Misa to walk past her into the house.
"Would you like some tea?" she offered politely.
"Thank you." Misa unbuckled her shoes and followed Sayu into the kitchen. "Anything I can help with?"
"No no, it's quite alright." Sayu busied herself around the small kitchen, grabbing two teacups down from a shelf and flicking the kettle on with her left hand. Misa gave a small smile and propped herself up against the kitchen bench.
For a few moments, the only sound was the quiet rush of water as Sayu steeped the tea and the tick-tock of the clock in the hall.
"Amane-san…" she began quietly, almost cautiously.
"Please, call me Misa." Misa smiled sweetly. "Everyone else does."
"Oh…uhh…sure, Misa-san." Sayu said, trying the name out as she poured the tea. It felt slightly strange. "Milk or sugar?"
"Milk please."
There was another silence as Sayu poured the milk into the cups and stirred them.
"What were you going to say before?" Misa asked suddenly, tilting her head and smiling curiously.
"Pardon?" Sayu said distractedly as she placed the teacups on a tray and carried them into the lounge, placing the tray down on a small table and taking a seat on the chaise lounge suite.
"Before," Misa began, sitting herself down next to Sayu. "when I told you to call me Misa. You were going to say something, weren't you?"
"No…" Sayu started uncertainly, before frowning. "I mean…well, yes." She steeled herself, uncertain as to why she felt so nervous. "I just wanted to know how my brother is doing."
Misa picked up her tea and blew the surface lightly, closing her eyes. "Light is…busy." She said finally. "Very busy."
Sayu nodded slowly, a faintly troubled look in her eyes. "Is he…" she paused, trying to come up with the right words, "nearing his goal?"
Sayu noticed Misa's eyebrows rise ever so slightly. "He wouldn't be Light if he weren't." she said simply, brushing a few strands of bleached hair out of her eyes.
"That's true." Sayu gave a small smile, feeling little comfort.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, slowly sipping their tea and not meeting each other's eyes.
"Do you trust him?" Misa spoke suddenly, breaking the silence. Sayu looked up curiously. "Your brother. Light." She clarified. "Do you trust that he knows the right thing to do?"
Sayu didn't answer immediately. She sighed and placed her teacup back onto the table, a troubled look crossing her expression.
"I don't think I have much choice. He's always known best in the past."
Another silence. Sayu felt the tension in the air and wondered if she shouldn't have said anything.
"You know, don't you?" Misa whispered. Her expression seemed quite cheerful but her fingers were gripping the teacup forcefully.
Sayu stared out the window regretfully and nodded. She could feel the other girl's eyes boring into the back of her head.
"How? He's always so careful."
"I'm his sister. He may not watch me, but I watch him." Sayu spoke softly, refusing to turn and meet Misa's eyes.
"You worked out why he keeps me around too." To Sayu's ears, Misa's cheerful voice sounded painfully strained.
"Misa-san…" she began, not knowing what to say.
"No, don't worry. I know I'm just a means to an end. It's my decision." She giggled nervously. "I'm a bit like you. Light knows best, right?"
Sayu didn't know what to say. The silence between them dragged anxiously.
"If he found out you knew…" Misa began uncertainly, placing her now empty cup on the table, "he would probably kill you."
Sayu's breath hitched painfully. Misa carefully placed her hand on Sayu's arm, which the girl suddenly latched on to with desperation.
Misa stared down at the small hand clutching her pale arm. Sayu had to force herself to let go.
"I'm sorry Amane-san…I shouldn't have lead this conversation to where it is." She stood up abruptly, but lingered as if uncertain where to go or what to do.
"Sayu-chan…" Misa began, "I told you to call me Misa." She tugged Sayu lightly by the arm to sit down again. The girl crumpled helplessly like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Sayu felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and a pull which lead her to gently lean against Misa's neck.
"You don't have to worry." Misa whispered and giggled softly. "I won't tell him."
Sayu forced herself to not cry. As a child she had always cried whenever anything had gone wrong for her. As she'd grown up, and especially after Light had left to change the world, she realised that crying didn't solve anything.
Light never cried.
"He…knows best." She whispered, as if trying to reassure herself. "He's brilliant. There's no one like him in this world." She didn't know what she was trying to reassure herself about.
"Sayu-chan…" Misa said kindly, raising her hand to lightly touch the girl's face. "You and Light are so different..."
Sayu closed her eyes tightly and choked down a sob. As if from a distance, she felt Misa shift, then a soft pressure was on her lips. Her eyes snapped open and she froze as she felt Misa run a hand gently through the back of her hair. After a few moments, the blonde dropped back.
"Light did that to me once when I was upset," She explained with a smile, "though it was probably just to keep me quiet. I'm not that insensitive."
Sayu simply sat there motionless, her eyes fixed on Misa.
"I should go now…thank you for the tea." Misa rose and bowed. "I'll let myself out."
Sayu couldn't bring herself to stand or do anything at all as she watched her brother's girlfriend walk towards the front entrance. Misa put her hand on the doorhandle, before seeming to reconsider.
"You know…being different to Light probably isn't such a bad thing." She tilted her head to the side and gave a cute smile. "When I next see him, I'll suggest he come visit you. I doubt he'll listen to me, but it might at least set the idea in his mind. That's the best I can do." She opened the door. "Goodbye Sayu-chan. It's been nice seeing you again."
"Goodbye Misa-san…" Sayu whispered, but the door had already closed.
She sighed and made a quick prayer to whatever God was listening. Light better know what he was doing. It better be worth this.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.