For once, not AU, this takes place sometime after Light discovered Shinigami eyes and before he meets L.
Hidden Field
He took a left turn and continued walking. It wasn't exactly a new route home, he just hadn't been down this path in years. With good reason, of course, the trip back would be about twice as long. Still, after everything that had been going on recently, he felt a small break was needed.
"Hey Light – " The Shinigami hovering behind him inquired. "Weren't you supposed to keep going straight for another few blocks?"
"Yeah, but this way will still get me home. Just consider it a detour."
"Whatever you say…"
The breeze picked up slightly, which felt good considering it was rather hot that day. Light started looking at his shadow as he walked; this was a habit he had given up years ago.
"Light, don't run so fast, you'll fall!"
The five year old spun around and looked at his mother, who was desperately trying to catch up with him while cradling a toddler in her arms. He giggled a little.
"Come on, Mom, you're going too slow!"
"The park will still be there by the time we arrive, so just settle down!"
But he couldn't settle down, he was too excited for this.
His flashback was ended by the sound of children laughing in the nearby distance.
"Huh… that's odd." He said to himself.
"What is?"
"There's an old park around here that not a lot of people know about, it's actually named "Hidden Field" because it's surrounded by trees and an abandoned schoolhouse. Even the grass has never been cut. I'm just a little surprised to hear kids there."
"If it's so hidden, then how do you know about it?"
"I used to come here some time back…" Light inspected the trees, looking for the break. Although, that was several years ago… most likely it had grown over.
Soon, however, he came across two trees that had a distinct gap between them. He wasn't too sure if this was the exact one he was looking for or it was created over time, but either way, Light crawled through. Ryuk stayed close behind him.
His cheek scraped against a branch, but it didn't break the skin so he ignored it. He was out not long afterwards, and found himself in knee-high grass.
He looked up at the playground in the center. Sure enough, there were quite a handful of kids running around. He hadn't expected so many… what were they all doing here? His eyes caught sight of a little girl swinging alone.
"Sayu?" Suddenly he remembered – of course, Sayu has a field trip this week… I didn't know it was to Hidden Field, though…
He started walking over, which took a bit of effort due to the grass, but he managed to wait until he was just a few feet away before calling out her name. The young girl's head shot up.
"Light? What're you doing here?" She smiled until she saw the scrape on his cheek. "Did you crawl through the trees or something? You know, the school building isn't locked!"
"Yeah… I figured…" She giggled at him. "Sort of a last minute decision, I wasn't going to come in until I heard kids."
"Heh, we just got here! Good timing, I guess!" She turned her gaze and resumed swinging. Light just stood there for a moment, watching her.
"Sayu, come on, I bet I can swing higher than you!"
"Light, she's just a baby, she can't swing by herself!"
"OK… I'll teach her then!"
"Hey, Sayu," he began, still recalling his memories. "Do you remember coming to this place?"
"Huh?" She pressed her feet to the ground. "Why? Did we use to?"
"Yeah… sorry, guess you wouldn't really remember that, you were pretty young at the time."
"Was that back before you started studying all the time and dating all these girls and we were best friends?" She said without thinking, because she had said it in her mind so many times.
"Huh?"
Sayu closed her eyes. "Sorry. Siblings are supposed to grow apart. It's not like you're gonna keep living at our house when you get married and have your own family."
"Sayu, what are you talking about?"
"Nothing," she spoke it so low it was hardly audible. She continued to swing. There was a pause before she added, "But Light… you would tell me things, right? Like… secret stuff?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Well," he wasn't sure where she was coming from, and it was making him nervous. He tried to keep up the conversation, though. "I guess if you really wanted to know. I mean, there's stuff I don't go around saying about myself. There's stuff I don't even tell Mom and Dad. But every kid does that as they get older, I'm sure even you have a few secrets."
"Oh yeah," she replied half-heartedly. "Totally!"
Why is she bringing this up? Light wondered.
Suddenly Ryuk started cackling behind him.
"Sounds like your sister's starting to get suspicious…"
What? Was Sayu really catching on that he was Kira? He was trying so hard to keep his daily routine looking as normal as possible, to avoid his mother and sister figuring out the changes. Although there were a few slip-ups – that time he had kept the door locked, for example.
Still, Sayu probably thought he was just hiding something from the family, like drugs or whatever other teenagers did. No, the only one who suspected him was L.
Light was getting overly paranoid.
Yet… what were Sayu's thoughts on Kira? Sure, at the time she was against him because of Dad, but even Light pretended to be the same way.
Would she change her mind if she ever found out who her big brother really was?
"Listen, Sayu…" he started. "I'm not perfect, but I try my hardest to contribute to society for the better." Ryuk started cackling.
"I know, Light." She said, working up a smile. "Sorry, forget I said anything!"
He tried to clear up the confused look on his face, but fortunately Sayu stopped looking at him and instead towards her feet. He stood there, mildly glancing around, wondering whether or not to leave.
Something caught his attention, however…
He didn't know what happened next. He just saw kids running in all different directions. No one was screaming, that would've been bad, there was just panicked murmuring. The over all notion was this:
"They're in the building."
Sayu took off just as Light peered up into the abandoned school. Through the hazed windows, he saw a gang of boys moving around. All too soon, however, they reached the door and made their way outside.
Instinctively, Light dove to the ground, the knee-high grass keeping him hidden, but only from a distant view.
Sayu? Sayu? Where the hell is Sayu?
"My brother's in there!" Light jerked up his head, trying to stay at an angle that kept him out of sight. A little boy was running towards the gang, still screaming. "My brother's in there!"
Without hesitation, one of the members pulled out a gun and shot the kid. There was a loud cry – the class was hiding, most likely in the grass as well.
Was Sayu still around? Did she make it out? I – I can't move! If I even stand up, I'm dead… if I try to crawl out, they'll probably spot me… damn, what now?
Ryuk started laughing.
"Bet you're wishing you had those Shinigami eyes right about now, huh Light? You might get shot trying to look at their faces, but it'd still leave a better chance of you getting out alive."
No… I'm not giving up half my lifespan for these punks. There's got to be some other way… but what? They're not just going to keep standing there, think!
"Ryuk…" he whispered. "Write down their names in your notebook."
The Shinigami threw his head back. "Ha! You've gotta be kidding! You honestly think I'd help you out of this? I thought I'd made it clear I'm not on your side."
"Dammit… look, if you're not going to do it for my benefit, do it for yours. You're suppose to take human life, isn't that your job as a Shinigami?"
Ryuk may act like he didn't care, but Light knew better. The way he was constantly complaining about how boring the Shinigami world is, how he's always comparing Light to one of them…
The words hurt.
"If I die now, you go back to the Shinigami world. You really want to do that after just getting here?"
"I'm still offering the eye deal… you can kill them yourself."
"Isn't it better to take all of their lifespan instead of just half of mine?"
"It's pretty pathetic of you to be relying on me for help, Light. I just might write your name down instead."
"Fine, go ahead."
I'd rather be killed by a Shinigami than by these lowlifes.
The gang was getting closer.
Ryuk truly didn't care if this human begging for help lived or died. He had a certain aura of respect for him, but that was about it. Still, he had no interest in returning to the Shinigami world.
It'd be pretty sad to see Light Yagami, the supposed 'god of the new world', killed lying in the dirt.
How many were there?
Five.
Ryuk hadn't written in his notebook for quite some time… he had more than enough of a lifespan to last him a while. Still…
Light heard a sound. Then another. A few more. Moaning – pained, quick agony – followed by a thud.
Slowly, he turned his head up. Realizing he wouldn't be able to get a full view at his current angle, Light raised his entire body. The gang was lying at his feet, dead.
That was… fast.
He knew it only took forty seconds for the victims to die, but Light was certain that only about half that time had passed before Ryuk had finished writing their names. There could be a simple explanation – the adrenaline caused by their actions… their hearts must have been racing at such a speed that the process of a heart attack was shortened.
Lucky for him…
He couldn't hold back a smile.
"Light!" Sayu ran over to him and he wrapped an arm around her. "What happened? What's going on?"
"Sayu…" he whispered. "They're dead."
His little sister pressed her face into his side. He could hear her sobbing.
"H-how?"
"It looks like Kira's working, if I had to guess."
"But how… but – but how would Kira have known?"
"Yeah, Light – " Ryuk smirked. "How would Kira have known?"
Light tightened his grip.
"I suppose he's just that powerful, Sayu." He replied after a silent moment. "But he saved your life – and the lives of your classmates. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
Sayu slowly drew herself away from him. The look on her face was a mix of pure terror and confusion.
"I – I don't know." She tried to say more, but ended up bursting into tears again.
Light Yagami was several things.
He was Kira, god of the new world. These arrogant street punks weren't worthy enough to fit into his ideal creation. The judgment he passed on them was righteous, and the only fitting way to rule humanity.
He was also a student, a son, and right now, he needed to be a big brother. Sayu would come to understand that Kira was justice, as everyone would. She was still in shock was all. Light sauntered over and took her in his arms once more. She didn't resist and sank into his clutch.
"Light… please. Take me home."
"Alright."
The teacher was calling the police as the siblings went up and asked for permission to leave. She agreed, promising to phone the other children's parents and inform them of the situation. She then asked if they wanted to wait until the officers arrived to escort them home, but Light declined.
They crawled out through the trees, not wanting to go into the school building for fear of what may be inside, and walked on home.
"Did you have fun, Light?"
"That place was awesome! Can we go again?"
"Well… maybe some other time, perhaps when your father isn't so busy."
"Hooray!"
"Shh! Not so loud, Light, you'll wake up Sayu!"
"Oh, sorry! Stupid baby, falling asleep after a day at the park!"
…
