Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.
The world is seen from many perspectives, from Light's dissociative to Sayu's unfeeling.
Takes place after Yagami's death and Sayu's kidnapping in the anime. Slightly dark. Angst.
Perspective
The cold winds rolled in from the north though it was almost spring.
Light reflected that he hadn't been home much in his busy days as the second L and Kira. Yet, as he took off his shoes in the entrance way he had the unshakeable feeling that he could no longer call the place he just entered home. He once smelled delicious foods from the doorway, now all he smelled was staleness. He once felt immense joy as he ran up the stairs to his room, now all he felt was a cold remoteness. Where it had once been warm, the walls told a tale of somberness and defeat.
Light hated that feeling, but it would be too suspicious if he walked out of the place too soon.
He stood still in the hallway, as if standing there would bring back some happy memory about his high school days and writing in the Death Note. Instead, he was greeted with a scene from his more distant past. A birthday party and Father had been there. It had been so rare for his father to not have the night off in those days and it never occurred to Light that he would never see his father again act so carefree as he did on that day.
He pushed the memory down, choking his reminiscence with reason. Father had died for a better world, the least Light could do was try to honor his father with unlamented strength.
He searched for his mother.
He found her on the sofa, unsurprisingly gazing at the television, though paying no attention to it. Sayu sat next to her in her wheel chair, doing the same thing, but with a little less interest than their mother had.
"Oh hello, Light." His mother said softly a few moments after he had arrived. "I didn't hear you walk in. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" She turned her gaze to him, admiring him and yet at the same time missing him, as if he were transparent, nothing but a conduit for overflowing memories.
"Yes, it has been a long time," Light answered, his fake grin already a mastered reflex.
"It's nice to see you. Let me make some tea for you." She stood brushing past him. He saw her unkempt clothes, the way the wrinkles and puffiness had ravaged her eyes. He even smelled the odor of an old woman who had not bothered to wash her hair.
'Just a shell of a woman now,' Light thought to himself, though he meant it in the kindest of ways. 'This evil world has purged her of her soul and life and happiness. '
He felt disgusted that the world would do something to such a pitiful woman. He wanted to comfort her and tell her about the kingdom he would create one day. He suppressed that part of himself, however, when his mother came back into the room with a tray of tea. He imagined the desire to tell her of his accomplishments was just some left over vie for affection from boyhood. He was older now; he didn't need it anymore.
She poured the tea quietly and handed it to him. She took her own cup in her hands and poured another cup for Sayu, though Light knew that his mother didn't expect Sayu to so much as notice it.
"My, it's been cold recently. At least the snow's gone now." His mother started the conversation.
"The yard seems cleaned from the winter snow already." Light commented. 'Just like the world will be soon.'
"Oh yes. Sometimes your father's former co-workers come over and help me with things." Just at the mention of the word 'father', the woman started to choke, like a poorly tied knot unraveling itself so all the threads fell to the floor.
"Mother, Father needs our strength now." He rested a hand on her shoulder.
"I-I know." The woman's hands shook. A silence folded around them in which only the woman's long and heavy sighs could be heard. He released his hand.
"Can I get you anything mother?" He started to rise but the woman's hands grasped his sweater. Her head was bowed so he couldn't guess at her intentions.
"It's just really nice to have you here," she whispered and Light was again disgusted with how sorry and pitiful she looked. He picked up a cup of tea and, out of her range of vision, dropped it.
The woman flinched and she let go of him.
"Oh mother, I'm so sorry about that," he leaned to pick up the cup.
"No, no leave it alone. I'll clean it up." And she was hunched on the floor, picking up the cup and going to the kitchen for a napkin.
He rose and placed himself by his sister's wheelchair as the woman came back into the room.
"-finally it's sunny today, Sayu." He whispered as she walked in.
"What's that?" His older woman inquired.
"It's finally sunny today. I bet Sayu hasn't been outside for a long time," he let his suggestion hang in the air. "I know, I'll take her out today. Can I, Mother?"
The woman, already patting out tea from the carpet, nodded. "It's been so long since the two of you spent time together. It would be good for the both of you." Came the dispirited voice from on the floor.
Light felt something like relief flow through him. He made his way to the back door, pushing Sayu to the backyard.
It was indeed sunny but the day was cold. When he had pushed Sayu a considerable distance from the door he bent down and studied his sister's face. Her eyes were dark and her hair was a bit messy. He combed his fingers through it, the hair falling limply back into place.
"Mother hasn't been taking care of you since Father's death."
She didn't reply.
He hadn't expected her to.
He wondered, would he ever hear her say 'brother' again? Had he missed that name in all the years he had taken on the weight of being the world's savior? He couldn't remember so much as thinking about such a minute detail while pouring over the evidence and avoiding potentially hazardous situations. He had truly missed Sayu growing up, however he couldn't think of a reason why he would want to have been present for such a process.
"A lot has happened in there since I left, hasn't it?" He gazed at the house, half-smiling and breathing deeply. "Our lives have really changed."
He turned back and noticed that his sister was staring back at him. She was no longer the spunky girl he once knew. The world had been especially cruel to her and she deserved the truth for that.
"The truth is, I can't tell you much about the Kira case, even in the state you are in," Light said, taking Sayu's hands into his own. "Just know that Father died for a just cause and his death will not go unpunished. I can make sure of that."
He felt her cold unfeeling hands, her empty stare on him. Sayu's eyes were more chilling than father's grave stone and somehow they made Light feel a tinge bit more remorseful. Not for anything he had done, but for the innocent people like his sister who had to suffer at the hands of criminals.
"And you will have justice also."
Still nothing. Her eyes were empty.
A gust of wind blew against his back and in one instance he was reminded of a time which felt like ages ago when he'd play make-pretend with his sister.
And in that instance all his innocence and joy seemed to be back. The shadows on his face lightened and there was a visible glint in his eyes. "Hey, I know what'll make you happy. When all this is over how about we play make-believe again, just like old times. I'll make a kingdom and you can be my queen. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
He waited for an answer but it never came.
End