"It's easy to say things we don't mean, and it's easier still to second guess things we do."
I've always been an adept liar; capable of telling even the biggest falsehood with ease, and perfectly content to let a fib fall from my lips. And I've never regretted this ability of mine. I've never hated it, and never tried to deny it; after all, why hate something you can't change?
People have tried to correct my way of thinking; to convince me to start telling the truth, all to no avail.
I am the way I am, and if people cannot accept that, then that's their problem, isn't it?
But looking back now, I guess I should have listened to them; I shouldn't have dismissed their words as mere babble meant to distract me from my goals.
Because they had been right; lying was wrong.
And now, because of those pretty little lies I had let slip, and because of the web of falsehoods I had spun, I was caught up in the whirlwind of supposed good versus supposed evil that was known as the Kira Cases.
But let's skip all the boring drama of where, when, why and how I got caught, shall we?
Let's fast forward, or in my case, rewind, seeing as I'm writing this as it has already happened, to the point where the police interrogated me.
The cheap fluorescent light illuminated the even cheaper Formica table that lay between me and the officer, whose name I hadn't bothered to learn.
"Why'd you do it, kid?" He had a thick black mustache, shot through with a few strands of silver.
"Do what?" Always one for the apathy, I was.
"Cheat. Lie. Con." Three words; that was all it took to summarize the past year or so of my life.
"It's because I could." In this case, lying wouldn't have done me any good; I could tell that the policeman was a veteran, and that he was just as good at catching a lie as I was at telling one.
"What do you mean?" His tone held real confusion and bewilderment; he was probably wondering how someone as seemingly young and innocent as I was could have done what I did, and how I could answer in the way I had with such a blasé attitude.
"Simple. I wanted to know if I could pull it off."
The mustachioed man didn't seem to understand what I meant.
"Look," I clasped my hands together, leaning towards the officer, "if you can cheat, it means that you understand the system. It means that you comprehend how everything works, and that you're smart enough to evade and overcome it."
"So you did it, if I understood clearly, because you wanted to see if you understood the system?"
"Yup. Exactly that. I've always been a smart kid, no shame in denying that, and that means that I'm pretty easily bored. I thought that this might be able to amuse me for a while; and I was right, it was."
A sigh escaped the lips of the gendarme as he studied me, trying to figure out what to do with me.
"You're one messed up kid then, you know that right?"
At least he was honest.
"I know." I grinned back wolfishly.
"Well then, this interview is over." He got up from his chair with a groan. "You can wait in the lobby until we decide what to do with you."
"Yes sir." I too rose from my chair, glad to be able to get away from this room and its shabby furnishings.
And this is where my story gets interesting; where the plot of my escapade really thickens.
However, before I tell you how it all went down and how it all started, I want to make sure one thing is clear; I never regretted what I did. Never.
Life is too damn short to regret anything.
Sure, people will say that life's the longest thing we'll ever do, and I'll give them that. But there's no guarantee that you'll live to the ripe old age of 90, or any such age.
There's no guarantee that you won't get run over by a car, hit by a train or caught in gang crossfire tomorrow.
Which is why I refused to regret what I did; refused to second-guess my decisions and choices; it's because I didn't want to die with doubt and dissatisfaction in my heart.
So now let's step back into that slightly-run down police department, step back into my shoes as they were almost eleven months ago.
It took all of five minutes for them to decide what to do with me (although I now know that L pulled some strings for me, and that their decision hadn't been entirely their own).
"Well, I'd count my blessing if I were you, kid." It was the same man as before, the one who had 'interviewed' me.
"Why would I do that?" A lazily confident tone crept into my voice as I looked up at him.
"Because you're free." He seemed to wonder what the hell had made them decide that.
"Whaddya mean, 'free'?"
"Well… not free exactly, but you're getting off without any charges."
"…What's the catch?"
He grinned, his mustache rippling. "You really are a bright kid, aren't you? Well, in this case, the catch is that a certain detective has asked for your assistance in a case. Help him out and we'll wipe your slate clean."
I stared in disbelief, wondering aloud if he was pulling my leg (although in less polite terms, I'm afraid to say).
"Nope."
"Hmph."
"You're probably wondering who the detective is, aren't you?" His grin was still present, stretching his face.
"You know me too well, officer." I used a mock-breathless tone, my eyelashes fluttering.
"Very funny, kid." The officer was not amused. "I'll tell you anyways though. It's L."
I think that's about where I passed out, whether it be from the shock, or the dehydration, I'm not sure.
But all I know is that when I woke up, two eyes were peering at me, and I was most definitely not in the station anymore.
This would be my first time publishing a story on FF, so any feedback would be very much appreciated~.
Flame if you want, but, honestly? Compared to some of the crap I've read on this website, I'd like to think of my story as pretty 'decent'. Just sayin'. Some of you might disagree, but that's your opinion and you are very much free to share it.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. 8D
~Ri