Word count: 801
Genre: Drama/General
Character: Sayu Yagami
Notes: For Numisma. Thank you for the paid account, and sorry this took so long!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Protection

When she was a child, Sayu had been completely convinced that her older brother would always be her protector. If she had to walk by a house with a barking dog, Light would suddenly appear, taking her hand while staring menacingly at the animal at the same time. If kids at her school decided to tease her, he would scare them away. If she needed help with her homework, he would sit with her and patiently explain.

All her life she had been sure that her brother would come to her rescue, and hadn't thought otherwise until he officially joined the police force.

She understands the fact that he is busy all the time and hardly came around the house anymore. Sayu knows that his job comes first, especially in such a high position as he is. And he does have a girlfriend who is probably very close to becoming a fiancée -after all, they have been together for quite a while. It was obvious that amidst all of these...activities, he would have almost no time to spend with his little sister.

But that wasn't it. Even during the few nights she sees him at the dinner table, Sayu can sometimes tell that he wasn't really there. It isn't very common: after all, Light is a model son, and cares for what his parents had to say, never committing the disrespect of ignoring them or looking bored. But sometimes, when he is by himself, assuming that he isn't being watched, she can catch him with his eyes not focused on anything, his mouth moving slightly, a look that tells her that whatever is going on in his mind is far away from them.

"Brother" she says one day, after one of these dinners, "I need some help with my homework".

He looks at her with a slight look of surprise on his face. "Really? You're almost too old for that, Sayu".

She makes a face at him, and starts to going up the stairs. Shortly after, she hears him walking behind her, and they both go into her room at the same time. Sayu can't help but think that it's weird having him come into her room, when it has been the other way around ever since she started elementary school. She sits on her desk and he pulls up a chair right next to her, much like when they were kids.

It takes him no time to find the problem. "See here? You have an extra X" he points out, erasing part of her math problem as he says it. She almost wants to tell him not to eliminate stuff without asking her first, but she knows by experience that this would be completely useless.

She starts to solve the problem, and of course, everything goes smoothly now. He watches as she finishes, the last problem of the bunch and the only one she couldn't solve. Once she puts her pencil down, he gets up to leave, and Sayu suddenly feels the need to say something, anything that would keep him here.

"Brother, I miss you" escapes her lips, much more than she wanted to share. But it stops him and makes him look back at her, with surprise on his face. "You don't come home that often anymore, and I miss you".

Light sighs, and looks at her with a condescending expression on his face. "Sayu, I have to work, you know that. It's really important".

"Yes, I know" she answers, feeling too old for this discussion. "But I barely get to see you now, and it's only going to get worse when I get into college."

She can hear the selfishness as soon as the words leave her mouth, but her brother doesn't call her on it. Instead he smiles and gets closer to her, sitting down once again, on her bed. "I can't promise you anything" he says, "since work might get even busier. But, if you want, I can try calling you on the weekends".

Sayu smiles and nods, feeling happy of how understanding her brother is. "Yes. I would love that!" She's beaming, ignoring the guilt of putting him through the extra responsibility to call her. In a rash reaction, she lunges forward and hugs him, feeling childish once again but not really caring. It isn't long before she feels Light's arms around her as well, returning it.

She doesn't see his smile grow and mutate into something uglier, a deformed grin of someone who is happy only for himself. His hand on her head feels comforting, not cold nor manipulative, and she is happy to have someone as caring as him as a brother.

For the first time in a long time, Sayu feels that she will be safe with him again.