Light had spent a lot of time thinking of answers to the questions life threw at him:
Did I spend enough time studying for the upcoming test?
How can I keep the notebook hidden?
How can I find out L's real name?
Am I really going to die here?
The one thing he didn't spend much time thinking about was what he was putting his family through.
Maybe he finally thought of them as he ran out of the warehouse, or when he collapsed on the staircase. Maybe, as he took his final breath, he thought, what about mom and Sayu?
Too bad he didn't consider them earlier. Now, it was too late.
Every year, on Light's birthday, the Yagami family would go to dinner at Light's favorite restaurant.
This year, Sayu had planned on wearing a bright yellow dress she had purchased for the occasion a few months prior to her brother's death. This dress is what she wore as she stared down at the grave Light shared with their father. She looked a little strange, wearing such a cheerful-looking piece of clothing in a place where dead people outnumbered the live ones, but that was the least of her concerns.
Sachiko stood by Sayu's side, and neither of them spoke. After a few silent minutes spent choking back tears, Sayu began to sing. It was nothing louder than a whisper, but Sachiko heard her voice clearly.
"Tanjoubi omedetou,
Tanjoubi omedetou,
Tanjoubi omedetou,
Tanjoubi omedetou."
The words normally sung in front of a birthday cake, not a grave. Words usually followed by candles being blown out and clapping, not silence.
A familiar figure approached them.
"Matsuda," Sachiko murmured. It was more of a statement than a greeting.
Matsuda just smiled weakly and faced Light's grave. Before finding out Light was Kira, Matsuda had considered him a friend, even if it was unrequited. He thought it would be right to visit him.
Light had died, Matsuda realized, long ago. Who he knew was not Light, but Kira. Light, who was a hardworking student with lots of potential, was gone as soon as he began to use that notebook. Matsuda hadn't known Light before he was Kira, but from what he had heard, Light had been a completely different person. Matsuda wished he could've known Light back then.
Matsuda tried his hardest not to picture Light in that warehouse. He tried not to hear Light's laugh and how he screamed. He tried not to picture Light bleeding when he shot him.
Matsuda bit his lip, trying to push back the tears forming in his eyes. Sayu put her hand on his shoulder.
"He didn't deserve this," she said.
"Yeah," Matsuda replied, "you're right."
