"Snow…" A voice stated the obvious. The speaker was by herself, sitting quietly on a park bench. Her attention broke away from her open laptop to the pure white snow falling on her black clothes. An unwanted contrast of colors. She set the styrofoam cup down and brushed away the snow; a futile action. Her other hand typed rapidly on the dark-colored keys of her laptop. Wrapping up, she sent whatever it was she was typing and shut the laptop. She gently placed it on the bench, so that no harm would come to it. It was her treasure.
She stood up, readjusted her red scarf and zipped up her coat. Then, with the laptop held under her coat, she made her way to the hotel. The snow crunched beneath her boots.
When the wind decided to blow stronger, she held her skirt down. Of all days, I decides to wear a skirt. Her upper body was warmed by a scarf, thick coat, and the laptop, warm from use. But her only warmth below were striped stockings and tall leather boots. However, this was her usual attire, inspired by the model Misa Amane, who had a taste for Victorian style clothing. Misa's style was cute and expressive, two choice words for a typical young Japanese woman's clothing style.
The woman waited at the crosswalk for the stoplight to change. She was exhausted. Her work was mentally consuming. The light changed color, she took her first step onto the narrow crosswalk. A speeding car rushed straight towards her, its driver honking for her to get out of the way. She barely had time to turn her attention to her situation. Then it hit her. Not the car, a young man. The two tumbled onto the sidewalk opposite the park. In shock, she sat nervously in the same place she had fallen. She averted her gaze to her savior, who was panting. The car swerved unnaturally this way and that, then made an illegal U-turn and rushed past them. In a few minutes, the sound of sirens echoed down the street.
"Th-thank you…" The woman said, still in a state of shock.
"It… was… nothing," The young man panted. He reached out a hand and helped her to her feet.
"A-are you all right?" She asked nervously.
"I'm fine," he replied, catching his breath.
"That's good…" She tapped at her stomach to make sure the laptop was all right. It seemed to be in one piece. "Oh… You're bleeding." She pointed out a cut on his arm that had ripped through his jacket. "You should come with me… I owe you for saving my life. I can help you with that cut and sew up your jacket."
The elevator in the hotel rose to the sixth floor. She seemed unfazed by the awkward silence. Sliding the room key into the slot, she quickly opened the door and turned all the lights on.
It was a particularly large room, big enough for two, maybe three people. But she was its only occupant.
She pulled a laptop from her jacket and gently set it down on the coffee table. Then, she switched on the television mounted to the wall.
"Please, leave your jacket on the chair, there. I'll be right back." Her words were virtually emotionless, but gentle. She disappeared into a dark room, and switched the lights on. Sounds of rummaging through drawers came from the room.
The young man sat quietly on the sofa, wondering how she managed to afford this room. It was not only large, but by the looks of the finely detailed furniture and chandeliers, it was luxurious and expensive. He looked up at the T.V. A commercial came on for lip gloss. Misa Amane appeared on the screen with a rosy background, wearing the product. His eyes shifted towards the open laptop. He curiously moved the cursor. The screen flashed on. Strawberries took over the desktop background. The one thing that grabbed his attention was a single letter flashing in the corner, above the "new message" symbol. L.
After quite a bit of searching, the woman returned with the necessary supplies. He quickly moved his hand from the laptop, hoping he wasn't caught. Apparently, she hadn't noticed. Her first priority was taking care of his wound. After disinfection, she finished with a firm bandage wrapping. Then, she took hold of his jacket, and began to sew, her fingers working skillfully from years of experience.
"Well, I'm all right now," the man said. "Are you okay? I'm sure you had a pretty hard fall, yourself."
She nodded. "I'm fine. That man must have been drunk or something..."
"I don't think that's the case. I was watching the news earlier and there was a report of a prison break. A man stole an officer's gun and a car as well. I'm guessing this might be the same man that nearly ran you over. It's a good thing he didn't try to shoot you. He already managed to kill three other people."
"That's terrible… People like that…"
"Deserve to die," The said in unison.
"I see we share similar viewpoints." He laughed.
She nodded. The news flashed on the television.
"Reports of criminal deaths as results of heart attacks are being sent in from all throughout Japan. Investigators say that there's no way these deaths could be mere coincidence. When asked about the situation, many replies were the same. Kira. Coming up next, more details. Kira: Legend or Living?"
The woman frowned. "How strange… Heart attacks. Absolutely too odd to be coincidental. Who knows? Maybe there really is someone out there trying to bring justice to this world by supernatural means. I have to admit, that is a pretty bold move."
"I have to agree with you on that. But I think those criminals are finally getting what they deserve. Maybe this so-called 'Kira' will be able to rid the world of all evil. He might even become some sort of god."
"That would provide more chaos to the world. We'd be run by fear alone that we could be the next victim," She replied. "Besides, all it is, is murder."
"That may be true, but the human mind is easily manipulated by fear. Kira stands for a new form of justice. Judgment by the hands of God." The young man seemed to be excited by the thought.
She looked up from the jacket. "You seem like the type of person with an interest in law."
"Actually, my dad is a chief police officer. I hope to follow a similar path."
"Oh? Good for you. I think you'd be very successful. I work in a similar department. I may be young, but I have a very profitable job."
Silence.
"It's done." She finally said, after the last stitch.
"Thank you." The young man took the beige jacket and put it on, readjusting his tie. "It must be strange, inviting a total stranger here."
She shook her head. "Not at all. It's nice to have company once in awhile. Regardless of circumstances."
He headed for the door. He chuckled. "Then maybe I should visit again."
"You're welcome to. I'd like someone to talk to while I'm working. By the way, I'm Mio. Mio J. Hanabi." She quickly opened the door for him, a friendly smile on her face. He formally introduced himself as well. She found his name to be rather peculiar.
"Thanks again. I'll come to visit soon. It was nice meeting you, Mio." He smiled back, and waved a last time before leaving.
Mio shut the door and sunk to the ground, exhausted. She could have fallen asleep right there, but she had business to attend to. Sitting herself down in front of her laptop, she clicked on the flashing "new message".
That's funny… she thought. I don't remember taking my laptop off sleep mode.
Her eyes scanned the message. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing right. She stared. Again and again, she read and re-read the message. Her heart was filled with joy at the end result.
H-he wants to see me? A smile formed on Mio's face. It's been too long…
She deleted the message, as instructed. Irritably, she forced a USB into the side of the laptop and saved all her important files. After a bit of typing, she managed to wipe out all the memory on the computer and re-inserted her files. This had to be done every time she received a message from him. Luckily, it didn't happen often.
She dragged herself across the room and flopped onto her bed without changing. Thoughts immediately rushed through her head, making it hard for her to sleep, regardless of how tired she was.
Maybe I should tell him about my new friend. He's very bright. Reminds me of him. I doubt he'd care, though. I wonder if he's heard anything about this 'Kira' case. I doubt he would pay much attention. It's a very minor case. Probably some bioterrorism. But if what that guy said was true, then it might turn into a serious problem. I suppose I'll have to investigate the matter myself. What was his name again? Oh, that's right. Light Yagami. What a strange name…