Light Yagami was alone. Alone and afraid. It had only been… minutes, an hour? Since the incident. His lower lip wobbled at the memory.
He had just gotten home from school, halfway through a laugh with Yamamoto, his face still lifted in a smile, when he opened the door. Sachiko, his mother, had stood in the hallway. "I've been waiting for you, Tsuki. Explain." In her hands, she had held a package. A certain package which made Light freeze.
"Chest binder. Size S. For trans men and other gender-neutral individuals." Read the label in neat type. Sachiko's fingers drummed against the package as she waited.
"You- you went through my room?" His voice rose, almost a squeak.
"I was cleaning. Now, explain. Is my daughter a- a transvestite?" Disgust had visibly dripped from her tone.
Light didn't answer, his whole body shaking. Limply, his schoolbag slipped to the floor.
"When your father gets home, we are having a talk." With a final look of what could only have been disgust, she turned away. Light had watched as she disappeared down the hallway, his stomach leaden.
He hadn't waited for his father. As soon as Light could hear her, clanging around inside the kitchen, he left. He hadn't thought it over, had only really noticed when he was standing outside with only his coat with his phone and a few crumpled yen in his pocket.
To simply put it, he was screwed. The money in his pocket was too small to help him with anything real, and sooner or later his parents would come looking for him.
"I'm not going to be gone long…" He tried to reassure himself. And yet… Soichiro Yagami was an imposing man, a man with dark eyes sharp enough to pierce through any criminal that dared to cower before him. At least, that's what Light had always thought. And he was an old fashioned man, a man who had pushed for Light to wear dresses and to keep his head down in school, had scoffed at his short haircut even though Light had insisted that it was just to emulate his mother, and had pushed for him to find a boyfriend among the boys at his school with which Light could only conjure a stark apathy for. Light did not want to go home. Light Yagami did not want to face his father.
So he walked. And walked. And walked. Until the streets of Tokyo blurred together.
He didn't know where he was. His legs hurt. His feet burned. And his stomach snarled with each step. The crumpled yen hung heavy in his pocket. So little, and yet- A much louder gurgle left his stomach, wracking him with pain. He couldn't remember the last time he had ate.
To his left sat a coffee shop. Neon kanji, spluttering bright pink in the blue evening, spelled out "Coffee."
"Well, that's certainly straightforward." Light snorted. Another loud gurgle from his stomach propelled him forward.
There was something achingly familiar about here, a something that he couldn't quite grasp onto in his hunger-clouded haze. He pushed it away, slinking up to the counter and ordering a pastry. He tried not to wince at the dent it made in his money.
The shop was small, and crowded with people, and as Light looked for a place to sit he felt his head start to swim. "Outside. Outside it is." He hastily pushed the door to the front open.
There was a small table outside, one he had missed in his haste, and he went to sit on it. Now that he held food in his hands, the cloying smell wafted to him by the evening breeze, he found his stomach had cramped into nausea. Still, he tore at it, placing the torn chunks in his tongue and rolling them around until they dissolved. He needed the energy.
The breese heightened, cool enough to bring some calmness and composure back to him, and his eyes slipped closed. If he could push the worry and the future far to the back of his mind, he could almost pretend he was on an adventure. Almost.
"Hi." The voice, too cheerful, broke his silence. Warily, Light cracked an eye open.
"Hello?" He tried to keep his voice low. Gruff.
A man was standing in front of him. He wore a dark blue suit, and a warm smile splayed across his face. Something inviting danced in his eyes. Light felt a blush creep across his face.
"I'm Touta. Matsuda Touta. And you are?" The man's smile widened. He had a rather high voice, Light noted.
"Matsuda?" The name sounded almost familiar, now that he thought about it. He could have sworn he had heard it before. "Have we met somewhere?"
"I don't think so… I would have remembered someone as stunning as you." The words seemed to slip out like he hadn't planned them. Matsuda blushed quickly, eyes averted.
Light flushed, looking down. "... Thank you. And I'm Light."
"Nice to meet you, Light!" Matsuda seemed to recover quickly, his eyes already bright again.
"Nice to meet you too, Matsuda. So, what brings you out here on this fine evening?" Light smiled back timidly. This was.. Nice, almost. He could forget what he had to do, what he had to face, here. And Matsuda was rather nice to talk to, especially since he seemed to like him. Light tried not to think about what gender Matsuda must think he actually was. At least his coat was loose enough to give him some ambiguity.
"I just got off from work, actually. I work pretty close to here, and it's a nice place to stop off at."
"Really? So late?" Judging from the lighting, it must have been approaching seven. Most jobs got out much earlier around there…
"Well, it's really because of my boss. He's a hard worker, and he's kind of taken me under his wing, since I was a newbie just a little while ago, so I try and stay as long as he does. You know, to be respectful, and to help him out so he can leave quicker. He has a family to go back to."
"That's really nice of you. I'm sure he appreciates it."
Matsuda smiled again, the blush reigniting. "Yeah… He's a great guy, and I think that he likes me. But what are you doing out here, Light?"
Light's lips tightened. "Well… I guess you could say that I'm in a bit of a tough situation."
Matsuda's face immediately pinched with sympathy. "How come? If you don't mind me asking, of course!"
Light smiled, trying to hide his wince. Could he tell him? It's not like he'd ever see Touta again, and he really needed to get rid of his worry. Perhaps he could even help him…
"It's my family. They aren't really… accepting of who I am."
Matsuda went quiet. A sudden dread slithered down Light's spine. Matsuda had seemed nice, but he was alone at a table with him, and Matsuda was flirting but for all he knew he could think that Light was a girl and-
"Did they throw you out?" There was something close to rage that Light would never have expected to come from someone as cheerful as Matsuda. White colored his clenched knuckles. "Because if they did I swear I'll-"
"N-no! It's just… my mom found out s-something and she said she was telling my dad when he got home, and my dad is… my dad is… well, you know, and I just, I just left. I don't know what to do." His voice died to a broken whimper, face in his arms.
When he finally looked up, sympathy was plain on Matsuda's face. "Oh Light, no one should ever have to go through that, ok?" His hand hovered over Light's, and Light nudged his own hand forward, allowing Matsuda to take it.
"I'm just… I'm scared."
Matsuda's skin felt… nice against his own. Comforting. It had been so long since he had been touched like this…
"It's ok to be scared, Light. This is a scary situation. I've been there, believe me."
"You have?"
"Yea-"
"Matsuda!"
Light flinched back at the harsh voice, the familiar voice, flat against the chair back. Another man came into view, his features quickly springing into clarity.
"Dad?" Soichiro, still wearing his work overcoat, was walking towards him.
"Chief? 'Dad'?" Matsuda seemed to move in slow motion, glancing between Soichiro and Light. When he looked at Light, their eyes locked. Matsuda's mouth looked like it would open.
"Tsuki?" Soichiro stood still. Shocked. Right behind Matsuda now. "What are you doing here? Your Mother called, she's worried si-" His arm reached out, as if to grab him.
Light bolted. A loud clang echoed as his seat clattered to the pavement behind him. Fire burned his lungs, his feet, his whole body and-
"Tsuki!" "Wait!" Two voices now, Matsuda and Soichiro, and they were right behind him and he could feel their hands like claws right above his back ready to catch and drag him and-
Keep going keep going keep going.
His head whipped back. They followed, Soichiroc panting heavily and- Matsuda's face looked pinched with concern. But-
Keep going keep going keep going.
Feet hit pavement hard and he could see a street with an alleyway he could slip into, he just had a street to cross and-
He didn't listen to the screamed "Stop!", didn't listen to the beeping horn and didn't notice the flash of yellow growing brighter and brighter and brighter against the pavement as he ran with the sidewalk turning into street and-
White. A sickening crunch followed by dull pain. Then only a cold darkness.