Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Death Note. Wish I did though.
Rating: T for some language now. May go to M in later chapters.
Pairings: L/Light, possible hints of Matt/Mello in further chapters.
Summary: If there was one thing Light Yagami hated more than kids messing with his shampoo, kids nearly chocking on Lego pieces and let's not forget kids exploding the whole TV set, it was nineteen years old sweet-loving kids with a severe case of chicken pox that loved to stare at him while he slept.
A/N: Ahhh, and here I am again, two years after I swore off writing fanfiction, doing what? Why writing fanfiction, of course. I must admit, I missed doing this xD And here I am, writing my favourite genre, ready to make Light's life (or at least week) a friggin' mess –malefic laugh –
Just a note before I leave you off. Death Note characters' ages are slightly changed for the fic's purpose to the following:
Light: 17 years
Light's group (Misa, Takada, Mikami, Higuchi): around the same age
L: 19 years
Near: 10 years
Mello: 12 years
Matt: 11 years
Now, enjoy! :)
-
-
-
Forever and a Week
Chapter 1
Maple Syrup To The Rescue
-
-
-
"We should do this again sometime! It was a lot of fun!" Misa chirped happily. After all, why wouldn't she be happy? She was walking home from a club at ten o'clock in the evening, surrounded by friends, with her beloved boyfriend's arm around her shoulders.
Unfortunately, said boyfriend did not share her happiness.
Light Yagami was annoyed. Mad, grouchy, and bored out of his mind. He did not enjoy being dragged out of his home on a Friday evening by his self-proclaimed girlfriend and walked around the entire town with a bunch of baboons he's supposed to call his friends.
Not to mention the club they decided to crash at for a couple of hours was a waste of time. The music was too loud, the drinks were not worth their prices, and the company was deplorable. Also at least three waitresses tried to hit on him, only to be death-glared at by Misa. That girl just misses the point about him not liking her at all.
And let's not forget Higuchi decided to get shit-faced again and was now dragging his feet pitifully on the pavement, half carried by Mikami, while gazing insistently at Takada's buttocks. Light vaguely wondered what his mother would say when she found out the boy had been drinking again. From what he remembered, it was the forth time this month.
Light mentally scowled as he continued to walk, barely seeing anything at more than a few feet in front of him. His right arm, imprisoned in Misa's death grip, was starting to get disturbingly numb.
"I'll say, it sure was a shit-load o' fuckin' fun!" he heard Higuchi's answer, followed by a loud hiccup. The inebriated teen leaned some more weight on Mikami and started singing a song whose lyrics only he himself understood.
After a few more moments of silence, interrupted only by the sounds of footsteps and Higuchi's hiccupping, the group arrived at an intersection, marked by o shiny road sign.
"Sakura Street." Takada read out loud. "We're not that far from your house, Higuchi-kun."
Light could have almost sworn he heard Mikami mutter "At last!" and smirked. Serves him right for being friends with the likes of Higuchi. He sighed and bit back a nasty remark as Misa gripped his arm even tighter. Good thing his house was the closest after Higuchi's, or he might have murdered the bubbly blonde haired girl.
"Hey." Mikami started, a visible pant in his breathing. "Isn't this the neighbourhood with those two adopted lunatics?"
Light's head snapped right, suddenly interested in the conversation. What lunatics? From what he knew, Sakura Street was one of the quietest neighbourhoods in the Kanto area.
"Oh, yes, you heard about them too?" Takada said, her voice lowering, as if she was telling a big secret.
Light was already getting annoyed with them and their secretiveness. He was ready to step over his pride and ask for details, when Misa beat him to it.
"Lunatics? What lunatics?" she inquired with that high-pinched voice and curious tone that Light hated so much.
"Oh, it's just a rumour that travelled around the girls' locker for a while last year." Takada answered, her tone neutral and her gaze throwing daggers at Misa. She'd been trying to get Light for herself for quite some time now. Although her company was more pleasant and her intelligence coefficient much higher than Misa's, Light wasn't that much interested in her either. "A girl said that at number twenty-three on this street lives a middle-aged couple that adopted two kids some years back. She doesn't think they're Japanese, more like European. But there's something wrong with them, because they're both sickly pale and are rarely ever seen out of the house. One of them is in collage and still eats more sugar that it should be legal and the other has his room full, absolutely full of toys. They both have horrible posture and simply creepy looks." The girl finished her rant with a disgusted shudder.
"Hm, curious," observed Mikami. Curious, indeed. From what the girl related, those kids sounded like malnourished, abused, mentally unstable lunatic asylum patients. Just like Takada first said. Her half-useful rant only made Light more interested about these people.
"Number twenty-three, you said? That's the next house." he spoke for the first time during their walk.
Everyone turned their gaze on the aforementioned house. There was nothing weird or creepy about it, as one would have expected after such a story. It was just a plain beige two-storey house, with petunias planted in the front lawn and a small terrace on the front porch. There was a total of three lights turned on: two on the second floor and one on the ground floor.
Light gazed curiously at it, trying to find something even remotely weird about it. Deciding there was no such ting, he turned back to Takada.
"Are you sure it's the right house?" he inquired.
"Of course I'm sure. Look, over there!" she pointed to the left light on the second floor.
Light squirmed for a few seconds and finally managed to distinguish through the thick curtains a human silhouette. It took him another few seconds to notice what was wrong with it. Then it hit him. That person, whoever it was, was hanging upside down from the ceiling.
"Well, I'll be fucked." Mikami muttered, wide eyes on the same window Light was gazing at.
"Oh, God!" Misa exclaimed quietly. "Is… is that healthy?"
"Not that I know of." Takada answered, her icy tone forgotten due to the image in front of her eyes. "See? I told you they are nuts!"
"Nuts, huh?" hiccupped Higuchi once again. "I'll show'em!" With surprising force he detached himself from Mikami's shoulder and marched towards the house, stumbling every few steps.
"Hey, Higuchi-kun, where are you going? Come back!" Misa whisper-yelled at him (thankfully) detaching herself from Light's arm to retrieve the violent drunk.
Mikami, too, went to keep Higuchi from doing something they were all going to regret, and brought the brunet back, keeping him secured by the waist.
"Higuchi-kun, although it would be fun, we can't just go and vandalise that house and expect to not be caught." Mikami stated, speaking rare and clear, perfect for a kindergartener to understand.
"Hm… you're right, Mikami-kun, it would be fun. But how do we make sure we're not caught?" Takada muttered, gazing insistently at Light for any ideas. After all, he was the smartest person any of them had ever met.
'Oh, no you don't!' Light thought stubbornly. He trusted his thinking capability with his life, so a little prank like putting vaseline on the on the doorstep or messing with the doorbell wouldn't challenge him in the slightest. But he'll be damned if he risked being caught doing something so dumb!
"Oh, very well." Takada rolled her eyes at the brunet's silence. "Then we'll have to do something ourselves. Come on, Mikami-kun, Misa-chan!"
Misa giggled stupidly and skipped after Takada to the front of the house, below the aforementioned window. Mikami contemplated things a little, and decided that Higuchi would be safe sitting down in the middle of the street, leaning on Light's right leg. He made sure the drunk teen wouldn't top over and ran after the girls, leaving Light to gaze at them with a mixture of surprise and disgust.
Annoyed to no end, the brunet grabbed the collar of Higuchi's shirt and dragged the poor boy pathetically after him to the others, muttering obscenities under his breath. After all, someone had to come with the idea, right?
-
-
-
L was in deep thought, contemplating a particularly difficult task. He had to make his choice soon, before the others went to sleep and severed his means of obtaining one of the desired objects.
He extended a hand and picked up a leather-bound book, thick and elegant, from his bookcase, blinking suspiciously at the golden title, as if it might change itself if he stared at it long enough.
He had two options. He could either read the book currently resting in his hand, "Faustus", for the third time, or he could go to his adoptive parents' room, search through their bookcase (actually his, but he didn't have any more space in his room for it), and take a couple of Arthur Conan Doyle's novels, which, despite reading them more times than the aforementioned, were by far more interesting.
With a defeated sigh, he decided. It was much too troublesome to go to his adoptive parents' room, when he had an entertaining book right there, in his hand.
Book tightly clutched, the ruffled young man dragged his bare feet to his dresser, – clearly useless, as he barely had enough clothes to fill two drawers; maybe he should get rid of it and get another bookcase – climbed on a chair nearby and, with one swift motion, gracelessly jumped onto said dresser.
Reika-san always told him not to hang upside down anymore. But what she did not know could not hurt her. Also, of maintained for a short amount of time, hanging upside down could be quite comfortable.
Securing his calves on the top of the dresser, L let himself hang, back leaning heavily on the dresser door and opened the book at the first page.
After ten minutes, just as he started getting dizzy, L heard hushed voices from outside. At first he dismissed them as being his adoptive parents but, then again, why would they be trying to be quiet? Also, his little brother was not allowed outside after dark.
Curiosity awoken, L jumped with one swift motion from the dresser, not even bothering to lift himself from his odd position before doing so, hit the ground with a soft noise and removed the curtains from the window just enough to get a glimpse of his immediate surroundings.
What he saw both amused him and fed his curiosity further. Under the tree next to the window was a group of teenagers, not looking much younger than he himself. He never appreciated those social groups. Actually, to this moment, he had never found a single person that would not annoy him with their lack of intelligence. There was Near, his adopted little brother, but they enjoyed each other's company much more in silence.
In a few seconds L had figured out the situation completely. The group consisted of two girls, one painfully blonde and the other dark-haired, and three boys, one of which deeply inebriated. The lighter-haired boy of the bunch was a few meters away, arms crossed and mopping, while the others were trying to construct something that resembled a huge sling-shot, using tree branches and a long pink scarf. They were currently searching for ammunition.
L smirked at the childishness of their plan. Whatever ammunition they found, the scarf wasn't even nearly elastic enough for it to hit L's window, which seemed to be their target. The stubborn one probably didn't agree with their plan. Smart move. But L would have to give them a lesson anyway.
Taking his time, L turned and headed for the other side of the room, where he kept a fully stocked fridge. Although his adoptive father considered this to be too much of a luxury, he would rather let L have a fridge in his room, than have him wondering through the house for a midnight snack and waking up both him and his wife.
He opened the fridge door and took out two full bottles of maple syrup. It broke his heart to waste such good syrup he could eat with pancakes, but this was an emergency. Holding the bottles close to his chest, he closed the door and headed for his desk, opening the bottom drawer. His somewhat cousin had given him a bag containing one hundred colourful balloons upon his last visit. He had never opened the bag, but he was sure this was the way his cousin would have wanted him to use his present.
He took out two balloons, both neon pink, and closed the drawer. He took another peek outside the window, just to make sure his victims were still there. It seemed they were still searching for ammunition. Good.
After taking one last look at the delicious bottles for syrup, L opened one and emptied its entire contents into the opened mouth of the balloon. When he considered the balloon was just an ounce away from exploding, L removed the bottle and threw it away in the paper bin. He repeated the process with the second bottle and balloon. Examining his handiwork proudly, the ebony-haired man knotted the ends of both balloons and, holding them gingerly, once again headed for the window.
Now, who shall be his unlucky victims? The blonde seemed dense enough to freeze up and get hit easily; the inebriated was in no shape to duck either; the black haired teen, now holding an impressively big boulder in both arms, would have to drop the boulder to duck, even if he saw L's attack; the dark-haired woman seemed to be the head of this childish prank, so she would surely deserve one of the bombs; and the brunet teen deserved one just for standing there and looking pretty. But who would be more deserving of all?
"Mikami-kun, be careful with that!" the blonde said in what she considered a hushed tone, which was actually loud enough for L to hear through a closed window.
Oh, well. She asked for it.
Bombs away!
-
-
-
Light was glaring draggers at the sheer stupidity of his companions. What kind of intelligent human being thought that Misa's pink scarf was a great rubber substitute? Right now Mikami was arguing with Takada about using a fricking boulder as ammunition. Really, why was he bothering with them, again?
He was ready to cover his ears at hearing Misa's shrieking pleading directed at Mikami, when something happened.
Something incredibly unusual and displeasing.
As if in a low quality, slow motion film, Light saw the top right window open and an undistinguishable silhouette throwing something painfully pink at them. In an equally slow motion he saw the pink thing fall freely, unnoticed by the others. Although Light prided himself in his quick reflexes (being a tennis junior champion, and all that), he couldn't get his feet to move away from the bomb, or his mouth to yell at the others. He just stood there and watched it fall endlessly.
Because all that falls must land sometime, so did the pink bomb, hitting its target with a loud pop.
Misa's shriek could be probably heard through the entire neighbourhood. Thick droplets of liquid flowed pitifully through her hair and face and, for a split terrified second, Light thought it was blood. Just then he felt something running down his face and touched it with his hand. Unable to see it clearly in the darkness, Light brought his hand to his nose and smelled it. It seemed awfully familiar. Against his better judgement, he brought a finger to his lips and tasted the liquid.
Maple syrup. The fricking bastard threw maple syrup at them!
He didn't have enough time to react, when a second bomb flew through the window. This time it hit Mikami straight in the face, spoiling him fully with the sweet syrup. Being a mere two feet away from the teen, Light got his fair share of syrup on his hair and clothes.
"Everybody RUN!" Light yelled as loud as he could. Who knew how many maple bombs the lunatic had. They had clearly underestimated their enemy and now they were paying for it.
As he turned to hit the road, he saw through the corner of his eye the front door opening and artificial light filling the lawn. Shit, they're going to be caught if they didn't get out of here quick!
It seems that it was Light's command that the others were waiting for. As soon as he turned to run everybody did the same. Even Higuchi got up to shaky feet and beat it, maintaining an impressively straight direction for his state of mind.
Then again, Light spoke too soon.
As soon as he took his eyes off of Higuchi, the teen lost his balance and fell pitifully to the ground.
Taking Light with him as an anchor.
Light didn't have time to react when he felt a dead weight hitting him in the shoulder blades. His feet gave away under him due to the shock and pain and he fell, hitting the ground with a pitiful thud.
It took him a few seconds to realise that his head hurt like hell. Despite that, he tried to get up and continue his run. He felt his vision blur and his arms gave away under him in mid lift. It took him another few seconds to realize that blood was running freely from his temple, covering his face.
Light felt Higuchi lift himself off of him and continue his frenetic run. Leaving Light for the dead.
'Hey, you idiot! Don't leave me here, you morons!' Light wanted to yell on top of his lungs, but all that came through his lips was a pained groan. He could only watch as his so called friends hit the road, leaving him hurt on enemy ground.
He heard two pairs of feet behind him, and a couple of middle-aged people arguing.
Oh, goody. His executioners have arrived.
-
-
-
L nodded, satisfied of his handiwork. Four of the teenagers ran like mad down the street, while the fifth, the stubborn brunet, lay pitifully on the ground. He had a pretty nasty fall, by the looks of it.
L's adoptive parents, Reika and Masahiro, ran to the injured, leaving the front door wide open. How irresponsible. Reiko-san was first, looking as concerned as she always did at seeing an injured person. His father, on the other hand, was walking slower, rougher, hands buried deeply in his pockets. His body language screamed bloody murder.
L watched with disinterest as his parents helped the boy rise to his feet and took him into their house. Typical. L went trough all that trouble, sacrificing his heavenly syrup, and they help the enemy into their own house. Oh, well.
L decided it wasn't worth his time to go meet his attacker, so he closed the curtains, grabbed his book and resumed reading.
-
-
-
Light was defeated. Beaten. Humiliated. And let's not forger full of maple syrup. The stuff was making his scalp itch.
He was currently in the kitchen of Number twenty-three, Sakura Street, holding a wet tissue to the new-formed lump on the side of his head, and being interrogated by a middle aged couple.
How embarrassing.
"So, tell me again son," the man, looking about forty-five years old, possessor of chestnut brown hair with a balding start and a pair of glasses that practically screamed 'Accountant', started, "Why were you and your friends on our lawn, at ten o'clock in the evening?"
It was the same question he had been asking for ten minutes now and, just like the previous times, Light decided not to grace it with an answer. He could tell the man was starting to get annoyed. His wife, who looked maybe a year or two younger than him, was sitting on a kitchen chair, following their exchange – or Light's lack thereof – with worried eyes. She had been kind enough to tend to Light's wound, and he was graceful for that, but he would be even more graceful if they let him get the hell home.
"Oookay." the man sighed. "What's your name?"
Finally, a different question. Light contemplated answering truthfully or not. If he told them his name, they could have the police on his ass in no time. Then again, his father was police chief, so he could get out easily. Also he'd be in much more trouble if his father found out that he's been lying about his identity.
"Light Yagami." he muttered with an over-dramatic sigh.
"Light Yagami." The man repeated, as if to test the way the words rolled on his tongue. "So, Yagami, will you grace us with your parents' phone number?" Was he nuts? How stupid did he thought Light was, to freely give away his phone number? Well, stupid enough, since he was the only one caught. "I'll have to mention that the only way you're leaving this house is with your parents. You decide when that will happen."
Well, if he puts the problem like that...
Light sighed one more time and started dictating his home phone number, while the man wrote it down. There wasn't an easy way out of it this time. Darn it.
The brunet watched as the man rose from his seat and headed to the hall, where Light had seen a phone when he entered the house. For lack of a better thing to do, Light took great interest in the squeaky clean tiles of the floor. He had nearly forgotten about the woman a few feet away from him, when she decided to break the silence.
"Yagami-san, are you feeling better?" she asked in a gentle tone and Light raised his eyes to meet her dark ones. She was truly concerned about his well being. This made Light actually feel bad about the attics his companions had caused. Stupid chickens; leaving him to deal with their problems.
He slowly nodded as an answer to her question. At this her lips quirked upwards, revealing a kind motherly smile.
"Good. Would you like a cup of tea?" she didn't give Light the time to answer, as she rose and headed to a cupboard, taking a kettle and filling it with water. Light vaguely wondered how such a normal looking household could hide two syrup throwing lunatics behind its doors.
The brunet heard the door opening and turned to see the accountant-looking man closing it behind him.
"Funny how the police chief's son makes a hobby of pranking random families at odd hours in the night, isn't it, Yagami?" The man muttered, tone light, but brown eyes deadly serious.
Ouch. If he put the problem like that, Light was actually starting to feel like one of those immature rebels you saw in cheap soap-operas. It wasn't even his fault, damn it!
What followed was a very uncomfortable silence. Light was sure his parents were coming to pick him up, so the man had no need to waste his time asking him questions, when he could very well have a talk with Soichiro Yagami. The woman was half watching the tea and half stealing glances at Light. The brunet felt as if he could explode any second due to the insistent stares of these two people.
Light nearly had a heart attack when he heard something ring unexpectedly next to him. For a second he thought it was his father ringing at the door. Then he noticed the black, elegant wall phone next to his head. For a brief moment he wondered why the man had to leave the room to make a call.
The woman abandoned the tea-making suspiciously quick and answered the weird-looking phone. She did not say another word after the initial "Yes?". After listening for a few seconds to the person on the other line speaking, she said she'd be there immediately and ended the conversation.
"Anything wrong, Reiko?" the man asked, momentarily concerned.
"Just Nate-kun. He can't find some of his Lego pieces. I'll go help him. Please watch the tea, dear!" the woman smiled kindly, as if that single phone call had brought a ray of sunshine into the black night outside.
Then again, it didn't even look like a phone. More like a kick-ass radio station, Light mused. So that was the first of signs that these people's kids are treated more specially than would be necessary.
Another sound, this time farther away, resembling a bird's chirp, was heard. This time Light was sure it was the door bell. Sure enough, the accountant-looking man sat up from the table, and exited the kitchen to open the door.
Despite all his efforts to distinguish the conversation, Light couldn't hear much more than a low hum of voices. He was only sure that both of his parents were present, as he distinguished his father's low baritone and his mother's softer, more feminine voice. After a minute or so, the voices disappeared completely, along with a door's loud creek. Where they just going to leave him there while they discussed God knew what?!
It was not as if Light was afraid. His father may have been a strict person, but he wasn't going to mess with Light's squeaky clean criminal record just for a stupid misunderstanding like this one, was he?
Also, even if Light didn't have any proof that he was completely innocent, he wasn't the only culprit in this business! Someone threw freaking balloons filled with maple syrup at him! They had to pay for Light's dry cleaning! Was it the Lego-boy mentioned before? What wouldn't Light give to get his hands on him...
Suddenly a loud and annoying hiss announced that the boiled water was ready for tea making. Unfortunately there was nobody to pick the kettle up. Nobody, but Light himself, that is.
Light tried to ignore the sound. He really did. Unfortunately it was much too ear splitting so it had to be taken care of. For a lack of a better thing to do, the brunet went to the stove, grabbed a nearby kitchen towel and removed the kettle from the flames. There, much better. He vaguely noticed a tray full of small, delicate cups, each containing tea leaves, just waiting for hot water to cover them.
Deciding he had nothing better to do, Light grabbed the towel wrapped kettle again and started pouring hot water. He barely made it through the second cup, when the door opened and the woman called Reiko entered. Light was so surprised in being caught in the act twice in a night that he nearly dropped the kettle. He was feeling very stupid for what he had started doing just then.
"I... uh... it started boiling and I..." Light stammered uncharacteristically. He was very surprised that he, Light Yagami, social butterfly extraordinaire, as he was called behind his back, downright stammered. But, then again, randomly pouring tea in a complete stranger's house wasn't exactly something he did daily.
Instead of being angry and whatnot, the woman just laughed heartily. "Don't worry dear, it's not like I'm going to sentence you to death for merely pouring tea. Quite the contrary, thank you for doing so." She went to examine the cups, nodding approvingly at their state. "Come on, your parents are here, you should be there for the conversation." Finally a person who thought so...
The woman finished pouring the tea in his place and grabbed the tray afterwards. She led him out of the kitchen and through the opposite door, where animated chatting could be heard. Upon opening the door, Light was welcomed with a very hospitable-looking living room. A big bookshelf decorated the entire front wall, leaving only a mere space for a modern television. The walls held sophisticated paintings and the wooden floor was covered with a fine dark-red carpet. The dark leather couch and armchairs in the middle of the room were very inviting.
The people sitting in them, however, were not.
"Light." His father turned, a deep frown on his face. Said teenager sighed and took a step forward. "We will have to have a – is that maple syrup in hour hair?!" he suddenly asked, taken aback by his son's unusual ruffled state.
Light sighed in his usual manner that was very audible but not overdramatic. "It's a long story, dad." he muttered in fake embarrassment.
"Oh, no, actually I'd like to hear it." his father answered in a stern tone.
Light mentally gulped. He was not relating that pathetic moment, even if it might lessen his punishment. His audience waited for him to say something for a couple of seconds. The brunet was feeling more than a little uneasy, being the one standing in a group of staring, angry people. How did he get into this again?
"His bunch of hooligans and him," accountant-dude started when he noticed that Light wasn't going to say a word, "tried to send a boulder flying into my older son's room. Don't ask me how they wanted to do this or for what reason, because I haven't got the slightest clue."
Sachiko, his mother, gasped softly, while his father's gaze hardened. Light could almost feel bullets flying through the air to pierce his skin. "Is that true, Light?" Soichiro asked simply.
Light sighed again, this time mentally. What to do, what to do. Pleading innocent, now that he was caught in the act, wouldn't do him any good. He didn't want to take all the blame, but he was sure that none of his companions would admit to helping him if questioned. Oh, joy...
"Yes, dad, it's true. I admit I wasn't all for the idea, but I didn't stop them either." Light answered, head low, simulating the guilty teenager he wasn't. Actually, he wouldn't want anything more than to strangle the bastard who filled him in maple syrup and made him be caught while still innocent.
"And the syrup?" Light's mother asked in a low voice, gazing at the stubborn dark spots marking her son's beige shirt.
"I think I know how to answer that," Reiko said before Light could answer – not that he was eager to, mind you – "our older son tends to have... less usual methods of making justice. He probably saw what they were trying to do and decided to take revenge. We are deeply sorry and we assure you we shall pay the cleaning bill for the clothes." Now that was something. Light supposedly was the one damaging the house, and still he's the one getting paid?
Accountant-dude was ready to protest, but Soichiro beat him to it. "Not at all, madam! We should be the ones paying the damage."
"Oh, no, no! We can't accept your money! That would be incredibly rude!" the woman exclaimed, a beginning of a smile forming on her lips. Accountant-dude was now watching the exchange, his jaw dropping with every word. Funny how, after the initial shock, she was much more confident than her husband.
"Well, there must be some way we can pay you back for what happened." Sachiko tried.
"Actually, there might be something..." Reiko answered thoughtfully. Then she turned to her husband, "...what do you think, honey?"
The poor man, who had just then found his voice, exclaimed firmly, "Absolutely not! I'm not letting this... this... hooligan into my house!"
Geez, psycho much? Light couldn't help but think, imitating Misa's favourite way of talking. And what was this 'something' they were talking about? It seemed his parents were as curious about it as he was. They weren't trying to make Light their maid, were they? The brunet shuddered at the mere thought.
"Rue-san," Soichiro stated seriously, addressing the now arguing couple, "Whatever the task is, I assure you that Light will finish it without any problems. He may have made the wrong impression on you tonight, but I assure you that it was a first and that his normal behaving is exemplary. I, personally, have made sure of that."
Thanks for asking for my opinion, dad, Light couldn't help but think. But, then again, in his current position he had little to say. All he could do is play nice and accept whatever fate was placed upon him. It couldn't be that bad, right?
"See, Masahiro-kun?" Reiko smiled at her husband. That mere action made her look years younger, Light noted. "Let's give the boy a chance to prove you wrong."
Accountant-dude-called-Masahiro-kun glared draggers at Light for a couple of seconds, as if trying to read into his very soul. Then he gave it up. "Very well," he muttered grouchily, "but only if the kid gives his word not to do anything funny."
Everyone's eyes once again turned on Light, waiting for an answer. As if he could say 'no'. "I give my word I'll do my best to complete the task." Light said in mock seriousness. Luckily, nobody caught on to it and took it for granted.
"Well, now that that's settled," Sachiko said, smiling nervously, "what is it exactly that Light has to do?"
Light could tell that she was nervous about what she's gotten her son into. By the looks of it, so was Soichiro.
Masahiro gazed intently at each in the room and started his explanation. "My wife and I are leaving on holiday with a few relatives in a couple of days. We will be out of town for a week. Since this was the only period all of us could take a leave at the same time, we can't take our kids, as it's in the middle of the school semester. Unfortunately we're having a hard time finding a babysitter for such a long period of time."
Light stared. And stared. And stared some more. If he hadn't been so concerned about his image, he might have actually left his jaw drop. There was only a fair number of things Light Yagami would do under extreme situations.
Babysitting wasn't one of them.
"But..." he tried defending himself but, upon detailed inspection, desperation could be felt in his voice. He needed a good excuse. Pronto. "But what about school?" he asked, smug that he had found something his parents couldn't ignore. They wouldn't make their child miss classes, or possibly not have time for homework.
"Oh, don't worry about that! My children are smart, they will be able to manage a week at school without our supervision." Masahiro stated, smiling proudly.
This time Light actually left his jaw drop a little in shock, before managing to compose himself to his usual stoic mask again. The man's attitude was truly shocking. And people have the audacity to call Light boastful.
"Actually, Rue-san," Soichiro tried, looking surprised himself, "I think Light was talking about his own studies. His school is too far from here for walking." Thanks, dad. Despite knowing that his father was actually digging Light's grave, the brunet's pride couldn't have taken such a blow as having his intelligence publicly declared inferior to that of a maple throwing lunatic.
"Oh, but we could help him here. Our older son could drive him to school before going to collage. That way, the will arrive even earlier than usual." Reiko smiled, clueless.
Only one thing from the woman's monologue registered into Light's mind. So he actually is in collage. And they want me to babysit him?! I don't think I trust myself to be in the same car as him, much less if he's driving.
It seemed that his parents were thinking among the same things, since his father turned to Sachiko and mouthed the word 'college' to her, looking stricken.
"Um, that would be... err... wonderful!" Sachiko answered, smiling nervously.
"Great!" the woman exclaimed, clapping her hands in front of her chest and smiling like mad. Light was seriously starting to fear her. She then turned to the boy, "Yagami-kun, do you mind if I drop by tomorrow and leave you a list of what is expected of you on a daily basis? That is, of course, if you were so kind as to leave me your address."
Light nodded gravely. There was little else he could do.
He simply felt numb.
Out of all the things his stupid friends had gotten him into, this one was by far the worst. It was even worse than the time they dragged him camping and accidentally locked him inside the car for an entire night. Even now, years later, he still got an uncomfortable feeling while in a car. But this one? Light had a feeling this was going to end much, much worse. He had always had a thing for kids. The bad sort. His sister, Sayu, was the only person noticeably younger than himself that he got along with.
And they actually wanted him to take care of two people he had no idea about! He only knew that one was in collage and enjoyed covering people in syrup and the other owned Lego pieces. Light shuddered at his lack of information on the matter. This was extremely out of his character.
He continued being numb through the rest of the night. He nodded his head – and nothing more – as farewell to the Rue couple, he maintained he awfully severe silence in his father's car on their way home, he bravely endured an interminable lecture from his father, never objecting to anything, and he quietly went to his room after a late dinner, not even bothering to change before he hit his bed with a loud thud and instantly fell asleep.
But all the time only one thought passed through his over-intelligent mind.
How was he going to get out of this one?!
-
-
-
Light was awake long before his alarm clock rang, despite it being a Saturday.
As usual, he lay on his back, wide awake, gazing at his blank ceiling. He vaguely noticed he wasn't wearing pyjamas, but that could wait. Right now he was lost in thought, mentally preparing himself for a new day.
And man, did he have a weird dream last night. And it felt disturbingly real too. It started with going out with his moronic friends, as usual, but then incredibly ridiculous things happened: he got splashed in maple syrup, he got left for dead by his companions and caught by the enemy, and he had to pay for some ambiguous injustice by babysitting.
Good thing it was only a dream.
The brunet stretched lazily in his comfortable bed, before removing the covers to get up. He noticed he was still wearing shoes. That was weird. He had never done something so careless before. Unless... no, it couldn't be.
He was heading for the door when something caught his attention. It was a single sheet of paper, placed on his inhumanly tidy desk. It was impossible not to notice it. But what was it doing there? The situation looked awfully familiar, compared to...
Mentally gulping, Light shakily walked to his desk. Upon reaching it, he extended a hand slowly and grabbed the paper, scanning his eyes over it briefly.
List
make breakfast (Ryuuzaki-kun prefers pancakes, but Nate-kun needs his vitamins, so he must be given cereals and orange juice)
prepare snacks for Nate-kun (sandwich + fruit)
make sure that ...
He skipped the list and gazed at the name signed at he bottom. Reika Rue.
So it wasn't a dream. Every little disturbing detail actually happened last night. And even worse. He truly had to babysit.
Light dropped the paper.
And screamed.
-
-
-
A/N: And here it is, everyone! My first Death Note fic, so please be gentle :) This is actually the second version of what I planned to be the first chapter. Yes, I'm that obsessed with it ending up good .
It's more of a prologue, to trigger the plot and somewhat introduce the characters. Also, the name confusions/variances will be explained in the next chapter.
Speaking of which, it's still under construction, but reviews do give me a huge boost *HINT HINT* xD