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A DIFFERENT REFLECTION
SCENE I
Days before…
Light's POV:
Every day is just like a routine: I go to school, go home by four o'clock and hear the news at the public viewing all about the crimes during that day. Everything seems to be getting worse each day. Crimes are committed without hesitation. Murders are done without conscience anymore. And yet, people do not do anything about it. It does not mean they do not have the will and the power, it could be they are too lazy to do it or they are too anxious and just simply do not care. Without noticing it, justice is slowly losing its meaning in this world bit by bit. This world is too rotten and someone needs to change it. Someone has to take a step forward. But no one that has the power is brave enough to take that step yet.
All my life, I've wanted to be a member of NPA. I want to impose to everyone justice is still alive and that is going to give peace to this world. But it would still take me five more years before I could achieve it and I do not know what would happen to this world that I am currently standing now during those five years. There are too many possibilities and one of them could be the total destruction of this world.
It's currently my English class, the last subject of the day. I am looking outside, uninterested to listen to my professor since he is just picking students by random who would translate a line of an English book to Japanese for recitation. Most number of students in my class are not listening either. Our professor does not seem to mind.
"Yagami-kun!" I turn to my teacher as soon as I heard him calling my name.
"Can you please translate this line for us since a lot cannot answer this right?"
As usual, I thought to myself. I have been the top of my class ever since I started schooling. They say my IQ is very high and I'm gifted with all the knowledge and logical reasoning that I possess. Well, that explains why everyone in my class seems to be in a hard time keeping up with me.
I stand up, holding the book to my right and read out loud, "If you think this world does not have hope anymore, think again. We do not know what may happen and we should not give up."
"A perfect answer, Yagami-kun. As expected of you," my professor praises.
I sit back on my chair and look outside to my left when a random thought came to me in relation to the line that I had just read: What if I could wash out all the evil in this world? Would this world become a better place?
I shake my head. Wash out? That would only mean to kill them all. Would that not make me a murderer? Would not I be the same with them? What am I thinking? Such rubbish.
Finally, the school bell rings and classes for today are over. I pack my things in my school bag and stand.
"Light," someone calls my name. I turn around and I come face to face with my best friend, Hiroshi Sanada. He has short jet black hair and gray eyes. Many girls would turn to his direction when he passes by. "About that project, should we start buying our materials now?"
I nod. "I was thinking about that, too. Since we don't have any tests tomorrow, let's start doing it right away."
He nods and before we could descend the room, someone calls out my name. I turn around and see Asakura Eriko. She approaches me with her bag sling on her shoulder. She has long brown hair and jade green eyes which fits perfectly on her. Well, I cannot explain exactly what she is to me. We're hanging out and talking. Unlike the other girls, I'm comfortable whenever I'm around her. I would simply tell people when they ask me she's a friend but I don't know if it is the same with her or maybe she only looks at me as a classmate.
"Yagami-kun, teacher told me that we should pass our scrapbook of all our academic achievements tomorrow. Can you make it?"
Ah, right. I forgot to tell that Eriko is the only one that I'm treating as a real competitor when it comes to academics. She may not be as gifted as me with the brains but intelligent enough. The reason is I fall short and become number two when it comes to extra-curricular activities. I don't like to join clubs that much. But her? She is like wonder woman with all of the extra-curricular activities she is joining. I don't even know how she can manage all of it with just a little time the school is giving us.
I nod and smile. "Yes. I'm almost done anyway. How about you?"
She also nods and smiles back. "I'm done already."
"Really, Asakura-chan, tell me. You have been joining almost all of the clubs this school is providing. How do you manage your time? Do you still sleep?"
She lets out a light laugh. "Of course I still sleep. I would already be a living zombie if I don't. And to answer your other question, I don't even know how but I just do everything right away and take the every free time I have to finish everything."
"You mean you don't give all of your free time to yourself? I mean to relax, to enjoy and all?" asks Sanada in disbelief.
She chuckles. "Of course I still do."
"How?" he asks, again.
She shrugs. "I don't know. I just do everything as soon as I have the time that's why I can finish everything right on time and sometimes early."
"Right. Maybe that's the secret. I'll try to keep that in mind," I say in a smile.
"Oh, don't give me that, Yagami-kun. I should be the one learning from you. I really can't believe that a person like you exists. I mean look at you, you have the looks, the personality and the brains. You're almost perfect."
It's my turn to chuckle. "Well, almost is the word. No one can ever be perfect, right? Just right to the expectation."
She nods. "That seems like it. Well, I'll be going ahead now, Hiroshi-kun, Yagami-kun." She bows briefly and we bow in return before she leaves.
"Iku?" Sanada asks. I nod and together, we descend the stairs and walk out of the school grounds.
XXXA DIFFERENT REFLECTIONXXX
"So, we've already got the materials we need," he says, raising the plastic bag that he's currently holding which is filled with some of the things we need for our project. I also raise mine and I nod.
"Only one more thing: a book that we could use as our guide," I say.
"To the book store then," Sanada says.
We cross the street and go inside the book store. We go on separate ways in finding a good book for our project.
I decided to start my search near the entrance while Sanada started at the farther side of the bookstore. I find a book that has peak my interest. I get it from the rack and scan it. Seeing the book contains all of the details we need, I move toward where Sanada currently is and I let him see the book. After scanning, he nods approvingly and we go to the counter and fall in line to pay for the book.
I suddenly find myself looking outside, looking at a certain family of four. By the looks of it, they are finding a place where they can eat their dinner. They look very happy together, enjoying each other's company. My family has not done it in a very long time now because of my father's busy schedule with his work. I've missed those times.
Right at that very moment, I see a black notebook falling and hitting the alley way near the entrance of the bookstore. No one seems to notice. Weird. Many are passing by that alley way and the falling of the notebook was noticeable. Maybe even though some have noticed it, they just leave it there, not finding interest to it. Well, an exception of one.
"Light." I turn to my right and see Sanada has his eyes fixed on the notebook.
"The thing that fell a while ago, that's a notebook, right?" asks Sanada.
"Aa. That seems like it."
"I'm quite curious. I've seen it was not dropped by anyone who had passed by. Then, no one seems to notice. The notebook looked like it fell down out of nowhere."
"I don't think so. Maybe we haven't noticed who dropped it," I say. It's possible but unknowingly I seem to doubt my own reasoning. I've also seen it with my own two eyes and I clearly saw no one had dropped the notebook and it fell down out of nowhere. But then, it is impossible. The eyes can be tricky sometimes.
He shrugs. "Maybe. But my instincts tell the opposite. I really think that we should check it out."
I nod. There's nothing wrong if we would check it out, right? But there is something that does not feel right which I cannot pinpoint. I could feel an aura around that notebook and it is a bad one.
After paying for the book, we go out of the store and approach the notebook. We see it had fall face down on the floor.
I crouch and pick it up. I stand up and Sanada creeps beside me to have a better look on the black notebook. I turn it to see the front cover and it reads, "Death Note?" written in white with letterings that fits the title and in English.
"What? A notebook of death?" says Sanada intriguingly.
I let out a smile. "Calm down, Sanada-kun. Don't get too excited yet."
"Just open it already!" he exclaims impatiently.
I let out a chuckle and open it, hoping to find for an explanation. Luckily, I find notes behind the cover written in white and in English.
"English? Oh my, that's convenient. I hate English," he says bitterly.
"Good thing you have me, right?" I ask, a little too prideful than I intended.
"Okay, Yagami-kun, can you please translate them in Japanese?" he says, mimicking our English professor.
I give out a light laugh and proceed in reading. "How to use it… The human whose name is written in this note shall…" I suddenly stop, not believing in what I'm reading.
"Shall WHAT?"
"Die."
"What did you say?" he comments, clearly horrified.
I immediately close the notebook and place it back on the usual spot where we have picked it up. I allow my lips to let out a small curve and say, "Ridiculous."
"What?"
"Don't you see it? It's clearly some prank that the people are playing to see who would fall for it." I stop as I realize something. "Don't tell me you have fallen for it?" I tease.
"W-What? Me? Falling for that stupid prank? Of course not!" he waves his hand to emphasize.
I smile. "If you say so. Let's go home?"
His eyes are still fixed on the notebook and he does not answer me. I can see some uncertainty in his eyes. Does Sanada really think whatever the notebook has stated is real? I don't think so. They only happen in fairytales and we are clearly not in a fairy tale; we are in the real world.
"Sanada-kun," I call him once more.
Finally he hears me and asks me dumbfounded, "What…?"
"I said we should head home now. Dinner is near."
"A-ah, yes! But… can you wait for me for a while? I should buy something at the bakery."
"I'll come with you."
He nods and we move. Since the bakery is just a few meters away from the bookstore, I decided to keep watch on the notebook while Sanada buys, curious to see who would notice it next.
It has not been seconds when I feel a hand tapping my shoulder. I turn to see Murakawa Reina beaming at me. I sigh to myself. Not her again.
Who is she? Well, this year she had been on the run to make me fall for her and to become her boyfriend. She had been trying to seduce me so many times but instead of falling for her I start to despise her. I really disgust girls like her. Don't girls suppose to be modest, proper, reserved…
"Yagami-kun, it's such a surprise to see you here! What are you doing here?" she asks.
"Sanada wanted to buy bread," I reply. "And you?" I ask back, just for courtesy sakes.
"Me too!" She points at her driver. "I've thought I wanted to eat some bread and asked my driver to buy some for me but unexpectedly, I saw you and decided to greet you." She flirts. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. Obviously, she stopped by because she saw me here. Does she actually think I would believe her little lie? Murakawa Reina, one of the richest in Japan, would actually buy bread here? Impossible. She does not eat anything if it is not made by their personal chef.
"So," she adds. "Do you have something more to do today? Because if you don't we can have a stroll in the mall and eventually have dinner," she offers, giving me one of her seductive voices that she is so famous of to the boys but makes me so sick that I want to puke on her.
I try to answer as formally as possible, "I apologize but I believe I have a lot of things to attend to today."
"Oh? Is that so?" she says sadly. "Well, how about tomorrow?"
I quickly rack my brain for excuses and glad to have a reasonable one. "I'm afraid I will still be busy. The college entrance exams are near and I need to study on it very well. Once again, I apologize." Well, it's true and that's not only an excuse. I really have to study if I want to maintain my position as top of the class even in college.
She sighs a bit too dramatically and replies, "I'm so sad to hear it, Yagami-kun but I understand. Maybe after the exams we could do it?"
"We'll just see about it."
She nods and waves at me when she sees her driver positioning himself beside their black Mercedes, holding a small paper bag. "Well, I should go ahead now. Keep safe, Yagami-kun!"
Her driver quickly opens the back door for her. She waves at me one last time, wearing her seductive smile and I, also, wave back. She climbs in the car, the driver climbs back in the car and the car goes off.
I sense Sanada stops beside me. "She must be a real headache to you, huh Light?"
I just sigh in reply. Rejecting can't change anything when it comes to her. I've tried it since she first started to ask me out. I told her honestly and as gently as I can that I cannot return the feelings that she has for me and we can just be friends but instead of giving up, she became more aggressive to win my love and it brings shivers down my spine. My head suddenly jolts up as I remember something and abruptly turns it to the direction of the notebook. I'm clearly horrified and mentally slap and blame myself when I find it gone.
Watch out for the next scene!
There you have it! Thank you for reading! Not much action for this chapter yet since it is just the introduction.
What do you think? Did I portray Light properly? Please do leave your comments for this chapter!
By the way, I have opened a poll! Hope you'll vote! Also, I've made a visual of Asakura Eriko in deviantart(dot)com.
April 24, 2012
