A/N: Finally an update (I know I've been terrible :/). I predict that there will be one more part to the prologue (after this one) and then the actual story will begin. Also the rating has increased to M, mainly just to be safe, there are no actual lemons, but it is implied (I guess you could say I'm taking the Stephanie Meyer approach) and I don't wanna be done for it by the rating police if they're out there. There are some definitions at the bottom as well - just for some words that may not be familiar. With all that said, enjoy! x
Amaterasu's Absolution - Prologue (Part Two)
Year Two (12th January 2009 – 22nd February 2009) Age: 19 – 20
Hikari walked through the doors of her work building. Instead of going to the elevator, her zouri covered feet took her into a large room off to the side. Normally this room would be filled with work desks, but for one day every year, it was cleared out for the Coming of Age Day. There were many seats situated inside, all facing the small podium against the back wall. She was uncomfortable and had her hands in the sleeves of her furisode. One was nervously playing with the bracelet on her wrist.
Her hair and makeup was done by a professional, generously paid for by her mother as an apology for neither of her parents being able to take the day off work. Nothing changes for long. Hikari wondered whether work would get in the way of her birthday as well. She decided not to wear her glasses on this day, which made it easier for everyone to see her green eyes that surveyed the room as more people close to her age showed up, the murmuring around her also increased in volume.
She felt silly being here because she was not yet twenty, but because her birthday was only a month away, it saved her from waiting a whole year to celebrate. A tap on her shoulder caused her to turn to the side and when Hikari saw Raito sitting next to her, she smiled. Not because of his closeness but because she knew he was younger than her and was probably feeling worse. She noticed he was wearing his signature smart-looking suit, not daring enough to wear a traditional kimono and hakama like some of the guys that turned up did. It's not like he wears anything else anyway.
"You look beautiful."
"Thank you." Hikari whispered as she turned to the front, as the government officials were making their way to the stand. "You look the same." It was her subtle compliment, she had a feeling he would always be handsome, even without trying.
Long speeches were spoken and she found it hard to concentrate on them. They were boring and she wasn't particularly interested. Most of her attention was on how close Raito was sitting next to her. She could feel the heat radiating of off him and it was more distracting than her own boredom. Hikari jolted when she felt him place a hand on her knee, absentmindedly stroking her with his thumb. She tried to push his hand off but he used her action to start holding hands. Not wanting to create a scene, she left it, sending him a sideways glare.
The self-arrogant smirk he wore darkened her mood. Hikari went back to listening to the officials but they were soon drowned out by her thoughts of Ankh. The shinigami was still missing and she had gotten use to not having him around all the time. She stopped talking to herself but the tormenting still happened. She started eating cookies and milk, just like if she was a little girl again. A few tears were also shed every now and then.
Her busy schedule was now shared with the library. She must've read every single book there was on 'Death Gods'. Everything in her mind of what she read was fictitious and nothing to what Ankh had described to her. Hikari wished that he had told her more, like how one travels between the worlds. Without realising it, she had mumbled the shinigami's name and a squeeze from Raito's hand brought her back to the present. Everyone was clapping and so she joined in, glad it was over.
"Hikari! Raito! Come to the after party!" Someone from their group of friends shouted the offer across the room for everyone to hear.
"I don't know…" She began fiddling with the bracelet again, glad that the sleeves were wide so no one could see it.
"You should come, it will be fun. No one ever gets to see you because you're so busy these days." Raito reasoned.
The group of friends had come closer to them and were all nodding their heads at her. A persistent one started begging and pulling at her furisode until she reluctantly agreed.
Hikari nodded. "Fine, I will have to get changed first." She looked down at her formal attire.
They cheered and left the building to also get ready. Raito gave her his award-winning smile and reached over to squeeze her hand one more before heading over to his parents.
"You actually look nice when you're all dressed up." A voice startled her from behind and she quickly turned around to see who it was.
"Mr. Mikami, what are you doing here?" He bent down to kiss her cheek and she did the same to his.
"I do work in this building. I thought I would congratulate you, even if you aren't twenty yet." Teru's eyes looked over her shoulder and his eyebrows furrowed. "Who is that boy that was sitting next to you?"
"Him?" Hikari turned around and saw Raito glaring in their direction, his features lightened when he saw her looking. "He's no one special." Just my ex-boyfriend, oh and Kira. "I need to go home and get changed. I'm being made to go to an after party."
Teru gave her a disbelieving look but let it go. "Some of us have work. I don't want you ringing up sick tomorrow because you have a hangover, so I might see you then."
The blaring music coming from the house where the after party was located could be seen before heard. The house could be seen vibrating down the road and when inside, the music was almost deafening. There were a lot of people she recognised from a few of her classes but no one she really associated with. She was glad to have changed into something light because the house was stuffy with all of the people already in it. Hikari squealed as she felt herself get pulled into a much cooler room, a hand was placed over her mouth to prevent the noise escaping, though she would doubt anyone could hear her over the music.
"You're actually wearing it?" Raito sounded surprised as he held up her arm to get a closer look at the bracelet he gave her almost a year ago.
She nodded after allowing her heart to stop its racing beat. She had forgotten to take it off when she got changed earlier. "Why did you pull me in here?"
"Because in here we are alone, free to talk about and do anything." He ran his fingers through her hair and Hikari tried to not lean towards him. "Who was that man earlier?"
"Of course," She rolled her eyes. "Jealousy doesn't suit you Raito. He's my boss."
"He's just your boss?" His eyes narrowed and he tried to see if she was lying.
"Yes." Hikari pushed at his chest, which was a bad idea because she was able to feel how defined it was underneath the shirt. "If you're going to interrogate me, I would rather just join the rest of the party." She turned to leave but Raito pulled her back to him.
"Stay." He whispered into her ear, making it impossible to refuse him. "Let me go get some drinks and we can continue talking."
Once alone, Hikari took note of her surroundings. The room had a desk and a bookshelf filled with various types of books, she assumed because of the tidiness it was an office of some sort. Being by herself and away from Raito, she was able to breathe normally. She nervously started playing with the bracelet and sat on the plush couch to the side of the room.
"I'm surprised you didn't throw it away." Raito entered the room holding two bottles of sake in one hand and two cups in the other.
Got enough booze? Hikari stared back down at the engraved symbols on the bracelet. "You must've spent a lot on this. I didn't want it to go to waste." I might still like you, even though I won't let myself be with you.
He sat down next to her, a bit too close for her comfort and started pouring two drinks, handing her the first filled cup. They talked about a lot of things and it was some silent rule they had to stick with the safe topics. School, their upcoming birthdays, parents and even the weather came up at some point. Hours passed and the party continued outside of the room while Hikari and Raito were content with their conversation. The two sake bottles were on the ground and empty, another one soon to join it.
The bitter taste of the alcohol had been unpleasant to begin with but now, many cups later, Hikari was used to the taste and enjoyed the feel-free buzz it gave her. She had even dared to start an argument with him about whether Kira was killing criminals for justice or to only make his life easier when 'he' became a detective. They ended the argument in laughter and she found herself in his arms without quite remembering how she got into them.
"I still care deeply for you Hikari." Raito mumbled, holding her head to him and taking in a whiff of her smell.
Hikari nodded, she couldn't trust herself to speak, but ending up doing so. "I will always love you Raito, but with what you made me do-"
He cut her off by pressing his lips against hers. He tasted like the sake they were both drinking. She didn't know whether to blame her inebriated state or her want, but she started kissing him back. His tongue traced some imaginary pattern against hers as he leaned back on the couch until they were both horizontal. The rest of the time passed in a blur. Other people at different times entered the room and soon left after realising it was already occupied by the pair.
The next moment Hikari was on her bed, still making out with Raito. She tried to think back and remember how they got here but it was all blank. A moan left her as she felt his hand encased her breast and gave it a gentle squeeze. Her hands pulled at his hair, she liked the feeling of its smooth texture and the grunt he would make if she pulled too hard. The effects of the sake were still dominating her mind and actions. She wasn't fully aware of what was happening and only cared that it made her feel good.
It was the first waking up that she had ever felt pain, a headache was pounding inside her head and she just wanted it to go away. Is this what a hangover is? It sucks! Hikari tried to get up so that she could take some pills to ease the pain but found herself restricted. Around her waist was an arm and something was behind her, keeping her back warm. A fuzzy replay of the previous night's events went through her mind. The party, kissing Raito and kissing him while in her room. She couldn't remember anything else, no matter how hard she tried. The headache didn't help either.
"Morning." Raito said, kissing her bare shoulder.
Hikari then came to the realisation that she was naked. "Do you remember what happened last night?"
"Bits and pieces."
"Oh no, oh no!" She threw his arm off of her and got out of the bed, headache forgotten temporarily, and she tried to find some clothes to get dressed. "We did it. Oh God, we actually did it."
Raito also got up, finding his own clothes to put on. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad."
"Did we use protection?" Hikari searched the room for any signs of some. "What if I get pregnant? I'm too young to be pregnant. I haven't even finished school yet." She paced around her room, unable to stop the thoughts from racing through her mind and out her mouth.
"Calm down, I found it." He held up a condom that looked used, for her to see.
"Eww, don't show me it! Put it in the bin." It just made what happened last night real and even though she should be glad that she wouldn't be getting pregnant, it didn't make her feel any better.
"Should I leave?" Raito asked, looking at her dishevelled form.
"Yes."
He stood there a while longer, thinking up of a way to make her feel better. He didn't regret anything that happened and he wouldn't admit it aloud but it hurt him to think that Hikari did. She heard murmuring downstairs as Raito left, it was just her luck that her parents had decided to take today off work. Sitting on her bed, she found her cell phone and dialled Teru's number. The painkillers were going to have to wait until her parents were somewhere else because she didn't want to face any confrontations.
"Hikari is something wrong? You're an hour late to work."
"Yes." Hikari was positive she couldn't say the real answer to why she didn't want to go into work. "Sorry I didn't call earlier, you were right. I drank too much sake…"
"I'll see you after University tomorrow then. Drink lots of-"
She rudely hung up and threw her phone beside her. Holding her head with her hands to try and lessen the headache's pain, she started crying. The tears were caused by many things such as the pain, feeling sorry for herself, the mess she got into and how Ankh wasn't here for her.
Teru led her to one of the tables in the middle of the restaurant. It was her birthday and just as predicted, her parents were working, so her boss decided to take her out for the night instead. Hikari went into work because it was the preferable option compared to staying home alone. The background noise of low conversations stopped any silence between them from being awkward as they were seated. She regretted looking around the place because she saw Raito at the opposite side, with the rest of his family, staring at her. His eyes were narrowed in a glare.
Teru excused himself to go to the bathroom as they waited for their meal to arrive and her eyes went back to the spot at the other side of the room to find that the person she was going to look at wasn't there.
"I thought you said he was just your boss." Raito sat down in Teru's empty seat.
"I'm not talking to you about this. Teru is celebrating my birthday with me." Hikari took a sip of the water that was placed in front of her.
"You haven't been answering my calls."
"I've been ignoring you." She saw her boss making his way back over to them. "Can you leave please?"
Raito looked in the same direction as her and glowered, standing up he left, but not before accidently shoulder bumping Teru.
"I thought you said he was no one special." Teru commented, ignoring the way she snorted after drinking more water.
Maybe they have some things in common? "Can we not talk about it tonight?" Hikari said, taking off her glasses. "You're supposed to be helping me celebrate my birthday because my parents just don't care."
He nodded and their meals arrived shortly after. The conversation stopped as they started eating and she couldn't stop the feeling of someone watching her, and knowing who it was didn't lessen the chills that went down her spine. Not wanting to ruin the newly fixed mood, Hikari ignored him.
A/N: Some definitions - just in case.
Zouri – sandal type shoes
Furisode – fancy wide-sleeved kimono
Kimono – traditional Japanese clothing
Hakama – traditional Japanese pant-like clothing