Chapter 2: A verbis ad verbera
"Onee-tan! Look! Is it pretty?" Tiny fingers tugged at the hem of my blouse, bringing my attention to a vivid and scrawled landscape made by colorful crayons. In the middle of what appeared to be a flowered meadow, stood two feminine stick figures; a woman and a little girl. They were holding hands, their maroon lips stretching in abnormally big smiles, violet butterflies fluttering around them.
"Oh my! Such a beautiful drawing Nene-chan!" The little girl giggled embarrassed and her cherub face was tinted pink. Chuckling at her antics, I kneeled to her level and gently took the drawing from her hands, staring at it in overreacted awe.
"Is that you and me?" She nodded quickly, still a bit flustered from the previous compliment. "I didn't know you thought I was this pretty. I'm flattered, Nene-chan. You really have a gift."
"Hikari Onee-tan IS pretty" She chimed in while grabbing my face in a soft grip, as if to prove her point. Without a warning, her happy expression was quickly replaced by a disheartening pout. "I'm glad Hikari-tan liked it. I thought Hikari-tan would get angrier at me for drawing something like this." I frowned in confusion before slipping on my professional mask again. A gentle hand was placed on the girl's shoulder.
"Why would I ever be angry at you? What gave you that idea?" Her eyes drifted to the floor as she started to twiddle her thumbs.
"Onee-tan has been looking upset since this morning. I thought I had done something wrong." She explained weakly.
Her sullen face was like a slap to mine and I immediately understood what she was talking about. Repressing a grimace, I tried to use the most cheerful voice I could muster.
"Oh, no. I am so sorry Nene-chan, I wasn´t mad at you. A boy was just really mean to me yesterday and I guess I was still a bit ruffled by it." Her dark eyes suddenly lit up after hearing my apology, and that would have put me at ease if it hadn´t been for the mischievous fire that glimmered inside them.
"Heh!? Onee-tan has a prince?!" She squealed and grabbed my hands, making me choke on literally nothing. "How long do you know him? Have you two held hands already? Are you going to have many babies? Can I be the bridesmaid in your wedding? Moooo, you should have told me sooner, Onee-tan!" The infant rambled, puffing her cheeks as she finished. I gawked stupidly at the child in front of me. Her words sank very slowly and once they registered, it took me most of my willpower not to cackle like a maniac and start rolling on my own tears. My effort proved to be in vain and stifled chuckles escaped from my lips. Deciding which idea was the most ludicrous, whether it was that Light could be compared to something as gentle as a prince or him standing next to me on an altar, was certainly being one of the most difficult choices I had yet to make in this week.
"Eeehh?! What's so funny?" The round faced, dark eyed girl gave me a confused look. I cleared my throat and regained my composure before Nene could feel offended. It would have been bad if she concluded that the cause of my amusement was the thought of her being stupid, which was not. Let's just say that the image of Light wearing a peruke and gaudy breeches wouldn't disappear from my mind anytime soon. Good Lord, I would probably think about it every time I felt down. But Yumeni Nene wouldn't know about this, instead she would assume that I was making fun of her. She was really sensitive about her learning disability. Six years of been disparaged and called "slow" by other kids had messed up with the girl's self-esteem. It had been very difficult to earn her trust, even taking me almost a year to do so. Most of the community service volunteers had given up on her, which gained me the job. So I wasn't about to ruin it, especially not thanks to a fantasy involving the same jerk I wanted to forget for now.
"It's nothing, Nene-chan. I just wouldn't call him a prince. He is more like the evil and handsome magician who is behind all the misfortune of the kingdom, but nobody suspects of." My explanation was accompanied by a gentle tap on the child's nose. Instead of nodding comprehensible like I thought she would do, the girl decided to insist.
"Soooo, you admit he is handsome!" I spluttered at this.
"I just said he is evil, Nene-chan…"
"That doesn't matter, Onee-tan! If you say he was annoying you…" She interrupted me, and made a dramatic pause before continuing. Her chest inflated with pride, as if she had just discovered the answer of the universe's existence "Then that must mean he likes you!"
Her words only shook me a bit, already half-expecting such an answer influenced by her childish logic. I pondered on whether to tell her or not that this is not how it exactly worked with grownups. I heard Caliel sigh by my side, and for the first time in a couple of hours, I took notice of him. Usually, I paid him no mind while working or volunteering; not wanting to create more rumors than those that already plagued me.
"Human kids get weirder every generation." I nodded silently and kept on listening the girl's chatter, vaguely hearing something about how handsome villains were so dreamy and mysterious.
"Imagine, an evil magician falling in love with a pure hearted princess! It's really romantic if you think about it, Onee-tan!" She exclaimed, a love-struck expression on her face, as if picturing her own dark knight. "It would be love at first sight for him, and then he would take her to his castle and make her his queen!" Nene was squealing again at this point and I was starting to agree with Caliel. Girls these days were getting creepier if they thought that a story similar to Hades and Persephone's tale was romantic. I mean, I understood that some did. But a man kidnapping a woman and forcing her to stay in his domain, separating her from her family and friends, until she developed Stockholm syndrome, wasn't exactly my idea of a romantic story. Heavens no.
"So, what does he look like? Is he taller than you?" She asked, finally out of breath. Finally.
"Yeah, he is like a head taller." I was confused by her sudden random question and responded automatically.
"That's good! Now Nee-tan will be able to hear his heart beat faster while he holds you in his arms!" Hold me in his…?! Nope, I was one hundredth percent done. God, this is why you didn't let children watch soap operas. Caliel shivered visibly next to me. My eyes widened in surprise.
This kid could make a demon shiver. And not any demon; she could make arrogant-pain in the arse- kick to my bladder-insufferable-prideful little prat Caliel shiver. What the actual eff. A lopsided smile formed on my face and the black angel glared at me. Her babbling wasn't actually that bad. Yep, I should carry this kid more often around me.
"…Do you think I could name one of your seven babies? How about Mizuki, I think it's pretty. Wa- don't look at me like that Onee-tan. Seven babies is the perfect number! Unless you want more! You can make more with him if you want to." She knitted her brows pensive for a moment. "By the way, how do you make babies, Hika-tan?"
Or maybe not. Taking a deep breath, I decided it was time to stop this madness.
"Look, Nene-chan. I know this boy is handsome and all. But he was really mean to me, It doesn´t matter if he likes me or not, he shouldn't do it. Princes should be gentle with their damsels and evil magicians with their princesses. Don't you agree, Nene-chan? Would you stay calm if you saw a boy mistreating me, even if he was handsome?"
My speech appeared to do the trick, because as soon as those words left my mouth, the girl's eyes fell to the floor in shame.
"No…" She muttered. "I would hit him in the special place mommy told me." My eyebrows arched in amusement.
"Special place…?"
"Hai! She told me that if a stranger tried to do something suspicious to me, I should hit him in his special place and run." She lifted her leg in a kicking motion and I laughed. Her mother was teaching her right.
"Oh, first you're a painter, and now a bodyguard as well? Is there something you can't do, Nene-chan?"
"Hikari-san!" My eyes lifted, setting themselves on one of my co-workers who was currently pointing at her wristwatch. I looked at my own cheap one, and found out it was nearly the end of today's program.
"It appears to be time to pack your things up, kiddo." I informed her. She bit her lower lip and gave me the cutest puppy eyes she could muster.
"Mooooo, Hika-tan! At least tell me what he did do to you!"
What he did do to me, huh?
It was hard to explain. Most would even find the reasoning childish, which was more than justified if an outsider had been the one to witness our exchange. For a bystander it would have appeared as if Light and I were just discussing our project like civilized people. Hell, even I considered it may have been an overreaction from my part, but replaying the events in my head I finally decided it was not.
"We should start to do a research on relevant British authors and look for a novel. I'll make a list and…." As soon as he started with this proposition, I knew that he would try to take the reins of the entire project without asking for my opinion. The meaning of this was clear to me. Light probably thought of me as an useless and incompetent person. And while normally I didn't feel like needing to prove myself to the rest, I decided to take the challenge. This was a matter of pride.
"Actually, I know the perfect book." This statement of mine had been accompanied with a confident grin, which threw Light a bit off.
"Oh, you do?" He had asked, his voice coated in exposed doubt. His head was leaned casually on his hand as he watched me with barely lidded eyes. I noticed that his skin was porcelain perfect, as if puberty had been an unfamiliar concept to him during his younger years. I casually touched the pimple's scars on my temple, growing a bit resentful towards him and his perfection, but then brushed the ridiculous feelings aside. It would have been foolish to get angry when he wasn't even trying.
"I was thinking about The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Have you heard about it, Yagami-san?"
"I have." He nodded rather absentmindedly. "It's a well-known title."
"It is." I agreed. "But even if many have heard about it, just a few have actually read it. The book is a bit short, but that's perfect considering the small amount of time we have.
Besides, despite its length, the novel has rather a lot of material we can present about. You haven't read the book, have you?" Strangely that question wasn't aimed to provoke him as I initially planned. I didn't wait for him to answer before continuing.
"The story revolves around different characters, one being this Lawyer, Utterson, who is Dr. Jekyll's friend. He is strolling one day with an acquaintance when he is told about a man who had trampled over a small child. This man had given his name as Hyde, and was forced by other indignant bystanders to pay a sum of money for the child's welfare." I had started to summarize the story for him, almost losing the train of thought when I saw he was actually paying attention to me, listening to the story. I cleared my throat and resumed.
"Well, Utterson becomes naturally interested, because Hyde happens to be the man who will inherit all of Dr. Jekyll's fortune. He finds him and instantly dislikes him. Afterwards he decides to talk with Jekyll, but he refuses to discuss about the topic and insist that what has been written in his will must be executed as it says. The thing is that everything gets complicated about a year later, when Hyde is accused of murder. Lot of events follows subsequently, but to sum everything up…"
"Jekyll and Hyde was the same person the whole time." Light had finished for me; a knowing little smirk was plastered on his face. I returned the smile automatically, not even annoyed by his interruption.
"I see the ending has already been ruined to you. Well? Doesn't it sound like an interesting topic? I'm talking about dualism; the moral opposites. Jekyll confesses in a letter that since his birth he had been blessed with a large inheritance, a healthy body and a decent nature. He maintains a respectable image in public and hides his darker and more frivolous side. He lives a dual life and feels ashamed of his demons. This leads him to the study of human nature in hope to divide his own. He wishes to separate the good and the evil, accidentally creating his other identity: Mr. Hyde." The look on Light's expression after finishing my explanation had practically made my entire day.
"Dualism… that is actually a very good idea." I must confess that his admission had made me feel quite satisfied with myself. Having Japan's best student acknowledging my idea was gratifying. I had to repress the urge to start bouncing on the spot and whoop about my brilliance while chanting in broken English "In yar face, who's da mastar?!" I was actually quite close to do so.
"I assume you have a copy you can lend to me, right?
"Of course."
"Great. It would be the best if we could start this project of ours as soon as possible. We should meet during the weekend."
"Sure, Sundays are no problem for me. Uhm… but I'm busy on Saturdays from 08:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Is that an issue?"
He had stared at me curiously, but didn't ask any more questions "No, not really. You can come to my house around two o'clock in the afternoon. Give me your number so I can mail you my address."
Just like that, a truce had been signed between us. There was no tension as we both took our cellphones out of our respective pockets and exchanged numbers. His bothersome arrogance had disappeared alongside my murderous aura. We had reached an understanding, where he had apparently somewhat acknowledged my intelligence, while I conceded he may not have been such an a-hole as I first thought. At that moment, I was patting myself on the back, happy that things had turned out so well. What could have possibly ruined a moment like that? Apparently, my own stupidity. Because somehow, I had forgotten to mention something crucial to my partner-to-be, and this had been the downfall for our short-lived agreement.
"I don't think that three weekends will suffice. We should also work together some days after school." Just like that, my smile had vanished and my eyes started wandering in nervousness. His request was simple, even expected. But fulfilling it was impossible for me, and I was already starting to have an idea about how much this was going to affect my recently gained credibility.
"I'm sorry, Yagami-san… I can't. I'm busy after school from Mondays to Fridays. But we can divide the work and I'll do my share at home, and then we can revise it together at the end of the week." There is a special kind of student; the typical lackadaisical fellow, the one who barely passes the year thanks to a minimal amount of effort and lots of cheating. Normally, one doesn't care much about those persons, as long as you aren't grouped together with them. Because let's be honest –nobody likes a freeloader –and that's what they basically are during an entire project. Annoying and unproductive, this "freeloaders" will always come at the last second possible with an excuse. They'll never move a single finger unless pressured, and make you work your hands to the bone so they can steal the whole credit at the end of the day. So yeah, not only are they lazy and infuriating, but they're also selfish, blood sucking, little shits who bath in the glory of your accomplishments.
And for the sake of being truthful, I'll clarify that being a drag to rest wasn't something I considered an asset. On the contrary, I preferred to sink alone in the boat than let everyone else drown with me. And I prided myself for this.
But seeing Light's eyes tarnished with exasperation and something akin to resignation had almost made me throw that part of my dignity overboard. In his mind, I was probably being degraded from an inferior being to a mere leech. At that moment, all the things I still had to explain to him –like the fact of my serious commitment to the project, or the truth behind my lack of time –were forgotten and replaced by total blankness instead. So I just waited, preparing myself for whatever complaint, insult or comment he had to give me, because maybe I probably deserved it. And then I would tell him about all the reasons behind my actions in order to reach a compromise. So when his next words had been the ones I hadn't prepared for, I lost it.
"Ianni-san, you should take this more seriously."
And Yagami Light had to be given some credit, because I hadn't gotten so tremendously furious since a long time ago. Not just angry, but really, absolutely enraged: That kind of emotional state where it is only possible to imagine at least ten ways to savagely murder the cause of your ire. In a matter of seconds, your soul becomes shaded, your thoughts unclear, instinct takes over and ending up doing something you'll probably regret becomes as easy as snapping your fingers.
And I would have probably done it, if it hadn't been for my guardian demon's warning.
"Hikari, stop." Caliel's soothing, but firm voice had broken me out of my trance, regaining me a bit of self-control. The chestnut haired boy was staring intently, waiting for a response –and thanks to my currently blank face –completely oblivious to the turmoil that was taking part inside of my mind. It took a few more seconds before I could pull myself together.
"I am taking this seriously, Yagami-san. But believe it or not, it just happens that I have work I must attend to." Then he had blinked in confusion, not much to the venom coating my words, but to the meaning these implied.
"Work?"
"Yes, Yagami-san, I work. Shocking, isn't it?" The back of my hand reached my forehead dramatically to put emphasis on the sarcasm."It seems not everyone has the luck to be as privileged as you are." His eyes widened almost comically and he stared at me as if seeing me for the first time. As soon as I finished that last sentence, I was already regretting it. It had been phrased way too tragic, made me appear as a weak little girl seeking after pity. I glanced around the room to check that nobody was prying into our "conversation", and inwardly sighed. Thankfully, Mister Haru had long stopped paying us attention, and the rest of our classmates were too busy discussing their own ideas.
Light facial features had morphed in honest guilt, though the sensible part of me had stopped caring and brushed his sentimentalisms under a rug of indifference.
"Ianni-san..." He began softly "I'm truly sorr…"
"Don't." I cut him off "Just stop talking. Don't apologize. Just forget about what I said."
He had opened his mouth, unwilling to drop it off, when suddenly the bell rang, silencing him. Chuckling humourlessly, I stood up and prepared to return to my seat.
"Don't dwell on it Yagami-san. We still have to choose three subtopics. I'll do my part of the research and tell you on Saturday" Turning around, I had barely glanced at his direction before adding"See you tomorrow, I guess. Don't forget to mail me your address." And that had been a pretty useless reminder, because how could Japan's most brilliant student forget about anything?
So here was I, just done with community service and riding a subway to the Yagami's household. A copy of Stevenson's novel lay inside my backpack. I had almost forgotten it at home this morning, surprised that Caliel hadn't actually reminded me of it. The dark angel seemed to dislike the teenager more than me, and that truly meant something, because normally he either liked someone or just didn't care about that person at all. The show of open hostility was new, and I couldn't help but to wonder how bad Yagami Light was to cause such a reaction from my best friend.
Revising the instructions my partner had indeed sent to me per mail, I decided to get off on the next stop. Making my way through the crowded streets, I saw Caliel wrinkling his nose in disgust. He hated multitudes so much; I had even given him my word on moving to a less populated area once I was independent enough to do so. I couldn't blame him though, because…
"Hurry up and get out of here. It reeks of sin." His tone was low, clearly expressing how deeply irritated he felt. I complied and hurried up my pace for consideration, entering a nicer and emptier neighbourhood without getting off route. The sky had become cloudy, as in synch with my mood. I didn't know whether to thank the day for this, or reprimand it for not trying to make me feel better with a bit of sunshine. And while bitching about my situation wasn't going to make it any better, I still had the right to do so. I would have to spend my next Saturdays and Oh-so-precious Sundays in the company of a big-headed snob, my temples were throbbing thanks to stress, Caliel was currently PMSsing and I was about to meet the family of the very same guy I had wanted to strangle just a day ago. This would be totally not awkward.
Oh, good afternoon Miss Yagami, nice to meet you. Your house looks absolutely lovely; you have such a good taste. I can´t imagine how a fine woman such as yourself could give birth to that monstrosity you call son. By the way, that piano is magnificent.
Yep, I wasn't making things easier for me, was I?
"Hikari, we are here." The black angel's voice interrupted me from my musings and I halted my steps to stare at a simple yet beautiful two storey house.
"Ah, so Yagami-dono doesn't live in a palace. How surprising." Caliel chuckled a bit at my dramatics, which gave me the perfect opportunity to mock him.
"Oh my God, you are actually laughing! The end is near!" He rolled his eyes, the hint of a smile still tugging at his lips.
"Stop being a coward and just press the intercom, bambina." He scolded playfully.
Feeling already in a better mood, I did as he said. A few seconds elapsed before a young, feminine voice made itself present.
"Yes? Who is this?"
"Good afternoon." I greeted politely "My name is Ianni Hikari, I'm looking for Light-san." The girl on the other line stayed silent, and I was starting to worry about my partner not being currently at home despite our compromise, or even worse, that he didn't want to see me and was planning on asking Mister Haru for a change of partners. My uneasiness disappeared as the girl started to talk again.
"Sure, wait for a second please." Releasing my breath, Caliel gave me a reassuring smile, indirectly telling me to calm down. I moved my shoulders in a circular motion, in an attempt to loosen their stiffness.
It's going to be okay. I chanted in my head. Tutto andrà bene. Puoi farlo!
"Liiiiight!" A yell could still be heard from the intercom. "Your girlfriend is looking for you!" I was instantly paralyzed on the spot.
No, I was not going to be okay! What the hell was the deal with girls nowadays?!
Heeeeey, Wavy is back! :3
Here is the vocabulary list:
Tutto andrà bene: Everything is going to be fine.
Puoi farlo!: You can do it!
A verbis ad verbera (Latin): From words to fists.
Aaand yep, that's it. Oh, I forgot to mention something. Some fans may have noticed that in the real Death Note it is revealed by Ryuk that neither Heaven nor Hell exists. Just Mu (nothingness), so I guess this makes this fanfiction slightly AU as well. Uhm, it's going to be a slightly different Heaven and Hell than those that appear in the catholic religion, but that's something we'll save for later.
Thanks to all who followed and favoured the story in the last chapter. And of course, I thank kathumi for my first (and only xD) review. I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistakes. And a review would be appreciated. Please, help me to become a better writer. I'll try to update as soon as I can.
*Rides on magic carpet* ¡Adiós, mis primores!
