Hello lovelies! Having a good day? I know I am...


Friday, April 13th 2007

Mai had forgotten all about that ridiculous lie she told her mother just days after she transferred from her Criminal Law major to her Journalism one.

The setup had been ironically similar to the one she found herself in now: pajamas, lounging in her sofa while her laptop dangled precariously on her crossed legs, her eyes dancing over the screen as she looked over what was essentially her job application.

"How are classes going dear?" Natsuki had asked sweetly.

"Alright," she replied distractedly, not bothering to keep that fact out of her voice.

As she expected, her mother noticed instantly. "Are you busy? I could call later…"

"What? Oh, no! This is fine," she said. "It's just that we got this big project already – my partner emailed me something to help it out, so I'm just taking a look at it."

As long as she always mentioned something about Criminal Law once in a while – a special guest speaker in class, a field trip, a group project – her mother's curiosity would be satisfied. She smirked; keeping her transfer a secret would be too easy.

"Oh, that's wonderful! What's their name?"

Honestly, she should have seen it coming. She should have created a list of people for situations like this.

"Yagami Raito," she blurted out, glancing up to the ceiling and willing her brain to come up with something – anything, as to why she would even have a chance to work with the genius. "We were put in alphabetical pairs," she said lamely.

"Light…" her Americanized accent changed the pronunciation of his name. "He's the one who gave the speech at the beginning of the year, right? Along with the other weirdo…" she said thoughtfully. "I don't remember what he looked like, but he was definitely better dressed!"

Natsuki could be such a child sometimes. "Yeah, that's the one," Mai confirmed, sweat-dropping slightly. "He wants me to get back to him as soon as possible so –"

"Yes, yes, I shan't keep you on the phone any longer! Let me know how this project of yours turns out! I love you," she said cheerfully.

Mai sighed in relief. Utter success. If she knew Natsuki well – which she did – her mother would never bother to look into her daughter's words. She was easy to manipulate, especially now that her father was dead and Mai wasn't living under the Yamada roof anymore.

"I love you too, mom. I'll talk to you later."

Several weeks later, Mai was growing frustrated with her mother's nudges (read: shoves) to get her to introduce Yagami to her.

"I've told you several times mom," she irritatedly growled out, "He's a busy guy! He doesn't even live on campus, so it's not like I could just go to his dorm and hand him the phone."

"But Mai," she whined, "he sounds so romantic! Smart, tall, handsome, popular – why aren't you all over him?"

Because I've never spoken to the damn guy before, she thought to herself, running a hand through her long hair. "I didn't come here to date mom," she noted. "I came here to get a degree. I'm not thinking about dating in anyway."

And wasn't that the truth. While she was a high school student, she had been considered something of a skank. She wasn't seen with the same boy (or the occasional girl) for more than one week, and other girls looked at her with disapproval in their eyes.

To this day, she wasn't sure what triggered her dating rampage. No, that wasn't right. She knew what caused it – the death of Yamada Shin was possibly the worst thing that could have ever happened to her. Her father had been her rock, her sun, her everything. He could take one look at her impassive face and tell what she was thinking, and vice-versa. She was her father's daughter, through and through. When they had a fallout, it had been anything but pleasant. Hurtful things had been said, and tears were shed by both parties. Unfortunately, neither of them had a chance to apologize to the other before their lives were changed forever.

"Oh honey," her mother sighed sadly. "I understand. You take as much time as you need, alright?"

Mai barely heard her. Her eyes were bright and unfocused, thinking about the past. Reminiscing on better days...


Friday, May 25th 2007

Truth be told, she wasn't if she could do this. Sure, she had lots of information (read: blackmail material) on several faculty and students. But implementing plans with said information was completely different. And then there was the issue of confronting Yagami Light.

She ran a hand down her face wearily. What a fucking pain in the ass…Yamada Shin had always said lies come back in the most unpleasant of ways, but this was absolutely ridiculous. Gathering herself, she took a deep breath and got to work. She needed everything set up as soon as possible. Starting with target one.

Hayashi Ryo was the professor of Criminology 101: Intro to Criminology. He was a serious man with an imposing figure, and no one ever dared to mess with him. But they didn't have information, not like she did.

Yamada Mai had always been a curious little girl growing up. She had been observant, inquisitive, and – dare she admit it to anyone but herself – annoying. She liked to poke her nose where it didn't belong, not for opinions, but just to know. Knowledge is power – that was her motto in life. Information that no one else had access to was the only way to get people at your feet.

She dropped her head into her knees, closing her eyes and thinking. Who was Hayashi, what did she have…

Her mind flashed back to the day she went to her counselor in order to confirm her major change. She had seen him, but where…

Behind closed lids, her eyes rolled back and she went through each second, each interaction, each small glance…there.


Monday, May 28th 2007

It took a few days to get everything she needed for this plan.

She waited until he was making his way into the Nakamura Building of History. From what she knew, he liked to order coffee before making his way into his secondary office, and took walk-in students for an hour before he taught class. She couldn't wait until he ordered the coffee – he would immediately be bombarded by students. And this wasn't a conversation she'd want to have with possible eavesdroppers.

"Accidentally" bumping into him, she gasped and turned on her game face. "Oh no! I'm so sorry Hayashi-sensei! Let me help you out…"

"Watch where you're going," he snapped, but crouched down and began picking up his files.

Her long tresses hid her face as she smirked. This was too easy…students were in too much of a rush to help out, and as human nature dictated, as soon as they saw that one person was helping the victim, no one bothered themselves with attempting to be polite anymore.

"Ne, Hayashi-sensei," she began in her most angelic voice, "I know this may not seem like the most opportune moment, but I'd like to talk to you about something. You see, I saw you a couple of days with a student, what was her name…"

He tensed up. Mai smirked. Perfect…

"Oh, I remember! Sato Izumi correct? I don't know her too well, but she's a friend of a friend, and well…" she paused for dramatic effect. "I heard she was pregnant, and from a professor no less! Imagine my surprise when I saw you two together after dark, looking very intimate."

Hayashi was pale, and his eyes glanced around frantically looking for eavesdroppers. He quickly rose to his feet, grabbing Mai harshly by her arm and dragging her up the stairs. The elevator would be too crowded and she would be able to get away; she understood his actions.

As she was roughly shoved into his office, she dropped her mask and glared up at him. Now came the hard part – admitting she needed him.

"How dare you accuse me of having sexual relations with a student?" he roared (read: hissed). "I've never even heard of this Sato Izumi! What proof do you have?"

Without a word, she handed him a copy of the picture she had of them together. They were standing in the parking lot of the campus, and Sato was leaning against the hood of an expensive looking sports car. Her head was tilted, her eyes closed in passion and a slight smile frozen on her face. Hayashi used one strong hand to lean against the car, while the other was wrapped around Sato's thin waist. His face was buried in her neck, but no one else on campus had such a powerful physique. Even if he attempted to deny it, the suspicion would at least put him on suspension till the problem had been cleared. He couldn't risk that, especially since he was about to be promoted.

Mai watched him carefully as his eyes flashed through several emotions then finally settling on rage. Thank goodness, that was honestly the easiest to deal with – apart from acceptance, of course.

"What makes you think I won't just rip this picture up?" he snarled.

"Don't be naïve, Hayashi-kun." He twitched at the change in honorific. "I have several copies of this, hidden in several different places. Destroy one and I'll send two more. Destroy those and I'll send four. You have no chance."

She let him digest the situation he was in. He was weighing out his options, seeing if there was anyway – anything at all – that could get him out of this predicament. She knew this desperation intimately. She knew where it would lead – ah, there it was. Submission.

"What do you want? Money? Grade tampering? An internship?"

She snorted. "No, nothing that simple. I come from a well off family, and I wouldn't go to such lengths if I just wanted some opportunity. As a matter of fact, I probably would have just fucked you myself if that was the case."

He looked absolutely revolted.

"In any case, what I need is a little more…delicate. You see, I applied for To-Oh under the claim of a Criminal Law major, but after a little while, I realized that's just not what I want for my life. So I switched majors, without telling my mother. And let me tell you something about my mother," she said as she sat in his chair and kicked her legs up onto his desk, "she is insane. The amount of bullshit I would have to deal with if I even mentioned the thought of changing my major, she would absolutely freak out.

"Not telling her had been working out fine…but now she's got it in her head that she has to come visit me, see my classes, "take in the sights" in her own words – and everything will go to shit! What if she asks to speak to a professor? What if she wants to see an unofficial transcript! I'll be doomed!"

She ran a weary hand over a face and sighed. Honestly, her mother alone would give her grey hairs before she hit 25.

"Anyway," she continued, "That's why I need your help. I need you to fake a transcript for me. One that any other Criminal Law undergrad would have. I have straight A's, so the grades and GPA can stay the same. It's going to be about a week and a half before she leaves America, but I'd like to have it by this Friday, just to look it over."

Hayashi just gaped senselessly at her. She took it for acceptance, and continued. "I'll leave an email address for you to send the transcript to. Once you send it, delete the file immediately. No traces. Understood?"

He said nothing as she quickly scribbled her personal email address behind the incriminating photograph. Waving it at him when she was done, she pulled open the first drawer of the desk – only to find several unopened condoms.

"Ew!" she exclaimed, leaping to her feet. "I can't believe you guys do it in here! That's so gross!" She shuddered but nonetheless dropped the picture in there.

As she headed to the door, she reached up and patted him on the shoulder. "Chin up, Hayashi-kun. I actually have good news for you! Your Izumi-chan isn't actually pregnant! It was just a rumor I made up, to garner your reaction. Thanks for making my job easier."

"Don't forget, Friday! I'll even forgive you if it's a little late. If it's not in my email by the time I wake up on Saturday morning …well, you better kiss that promotion to Head of Criminology goodbye, right?"

The door slammed shut behind her, leaving a distraught man who had no choice but to abide to a mere student's insane requests.

Mai's amber eyes hardened. The easiest part was over – now to actually tell the truth…


What a cunt! Ruining people's lives one day at a time, it's great! But where is Light? All in due time...3