Another acid-esque chapter.
There is an OC introduced here by the name of Hinata Kozakura. If anyone notes who she truly is in the parallel world, I will send so many cyber-cakes that you will implode.
Don't own Death Note, guys.
…
2
One of the orphan children picks up word of the execution on her way back from the village shopping district.
By now, the entirety of the town is chattering and spinning lengthy anecdotes of Fiona Keehl's death; the graceful swing of the blade, her severed speech, the stunned gasps and cheers from the throats of the audience at her feet. The surreal news, having unwillingly made it to her ears in the midst of swiping an apple from a stand, has caused her to drop her loot and flee back to the orphanage as fast as her spindly legs will carry her.
Heaving and wheezing, Hinata Kozakura threads in and out of the throng of townspeople, the damp earth staining her feet and ankles. Her tiny fists are clenched, pushing her onward, and the orphanage appears within her sight, tucked away within tall trees of green and dying brown. The dirt path invites her in, and she sprints harder.
The village orphanage is a sloppy assortment of brick and bamboo, lacking windows and reaching only two stories high. The children beneath its flat roof range from newborns to teenagers, their parents dead or careless, but the crumbling walls are only just enough to keep out the weather and wind. It is a tired old building with an equally exhausted front door that Hinata flings open, and she darts down the narrow corridor, lungs screaming behind her ribs. The children she passes stare at her curiosly, their eyes a dark blur, and Hinata runs until she meets the desired office.
Without knocking, she opens the door and throws herself into the room. "Mr. Watari! I've just heard about-"
She stops when she sees that the white-haired man is trying to contain a scrawny blonde boy, whom is lashing about in his arms like a serpent. He is howling like an animal, shouting words that Hinata knows she would be whipped for if she tried to get away with them. She takes a startled step back when Watari glances over his shoulder at her. "Hinata," he addresses, his voice somehow remaining steady, "please return to your room immediately."
Hinata's eyes are glued onto the boy, seething and boiling like magma in such a frail body, but she does not move. "But-"
"Hinata."
This distraction is enough to serve the boy with a chance of escape, and he goes flying out of Watari's arms and barreling towards the door that Hinata stands at. He is a violent parade of golden hair and fire in his limbs as he shoves past her and flits down the corridor, leaving a trail of water from his wet hair behind him. He takes the bend in the hallway and is out of sight.
Hinata, shocked, turns back to Watari. He is adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose, looking down at the floor with a sort of calm that she does not grasp. "Mr. Watari?" she asks softly. "Why were you two fighting? You and that boy?"
Watari's face is grave and weathered as he meets her dark eyes. "We were not fighting, Hinata." He approached her and places a warm hand on her shoulder, his eyes returning to their natural state; kind, tender, paternal.
Hinata stares up at him desperately. "But where will he go? What if it starts raining again?"
Watari gives her a small, tender smile. "I have already assigned caretakers to be outside the orphanage in case of something like this. He will be safe, I assure you." He removes his hand from her shoulder and pats her gently on the back. "Now, what did you run in here for before?"
Hinata hesitates, the memory of the gossip downtown returning to her brain in a nauseating flush. She looks around timidly before leaning in to Watari. "They're killing people downtown," she whispers. "I heard them talking about it in the shops. They killed a lady with a big blade thing, and people went to watch and everything!"
Meanwhile, Watari freezes, his jaw tightening, but Hinata continues.
"They said that she did evil things, but no one knows what. A bunch of people were talking about it, and I heard everything but I don't know why anyone would-"
"Did you hear the woman's name, Hinata?" Watari asks suddenly.
Hinata takes a step back to survey the man's face; his eyes are wide, his skin paled, whitewashed. She gives him a small nod, confused by his shocked expression. "Fiona Keehl."
Watari remains stationary in his stance for a moment, the same confusing expression on his face, but he comes back to reality and turns away quickly, walking down the corridor. "Please return to your room for now, Hinata. I will speak with you on this matter later tonight."
His voice is urgent, but not as imperative as his steps are away from Hinata as she stands in the doorway of his office, gazing at him in bewilderment.
The boy's eyes had reminded her of the rain.
…
"Misa."
"Go away!"
"Misa-san, this is ridiculous. You're doing nothing but furthering your agitation on your own, as well as-"
"Leave me alone!"
It has been a game of who will give up first for over half an hour, with Misa Amane sitting on the floor behind the bathroom door, locking out both L and Light on the other side. L is crouched upon the floor, negotiating with a lockpick courtesy of Watari's making in the small keyhole of the door. "As I said before, Light-kun," L says tiredly, twisting the pick, "I greatly admire your ways of dealing with women."
Light scoffs irritably as he leans against the door, arms crossed over his chest. "You're an ass, Ryuzaki," he mutters. "If you were any better than me, you'd have the door open by now."
Just as he finishes his sentence, L feels the lock give way and he twists the knob, glancing up at Light with an asinine grin. "Like so?"
Light shoots him a lethal look of his chestnut eyes and nudges open the door, only to be shoved back when Misa throws her body weight against the frame with a squeel. "Get out!" she orders. "I don't want to see either of you!"
"Misa, come on." Light pinches the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. "Don't say a damn thing, Ryuzaki."
L smiles wickedly, placing the lockpick in the pocket of his jeans. "I was planning on it? Well, I'm certainly glad you stopped me, Light-kun."
"Shut up, god dammit…"
L releases a sigh and reaches for the doorknob again, turning it and pushing open the door in spite of the weight Misa has pressed against it. He peeks his head around the doorframe and sees that Misa is still crying, even after all the time spent within the bathroom to herself. He does not understand the girl's emotions as clearly as what is appropriate for L, of all people, but he shrugs off the thought and closes the door against the chain that binds he and Light together.
Misa jerks her head up to look at him, eyes blazing with a fury that is no match for L's apathy. "What are you doing in here?" she demands hoarsely. "I said for you to leave me alone!"
"But that would require my surveillance of you and Light-kun to be lessened, which in no means may happen," L says in monotone. "You fail at understanding that you are indeed a suspect, Misa-san."
"I don't care," Misa spits out. She lifts her hands up to smooth her blonde hair, catching her ragged breath with shuddering spasms.
"That makes one of us, which sadly is not enough," L drones. "I, unlike you, do care about how this case is solved, which means that-"
"Well, I, unlike you, have a life!" Misa blurts out, getting to her feet quickly and staring him straight in the eye. Her china doll face is flushed and splotched with red from her weeping, her lips swollen and pouted, and even though L is waiting for her to spit another phrase out at him, she seems to be doing the same to him.
He
takes his cue and does not lighten his gaze upon her face. "Which
has been reduced to standing in a bathroom throwing a tantrum because
you can't get what you want," L explains softly. "You are
under the very strong suspicion of being the second Kira, Misa-san,
in case you have forgotten."
"I haven't forgotten!"
Misa hisses. She narrows her eyes fiercely, clenching her petite
fists into tight little knots, the rouge nails digging into her
palms.
L makes a quiet turn on his heel and reopens the door. "Then please do not speak to me of lives when the one you lead is one of a possible murderer, Misa-san."
He hears her take in a sharp breath behind him before he exits the bathroom. "Do come back out on your own time, of course," he says airily to the girl glaring daggers at his back.
…
It's raining again, Amane…
Amane will not think about the gossip. The woman was not executed just two hours ago. If she ignores it, just as she is doing for the rain, it will dissipate and vanish into an ugly dust.
She sings quietly to herself over the mournful sound of rainfall against helpless ground.
…
There is a light hand on Hinata's shoulder once she has eaten dinner, and she turns her head quickly to see Watari standing behind her.
"There is someone that wishes to speak with you, Hinata," he informs quietly.
At the fearful widening of her eyes and the excited buzzing of the children around her, eager for scandal, Watari gives her a small smile of reassurance. "You are by no means in trouble, Hinata."
This is all he needs to say for her to stand up wordlessly and follow him out of the cafeteria, playing nervously with the fraying cuff of her dressing robe.
Where did that boy go…? And who wants to talk to me…? Maybe it's about the boy…or maybe that lady that everyone downtown keeps talking about…or maybe I really am in trouble and Mr. Watari isn't telling me…or maybe-
Her panicked train of thought has caused her to bump into Watari, whom has stopped in front of a door. She mutters out a shy apology, but Watari does not hear her and gives a generous rap on the door. A male's voice, one she has not heard before, comes from the other side. "Yes" is all he says, not a question nor a statement, more of a monotonous utterance that Hinata tilts her head at, perplexed. Watari opens the door before she can ask questions, and she sees the stranger in full view.
The young man stands in the center of the room, barefooted, his hands hidden in the deep pockets of his dressing robe, the black material matching the dark ink of his hair. It is overgrown and unkempt, concealing much of his eyes, but Hinata sees that they are a weighty charcoal hue that she has never seen before.
She has also never known that one's eyes could possess shadowed rings hanging heavily beneath them. Shadows are for her room at night while she dangles on the edge of sleep, or when the shifting of the sun gives off relieving shade on a bright afternoon. Yet, somehow, his eyes are as dark and provoking as any shadow that Hinata has ever seen.
She is fascinated by him within seconds; in all her nine years of life, she has never seen someone be so pale yet so dark at the same time. She once heard someone say the word "paradox" during one of her lessons; she thinks that it suits him and confirms it with a nod.
"This is Lawliet, Hinata," Watari explains. "He is one of the caretakers for grade seven. He grew up at this orphanage, just like you are."
Meanwhile, Lawliet does not move. Instead, he stares at her blankly from a distance, no readable expression that a nine-year-old can decipher on his face. His tall, lean form gives her the allusion that his dressing robe is swallowing him whole, drowning in soft black silk. Hinata furrows her brow in wonder, curious as to why he is not greeting her and Watari like any other capable human being would, and leans over to the latter with her hand shielding her mouth. "Is he going to say anything, Mr. Watari?" she whispers. She is confident that Lawliet will not hear.
Watari clears his throat and closes the door behind them. "Lawliet," he addresses, "do explain why you wished to speak with her."
Lawliet's odd grey eyes flit up to Watari briefly before his gaze lowers to the floor. There is a long silence before he removes one magnolia hand from the pocket of his robe and scratches the back of his head. "Have we secured the boy?" he asks, presumably to Watari. His voice is like chilled velvet, gentle, crisp upon skin.
"No," Watari says quietly. "He managed to elude the other caretakers that we set up out front after we found him the first time."
Lawliet's expression remains solid, but Hinata notices his jaw tighten slightly. "I take it that there is no current search for him as is."
"What makes you say that?"
At this, Lawliet releases a sigh and walks over to the wall, sinking down and crouching on the floor. "Then I was correct. You would have denied it if I was wrong," he says lazily.
Hinata has not taken her eyes off this young man for the entirety of the visit. He has shadows in his eyes…I never knew that people could have those…
"Nevertheless," Lawliet states, "I do need to speak with Hinata-kun alone for a moment, Watari."
While Hinata's stomach flips at the remark, Watari nods and leaves the room, closing the door softly upon his exit. Hinata stares at the Lawliet figure with her toes turned in, looking at him with a sheepish earnesty that comes with her supreme enthrallment by him. He is sitting like a cat against the wall. A black cat with a ghostly white face.
"You were in town today."
"Yes," Hinata says quickly. "Yes, I was."
"And you heard something that frightened you." Lawliet tilts his head, much like Hinata's fashion of doing so. "What exactly was it?"
Hinata tugs at her cuff harder, suddenly nervous with his questioning. "I, um…I heard about a lady dying. Somebody killed her in front of a bunch of people."
"An execution," Lawliet says as-a-matter-of-factly.
When Hinata does not respond, Lawliet stands up and walks towards her, causing her to take a cautious step back. He is still a stranger, one with eyes that disturb her to the point of trembling; if he gets too close, she is sure that the shadow will leap from his eyes and cloud over hers. At her step, Lawliet gives her a puzzled look that leaves just as quickly as it arrives. He stops in his tracks and scratches his head again. "I may need your assistance, Hinata-kun."
Hinata regains the step she lost earlier. "You want me to…help you?"
"You may call it as you wish." Lawliet returns his hand to the pocket of his robe and looks back down at the floor. "I would like you to lead me to where you heard about the young woman dying, Hinata-kun. Tomorrow morning after your first lesson. Does this sound agreeable to you?" He glances up at her now, suddenly appearing childlike before the actual child. Hinata nods as if there is another option for her and begins to back up to the door. "I-it's fine. I can do that," she utters.
Lawliet gives her a light nod and turns his back to her, his spine slightly hunched. "Very well, then," he says softly. "Feel free to return to what you were doing before."
Hinata gives a speedy nod in return and darts out the door she has flung open, but pauses and looks back into the room at Lawliet. "And why do your eyes look like that, by the way?"
Lawliet turns around, his eyes in question now wide and taken back. "What?"
Hinata blushes, seeing that he does not catch onto what she is asking, and shakes her head rapidly before fleeing to her room.
…
Mihael is running as fast as he can, but he does not know what or who he is running from at all. It is as though there is too much energy in his body, and that slowing down will only magnify the effect.
They won't get me…no, I won't let them…they're not caging me up anywhere at a-
He is forced to stop when his knees give out, sending him tumbling to the ground and smacking his chin in a mud puddle. The scent of earth fills his nose, as well as soiled water and embarrassment at falling, even with no one around. He jerks his head up, looks around frantically, but groans and tries to stand up. A fit of pain shoots up his leg, and a quick, agitated glance down at his knee shows that it is scraped down to raw flesh, bleeding and stinging obscenely. Mihael curses beneath his breath and slumps down onto the ground, furious with his own injury holding him back from running.
I have to get out of here…before they find me and put me in that place for good…
A light tapping on his shoulder sends his head whipping to the side, irate at whoever has discovered him. He prepares to run, prepares for a fresh tide of adults trying to coax him to come with them, but instead sees a boy that appears to be around his age with hair the color of cherrywood and a wide, open face. A shred of bark rests between his teeth as he looks down at him with bright green eyes. Mihael backs up, alarmed at the friendly gaze, and sees the boy grin. "You a runaway, too?"
Mihael makes no response, but staggers up to his feet and glares at him. The boy seems oblivious to the fire in his eyes and walks towards him, the bark hanging lazily out of the corner of his mouth. "You sure look angry," he says cheerfully. "Must be because of that fall, right? Don't worry, I didn't laugh at you or any-"
"Who the hell are you?" Mihael demands hoarsely. He lunges at the boy, expecting him to jump back in alarm, but it has no effect. This only angers him more and slaps a scowl on his muddy face.
The boy outstretches his hand to Mihael flamboyantly and says, "Mail Jeevas, stranger."
And like a water clock going off in the sky, it begins to rain yet again.
…
Misa does not speak to Ryuzaki or Light once she returns from the bathroom, her cheeks successfully repowdered, her eyes soaked with cold rags to ease the swelling her tears have brought her. Her back is to both men as she sits by the window of the makeshift headquarters, one graceful leg crossed perfectly over the other, arms crossed.
Stupid Ryuzaki…
She hears the humdrum clacking of typing behind her, coming from Ryuzaki judging by its droll endlessness, and scowls deeper. Stupid, stupid Ryuzaki…
To ease the awful silence, she sings softly to the rain falling outside the window, pretending that it is her raging audience, cheering and screaming her name before it hits the ground, only to be followed by millions more.
Something in Misa's heart turns cold at the end of her first lyric.
The rain…I…
Her heart is pounding in her ears, each noise around her muffled in comparison to her own frantic pulse. She remains rooted to her chair, numb to the world around her; it seems as though all her mind can focus on are two things.
The rain, and the black-haired man across the room. Ryuzaki. The rain. Falling, falling, pouring down upon Misa's head as if the roof above her has caved in, leaving her exposed and threatened. Ryuzaki, rain, rain, rain, black, rain…
Just before she opens her mouth to beg for help from anyone that will care, the switch is flicked, the spinning now at a standstill. Misa becomes aware that her hands are gripping the sides of the chair, her scarlet nails digging into the upholstery, and she slowly loosens her grip and shakily rests her hands on her lap.
She turns her head to look at Ryuzaki, whom crouches in his computer chair, completely unacquainted and unmindful to whatever has just gripped Misa by the throat and wrung her out like a dishrag, leaving her sweating and confused sitting by the rain-streaked window.
Oh, stop it, he's a freak anyway, you already know that…you're just tired, that's all…stupid Ryuzaki…
Misa vows to catch a few extra hours of sleep that night and breezily forgets about it.
…
Reviews are greatly appreciated!
