Chapter three
13th April, 2001
This unusually warm, sunny day in April found Light Yagami sitting at home, waiting for his friend, L, to come round and help him hack into his father's computer. They had been planning this for weeks, ever since they found out that Light's parents and sister Sayu were going on a weekend trip to a relative's house and allowing Light to stay at home on his own, so he could 'study for exams'. Light's father was on the police force, and his computer contained information on a rather interesting murder investigation. The two boys were obsessed with becoming detectives, and the allure of a real case had driven them to what is technically illegal. Hacking in wouldn't be straightforward, but they were both geniuses; though only fifteen years old, they were confident they could manage.
The plan, however, was put off by a knock on the door. Light groaned inwardly as he saw Misa's face in the peephole. He opened the door and was surprised to see she'd been crying. Her eyes were red and mascara streaked down her face.
"Light, something terrible has happened."
She collapsed, crying into his arms, unable to stand any longer. Light stroked her soft blonde hair, stunned, but a bit annoyed. He had plans for today.
"Come up to my room and tell me about it," he said; although he wouldn't admit it, he was intrigued as to what could case Misa to cry. Usually she just yelled until no one could be bothered to argue and she got her way. That was pretty much the reason they were still friends – Light couldn't be bothered to argue anymore.
Misa nodded, wiping her eyes and followed Light up the stairs to his room. She flopped down onto his bed, forcing him to take a seat on the desk chair.
"I don't know why to do…" she whispered. "My parents… They're gone… Murdered…"
She broke down into tears again. Light was speechless. He knew things like this happened, but you never expect it to hit so close to home. He knew Misa's parents; they were nice people. In a rare moment of compassion, he sat down on the bed next to Misa and put his arms around her.
"What happened?" he asked.
She shook her head, tears still streaming from her eyes. "I can't… Not today. But thank you Light; you've been such a good friend to me. I don't know how I'd cope without you."
They sat like this for a moment, Misa sobbing quietly into Light's shoulder. Light thought of L, and immediately felt guilty for wishing Misa would just go home so he could see him.
Misa lifted her head to look Light in the eyes. She leaned forward, her lips brushing his, before pulling back to see his reaction. He just looked at her, frozen in shock, but she seemed to take this as good, as she kissed him again, harder this time.
"No, stop," Light ordered, finding his ability to move again and jumping up off the bed, his eyes wide. "Misa, you're upset; you're not thinking. I think it would be best if you went home."
She looked up at him, her big brown eyes filling with tears again. "Don't make me leave, please! I can't be alone right now…"
"You're going to have to be. I'm sorry. Goodbye, Misa."
She stood up and let out a sob, before running from the room. Light waited until he heard the door open and close and then sighed, lying down on the bed with his hands behind his head, his eyes closed in thought.
The bedroom door opened, making Light jump.
"Light, why did Misa just run past me crying?" L asked, sounding slightly amused, though it was hard to tell with him.
Light sat up and gestured for L to take a seat next to him.
"Her parents were killed." Light watched as L's eyes widened, but gave no other indication that he'd heard. "I don't know much; she wasn't in the right state for talking. She just cried a lot."
"Naturally…" L mused. "Well that explains the tears, but why did she run?"
For perhaps the first time in his life, Light went slightly pink.
"That wasn't my fault. She kissed me. What, was I just meant to let her?"
"Perhaps. She was already upset, and having to cope with rejection as well… I don't think I'd be able to do it."
"I know, but I couldn't pretend to love her forever; she'd have to deal with it sooner or later."
"Later, I think, would've been better. But are you really not interested in her at all?"
Light laughed once. "Don't you know me at all, L?"
"She's very pretty."
"She's not my type."
"She's everyone's type."
"Well why don't you go kiss her?" Light stood up, suddenly angry.
"Don't be silly Light, I'm gay."
"You're gay?"
"You're surprised?"
"Well, yes! But you're L. I didn't think you were interested in love."
L shrugged. "I'm not interested in it. However, that doesn't mean I don't feel it."
"But… For who?" Light asked, though he suspected he knew the answer already.
"Isn't that obvious?"
There was an awkward silence as Light processed this. His first reaction was one of disgust, but that didn't last long. He thought about how in sync they were, and how close. He thought of earlier, kissing Misa and all the while wishing he was with L. He thought of what kissing L would be like. Certainly a lot better than kissing Misa… But he couldn't be gay; he wasn't a ballet dancer or anything like that. He was just normal. And yes, he hadn't been attracted to any girls he knew, but he hadn't been attracted to any guys either. Not until that moment, when he found himself staring at L with a growing urge to try it. Just to see what it was like. He sat back next to L and leant forward, meeting L's lips for a nanosecond. But a nanosecond was enough. It was like an electric shock, and he realised something weird.
"This isn't weird," he whispered. And it wasn't. It was just a natural extension on their friendship. They kissed again, properly, and for that kiss all thoughts of hacking Light's father's computer and of Misa Amane were gone from their heads. L even stopped thinking about cake.
The afternoon passed quickly, and all too soon L had to say goodbye.
"If I'm not home by the time my mother is, she'll be furious… But I'll see you tomorrow?" he added, hopeful.
"Of course. Come round early and we can actually hack that computer."
The two boys smiled at each other, and more to prevent an awkward goodbye than anything else, L turned and walked away down the street without another word.
Hmm, not sure if I like this chapter… My excuse is I was kinda tired when I wrote it :P What do you think?
