I don't own death note….otherwise things would have been a lot different*sigh

Chapter 03
Ceramic Bangles

Late afternoon found L sitting on an armchair in his usual way, which in the eyes of world will not be considered normal. But if you sit in his company, you will eventually get used to it. Same goes for his eating habits and the constant dunking of coffee.
Just then, Misa barged in, one hand holding the door open while the other arm was swinging her black handbag, edged with plastic bats made of suede. Her shoulders were slumped and she appeared out of breath as well. She seemed exhausted.

His assumptions proved right when the model herself uttered "Today was such a hectic day"

"It was?" L asked. He wasn't curious to know about that. He was just being polite.

"Yeah" Misa answered. She kicked her boots off and dragged her sock-clad feet towards the couches. She then slumped on them, resting her head on a furry cushion.

"Today I was supposed to have one shooting. But then some company came in. It was some teen magazine. Anyway they wanted to model me for their latest issue. I would have said no, seeing they didn't approach my manager first…"

Ryuzaki listened, all the while underlining the important pointers in a report that was kept in front of him on a low table with a neon green highlighter.

"But they were running on a tight schedule, so I had no choice but to give in….."

She then added "Misa Misa is so tired"
"So I see" L said.

It was quiet for a moment, until the girl asked" Where's Light?"
"He's resting Miss Amane" L said, without looking up. Misa muttered something under her breath. It sounded a lot like 'Figures'.

The detective didn't choose to reply on that. It was his fault that Light was sleeping at this time. With the chained arrangements, Yagami had no choice but to follow his superior's lead. Even if it means sacrificing a good amount of night's sleep and instead rummaging through endless data.

Light wasn't complaining. Misa did. But now those protests were ceasing day by day.

Must be effect of analyzing too much, but L felt a tinge of indifference in model's voice. It was as if Misa has grown weary of Light's habits.
But then again he could be wrong. Just like in the Kira's case.

L cleared his throat" Miss Amane, A package came from your agency and they wanted to make sure you got them…."

He leaned down and reached for the sack that was propped against the sofa "Here you go"

Misa squealed in happiness "Fan mails! Yay!"

She grabbed the bag in excitement, undoing the drawstrings of it "Been wondering when they would arrive…..i miss my fans so much!"
Ryuzaki smiled. Well at least she got distracted from Light's absence.

The golden-haired girl lay down on the couch, now clutching the unopened envelopes of many colors in her nail-polished hands.

The occupants of the room settled in companionable silence, immersed in their tasks when one noise rang out.

Clink, Clink, Clink.

The lanky individual flickered his gaze around the room. Everything seemed normal. He went back to his work.

Clink, Clink, Clink.

The sound came again. It was subtle, barely noticeable, but it piqued L's interest. He looked around once more. Nope, still the same.

The soft jingling continued coming. It shouldn't bother anyone because the din was light yet L found it very distracting. Once he will know the source maybe it wouldn't be that diverting.

He swirled his scrutiny around once more, until he found it. It was the bangles in Misa's arm that were clanking against each other.
Misa was reading letters. When finished with one, she would put it in a table before reaching for another unopened one. This of course cause the movement of hands thus enabling the bangles to echo too.

There was nothing extraordinary about them. They were made of plain red ceramic material yet somehow L couldn't help but stare at them.
How striking that red looked on her ivory skin. How the jewelry fitted snugly on a flesh of her arm, just above the elbow. And the way it slides, back and forth from wrist to elbow smoothly. It looked like the delicate things were kissing her soft skin. Their chimes felt like scoffs that no one can touch her freely like the way they can and did.

L felt envious of those bangles. For a fleeting second, he wished he was in the place of those bangles. Before he could register, that how utterly bizarre the idea was, it was gone in a wisp of smoke. As said before, it was only there for a fleeting phase.

Misa was still engrossed in reading fan mail, when a shadow casted over the yellow paper. She looked up and saw Ryuzaki hovering over her.
With a shriek, Misa straightened up, folding her legs to her side and creating as much distance as she could between her and the detective.
"Ryuzaki!" she said in an affronted tone" Don't come up on me like that!"

"I apologize Misa chan for springing up on you" L replied, while flattening his feet on the arm of the couch to adjust for space" I didn't mean to frighten you"

"It's okay" The girl answered, disgruntled. Though the frown was quickly replaced with the expression of unease; was the detective going to start interrogating her again?
What will it take to convince him that she wasn't Kira! By now Amane was sure that this was a lost case. Even if she were to sacrifice an animal, this man won't budge. He was darn too rigid.

"What do you want Ryuzaki?" Misa asked warily.
"Bangles" that was the last answer she was expecting.

"My what?!" Misa asked, to make sure that she heard it correct.
"Your bangles" The individual emphasized.
"Oh….okay" The model then held her arms out, gathering her fingers together, so as to slid the bangles down" Here"

Ryuzaki took it and held the delicate jewelry between his long pale fingers. At that moment, he looked like a toddler who just found a new toy and was now rotating it between his hands, never breaking the observation.

"Where did you get this from?" He asked quietly, without lifting his gaze from the object.
"I brought this from a stall like some 3 years ago" Misa said" It was being sold in a carnival which was held in my neighborhood"
"I see"

There was silence for a while until the detective handed the bracelets back and got up from the couch. The blonde woman took it back, wondering what was that all about. They were just ordinary bangles of plain red color. Now plain doesn't define Misa's style. She was anything but that. If she wasn't running late today, she wouldn't have picked this accessory up in the first place. Sure she could have gone with nothing strung in her arms, but Misa Misa can't do that! It will be considered such a big offence in a fashion world! This and mostly because it has now become her habit; that she must wear an accessory on her hands, be it a ring or bracelet, she grabbed the first thing her painted nails could land on. And they happened to be these bangles.

The girl muses were however answered.
Before leaving the room, Ryuzaki said" You should wear them more often Misa chan…they look quite lovely on you"

Cheeks tinted with blush, Misa managed to stammer out, stunned" Thanks….."

Ryuzaki smiled, but this time, this one didn't creep her out.

"Okay Miss Amane, we are ready for shooting"
"Ready!" Misa countered back, excitedly. She got up from her chair and made her way towards the podium where the shoot was going to take place.
"If you need to adjust anything, now's the time; we won't be taking any breaks" The photographer reminded her.

At this, Misa glanced at her wrists. Those bangles were there alright. Normally she would have kept them aside, not because they didn't match with the dress she was currently wearing, but because she wouldn't wear the same thing twice. Again, one of the unwritten rules of celebrity you can't break.

Though after Ryuzaki comment, she just couldn't toss them away. Like him, she too started marveling at it, noting the beauty which was molded in the grains of simplicity and was now in a form of circles.

Maybe because Ryuzaki complimented her on it and it felt genuine or maybe she liked them after all…..whatever the reason entailed, Amane was sure of this; she will not throw them away. In fact she will wear them more often.

"No" The model replied brightly" Everything's perfect the way it is"

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