Chapter 3: Light Yagami- Day 2 (The Big Brother)

Light held the phone to his head. His mother was trying to talk to him but after that initial sentence, those dreadful words. His mind went CLICK and out went the lights and all his frenzied thoughts stopped. He even forgot about this odd man sitting in front of him who said he was L. But then the lights came back on, they flickered, giving the warning of another drop into darkness. This of course was metaphorical for Lights thought processes. But now Light Was Okay, he was In Control-- or he thought he was.

Light got up slowly and bowed to L. "I'm sorry but something has come up." He left just as slowly in a daze. L followed him quietly and pushed him in the direction of his Rolls-Royce.

"You shouldn't be left alone."

Light gave him a harsh glare. "What do you think I'm going to do L?" L motioned for him to move the shouting level to a lower decibel. "My sister is hurt, in the hospital. She's my top priority right now. He sat in the Rolls-Royce like a petulant child, with a scowl on his face and crossed arms. Light was almost certain that if anything like this had ever happened to his father he'd be worried. But that would be short lived. He would sit for a few moments mouth agape, while the lights didn't even flicker, then he would regain his composer and ask quietly what had happened. Only this wasn't his father. This was His Baby Sister. He was Her Big Brother and it was his duty to find whoever did this and Kick His Ass.

He exited the Rolls before it came to a complete stop. His mind was set on going to see his sister. His mother would probably be a weepy, soggy mess but that was understandable because she was the only one there with Sayu and he was also Pretty Sure that they had been unable to reach Soichiro. Light made it up to the front desk and didn't have the complete unattatchment to his sister to smile coyly at her. "I'm looking for Yagami Sayu's room."

The nurse nodded and attacked the keyboard with her long claw-like nails. The clacking stopped and Light noticed how pale she was. "Third floor, room number 308."

Light nodded and took long strides to the elevator. L followed silently. When they entered the elevator Light cornered him. "Why did you come in with me? You could have simply waited in the car. Or even better! Left!"

L stared back with his impenetrable eyes. "Your mother is going to need someone to sit with her while you visit your sister. And please be sure to call me Ryuuzaki in front of her."

Light breathed strongly out of his nose and set about to ignore Ryuuzaki the best he could. The doors opened with a muted DING and Light found it quite annoying, and not all that muted. Maybe it was because it was so quiet up here that everything seemed louder. Or maybe his sweaty palms had something to do with it. Every number on the door seemed like some kind of warped little count down. Like when the Americans would count down the ball drop. Only this was counting down something else. Something that might be Bad.

Then he saw his mother and was right in predicting she was a weepy, soggy mess. He hugged her and suddenly realized he couldn't remember anytime in the recent passage of days where he had hugged her like this. Light hugged her harder to make up for it. "You didn't have to wait for me." He got up and held out a hand so he could help her up.

"Wait Light." Sachiko was trembling when she pulled him back onto the bench. "I know what Sayu must have went through was simply h- horrible." She faltered but seemed to hold against the tears. "But she's changed now. It's like-- I can't explain it. But when the doctors come in she growls but when she looks at me she make this noise in the back of her throat. Almost like a keening. She looks like a puppy wanting to be petted." She looked at Light imploringly, begging him to understand. "But I know my Sayu is a strong girl, she always was and this isn't like her!"

Light stared at her for a moment then nodded quietly and gave her another hug. "Do you want to go in with me to see her?" Sachiko shook her head. He thought so. "Okay. Ryuuzaki, will you please stay with my mother while I go see my sister." He didn't wait for any confirmation. He just picked himself up and breezed into Sayus room. Shutting the door behind him.

The room was dark but Light was glad. That would probably be better for her. The room was a single, so it wasn't like it would bother anyone. The sheet was drawn around the bed and he could just make out the profile of her body laying on the bed. He took another step forward and Sayu suddenly sat up. Light stilled unexpectedly. He could feel the fine hairs on the back of his neck rise with the intensity of the gaze he couldn't see but knew it was there. "Sayu."

There was a low sound and Light realized with a slowly dawning horror that his mother was right it did sound like a growl. Light eliminated the space between him and the curtain and savagely flung it open. A weight was immediately thrown into his arms. Growling.

But then It stilled. And Light heard a noise that sounded almost like a long, drawn out sniff. Then It pullled back. It was Sayu. Her eyes were dull and her hair in knotted snarls. He sat down on the bed next to Sayu and let her climb into his lap. Her mother might not have realized what had happened but he did. His sister had employed a safety mechanism to keep herself from becoming Broken with the knowledge of what had happened. She had regressed to the point of infancy. Light ran his fingers through her hair and made a note to himself to bring a comb with him the next time her came. But The Realist nagged him in the back of his mind that maybe Something Was Wrong with Sayu. Maybe Sachiko had been right. The Brother Light told The Realist to Shut The Fuck Up.

Sayu took her head off of Light's shoulder and stared in the general direction of the door. There was that low growling noise in the back of her throat again. Light could hear something beyond the door. The screech of wheels on the hospital tile.

"What's wrong Sayu?" She didn't look away from the door. "What is it." See, this isn't some stupid psycho-mumbojumbo and even thought your Subconscious won't give your Conscious a swift kick to the rear I will. The Voice said contemptuously. The way you talk to her, is the way you talk to your Dog. You know this she hasn't regressed. Something has happened to her and it's made her primal! You know it! Don't deny it!

There was a brief knock on the door. It opened and a doctor with a friendly face smiled at them. "You must be Sayus brother correct?" The doctor walked closer and Sayus growling got louder. The doctor stopped and looked nervous. "S-Sayu-kun maybeyou should sit back down next to your brother. O-okay."

Sayu could smell the Fear coming off him. She could tell by other smells, something that burned her nose and made it itch, that he had been one of the ones that held her down and helped the She-Bitch make her Hurt. Sayu had bled from little holes made in her inner arm. She didn't like The Mean Man. In a single blink of Light Sayuwas standing in front of the doctor, then she had him on the ground and was slamming his head down onto the white tile.

Light got up and tried to stop her, calling for help. But he couldn't and the tile turned darker and darker shades of red. But as the large female orderly injected the tranquilizer into Sayus arm, Sayu stopped. She let the doctors head fall slip from her hands and turned into Lights embrace. Who had been sitting on the floor trying to pull her off the poor man. She laid her head on his shoulder and clutched his lapels with her bloody hands.

The Brother Light said fondly to The Realist: "Like Brother, like Sister."