[untitled: trees]
Before staging Naomi's suicide and before personally accompanying Ray and his fiancé to the airport (I placed a genjutsu on them to change their appearances to others without them aware), Ray had discretely passed off his suitcase, giving me a look that said he had an inkling of the plan I'd been forming.
"I'll leave this to you. I left contact information for the task force here in Japan. There's also a file I compiled last night about him."
Him. We both knew who 'him' was. Kira, or Yagami Light.
"Until you can contact L, don't trust anyone."
Naomi had then placed a hand on my shoulder. "It would be best to report to L immediately. Are you sure you won't leave Japan? You could come to America."
My smile didn't reach my eyes. "Thank you, Naomi-san, for your concern. But I have to remain here if I'm to find my way home."
She looked confused but returned the smile.
I gave them a bow and held Ray's suitcase close.
"Sayonara, Ray, Naomi. Good luck with your family."
.
…
….
…
.
My most prominent job finished, I wandered the city, wary of the large metal monsters Naomi had called 'automobiles', or cars. This place was so different from Konoha. There were no ninjas travelling above the civilians on the buildings and no distinct building that could be this city's political office. I reached into my jean pocket (clothing that Naomi had provided, "It's the middle of winter, what are you doing, running around in that dress?") and pulled out the piece of plastic. My face stared back.
Using his connections, Ray had gotten this 'ID' for me. My false name printed on it, reading "Kuroki Haruka". Both of them had instructed to keep it safe and protect my name at all costs. Neither had realized that I'd given them a fake name in the first place.
Do I look stupid? With the information given to me and what I'd seen myself, your name can be your greatest weakness. The fact that Ray wrote the names of all his coworkers on a piece of paper and now they were dead spoke volumes. I needed to get to a secure place and look through his suitcase, my grip tightening on my only tool.
Say, Inner?
Ah! What? I wasn't sleeping, I swear!
Right… Anyways, when we appeared here, what did you do with my clothing and weapons? And my medical pack?
Umm. About that.
Inner? What did you do?
I kind of hid it. In a tree.
A tree? Really? You didn't think that was overkill? Or that we might run into trouble and need a way to protect ourselves?
Excuse me, but am I the one with the large forehead? Am I the brains in this operation? No. That's you. If you didn't want me to lose them, you should have woken up earlier. I was wondering around for at least twelve hours.
My eye twitched outwardly. You didn't think it would be prudent to tell me how long I'd been out before? Did you talk to anyone? Did you do anything I'm going to regret?
Well… Maybe?
I grinded my teeth. Never mind. Just direct me where you stashed everything.
Inner then proceeded to lead me on a wild goose chase until we finally found the empty park she'd apparently left my things.
I stopped before a large tree. This one, Inner?
Yeah. It's the only Sakura tree. I felt it was fitting.
Rolling my eyes, I looked around for any bystanders and pleased to see none, I jumped into the tree, taking the suitcase with me. I found a small scroll in the upper branches and quickly pocketed it.
"Hey! Miss!"
Startled, I looked down and saw a tall man with dark afro-like hair and brown eyes that creased with worry.
"Come down! You could hurt yourself if you fall!" he called up to me.
Trying to look the civilian, I slowly came down, acting as if I was unsure of my movements.
Wouldn't it be fun if you were to fall? 'Accidentally'? You should practice using a weak girl façade.
It would be best if others underestimated me, I suppose…
"I can't come down any farther!" I called down to the man. The suitcase held tightly in my arms, I perched myself on a lower branch, looking down with fear on my face.
The man set down the closed umbrella and extended his arms. "If you fall, I'll catch you, Miss!"
"But I'm really heavy!" I whined.
You're enjoying this, aren't you?
When do I get to act like a normal person? It's always, kill this person, don't let your emotions shine through, seduce that person. If I can act like a normal teenager only once, I'd be happy.
"I'm strong, Miss! I can catch you!"
I looked down at the distance between the tree and the man. If I were to 'fall' and he dropped me, it would be sore. It wouldn't damage anything vital and I could easily heal it later.
Shut up and jump, then. Stop thinking so much.
"O-okay! I'm going to jump! Ready!"
"Yes! On three! One, two, three!"
I jumped as he said three and somehow landed in his arms bridle-style, my suitcase still in my arms.
The man grinned down at me. "See? You're not heavy at all."
I gave the man a small smile as he set me down slowly.
"Did you hurt yourself at all?" he asked, taking one of my hands to check for scraps.
"I'm okay. Thank you so much for your assistance, sir." I bowed slightly for the man. It was strange that there were kind people like him in this world when you had a killer like Kira on the loose.
"It was my pleasure. May I ask you why you climbed the tree so high?"
"Ah!" I said as if I'd only remembered something. I came up with a story quickly from the time it bought me. "Well… I was lost. I thought if I climbed high enough, I'd be able to find my way."
The man looked at me kindly as he picked up his umbrella. He then took out a leather wallet. He flashed me an ID and badge, the name reading 'Aihara'. "I'm headed back to the police department, Miss. I could show you the way and I'm sure someone would be able to help you find your way."
I smiled at him. "My name is Haruka. And I would very much appreciate your help."
He opened his umbrella as the snow began to descend and offered me his arm. I took it gratefully and accompanied him away from the park.
As we neared a large building, we had a bit of small talk, neither of us giving any real information. We entered the imposing building just as someone exited.
He was tall, wore a tan jacket and had light brown hair. His eyes, brown, flashed a dark red as he saw me. I felt my stomach drop as I recognized him and he me.
Yagami Light.
Kira.
.
…
….
…
.
Did you miss me, my lovelies? Must say, as soon as I saw how many reviews I'd received, I was beyond overjoyed.
(And you all had me worried sick. I didn't get any reviews for a while and I thought my story was starting to suck! DON'T SCARE ME AGAIN. Haha, love you reviewers!)
Sorry to those expecting to see L in this chapter. I SWEAR that he will be in the next one! We've already gotten through episode 7 of the anime with this chapter so if anyone feels like getting a sneak peak, go watch the 8th episode. And then when they play over the tape of Ray dying, put in my changes. When L sees that, what do you think he's gonna do?
Sakura's gonna find herself in a pitch soon! Gotta be careful around those naughty cameras! They see everything. Hehehe… If you get what I mean. (Which you won't for another… three chapters, I think.)
So… CLIFFIE! ENJOY WORRYING ABOUT IT!
(Review and I'll put up another chapter tomorrow! [perhaps tonight])
TO MY REVIEWERS (So many of you!):
InnerCookie (Comedy relief? It felt too serious!), MystereKitsune (Thanks!), The Ninja Artist (Their meeting is already playing out in my head and I can't wait for it either!), L (Your pleases, all eight of them, moved me! Lol), Yuuki-Hime 2097 (Thanks for the L. I love any mention of him, lol. Yes, she'll definitely use that card eventually so long as 'Kira' doesn't learn of his recovery. Although, I don't think we'll have to worry about it too much… eheh.), crazycherry459 (thank you for your praise!), and Seiga Niko (Ah. Amazing. I love that word. I'm glad you like my humor!).
Thank you all so much for giving me such lovely reviews! (I try to say something to all of them because they make me so happy!) I hope you all review again and that you enjoyed this chapter, too! [untitled: to learn one's enemies, part two] will be next!
NoTOUCHY.