Some questions should not be answered.
Twenty-Three Percent
|are you high enough without the Mary Jane like me|
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"Little miss, I've been thinking." Having Ryuk around is oddly therapeutic (just like those small, rubber balls that will never break even if you squeeze and squeeze and squeeze).
"That sounds like a bad omen." She offers as a reply, matching the amused look the Shinigami sends her. They are both very alike; a little bored, cynical, most likely insane, dead.
"About your lifespan…" She doesn't tense and she keeps her attention on the road. "It's unheard of, a human's lifespan shielded from a Shinigami. Without it, well – you're pretty much supposed to be dead." She hums.
"Ryuk, do you know what happened to Humpty Dumpty after he fell off his wall?" There's only pale skin where eyebrows are meant to be, but it moves upwards nonetheless. "Even with all the kings' horses and all the kings' men, no one could put Humpty Dumpty back together again."
"Uh…" And then; "Did you fall, little miss?" She lets out a sardonic chuckle.
"Let's say you take someone; a girl. She's young, but not that young, so she's a woman, but not quite. And that girl, that girl is very sick. She wasn't born that way, no, she became sick, people made her sick, made her head sick. That girl, she was tired, she was so very tired and hurt and just crazy enough. She fell and she shattered and all that was left were millions of scattered pieces all over the floor and that was supposed to be the end."
She breathes, hasn't spoken that much in years.
"But that's not the end." She continues. "Someone out there decides that this girl, even shattered into millions of tiny pieces – has some worth, that she isn't finished. So, they take some of those pieces and they jam it back together, just those outer pieces, you know, the ones that sort of matter and they try to make her whole again. They manage to remove the cause, but not the symptoms, because there are some things in life you just can't fix when broken."
Dark, beady and yellow focus on her as if, at that moment, she's the most interesting entity in the world.
"Are you crazy enough, little miss?" That voice is calm, intrigued, with no hint of compassion and just the right amount of delight, as if the creature has discovered something; a secret that makes the game all the more interesting.
"They say history will repeat itself." Because right now, those pieces that are jammed together somehow manage to hold on. But she doesn't know if it will last.
"I stand by what I said – humans really are interesting." Ryuk gives a distorted titter.
"How about some apples?" Just like a puppy, the Shinigami let's out an excited noise and bumps a thin, chain covered shoulders with hers, as if they are two, normal friends that walk the busy streets of Tokyo.
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"I need you tomorrow." Light says when her and Ryuk make it home that day. Her mother is off, probably doing some shopping and her father is more absent then he's ever been (as long as the red numbers at the top of his head continue to expand, she doesn't mind).
"I have school." She answers, throwing her bag on the couch and plopping down next to her brother. There's a variety show on, the typical afternoon one. Her brother becomes more and more daring as time passes. He makes almost no effort to hide the little black book on his lap.
"I'll make up some excuse." He fires back quickly, like he's already planned the whole ordeal. "I have a Tennis match tomorrow and I want you to be there." Ryuk barks out a laugh.
"Tennis?" Light hasn't played Tennis in years, at least not competitively. His trophies are still displayed in their living room. Surely, a school match isn't a big deal.
"Tomorrow is the match against L." Ryuk chokes back. It's only been a couple of days since Light started university and encountered the famed detective L and they are already at each other's throats. She blinks when Light nods his head.
"He's so infuriating that he'll try to analyze me during our match." Her brother mumbles out, obviously ticked off. "I need you there tomorrow." Just so he can keep a cool head. Her brother can be rather scary when angered, she knows that better than anyone (not that he scares her, Sayu knows crazy). "I'll treat you afterwards." He adds, as if to soften the whole ordeal.
She reaches for his bowl of chips and stuffs one in her mouth, chewing slowly.
"Fine." She acquiesces as if she had a choice to begin with. Light has a smile on his face as he picks up the Death Note again and ignores Ryuk, the Shinigami reaching for her backpack and fumbling with the zipper to reach for another apple.
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L Lawliet pretends that it's the first time they met. Sayu can play along. It's not like Light or Ryuk know of her previous encounter with the man. Even with his name exposed at the top of his head, she never thinks about whispering it to Light so he can write it down in his Death Note.
Her brother is clever, he'll find a way to deal with it (and she really is like Ryuk, neither on L's side or on Kira's, mind games are not her things, she has enough in her own head).
"You and your sister really look alike." He doesn't shake her hand and she doesn't raise it up to meet hers. Black eyes are intensely focused on her brother, it's almost sweet the way he gazes up in wonder, thumb trailing of his lips just like a lovesick teenage girl.
"Yes, we do." Light offers, throwing an arm over her shoulders like a big brother would do. There's still water dripping from his hair from the shower he took and he smells very nice for someone who's just spent the afternoon playing sports (and winning, of course Light wins, but other man can hold his own, you have to give him that). "Ryuga-san, Sayu and I are going for some coffee, would you like to join us?"
His arm tightens around her and Ryuk lets out a strangled laugh, beady eyes on the scene. Even the detective raises an eyebrow at the niceties.
"Of course, if that's okay with Yagami-chan." Sayu nods. It's nice to pretend she has a choice. When Light decides something, there's not much you can do but go with the flow. "Very well." He adds without a smile.
It's how she ends up in a café, Light standing in a cue with their order. The detective takes the seat in the back of the booth, the kind that allows him to keep his eyes on the entirety of the room. Ryuk hovers over her head.
"Did you enjoy our match, Yagami-chan?" He says, almost simultaneously with Ryuk who barks out a laugh.
"You should ask him little miss." She raises an eyebrow, not at what the detective says, but at Ryuk who's obviously found something that will entertain him.
"It was fine." She answers, her attention on the Shinigami who is spouting off twenty words per second. She's would like to ignore the creature, but he keeps taunting her. She sighs. "Ryuga-san?" She relents.
"Yes, Yagami-chan?" He says, thumb tapping his lip, his eyes not quite focused on her (probably on her brother's back as he orders).
"Who is…" She listens to the name Ryuk keeps repeating and blinks. "Beyond Birthday?" For a second, there's no reaction but, suddenly, the detective's eyes snap back to her, this time entirely focused.
a/n : Am I the only one actually looking forward to another Death Note adaptation? Anyone? No? I'll just go there in that corner, then...
On another note (get it, note, Death Note? Okay, I'll go back to that corner now), thank you all for your reviews. It flatters me that so many people enjoy my story. There's another cliffhanger, sorry about that, but I sort of built that chapter around it. I knew that I wanted Sayu to ask about BB. I hoped you enjoyed the glimpse into her previous life. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed and drop a review ~ I really enjoy those!