AN: Hello all, hopefully you are doing well. A big thanks to MinaoTskino for the nice review and favoriting the story! I am glad you like it and I hope to keep writing a story that you'll continue to enjoy. (^_^) So without further ado, let's get back to it! This was turning into a pretty long chapter so in remember some suggestions about my lengthy writing I will be breaking this one into 2 chapters. January 17th will be a long day for our DN friends.
January 17, 2004
"Hurry up, we're going to be late," Asya said as she waited at the door of the apartment for Sakura. They had to get to the entrance exams. If they didn't maintain their student identities the apartment housing and their visa status would be voided and it would be simpler to maintain their current identities than to create new ones. Though part of Asya hoped they didn't make it. She didn't have a good feeling about staying in Japan.
"Alright, I'm ready!" Sakura announced as she rummaged through her purse grabbing a piece of candied ginger and eating it.
"Your stomach still bothering you?" Asya questioned. Sakura simply shrugged and went to open the door. Asya shook her head slightly and followed out after her.
They took a bus up to the University campus and had to rush to get in to the exam hall. The two had gotten in just in time as not long after they took their seats the professor had called for the test to begin. Sakura looked around, her heart stopped as her eyes set upon one of the students in an aisle seat near the back. Okay, just stay calm, he won't even notice you… She convinced herself. Her eyes scanned back toward the front and a few rows up she noticed Light. L must have the same idea about him… Sakura thought to herself.
"Are you alright?" Asya whispered seeing an odd look upon Sakura's face.
"Well... The student body here is rather interesting…" Sakura replied quietly giving a sideways glance. Asya looked around and spotted Light.
"We knew he had applied here, that's not really too much of a surprise to see him at the exams," Asya told her wondering why Sakura seemed a bit uncomfortable.
"That's not who I'm talking about…" Sakura began. "Look a few rows back from him…" Asya scanned back a few seats and her eyes slightly widened. Just as her glance fell upon him L looked up meeting her gaze. His brow furrowed slightly a moment then his eyes returned forward.
"He looked right at me… I can't tell if he recognized me or not," Asya told her hesitantly. Sakura forced herself not to look again; she had to maintain their cover.
"It'll be fine, let's just take this test and get out of here…" Sakura reassured.
"Student 143 and 144! Be quiet!" the professor groused as he came up to them. "And what is this 143? You can't eat here!" he grabbed Sakura's bag of candied ginger off the desk giving a disapproving look.
"But it's for my stomach ache…" Sakura replied meekly.
"If just this test gives you that much stress perhaps you shouldn't be here…" the professor told her with an unenthused glance. "Student 162, sit properly in your chair!" Another student was reprimanded by the professor. Sakura couldn't help glancing back; the student that was being chastised was L. His eyes were focused on someone forward of him and she followed his gaze landing on Light who was looking back at L.
Light began to move his gaze back to his test paper when he saw Sakura. She gave a small smile and Light gave a soft look mouthing "good luck" to her. Though Light had a moment of paranoid thought, how could these girls get into this prestigious school? They hadn't seemed all that bright the day he had spent with them at the amusement park. Could they possibly be following him? No, that's ridiculous, and even if they were he had nothing to worry about, his plan was going perfectly.
After the test Sakura sat absentmindedly staring off until she got a nudge from Asya. He keeps looking at you.. Asya motioned in sign language. Which one? Sakura asked in return. Light… Asya replied. A smirk formed on Sakura's face and she quickly glanced over at Light catching him. Light feigned embarrassment and returned his gaze to his desk.
They can't possibly be anything more than students… But just to be sure, maybe I'll get closer to find out.. Light thought to himself. Something felt off about seeing those two again to him.
"Time is up! Please leave your tests and they will be collected. You are dismissed," the professor ordered.
"Finally…" Sakura said with a sigh as she stood. Just as she turned to exit the row she ran into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry Miss…" her eyes shot up to meet L's. Her breath hitched as she attempted to talk. "Are you, alright?" he asked with a curious gaze.
"Fine, you startled me is all, my name is Haruko, and you are?" she told him trying to make her voice a bit higher than normal and giving an uncertain gaze in attempts to keep her cover, though she was 90% certain he would see right through her.
"Hideki Ryuuga," L replied the curious look maintained on his face.
"Hey, is this guy bothering you?" Light asked from the other side of her. Reflexively her brow furrowed on hearing Light's voice but she quickly changed her expression to a gentle smile as she faced him.
"It's ok, I'm sorry I'm so bad with names, what was yours again?" Sakura asked.
"Light, Light Yagami. Sadly I have to say the same, your name was?" he replied with feigned embarrassment.
"Haruko Yoshida," she told him. "And this is Amanda Spencer." She pointed over to Asya. Asya's gaze lowered slightly but she caught what looked like L grinning slightly out of the corner of her eye.
"It's nice to see you two again. Hopefully we'll have some classes together," Light said. "Maybe we can all go for coffee sometime."
"I'd like that," L piped in to the conversation. Light gave him an uncertain look; there was something about this guy he didn't like. Who was this Hideki? He had the same name as that pop star but he sure didn't look anything like him…
"It's up to the ladies," Light said brushing off the comment, given that it would make the numbers even he was curious to see whether the two would accept his intrusion or not.
"I guess you could join us…" Sakura said with a shrug attempting to remain standoff-ish.
"Actually I'm free after this, so if you're not busy…" Light started and gave a slight nervous laugh. "I'm sorry; maybe I'm being too forward?"
"No, that sounds nice, we didn't have any plans either, how about you, Hideki?" Sakura said looking over. The smirk returned to L's face.
"That sounds delightful," L replied motioning for them to go ahead. Light led the way and as Asya and Sakura went to follow L grabbed Sakura's hand. "I'd love to have a chat with you, in private…" he whispered from behind her. Goose bumps ran the length of her spine at his words.
"Is everything okay?" Light asked turning back again to see those two lagging behind.
"We'll be just a minute, I forgot to get something back from the professor," Sakura said cheerfully waving him on.
"Alright, we'll wait outside for you then," Light replied with a nod. Sakura watched as he and Asya walked out and the doors closed behind them. Her pulse pounded in her ears, what would L say knowing she was here?
"You know, you seem so familiar," L said with an innocent look. He knew, but he wanted her to reveal herself. She looked different, her hair, her eye color, even her perfume had changed though to his slight amusement the scent of plumeria was replaced by her name sake sakura. But he could see through that. In spite of her trying to change her voice, her inflections and expressions were still the same. He knew the moment Light spoke that it was her. That aggravated furrowed brow that quickly vanished into that false smile couldn't be mistaken for anyone else.
"I suppose I just have that sort of face," she replied, that innocent look on L's face made her certain he knew, but this was a game. Would she actually divulge it?
"You smell just like cherry blossoms…" he spoke quietly. Her eyes narrowed on him, he was just further showing off his deduction was correct. She sighed, he would be able to keep this up all day and they didn't have time to waste with Light waiting right outside.
"Light's waiting, was there something you wanted to say to me?" she asked impatiently.
"There are quite a few things I would like to say. But it would seem that now is not the most opportune time for such a discussion… " he paused giving a contemplative look. "Then again, it may be the perfect time. Perhaps with time being of the essence I can get the truth."
"The truth of what Hideki?" she said placing emphasis on his cover name. He let a laugh escape his lips quietly. "Spit it out already or you might burst…" she complained in her normal voice. He gave a satisfied smile, it wasn't a complete admittance but it was acknowledgement of him being right.
"Oh nothing, I'm quite satisfied now. We really should get whatever it is that you used as an excuse to delay Light…" he told her.
She rolled her eyes slightly. Then the realization of what the candied ginger had been for flood to the forefront of her mind. She pursed her lips, this wasn't the time. She quickly turned and went up to the professor's desk grabbing the bag of candies and stuffing it into her over-sized purse. L stared at her a moment, he couldn't yet put his finger on what just happened but there was something more to what was going on than just her cover being revealed.
"Let's go," she said and went ahead of him. He shrugged to himself as he followed her, he would find out later what else was going on.
"I was worried you weren't coming back," Light joked with a wave seeing Sakura come out.
"Sorry, that professor is really strict; he was still lecturing me…" Sakura replied apologetically. Light couldn't help wondering why that guy stayed behind with her. Maybe he just liked this girl? Stranger yet was why this girl let him stick around.
"Well they're a top school so they're bound to be pretty strict," Light told her as they began their walk toward a local café. "What was so important about those candies anyhow?" Light looked curiously at her.
"They're just my favorite. It's hard to find them here in Japan," she told him.
"Oh, so you're exchange students then?" Light asked making a mental note to look her up later.
"That's right, so you wouldn't mind if I were to get in touch with you if there's somewhere I need to find locally?" Sakura asked sweetly.
"Of course I wouldn't mind at all, let's exchange numbers," he told her getting out his cell phone. Sakura nodded happily and got her phone out as well. She gave him her number and he texted her, then they added each other as contacts. "And you wouldn't mind if maybe I wanted to call you for dinner sometime?" Light asked with a gentle gaze.
Despite knowing this was all an act, and that Sakura was on to Light as much as he was, L couldn't help the sour look on his face as he listened to their exchange. Of course upon noticing that Light made certain to further close in on Sakura. They entered the café and got a quiet table, Light made certain to sit right next to Sakura giving a proud smirk to L.
"So, where did you two transfer from?" Light asked curiously leaning in slightly toward Sakura to display his interest.
"We're here from California," Sakura replied attempting to maintain pleasantries but really not wanting Light so close. Even his cologne was pretentious.
They ordered some snacks and tea as they continued to talk. Though it seemed Light did a majority of the talking. After a while he started to notice that Sakura seemed to be losing interest. So he decided to spice the conversation up a bit.
"So, being from the US, what's your impression of Kira?" Light asked nonchalantly as he sipped his tea. Her eyebrow raised and he could see he piqued her interest.
"I'm not afraid… I haven't done anything wrong so I don't have to worry about him," Sakura replied with a smile. Light returned the smile and then looked to the others.
"What about you two?" Light asked curiously.
"I don't know… I mean, sure there's less crime, but where does it stop? What will end up being a crime in the future? Are people going to be killed for jay walking eventually? I just think it's too much for one person to be the judge and jury. I know it's not popular, but I think Kira is wrong," Asya said.
"I agree with you Amanda," L said as he tossed a few sugar cubes into his tea.
They all spoke a bit more and Light tested the girls a bit to see if they'd been speaking the truth. Asking questions randomly about details they told him about themselves. No matter how he worded his questions the answers were about the same, just different enough to not be scripted but not so different that it was unnatural for them to say. He began to be more satisfied that they were just students, but this Hideki character still gave him an uneasy feeling.
"Well, I have to get going," Light said checking his watch. He had to research these three to see if there was anything more suspicious. "Hopefully I'll hear from you soon." He said placing a hand over Sakura's as he stood to leave. She gave a shy smile and nodded silently. They watched as he left and Sakura gave a little wave as he walked past the window outside and promptly slumped down into her chair with a heavy sigh once he was out of sight.
"My my Haruko, one would imagine you to be more excited about such a fellow being so taken with you," L said without looking over at her. Asya looked on and based on Sakura's face she confirmed that they had been made. He knew who they were.
"I think I'll let you two have a moment," Asya said as she went to stand.
"What's your hurry Ms. Spencer?" L asked looking up at her and slight betrayal made its way to his glance.
"I'm sorry, you couldn't understand…" she said as she went to leave.
"I understand better than you know, Ms. Spencer," he said quietly believing he had a good idea of what transpired and why she had to follow Sakura here, but there was one detail of her stress that he had yet to know.
"I'll be at the apartment Haruko," she said to Sakura. She gave L a doubtful look in reply to his remark and continued on her way.
"So, now that we have a moment to ourselves, what exactly is it that you're doing here?... I thought you promised to wait for me," he asked plainly, fighting he fact that he was glad to see her in spite of wanting her to stay away from this case.
"I wanted to help… And it would appear we're on the same track," she replied in reference to Light.
"It certainly seems as such. Though to be fair you had been stealing my information…" he gloated slightly. Apparently he had been right about his deduction of who sent Wedy after all.
"You're really kind of aggravating when you're so proud of yourself…" she told him but couldn't help the smile that made its way to her face.
L gave a small smile in return, but his thoughts were varied, what would he do going forward? Should he bring her back to the current investigation headquarters? He could keep a better eye on her that way, but what about her cover with Light? No, it was better that she didn't get too close to Light… That had very dangerous possibilities.
Then again, how would those NPA officers see it? He couldn't display any potential weakness to anyone. They had next to no time for their loved ones, why should he be so lucky? However, if there was no mention of the relationship between them she could simply be another one of his investigators on the case. Then to that end, what about Asya? It would be odd if she were to suddenly disappear. It might make Light suspicious of them.
"Hello? Earth to Hideki…" Sakura said waving a hand in front of his face as she watched him sitting lost in thought.
"Hmm?" he muttered gaining focus back on her and sighed slightly, he knew he wouldn't be satisfied with her being out of his sight.
"Is something wrong?" she asked frowning at his sigh. She wondered if she was ending up causing him more trouble than help at this point.
"What am I going to do with you Haruko Yoshida…" he asked as he tapped his spoon on his napkin. He'd already made up his mind but he wanted to know what she was thinking.
"Maybe I should go… I'm sure I've taken up enough of your time," she told him attempting to quickly gather her things. As much as she wanted to remain with him she began to think she would just be a distraction and she knew with this case he couldn't afford distractions.
"You're wrong," he replied and his head tilted slightly eyeing the bag of candied ginger and he quickly removed it from her purse. "I don't recall you caring for ginger…" he said curiously.
"What are you talking about I love ginger," she told him snatching the bag out of his hands.
"Pickled ginger, with your sushi, yes… But I have never seen you eat candied ginger…" he said looking at her as he took a piece from the bag she held and ate it. "I have heard ginger helps with nausea..." his own words caused him to start piecing together what she was holding back. He sat back attempting to take in this possibility, calculating the time from their last day together in England when they… It would be in line with the typical beginnings of, morning sickness…
"Nothing is certain yet… You shouldn't be distracted… That's why I should leave," she told him quietly with an apologetic look.
"No, that's exactly why you shouldn't go," he began but was interrupted when his cellphone began to ring. "Hello? Actually I do need a ride back. And I will have a guest… Yes, thank you." He placed his cell phone back in his pocket. "I can't…" he began but struggled to find the right words. There was so much running through his mind he couldn't get it all to be a coherent thought. "We're going now," he told her as he noticed Watari's car pull up in front of the café. Sakura eyed him with slight confusion. He repeated his statement with some authority and took her hand leading her out to the car.
