Handcuffs are not the only way to tie up someone. She knows that now.
Enfer
| If you are going through hell, keep going. |
VII
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Nao doesn't dwell on emotions, to the point where people think she doesn't, you know, feel. She can't exactly recall when it all started, but before anyone could stop it she'd turned into this calm, annoyingly passive person who would let the world burn and just sit back and watch.
She can understand why her mother is worried at first. Nao isn't always lazy, not when it matters. She understands that she needs those good grades and that nice, elite university and a future job that she'll enjoy enough – hence the chemistry. Truth is, for the first few years, Nao's mother thinks she's a psychopath.
Her father merely raises an eyebrow and answers easily 'you do realize that she'd actually have to make an effort to kill someone and just for that she'll avoid it'. After that, her mother eases around her and manages to somehow form a bond with her passive daughter. Nao loves her parents, when she reminds herself to. She's not the type of person to sit and think for hours on love and the different ways it comes in and what it means, but she can feel it.
So, she's not a psychopath, she's not even disconnected from the world because she can understand it. She can laugh at jokes and actually find them funny. She can appreciate the company of a few selected people. She can even be angry. It just doesn't happen very often.
She is human. She is very, very human – at times and when it's convenient – but she is. Bare that in mind, you'll need it.
"Nao-chan, it's so nice to spend time together, just us girls." Misa Amane, Japanese model extraordinaire gushes, fussing to fill her glass yet again. Nao doesn't wonder where the blonde has managed to find alcohol, better yet champagne. She doesn't wonder about it during the first glass and she's certainly not thinking about it now that she's had five in less than an hour.
She kind of needed that. From Great Detectives crashing her peace of mind, to Kira being Light and then Light not being Kira, to the Second Kira tied up and blinded in what looked to be a room fitted for someone with very weird fetishes, to actually finishing her exams – a drink is a freaking godsend (even if the person pouring the drinks is still suspected of aiding a mass murderer, but details).
"Sure, Misa-chan." Nao's just glad not to have to look at the dreaded handcuffs right now. It takes fifty-three days, fifty-three, for L to release Light Yagami and Misa Amane. Then he goes and handcuffs himself to the eighteen years old.
Nao doesn't quite follow that logic because Light isn't Kira – not anymore. She can't quite explain it, but she looks away one moment and then Kira is gone, vanished. Light's features become vexed and determined, outraged at being accused of murder and genuinely ready to prove his innocence. He reminds her of the little kid who followed her around the Yagami household with Sayu trying to convince her they should have pancakes for supper.
After that, there's not much that happens. A performance is staged, although nothing comes out of it. Kira still kills criminals, the Task Force is moved to private headquarters, the building suspiciously resembling something her father would design, L is handcuffed to Light and Misa Amane has proclaimed herself to be her best friend.
It's the beginning of August and Nao thinks it's damn good that school is out for a month. Her parents are off to some tropical location for their wedding anniversary which means she doesn't have to come up with an excuse as to why she leaves the house every morning and only returns at night. Not that her parents would ask for one, but just in case.
"Oh, Nao-chan. Let me do your hair!" Nao doesn't mind Misa Amane. Sure, on the surface, she's just a ditzy blonde that is loud and extremely girly – but dig deep enough and she's actually not that bad. "I'll curl them." And the blonde is off, probably searching for a curling iron somewhere in her luxurious suite. She stumbles a bit because of the drinks she's had and Nao watches with blank eyes as the model disappears from her sight.
Did she forget to mention that every day she is here she has to sit through the weirdest events ever, something Misa Amane calls a date, with Light handcuffed to the detective?
She finishes the content of her glass, bubbles sparkling in her mouth. Well – now you know.
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Nao is not the loud, exuberant type of drunk. To be honest, she remains exactly the same – it's just that her mind can't quite focus on more than one thing.
As it is, while people's voice drone out in the background, her attention is on the magazine in her hands. She's currently reading an article about liquid nitrogen and how one should eat it. Not that she understands why anyone would want to eat liquid nitrogen, but it's still mildly interesting.
"Nao-chan!" Her head snaps up, her eyes blinking at the way Misa has just screamed her name. For a second, she takes in the scene in front of her; the blonde sitting next to her on the couch looking exasperated, Light with his arms thrown over his head and looking bored and L with his fork stabbed in a piece of cake, eyes on her.
"Yes?" To be honest, she has no idea what they were talking about, just that they were having a conversation. Nao's pretty sure it wasn't anything deep or philosophical.
"Nao-san is distracted." Light sends her a look can only be interpreted as sympathy, while black eyes study her intently. Not distracted per se. But she really doesn't care about the topic of the previous conversation.
"What did I miss?" Misa huffs, crosses her arms over her chest. Light smiles at her.
"Misa is trying to convince Ryuzaki that this isn't a date because he is here." See? She didn't miss anything important. Misa is always trying to get Light alone – always. Not that Light seems to mind being tied to the detective and not spending time with his beloved girlfriend.
"I was just explaining to Misa-chan that even if I untied Light-kun, I would still be monitoring them with the cameras." She can't remember if her friends ever acted this way. Probably not, her friends aren't detectives and murder suspects.
"Uh-uh." She doesn't really know what else to say.
"Nao-chan!" Misa whines. "Misa-Misa wants some alone time with her Light, please convince him." Ah, so that's what this is about. She closes the magazine and straightens in her seat, the movement a bit slower than usual.
"Senpai, let them have their alone time." The detective pauses, raising an eyebrow at her. She matches it. "The only reason Misa and Light could want to be alone is to have sex." She tries to remember her biology courses. "Sex is a perfectly normal human activity. It creates endorphins, which are known to have many beneficial properties like relieving stress. Given the recent turn of events, I'm sure it would be helpful for them."
Silence. There is silence, all around her. And then Misa claps her hands and there isn't silence anymore.
"Nao-chan!" Misa literally jumps on her, eyes wide and happy. "You understand!" Sure, she understands. She also understands that everyone here needs a valium and a scotch. But sex can be an alternative.
She pats the other girl's back like one would a child.
"I did not know that Misa-chan and Nao-san were such good friends." Misa finally moves away from her, settling back in her own seat, her legs dangling from the couch like a kid.
"We're best friends!" Yeah, sure. She's not about to protest or agree. If Misa Amane wants to believe that she is her best friend, then she certainly can. If the girl ever turns out to be the Second Kira, then Nao will be safe from heart attacks.
L's eyes are on her, only slightly amused. Light still looks bored to death and she can't really blame him, but he does flash her that pretty boy smile of his. Misa looks happy. Nao eyes her magazine on the table.
"So, Misa-Misa can spend time alone with Light. Nao-chan agrees." How did she become the only person with a modicum of logic around? She'll never quite know.
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"Here, Nao." Watari places the plate in front of her and she smiles gratefully. God, that chicken looks so good and fried to perfection. She doesn't quite realize she's starving until the man points out that one needs sustenance after that much alcohol consumed.
"Thanks, Ojii-san." Nao likes the kitchen here. Not as much as the one in her house, but it's still a nice kitchen where everything you want can be found – and cake, there's always cake. And while Nao does appreciate sweets, she also likes the saltiness of chicken and the huge salad that comes with it. Watari is a man of many talents.
The detective strolls inside the room as she stabs yet another forkful in her mouth. Both her and Watari look up and the man smiles. In seconds, there's a piece of cake in the seat next to hers and the old man says something about checking the surveillance cameras. What Nao notices is that there is no Light and no handcuffs.
"It was quite the performance you gave earlier, Nao-san." He looks rather miffed. "I could not find a reasonable way to deny Misa-chan after that and I was forced to release Light-kun for the time being."
"Good for them." He looks sour even if the cake he eats is sweet. "Don't be sad, Senpai. If anything, now that Light isn't Kira, the handcuffs are pointless."
"I call them a necessary precaution. Light Yagami is still considered a suspect." She rolls her eyes at that. "It seems that Kira is more resourceful than I expected." She is surrounded by people with the mentally of two years old.
"You do realize that even if Light is Kira, what you are doing right now is very stupid, yeah?" He raises an eyebrow. Here she is, calling the greatest detective ever stupid. "You are the Greatest Detective alive, can't you see you are being played right now?"
"How so?" He looks interested and she shrugs her shoulders.
"The more time you spend tied with Light while Kira still operates, the more you'll have to believe that he is, in fact, innocent. At some point, you'll even start doubting yourself. And because of that, Kira will strike – and you won't be the Greatest Detective alive anymore. You'll be dead." Because isn't that the whole point of this? The battle is between the mass murderer and the detective. Everyone else is a pawn.
She's never known the detective to stare at her with such a serious look before. He doesn't answer for a minute or two, gazes at the half-eaten piece of cake and then back at her. She's happy to ignore his inner turmoil and concentrate on the rest of her supper.
"Nao-san." She looks up. "I am not sorry for putting you in the middle of all this." Of course, he isn't. "If anything, now is the time I truly realize what an asset you are." She doesn't expect the praise, doesn't look for it. "My cases consume me, they always have and they always will. You have the ability to completely withdraw yourself from the situation. You can see things clearly."
This is different.
"Nao-san should know, that if I survive this, if Kira is brought to justice, I do not plan to let her go." She swallows very, very slowly.
"What does that mean?" But a part of her doesn't want to know. His words, the way he says it, the way he looks at her, as if he's found something so precious that he can't quite let go – no one has ever looks at her that way before.
"Nao-san already knows what it means. There are many ways to bound a person to one's self – I will just have to make sure that I bound Nao-san to me so that she'll never be able to leave." He says it like it's fact, like there is absolutely no way she will be able to escape him.
For once, she's pretty much rooting for Kira.
Shit.
a/n: I had to go and rewatch a bit of Death Note since the next part of this story won't quite follow the events. Nao finally got her drink - um, drinks - and L isn't subtle at all, not that he ever was. Like I said, this story is somewhat LxOC, but it's not like Nao or L want or even expect a happy ending. That's just not their character's personality. Anyways, thank you to everyone who takes the time to review. You guys are awesome and I'm really glad everyone enjoys Nao as much as I do. I hope you enjoyed, tell me what you think and thank you for reading.