Disclaimer: I don't own death note.
Chapter 8
Happy Birthday
It was three weeks until Yumi's seventh birthday.
She tapped her pencil against the wood of her desk, as her thoughts wandered, she had never celebrated her birthday before so she wasn't too excited for it to arrive. Lawliet looked up from their latest case file.
She hadn't told him about her birthday, she was always helping him with the constant stream of cases that they took on. Besides, even if she had told him the most she would receive would be a "happy birthday" before he would go back to whatever case he was focusing on.
No, there was no point in mentioning it to him.
"Yumi... Yumi?" he asked her she was too distracted to hear the first few times he had asked.
"Huh, what?" she asked snapping back to life.
"I said your pencil broke." he repeated.
Yumi stopped tapping the broken pencil on the desk. "Oops," she said and went to pick up the other half which had flown off the table.
They had decided to work on the case in the class room that day, because they could watch the news at the same time.
As Yumi sat back down Lawliet looked at her carefully. "You seem distracted, is everything ok?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine just...um... focusing." she said trying to avoid his gaze.
He didn't buy it, she seemed too out of it. "If it's about the case, were almost done, you shouldn't worry it's not hard." he said in an attempt to cheer her up.
The case he was referring to, was an elaborate theft and murder in central London, the police had no leads and were on the second month of being completely stumped. Lawliet and Yumi had taken about six minutes to find a vital suspect, they were almost done.
"No, it's not the case..." she trailed off realizing that he had been testing her.
"Oh, then what is it?" he asked politely, by saying it wasn't the case she had confirmed that something was wrong after all.
"Nothing, I said." she tried to divide his attention, "um... you sure the drop off point was three miles south and not four?"
"Yes I'm sure, and it was you who came to the three mile conclusion." he said, not distracted at all.
Dang. "Well I could have gotten it wrong." she said.
"No, I trust you, now what is it?" he wasn't giving up yet.
"Um... I uh... I mean you...oh fine!" she finally snapped. Lawliet waited patiently for the rest of her sentence. "Ok next Friday is my seventh birthday." she said and turned away. How dare he worm it out of her like that!
"Your birthday? That's what was bothering you?" he asked.
"Yes my birthday, I..." at that moment the news broke through the conversation.
"...and so the items were returned, and the thief was taken into custody yesterday. The case was finally broken by the same anonymous source as the recent theft and murder cases across London..." The news woman said then continued on to weather.
"Well I guess that makes twenty-four." Yumi said counting up the current number of solved cases. The score stood at: correct cases: twenty-four. Incorrect: zero.
"Yes, that's one more for the books, isn't it?" Lawliet answered with a rectorial question. The two had been solving cases nonstop since their first success, the news now announced their cases as a separate segment from the others as the numbers piled up.
It had been four months since their first case and they were now respected members of the detective group at Wammy's house.
Yumi was glad about the change of subject and hoped that he wouldn't remember her birthday. They continued to work until the case was finished then the two children left the file on the teacher's desk and walked out of the room.
After a few hours of computer research in Lawliet's room the two headed down stairs to the dining hall, and ate a sugary dinner while Yumi thought about having to work through her past birthdays.
Lawliet turned to her suddenly and looked her in the eyes. "Do you hear them?" he asked but Yumi couldn't hear anything over the noise of the dining hall.
"Hear what?" she asked.
"The bells." he answered with a sad tone in his voice.
Yumi strained her ears until her head started hurting but she still heard nothing. "No, I can't hear any bells." she said.
Lawliet got up and walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Yumi asked as she followed him.
"To listen." he said without turning to face her.
She followed him to the front yard and had to stop mid stride to avoid running into him.
He was standing with his back to her listening to an unknown sound, Yumi strained again to hear it. This time she was met with success as a deep booming church-bell rang through her. It was probably from a wedding, she thought and then she wondered how Lawliet had heard it inside.
They stood in the driveway for a long time listening to the sound of either great joy, or great sorrow. Then the bell stopped ringing. They stood for a few minutes waiting for the noise to reappear but it didn't come back.
"Lets go back inside." Yumi said as a shiver rippled through her.
"Ok." Lawliet answered and they walked back to the house.
It had to of been at least two weeks later when they were called into the office. Mr Wammy sat behind the dark wood desk and watched them take their seats.
"If I've been informed correctly, then the two of you have solved more cases correctly in the last four months then the police agency has. Due to this fact I believe that a reward is necessary." he said, smiling at them.
"A reward?" Yumi asked she had never considered that they could be rewarded for their work.
"Yes, and I believe the two of you should choose what it will be." Mr Wammy said.
They thought for a moment, then Lawliet looked at Yumi and seemed to decide on the matter.
"What about a trip to town?" he suggested.
"A trip to town? Ok sounds fun." Yumi said smiling she hadn't left Wammy's house since the first day here so going to town sounded wonderful to her.
They both looked at Mr Wammy for approval. "Alright a trip to town, then how about one week from today?" he said to them.
"Ok." Lawliet answered but Yumi was silent, one week from then was her birthday.
As Yumi and Lawliet walked out of Mr Wammy's office, Yumi wondered if her friend had really forgotten her birthday.
Yes, she decided after looking at him for several seconds, he has.
"Why are you staring at me?" he asked her on the way up the second flight of stairs. "You could have said something if you didn't want to go to town, I mean we can still ask for something else." he tried to clarify.
"Oh, no I want to go into town, I was just thinking." she said quickly, it was better that she didn't remind him of her birthday.
When they reached Lawliet's room they went to sit in the two wooden chairs that had been brought up a while ago. Yumi was trying to forget her birthday, and Lawliet was trying to figure out what was wrong.
They sat silently absorbed in their own thoughts for many minutes when finally the silence was broken, "I was wondering, do you have any... um cookies left over from dinner?" Yumi had to pull out of her real question as Lawliet looked up at her, she couldn't bear to ask him that.
"No, I don't, besides, if I had taken cookies from dinner you would have seen them on our way up." he said flatly.
"Oh, I guess your right." she said.
News of their reward spread like wild fire and soon the whole house was jealous of them. They didn't really notice though, they worked harder then ever in the next week, taking on cases that most of the older kids couldn't solve. Then finally the day of the trip arrived.
Yumi had slept in Lawliet's room again so they could work on the case through the night. When the sun rose they were already awake and waiting by the front door.
Mr Wammy loaded them into the car and started to drive. Yumi thought of the last time she had been in that car, she and Lawliet had just met and weren't getting along at all, she thought he was rude and annoying back then, it seemed far away now as she sat in the car with her best friend in the world.
After about an hour's drive the black car pulled through the streets of London, they parked in front of a busy shopping district, and got out.
Mr Wammy made it clear that they were to be back at the car by six o'clock that evening then went off to buy some coffee and an iced bun.
The children stood in the street with the large allowance they had been given for shopping. After a few moments they walked toward an ice cream shop to spend some of their money.
It was the same shop they had gotten ice cream from the first day, and they had a lot of fun trying to order exactly what they had gotten then, because neither could remember all the flavors they had eaten.
After that the two split up. It was hard at first for Yumi to be away from Lawliet after so long a time. They had always been together since that first day and it felt strange to be alone for a while.
Yumi's eyes were drawn to a shop where many expensive looking necklaces and other jewelry was being displayed. She walked up to the front window and gazed at a perfectly round and shiny silver bracelet, it looked plain but to her it was beautiful.
She read the tag through the glass she could afford it with the money she had been given but she knew she didn't need it and could find better things to do with the money.
She looked back at the shop again then walked off, through the streets she followed the familiar path of cobble stones to the only place in London that she could always find.
The wooden latter was still there even after four months of abandonment. She climbed slowly, her feet remembering to skip the first and second rung, because they wouldn't hold her weight.
At the top there were a couple of things that she expected but didn't see. First: the money that had been left there, second: Kyu, she thought she would see him again even though she had sent him away, and third: the man. He was gone too probably for good, he was a murderer, and she understood that now more then she had before.
Her gate was slow and thoughtful as she returned to the square. Today was her birthday, which meant she was seven years old, and she wasn't with the man to tell him. He had never celebrated her birthday, and got angry if she brought it up, so she had kept track of her age alone. Now though she could tell anyone she wanted and celebrate if she felt like it.
But she didn't feel happy and knew that Lawliet wouldn't really care much even if she said something about it to him.
She didn't see him for the rest of the day as she went from shop to shop. She bought some of her favorite taffies and an iced bun like she use to and a sketchbook that she had always wanted though she couldn't really do much with it, she bought some pencils that came in all different colors and a normal pencil that she could keep for herself.
She had lots of money left over by the time it was six o'clock and she hadn't bought anything really important. She regretted not spending the money on more important things as she walked back to the car.
Lawliet was already inside, so she slid in next to him and stared out the window on the way back to Wammy's. When they reached the house Yumi went back to her own room, she decided not to work with Lawliet that night, though she wasn't sure why.
She lay in bed and stared at the ceiling while she tried to go to sleep.
"Happy birthday, to me..."
She sang under her breath as she closed her eyes.
Then she heard the door open slightly, a shaft of light pierced the floor of her room then it was blocked out as a figure slipped in and the door was closed again.
She had expected it to be someone who maybe shared a room and had been sleeping in her's because they wanted privacy and she was always in Lawliet's room at night, so she was shocked when a hand lightly brushed her forehead.
"Yumi?" a voice asked she opened her eyes and looked up into the slightly pinkish face of her friend he seemed to be blushing brightly even in the black of the room.
"Uh... um... uh..." she had never seen him struggle for words like this before.
"Did you solve it?" she asked him trying not to sound annoyed at being disturbed, if he told her fast she may still have time to go to sleep.
"Um... no I-uh-haven't been working on it because, well..." this was getting weird, he was having trouble with his English and not working?
"Um... here I got you something," he said as he produced something from his pocket and held it out. "Happy birthday, Yumi."
He remembered! She took the small wrapped thing from him and muttered her thanks, still in shock. She opened the paper carefully, and thought to herself that Lawliet had wrapped it on his own, she could tell because it was wrapped more with tape then paper.
She finally opened one side of the gift and something glittered in her hand, the silver bracelet.
"I, um.. Well, I saw you looking at it and thought you wanted it so..." he seemed embarrassed by his choice.
"Lawliet..." she started but she couldn't finish, his expression grew worried when her sentence didn't follow his name. "Thank you!" she said as she threw herself on him in a hug, his face turned from gentle pink to bright red when he found himself unable to move away in time.
Yumi continued to thank him as she hung there around his neck, then with a final sniff of gratitude she unfolded her arms and moved away, he sat frozen for a minute as the shock wore off then, "yo-your welcome." he answered her.
Then he got up and left the room, he hadn't forgotten at all, Yumi thought as the door closed, he just wanted to celebrate it with a gift.
author's note: this took me a while to write and it didn't help that I didn't write all weekend but here it is. Thanks for reading and thank you to all my reviewers. I will post every day during the week like I have been doing but I may not always post weekend chapters. Thank you again for reading.
