A/N: I thought you guys wouldn't mind spending five minutes of your weekend reading this recent chapter. I'm not sure when this thing will be entirely done, but it is almost done. Two chapters to go. I know, I can't believe it either. Anyway, in this chapter, you will be pleased with the results. That I am sure. XD
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.
Chapter 10: Confessions
The upcoming new year fast approached the citizens of Japan, and that meant something special would occur a little after it. At some community center in the middle of Tokyo, there was to be a coming-of-age ceremony for young women who would turn twenty. With this, Sayu had to bid an eternal adieu to childhood innocence and teenage fantasies. Surprisingly, Light had idealized that she be the one to appear on the televised event, since he had the right connections and wished for his little sister to debut as an adult in a massive way. As a Yagami, he doubted that a mere rite of passage surrounded by family and friends would do. He wanted to show Japan how she amazingly bounced back since her kidnapping and failed suicide attempt. He longed to pull some strings in order to present a more content, improved Sayu. Besides that, he felt like he needed to do something for his sister after his prolonged absence.
This explanation he used on their mother due to the manner in which she acted totally bewildered by this suggestion. When his elaboration barely worked, he added that no one would care enough to pursue another kidnapping plot concerning Sayu ever again. This relieved Sachiko considerably, so she accepted the offer, of course, disregarding how the girl herself might feel about this.
All that mattered was that the precious younger Yagami child be forced under the limelight to prove her perfection. A bit on the live broadcast would display her positive attributes rather than her ordeal from months past. Sayu acidly objected to receiving on-air treatment, especially since she wished to lead the somewhat average life she used to think so painfully dull. Her mother insisted on the appearance, though, so she reluctantly agreed. However, she made sure to tack on that she would despise the venture.
To cheer herself up once the argument with her mother ended with that declaration of surrender, she called Mello on his cellphone to vent her frustration. She kept apologizing if she sounded like she complained in an annoying way, but he told her that was not the case.
"It would probably suck being under the public eye like that, however briefly," he attempted to empathize with her, though she knew that he couldn't relate. "I just like laying low myself."
She sighed long and heavily. "Of course you would! You have every reason to. My brother Light strikes again, I guess, trying to make me look as perfect as him."
"What if I told you that you were, more so than your brother?" he retaliated on the other end.
Stunned by this sudden question, she stalled on the phone for a few minutes. "Uh...you're serious, right?"
"Of course I am. Look, it's just some stupid TV thing that you'll get through. It will be OK."
With this assurance said, Sayu found that Mello had indeed appeased her with these almost kind words he uttered. Right before the ceremony started on the following week, Sachiko drove her to the building where she would get her hair and make-up done. Normally, she despised cosmetics due to their revoltingly sticky nature, but perhaps she could make an exception. People had informed her of how beautiful she looked, which impelled her to suppose that this wouldn't be so terrible after all. A lot of other young women would attend this event as well, so she had to lift her spirits somehow. As she thought this, someone announced, "Delivery for a Miss Sayu Yagami," and plopped down a beautiful bouquet of crimson roses on the dressing room table. She noticed a smile in her reflection before taking out the attached note that accompanied the bouquet. All the while she reflected on how sweet her boyfriend could be.
Dear Sayu,
I thought that maybe you'd like these with you on your coming-of-age ceremony thing, so you could think of me. I know I'm normally not this cheesy, but you deserve the best, even from some screw-up like me. You'll probably knock them dead out there and leave those other superficial girls in the dust. Remember, you're perfect.
-M
These rather slangish words touched her so profoundly that tears nearly pricked her dark brown eyes. She carefully wiped them away, since her lashes were currently elongated by mascara that was definitely not waterproof. Tucking one of the roses behind her ear, she left the dressing room.
Attired in a lovely, traditional kimono, Sayu certainly impressed the people she passed, including her other beautifully dressed peers. A real smile plastered itself on her face, maintaining its scarlet lipstick shine all throughout the ceremony. On stage, she gazed upon all of the faces that beamed happily just as she did, though she had Mello to thank for that. She even particularly noticed that her mother dabbed at her eyes with tissue paper, immensely awed at how mature her daughter appeared. Sayu grudged the fact that she felt like crying joyously, too. Soon, the spectacular moments of the ceremony ended, and she walked out to the parking lot, where she would wait for her mother. Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her, which turned out to be Mello emerging from the nightly shadows. His captivating eyes widened, and he nearly stopped breathing upon seeing her regally standing there.
Regaining his composure, he casually yet sincerely told her, "I love you. You know that, right?"
A vivid red blush spread throughout her face as she nodded, aware somewhat of how far his affections stretched. She didn't expect him to declare such a love for her, though. After all, Mello seemed to be the type of guy who kept his thoughts and emotions to himself.
He placed his hands in the pockets of his shiny leather jacket "So, you want to ditch this place?"
"Definitely," Sayu answered with a bashful grin while she took out her cellphone that she had stuffed behind the white satin obi of her kimono. Briefly calling her mother, she said that she planned to visit her best friend Akita to celebrate her coming-of-age. Sachiko believed her, told her to be home by eleven, and hung up on the other end. Beaming from the success of that little white lie, Sayu proceeded to search for Mello's motorcycle, placing a helmet on her head once she found the bike's parking spot.
Her boyfriend found himself endeavoring to stifle his laughter from witnessing such a comical sight as her dignified self donned in traditional Japanese attire wearing a cumbersome helmet. He strode over to her while she perched on the back of the leather seat.
"Did you tell your mom where you'd be at?" he inquired awkwardly, unsure if he liked that possibility.
"No," she replied innocently, twirling a strand of her brown hair, "I lied."
Smirking at the same moment she did, he patted her on the shoulder. "That's my girl. You're picking up my tricks."
She laughed as he got on the motorcycle to drive them away into the night, which no one would know about except the two of them. Two young people in love—they doubted a while ago that they would end up together.
The slight nocturnal breeze whistled through their hair, the scenery flying by like the fast forward action in a television. Cloudless night containing twinkling stars surrounded them while the moonlight shone down upon them. Tokyo lights from all the skyscrapers gleamed, the city continuing to stay awake even as some people retired for the night. Sayu signed contently, happy just to be with Mello on his speedy motorcycle, which carried them wherever.
Merely sitting behind him on this small, maneuverable vehicle was like an adventure that seemed endless. At first, she recalled how much she hated riding on this contraption, but she loved it now. The fact that she could wrap her arms around him without his objection was a particular bonus. Gradually, the motorcycle slowed and stopped before she could fall asleep. She opened her eyes to see that they halted right by a country lake, probably short miles away from home. After they alit from the motorcycle, they sat side by side near the water, their reflections shimmering.
Mello peered over at Sayu, who seemed to beam glowingly under the cast moonlight that illuminated everything so perfectly. With her dark blue and white kimono creating a lovely sight compared to the moon up in the sky, she was a goddess. Something stirred within his chest when he glimpsed her out of the corner of his eye, a strange emotion he had never felt before. He sight slightly before conjuring a barely visible smile directed toward her.
"You're beautiful," he murmured, subconsciously wrapping his gloved hand around hers.
This compliment caused her to smile too; though, of course hers was much bigger. "Thanks, maybe I should look like one of the dolls I used to play with more often."
He almost suppressed a chuckle, which he let out anyway, for it was full of mirth unlike his other bouts of laughter.
The breeze they had previously felt returned with a vengeance, what with the increase of the speed and the chill. The latter effected Sayu more due to the fact it was cold January, which made her wish that the ceremony had taken place in May. A thin cloth like what her kimono consisted was definitely not suitable for the wintertime. As much as she struggled not to, she shivered from the cold.
She leaned against Mello for warmth and comfort from the bone-chilling wind.
"OK, I'm cold," she confessed, still trembling in her ill-fitting clothing.
Without a word in response, he took off his black leather jacket that he had bought two weeks ago and ensured to show off on their last date. He draped it carefully over her, which she accepted gratefully with a subtle smile. For good measure, he wrapped his arms around her.
"There, is that good?" he inquired before adding once taking in her concerned expression, "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine, because I don't get cold easily. Honestly, you need it more than I do."
"Fine, just don't shiver," Sayu joked, leaning comfortably against his shoulder and felt very warm. In the mean time, Mello wondered what to say next to build an interesting conversation that could strengthen their bond. Keeping that in mind, he knew that this could not be as light-hearted as their past ones on their previous dates.
This one, he planned, might consist of similar material as to that of their personal conversation months ago. He had become so attached to her on such an emotional level that he assumed he should reveal everything. There were some things about him that he refused to tell anybody, even Matt, before. If Sayu still cared about him when he finished discussing personal matters, then their relationship was the most solid type he could ever imagine.
Luminescent moonlight made his blue eyes glaze over in deep thought, which compelled him to tell her in a low tone of voice, "I never got to tell you what happened to me as a kid, have I?"
She glanced at him worriedly, considering she was smarter than she looked and knew that what he prepared to divulge troubled him. Grasping his hands tightly, she gazed at him desperately.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Mello."
Smiling humorlessly, he ran a hand casually through her dark hair. "I'm capable of it. I think I can pull it off."
The smile soon ill-fatedly disappeared before he began his story. "So, I told you I was originally from the United States. I grew up with my parents for a while, and nothing could have been more perfect. Because I was the only child, I was spoiled rotten. My parents loved me, I know they did."
He stayed completely solemn as he stopped speaking for a minute, to allow Sayu to soak up this information. Admittedly, she could not imagine him as a happy person, remembering the moment he first talked to her during her captivity. He had struck her as a bitter, cynical type who despised life itself, representing an enigma with absolutely no hopes.
"We were pretty religious," Mello continued, gesturing to his cross necklace that hung loosely around his neck. "I got this from my mom, actually. We were close, and she was very active in my life...in the few years she was...she was healthy."
A dark shadow seemed to pass over his face, darker than any ones in the night, much to Sayu's anxiety. She hated to see her lover in this much anguish that apparently stemmed from something traumatic in his early life.
To show her undying support for him, she cuddled ever closer as she gripped his hands even more determinedly to the point she thought they would turn blue under the pressure.
He exhaled as though he released something truly awful deep within him. "As I was saying, my mom seemed well-off for a while. But, she got sick one day, so we had to take her to the hospital. It turned out that it was much more serious than we thought. Her doctor diagnosed her with leukemia."
Her breath was nearly taken from her out of sheer disbelief and sorrow from Mello's own misery.
"As she lay on her deathbed nearly a year later, she told me that I could keep her wedding ring to remind me of her. We really weren't all that rich, so that's why she suggested it. Then...she died right after she said it."
"Oh, Mello," Sayu whispered sadly, ready to throw her arms around him. However, he rejected comfort.
"Don't do that!" he snapped. "It reminds me of her...and how she would have comforted me."
He folded his arms across his chest to block out the close proximity between them, huffily sighing from what he just did. To his own shock, he realized that he had tried to push her, the love of his life, away. And that childish fear of losing came back to haunt him now, more than ever. With a better resolve, he continued on the last leg of his story. "Anyway, after that, things only got worse for me. My dad became so depressed over my mom's death that he blew his brains out, because apparently, he thought that raising me was too much of a burden for him."
Holding back his head, he regressed to his old habit of laughing bitterly at terrible things, causing Sayu to furiously interject, "That's not funny!"
"My whole life isn't funny," he shot back with a tinge of misery in his voice.
The ferocious snarl vanished from his face as he calmed himself to normal, or his definition of it. "Sorry, but talking about my past never puts me in a good mood."
She smiled wryly. "I can't blame you."
"After that, a guy named Watari found me and brought me to his orphanage for gifted children. I met Matt there. And the headmaster would make all of us take these exams a lot. I found out I'm not as smart as that Near kid who's been my rival ever since he came to Wammy's. Anyway, I changed my name from Mihael Keel to Mello, since it was a standard thing to do out at that hellish place," he finished, quickly adding, "You still want to have anything to do with me?"
Pursing her lips firmly, Sayu yelled exasperatedly, "Of course I do! The truth is, Mello, that I...I love you. I have for a long time, and you better have meant what you said earlier!"
She said the last sentence like a threat due to the reason that she would hate it if her love was unrequited. For, she cared very deeply about him and wanted him to know that. Meanwhile, he slightly smiled out of relief as he embraced her tenderly.
"I've told you nothing but the whole truth the entire time I've known you, Sayu," he whispered, tucking loose strands of her hair behind her ear. "I love you, too...very much so."
Mello brought her so near to him that her breath caught in her throat as his lips closed in on hers. He kissed her so much more gently than she thought he would as she grabbed his shoulder to kiss passionately back. She then vowed to herself that she would never forget this moment, especially since gazing down at her bouquet of roses helped her reinforce that silent oath. Sayu then looked up at Mello, who looked happier than she had ever seen him, to murmur, "Remember, you're perfect."
A/N: I hope my version of Mello's backstory wasn't too tragic for you guys. Then again, look at L's childhood and how tragic it must have been. Still, I really hope I didn't overdo it. But, yeah...I had him so casually say, "I love you" to Sayu, just because I could see him act way more casual about it than most people would. But, I don't know, that's just me.
Hm, you know, it's about a week until Valentine's Day, so this chapter was fitting in a way. I hope you guys liked it. XD