Chapter 10: Evidence

Light only realised how very creepy he himself was when he entered Misa Amane's room and swung the door gently shut behind him.

It was dark, and he knew he couldn't switch on the lights or someone might come in and catch him. He couldn't lock the door, that would be suspicious, so he had to have a hiding spot ready in case some idiots came in and started eating each other's faces.

Light looked around. This room was full of nooks and crannies, it wouldn't be hard to dive in somewhere if he had to. In the meantime, though, he needed to hunt for clues.

Checklist item 1: evidence of her obsession with him.

It wouldn't be hard to find, especially if he hunted her laptop. Light was a competent hacker, he often solved cases his father didn't consult him for by hacking into the NPA database and sending them anonymous tips, it was an easy way to get rid of his boredom. He pulled on the pair of black gloves, flicking the stray brown strands of hair out of his eyes as he carefully sifted through the contents of her desk and drawer, trying to find anything that wasn't either makeup or some sort of strange occult-like artefact (coins, feathered ornaments and creepy voodoo puppets, he did not want to know what they meant).

Light had debating bringing along a mask, but if he looked too much like a burglar when he was spotted he might get into trouble. If Light himself was seen here, he could just argue drunkenness or confusion. He had a mean damsel-in-distress impression.

"Eureka." He whispered as he laid his hands on Misa's shiny white laptop. He yanked it out of its place within the depths of her desk, laying it on her obscenely pink bedding and pulling it open. The room lit up with its brightness, throwing spots in Light's vision.

He bit his lip as he worked on the password. This was easy, she barely had any security and her password was a combination of her birthday and the day she'd gotten her first modelling contract.

The desktop flashed on and Light drew in a sharp breath, going for his phone and flipping it open, taking a quick photo of what he found.

The background image was a picture of Light's face, taken in class while he wasn't looking (he looked so exceptionally bored, couldn't Misa have found a better one?). Compelling as it was, though, it wasn't evidence. He had to find proof that she took her obsession to unhealthy levels, that she went to the extent of tracking him down and breaking into his room. Light searched the laptop for files labelled with his name and came up with nothing.

He won his first victory when he went to her recently opened files and found what she called her diary. The minor discomfort he felt invading her privacy disappeared the minute he opened the file.

Pictures of him, thousands and thousands of photographs copied onto a word document as if that would disguise what it was. They were all taken without his knowledge, all with a cellphone camera as he ate in the cafeteria, talked to a friend, flipped through a textbook or dozed off in class. As he scrolled through the humungous file, he came upon more recent ones. A snap of him teasing Ryuuzaki outside their psychology class. Another one taken as he was asleep in class.

Light found a kernel of amusement within all of this mess. He remembered this last one, Misa had gone psychotic because Ryuuzaki swatted a bug from his hair. From the angle of this photograph, he kind of understood where she was coming from. It certainly did look like his friend was stroking his hair indulgently with those spindly white fingers.

"Raito-kun?" A muffled voice came from behind the closed door, the deep baritone raised to be heard over the thumping music.

Was that Ryuuzaki? Light fumbled as he slapped her laptop shut and held it close to his chest, looking for the best place to dive into.

"Raito-kun, are you here?" The doorknob turned and Light felt a stab of fear go through him. Nimbly, he slid her closet open, slipping into the bottom shelf with her gothic skirts and shutting it just as he heard the door open. The brunet curled into a ball, chewing nervously at his lip as he set the laptop down beside him, trying to disappear into the darkness.

If only Ryuuzaki would fuck off! When he left, Light would be free to open up the laptop again and send the damning file to his email, use it as proof of her creepy-as-fuck fixation with him (what had Light even done to deserve this? He wasn't that attractive, he was above-average at best and Misa constantly met A-list and B-list idols. He didn't see why he warranted her attention at all, let alone this).

"Raito-kun?" The voice was tentative, anxious. It paused, and the distinct sound of a sniff was heard. "He…must be in here, right? I didn't smell an exit trail."

Light covered his mouth and nose with his hand, trying not to breathe too loudly. What the fuck did that mean? Exit trail? Was he leaking something? He didn't remember dousing himself in perfume or anything, did Sayu do something to him?

Hmm…that girl had been giggling more than usual when he left the house…

"Yeah, fuck, this room is absolute soaked. Speaking of which, dude, Ryuuzaki, I need to know how the fuck you can stand it. He's like a fucking buffet table or, in L-talk, a free-for-all at a candy store. Like, once I identified it, it's all I can smell."

That was Matt, Ryuuzaki's weird ginger brother with the orange goggles, he could tell by the variation in his English accent. Matt was more rustic than the other, more cultured brothers.

Ryuuzaki sounded pissed off by whatever nonsense Matt had just blathered. Had he said Light smells? Were they even talking about him anymore? How on earth had he filled the room in his odour? He didn't have a blocked nose or anything, if he was that pungent he would have smelled it himself. "I would prefer it if you do not use that language, Matt." The pale man muttered.

Matt's voice turned muffled, as if he was holding his breath. "Look, I get it, jeez. I'm sorry we're capable of using our noses too. I've given you my blood and I can't stand this smell anymore, my job is over. I'm out of here."

"Matt, I'm warning you-"

There was a slam of the bedroom door, and a quiet sigh. Light squeezed his eyes shut, leaning his head forward, his cheeks brushing against some rough lace ruffles. His legs were asleep by now, why wasn't Ryuuzaki following Matt out? Light couldn't switch the laptop on, the light would reveal his location and he didn't want to be caught.

Suddenly, strange sounds started to come from the bedroom. Things were thrown about, the bed creaked loudly as someone moved it to and fro at an insane velocity. Light was alarmed, placing his hand on the flat of the closet door and preparing to slide it open an inch before it was wrenched forcefully open and a pale face thrust itself in front of his.

Light shrank back. "Oh, fucking hell. Ryuuzaki, please be quiet." He held in a hysterical scream. "I can explain, I swear."

He watched as his friend's face twisted in confusion and, most worryingly, suspicion. "What are you doing, Raito-kun?"

"I-I swear I can explain. Just…just make sure nobody can see us. Close the door."

As Ryuuzaki retreated to check on the door Matt had slammed shut behind him, Light crawled out of his perch inside the closet. This was going as badly as it could. All he needed now was for Misa to come in and see him with her fucking laptop and go batshit insane on him, tearing him apart limb by limb and preserving his head as a part of her stalker shrine.

"Are you going to explain, Raito-kun?" Ryuuzaki slouched, watching him warily as the teenager placed the laptop on the bed and straightened to meet his midnight eyes.

Light licked his lips. "Okay, this is..." He sighed. "Do you remember I mentioned a stalker a couple days ago? Sneaked into my room, jumped out the window, didn't let me sleep?"

The pale man tensed, his finger freezing where it had been stroking the base of his bottom lip. Slowly, he blinked. "Yes."

"Well." Light itched the back of his ear. "I have reason to believe that it was Misa."

That caught his friend by surprise. His eyes widened slightly and his finger went up to his lip earnestly. "Why do you say that, Raito-kun?"

In reply, he knelt by the laptop and flipped it open. The screen lit up cheerfully. "Look at this." He swiftly entered the password and the awful document blinked onscreen, Light's caramel eyes staring at the two of them from a million different angles. Ryuuzaki crouched beside him, chewing on his thumb.

The brunet watched as the black-haired man narrowed his eyes, his face flushing. He reached out to scroll up the document, but Light stopped him, wiggling his fingers. "Careful. Fingerprints. I have gloves." He scrolled up for his friend and watched as his eyebrows knitted indignantly.

"She has been doing this for months." He darted a glance at Light. "Raito-kun, this isn't safe. You have obviously come here with the intention of investigating. We must hurry. What will you do with this information?"

"Actually, I'm not sure." Light tilted his head forward, his heart beating painfully in his chest. "I just…I needed the proof, Ryuuzaki. That night…I've never been more humiliated in my life. I was helpless, she had me pinned to my bed, she touched me and I couldn't do anything about it. I've never felt so pathetic, so fucking incompetent." A pause. "Her hands are cold, colder than I can tell you. I recognised them after, when she tried to wake me in class the next day. It was why I holed up in there until lunch, I couldn't…face her." He let out a hollow chuckle. "It's very distinctive, their coldness, you can't miss it." He swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I-I just needed to know."

There was an extended pause, and Light looked up to see Ryuuzaki looking terribly pained, his eyes squeezed shut as he bowed his head. Guilt clutched at the teenager, he hadn't meant to disturb him. Bringing him here was the worst idea he had ever had. He really liked the guy, but now the older man would only think of him as a helpless victim.

Can't fend for himself, can't protect himself. Pathetic.

"N-nothing happened, though. I mean, nothing physical. I-I mean…" He covered his eyes with his hand. "Don't look like that, Ryuuzaki. Nothing really happened, it's all in my head."

"But she hurt you, didn't she?" He said in a low voice that he could barely hear. "She hurt you badly. You will never forgive her."

Light blinked, confused. "Yeah. I mean, I can't forgive her, can I?" He pressed his lips together, contemplative. "It all points to her. The obsession, her strength, she even has a collection of wigs she's showed me once. I know for a fact one of them is black."

"Your memory is fascinating, Raito-kun. I am not sure I would remember so much from such a traumatic situation."

Light rolled his eyes. "I would remember more, but her face was covered when she broke in. Three nights, Ryuuzaki, she broke in for three nights straight just to watch me sleep. And those are only the ones I noticed. I mean, who does that?"

His voice was a whisper of wind. "An obsessive maniac."

Unbelievably, Light laughed. "Okay, that is officially what I will be calling her in my head. So far it had been creepy stalker, but obsessive maniac really puts the point across."

Ryuuzaki didn't laugh back, he didn't even smile. He wore the most sorrowful expression he had ever seen, it was unnerving. "Ryuuzaki, please, it's really not-"

"Raitooooo!" A loud voice screeched in the hallway, and a chill went down his spine.

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A/N: The next chapter's one of my favourites (which is why I'll try my level best to space out the update 3). Give me feedback please!