Chapter 11
Issei turned on the sink to splash some water in his face, but his trembling hands made it difficult. Someone knocked on the door.
"Sweetie, are you ok?" It was his mother. "Dinner's almost ready."
"I'll be right out." It was all he could choke out. It felt like something was lodged in his throat, and it made it difficult for him to breath. He paused. He reassured himself that no one knew what he was doing. There's no way anyone could know. Kira picked him for that reason. He thought just coming clean right there. If he said he was a hostage, maybe they'd let him go. But then Kira would most likely kill him, so he quickly shot that idea down. Another knock.
"Issei hurry up, don't keep our guests waiting." It was his father this time. He sounded annoyed. Issei gathered himself. He turned to shut off the water, and his blood ran cold from what he saw. There in the mirror, with a huge grin on his face, was Kira.
"What are you doing here?!" Issei whispered. Kira made a shooshing notion and pointed to the door, and then cupped his ear. Someone was listening.
"Are you talking to yourself? Hurry and get out here, dinner is ready." The annoyed tone was more obvious in his father's voice now. Issei turned to open the door, and Kira phased out into the wall.
The detective and his family were already seated at the table, along with Issei's mother. His father was taking his seat. He walked in himself, blushing red.
"Sorry about that everyone. Just had a little head rush."
"You must be hungry then," the detective shot back with a smile. Issei took the empty seat next to the daughter. She sat politely. Hands folded waiting to grace the meal. "Thank you for the meal." They all said it in unison, but Issei lagged behind. It was the first time he wasn't eating alone in months. The detective immediately began stuffing his face. Issei's mother's cooking had that effect on people. He spoke with a mouthful of food.
"Oh Issei, you ran off so quick I didn't get a chance to introduce you. This is my daughter Yumi. The girl froze, almost caught off guard. She looked down and put her hands in her lap. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she squeaked out. She was so cute.
Issei smiled, "It's nice to meet you Yumi. That's a pretty name." She blushed and fumbled with her chopsticks.
"Oh, thank you."
"Hey! Don't get any ideas with my daughter." The detective looked at Issei and winked. Was he drunk? How long had had he been in the bathroom? Yumi shot a quick glance of annoyance at her father, but he didn't even notice.
They spent the rest of dinner talking mostly about law and the sort. Turns Aizawa had worked on the Kira case for many years, and they thought they were rid of him until this "new" Kira showed up. Issei was very uncomfortable the entire time. It was almost like Aizawa was grilling him informally. Like he was an unofficial suspect. Maybe that's just how detectives are, he thought. When dinner was over Aizawa and Mr. Tanaka moved to the living room to talk about old police films. Mrs. Tanaka showed Yumi and her mother around the house. Issei was tidying up the table when his mother called to him from upstairs.
"Issei. Why don't you show Yumi around the neighborhood," she called down. He knew his parents were up to something when they suddenly invited him to dinner. They were trying to set him up with a job and a girlfriend in one shot. He decided he might as well play along. Yumi plodded down the stairs, half smiling and embarassed again. Issei had a feeling she too saw what was going on. He held out his arm and smiled. "Shall we go?"
There was nothing special about the neighborhood his parents lived in. There was a small park a few blocks over, so he decided to take her there. They walked in unison down the sidewalk. Her arm was still wrapped around his, and he could feel her clutching on to his coat. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah I'm ok. I'm just not too fond of being out at night," she said. Issei thought that was strange. Crime was at an all time low. Kira made sure of that.
"It's ok, nothing will happen as long as I'm with you." He sounded so corny. However, this seemed to calm her nerves, and she loosened her grip on his jacket. He led her into the park. There was a small pond in the middle covered by a willow tree. It was actually quite a pretty sight during the day, but at night it had a more creepy vibe to it.
"So you're a college student?" Yumi said. "And you live alone. What's that like?" she sounded sincere, like she actuallt wanted to know.
"It can be pretty lonely." He said. "You have to find ways to keep yourself busy." He totally just told her he masturbates all day. He sounded like a creep now. Surprisingly, she agreed.
"I bet that's awful. I sort of know how you feel. My father is always working, and mother goes out a lot. I end up being home alone a lot of the time."
"Don't you have friends?" he asked. She looked at him and frowned.
"We were always moving around and in protection programs because my father was on the Kira case. I never really got he chance to know anyone. I was so happy when the Kira killings stopped. Dad was home more often. We were more like a family again. But now that Kira is back, he's been home less and less." she really sounded depressed. Not thinking, Issei put his arm around her and hugged her. She was initially caught off guard, but soon she accepted it and returned it. Her body was warm. Issei had never felt anything like it. It was the closest he'd ever been to a woman. He let go to draw away, but she didn't let go. She began to cry softly. What had he done? She looked up at him and smiled with tears running down her face.
"Thank you," she choked out.
"For what?" he said.
"For listening," she said. He took her hand and patted it softly.
"Anytime he said. It's no fun being lonely after all," he said. "We should head back." Issei held her hand the entire walk home. She seemed more comfortable now. When they reached the door she paused, turned to him, leaned up a kissed him on the cheek before scurrying inside. He smiled. It was strange. This was the first time he'd felt happy in months.