Why does the word twelfth look so freaking weird! I literally had to google it cos I thought I was spelling it wrong, and I'm in college! It honestly seems like Mondays are better days for me to post, cos my Sundays are always really busy with work or doing double dates with my boyfriend and our friends. What do you guys think?
Thanks to VampireSiren and Aeva - Athena - Mardsen for reviewing once again! *tosses Light plushies at them*
Mai seemed distracted nowadays. She spent most of her time on her laptop, going over past Kira files and making small notes. Sayuri watched her with worried eyes, wondering if she would need an intervention to pull her partner away from her work.
After a moment, she snorted. It wasn't like Mai was the only workaholic in the family. Takeshi threw himself so wholly, yet unwillingly into his work that he was just on the edge of a mental breakdown. The fact that he had to oversee his younger siblings on their quest to find their mother's killer wasn't helping him either. Although he was only twenty-seven, he was already greying and aging right before the blonde's eyes, but no one else seemed to see it.
Ryuunosuke was so caught up on his quest for vengeance that he couldn't see his older brother, and even his twin drowning themselves in unhealthy work habits. His everyday thought revolved around Kira; he practically lived and breathed the criminal. Even with all his determination, he couldn't seem to make any progress however, and it was obvious to see that it frustrated the raven-haired male. So he tried harder than before, without any results. It was a vicious cycle that led to no-where for him.
The one whom one would think would be more laid-back was probably the worst of out of all the Yamada children. Kimiko was out all out, partying, drinking, getting high and having crazy sex. She couldn't seem to even think about having somewhat of a normal life. The rock star was sinking in vice, because it was her only escape from the reality that her parents were gone, and her older siblings couldn't be there for her when she needed them the most. So she partied till she couldn't think, passed out wherever she found herself that night, then repeated it all over again the next day.
Sayuri didn't know what she could do to help this family. She didn't know if she could at all. The only thing that would ever bring some sense of normality back to this broken family would be the capture of Kira.
Light stared at the large television in the FBI break room over his cup of scalding coffee.
Mai Yamada: An angel in times of crisis. Pictures and videos of the beautiful journalist flicked across the screen constantly, and Light felt entranced at the sight of her.
Toni took a seat next to him and scoffed when she noticed what he was watching. "What an utter load of bullshit," she muttered, digging into her Chipotle bowl.
The genius detective glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "You don't agree with her?" He kept his voice neutral, hiding his interest in the topic.
Nowadays it was dangerous to hold an opinion on the Kira – if you were with him, you were bound to be isolated (unless you found like-minded people). If you were against him, you were bound to be killed. Working with the FBI exacerbated that atmosphere tenfold. No one spoke about their opinions on Kira – all that mattered was that you did what was ordered of you. The fact that Toni even dared to comment about Mai meant she felt really strongly about the subject. He could use that to figure out what side of the fence she was on.
She glanced around them first, before answering quietly, "It's not really about who I support, but rather the fact that she's going about this the wrong way. She claims she's a journalist that just wants all the truth to come to light, but she's risking thousands of lives by speaking against him in public."
Oh, that was new. "How is that?" he asked, his brows furrowed.
"Well, she keeps saying that Kira isn't a god, right? She keeps urging him to go ahead and try and kill her, but she hasn't keeled over just yet, and the whole fucking world sees that. She's giving them this false hope that they can stand up to Kira and his supporters, and maybe Kira doesn't care what people are saying about him, but those supporters aren't going to hesitate to kill anyone that says a word against their god."
"But Kira's whole spiel is that he kills anyone who commits any horrible crimes," Light argued, his furrows deepening. "Isn't it counterintuitive for his supporters to kill innocent people?"
Toni snorted, "The police don't catch everyone, despite what Kira would like to think. People always get away without witnesses to give a face description or a name. Sure, they probably live always glancing over their shoulder, terrified of getting smited down by him, but I'm doubtful they'll ever get the justice they deserve."
Jackpot! he hissed victoriously, his garnet eyes glinting under the fluorescent lights of the break room.
"The justice they deserve, hm?" he repeated casually, taking a bite of his sandwich nonchalantly.
The computer genius froze, and glanced warily around, "Listen Light, I know you were on the Kira case in Japan – hell, over here everyone is technically "on the case" since it's so high profile, but there are just some things that he talks about that resonate with me, you know what I mean? You can't say that everything he does is totally in the wrong. He takes out some horrible fucks that can't be put to death because of country laws."
Amused, the genius listened to Toni's panicked explanation; he wondered what would be the best course of action here. On one hand, he could tell her that they were on the same side, and he understood where she was coming from, but that didn't mean she would be willing to work with him right away. He could tell her who he truly was, but she would either not believe him, or react violently towards him. It was one thing to admire someone from a safe distance, but when confronted, people were bound to act differently.
Deciding to go with the lesser of the evils, Light placed a hand around her wildly gesturing one. "Toni," he said softly, catching her wide eyes. "I understand where you're coming from. Sometimes it's like we're powerless to do anything except watch people get away time and time again…but he can change that – and he has been changing things. But – it's hard, for us especially. I get that."
She looked up at him with grateful eyes, a large smiling blossoming across her features. "I've always felt so alone and helpless; who would ever see my side of the story? The whole department sees him as this vile monster, but they can't see –"
"He's fixing what we can't," Light finished for her, his lips matching her wide smile, though it was for a heinously different reason.
The Yamada family sat together in their large and luxurious dining hall, eating lengthy silence, only broken by the sharps clinks of cutlery against ceramics and requests to pass on the salad bowl back and forth the siblings.
At the head of the table sat Takeshi Yamada, who looked more and more formidable with every passing day. He sat with a dangerous grace, peering down at his younger siblings with fierce protectiveness in eyes. At his right sat Ryuunosuke, ever the thinker and problem-solver of the quartet. If Takeshi was the pillar of strength to the siblings that their father had been, Ryuu was the pillar of assurance that they would always have a place to belong, no matter their situations.
Mai sat opposite Ryuunosuke, looking effortlessly beautiful like she always did. Her hair was pulled up into a messy high bun and her face was clear of make-up, but she still managed to take Sayuri's breath away. Although Takeshi protected the family and Ryuu held them all together, Mai offered something more complicated, but just as important to the four Yamada children. She held their mask in public, keeping their private affairs out of the public's eye, but reminded them of their humanity just as much. She brought them back down to earth when they needed it the most.
Kimiko sat next to her sister, fingers tapping an endless beat on the table. She was the baby of the four, the most treasured, and absolutely the most spoiled. They revered her ability to block out reality and hold on to naivety when she needed it the most. She had no responsibilities, and it gave her a freedom that her older siblings envied, but adored her for.
Clearing her throat, Sayuri spoke up, breaking the silence that had descended on the table. "I managed to land an interview with President Sairas," she announced, her eyes on Mai.
As expected, her partner looked surprised, yet excited. "That's great!" the ravenette said happily. "Congrats, Sa-chan!"
"That's a big score," Ryuu said softly, offering her a soft smile. "Congrats, Sayuri." Takeshi and Kimiko grunted in unison.
"Mm," she beamed at the table. "It took several months to even speak to him on the phone, much less get him to agree to see me for a little one-on-one time. I've got a month to prepare before I head to the White House."
Mai exclaimed in excitement again, and leaned over (an impressive feat) to press a kiss to the blonde's cheek. Kimiko quietly made a gagging noise, and earned herself an elbow to the side. The entire table descended into laughter as Kim dropped to the floor dramatically, clutching at her side.
It was a wonderfully perfect family moment.
"I think it's time that we involve Mai Yamada in our plans."
Anthony Carter, director of the FBI sputtered in protest at Near's words. "She's a civilian N! We can't involve her in these matters!"
The silver-haired teen merely pointed at the projector screen, where pictures of Mai and Light flitted across it, looking cozy and friendly together. "At this point, we have no choice, Rester. Whatever information she has, I have a hunch it will be game changing. We must tell her who this "L" is before she gives him any crucial information."
The blond shook his head. "This isn't right, N. We are the authorities here; we don't need to involve civilians in our war against Kira."
The teenager's head snapped towards the older man. "Like it or not, this is necessary!" he barked. "Being noble and honest is a fast track to failure, especially when we're dealing with someone this dangerous. You can put up with it and keep your protests to yourself, or walk out of those doors and never return!"
The members watched with wide eyes as their usually calm and collected leader snapped at Rester. It was obvious to see that the Kira case was wearing down on Near's mentality constantly. He was trying so hard to excel where L had failed, but he was in the same (read: worse off) position that his predecessor had been in before he died. Near was close to his breaking point.
Rester inhaled sharply, then nodded resolutely. "Alright N," he conceded. "I'll follow your lead. But I want to be the one who makes the call. I want to be the one she speaks to."
Sayuri lay sprawled across her bed, the sound of the television drowning out the running water from the adjacent bathroom that Mai was in. Although her ears were focused on the show, her eyes were trained on Mai's cellphone, which was constantly vibrating. It was an unknown number, she noted, which was suspicious in itself.
The Yamada family had paid a lot of money to keep their numbers off public listings, meaning only people who they had willingly given their number to had access to it. So, this was either someone Mai knew calling from an unrecognizable phone, or it was someone with enough power to find out what her number was with no hassle whatsoever.
Should I pick it up…?
The vibration stopped just as Sayuri reached over to grab the phone off the night stand. Sighing, she sank back into the bed just as the phone lit up once more.
One New Voicemail the notification pane said. Inwardly shrugging, the blonde reporter grabbed the phone and flicked her thumb across the screen, unlocking it. Dialing the voicemail number, she pressed the phone to her ear and waited.
Three minutes later, Sayuri slowly pulled the phone away from her ear. Finally, the past few weeks made sense to her. Mai was keeping secrets from her – something she had promised to never do.
The shower wasn't running anymore, she absently noted, her hand still on the phone. Quickly deciding, she pressed a number on the keypad and ended the voicemail call, just as the door opened and Mai walked through with nothing but a towel around her petit body.
"Who got kicked?" she asked, glancing at the television. A commercial for yogurt played on the screen.
"Dave, the blonde one," she answered, giving her smile.
"Awh, I liked him!" the dark-haired woman lamented. "He was so funny, and cute too!"
"Yeah, because he's a blond?" she snorted.
Mai turned to her, a wicked smile on her lips. "Babe, don't be like that! You know the only blonde I have eyes for is you." With that, she pounced on her partner, who squealed when her wet hair fell into her face, and attacked her with kisses.
"Miss Yamada? This is Anthony Carter, director of the F.B.I. We know that you have been in contact with one Light Yagami that claims to be the infamous detective L. I'm calling you to let you know that this is not true! I'm afraid that Light Yagami is actually the prime suspect for being Kira! I would advise you to call me as soon as possible so I can explain everything to you personally, but please do not divulge any important information you have to him! He has been lying to you –"
Message has been deleted. You have no more messages.
Omg, you guys have NO IDEA how I excited for you to read this! What the hell is Sayuri doing?! I really hope that plot-twist makes up for the fact that there wasn't any LightxMai interaction this chapter. I promise there'll be some in the next chapter!
On another note, poor Near. I think he's a really composed person, and he likes to be calm and think through things logically, and that's what makes him such a good replacement for L after he dies, because he never panics about anything. But right now, absolutely nothing is going his way, and he feels like he's letting down L, and he's panicking because he was chosen as his successor and he's doing an awful job. That's why he's so OOC and kind of psycho - he's getting desperate.
So, what do you guys think Sayuri is up to? What kind of awkward interactions would you like me to conjure up for Light and Mai? Review, and let me know what you think!
