"Hey! Lazybones! Get up! We're hitting Zuma beach!"
When Mariko got up to answer the door, seeing Near shirtless, her jaw dropped, before everything flooded back. Malibu, California… Everything. And that was why Near was wearing board shorts.
"Knock, knock." Near rolled his eyes and gently knocked on her forehead, and only then did she realize that she was staring at the board shorts, wide-eyed. She had never seen him wear nothing but shorts before.
Was this…?
Was he trying to…?
"Hello? Did you hear me? We're going to the beach!"
Near stared back at her briefly, as if suspicious, then Mariko nodded, sighing with relief. "Okay, I'll get my swimsuit." Before slamming the door in his face, breathing heavily.
A total misconception, right? Yeah. A total misconception. It had just been her stupid mind playing tricks on her. Her stupid, stupid mind. Playing stupid, stupid tricks. Making her think stupid, stupid, stupid assumptions.
She had to learn to control herself. No stupid ideas to mess with her head, nothing. She had to stop assuming things. She had to stop think he was… That was just her own little fantasy world. That wasn't… her world.
Not the real world.
The thought probably hadn't even entered Near's mind.
Sooo. Dirty thoughts, eh? Ryuk chuckled mentally, probably on the roof of the hotel.
Nu-uh!
Yuh-huh. Ryuk mentally nodded.
Okay, so what if I am? No law says I can't be a little lustrous.
Considering you're a minor, yeah, there is.
There are twelve year olds in rural countries that have sex, Ryuk!
It hit her in the face. That was the first time she had so bluntly called it sex.
Sex.
She blinked at the thought, even the mention.
Sex.
She tilted her head to the side, as if not able to wrap her mind around it. Sex? Near?
Mariko's mouth contorted curiously for a moment, considering the thought. Sex and Near just didn't seem to belong together. They didn't make sense. They didn't seem to work together, they were like some sort of… Oxymoron.
Her and Near having sex.
The image of that question being on a test flashed through her mind, and next to it, someone had written 'False.'
And yet… It was so perfectly imagined. As if nothing was wrong with it. The image seemed… perfect. As if untouched by sin, by demons, by the devil.
Almost like it was… Holy.
She smiled and grabbed her navy and white polka-dotted swimsuit from her bag, a dazed grin on her face.
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Ryuk smiled.
He was leading her down just the right path. He almost felt like cheering her on, hearing every thought in her head. It was almost like egging the girl down a road.
He paused a moment, contemplating something, before shrugging and deciding to go back to the Shinigami world for a bit, simply… Catch up.
Ryuk teleported quickly.
The entrance to the Shinigami world was almost like a dark, black, endless, spiraling portal. Ryuk traveled swiftly and silently through, however.
Not that anyone could even hear him, other than Mariko and Near, of course.
The first thing he heard was a bored-sounding yawn. "Hey, Ryuk."
Ryuk turned to find his eyes met with a bored-looking Shinigami Rem.
"Hello, Rem."
"You look tired." Ryuk stated bluntly. "What happened?"
"Human girl again."
"Ahh. So you dropped your Death Note?"
"Yeah. Even I get bored, Ryuk."
"What's this one's name?"
"Misa."
Ryuk grinned, then chuckled. "Oh, the irony."
The Shinigami made of bones ignored him. "Anyway, I think I found another human you might like."
"Oh?"
"Mmmhmm. Yagami. Light Yagami. Sounds a little crazy." Rem made a swirling motion near the side of her head. "Kanto region, Tokyo. Japan. Take a look. Looks about your tastes."
"I'll be sure to do that." Ryuk nodded abruptly to her, yawning. "So, other than the human girl, how have you been?"
"Fine, fine. And you."
"The same here, the human world has precisely the best apples I've ever tasted, no doubt about it."
"I've heard that. Oh, haven't you had the same human girl six years now? Doesn't the possession bond only last seven?"
"That's true, I'm killing her soon."
"Thought ahead, didja?"
"Yeah, wrote her name down two years ago." Ryuk muttered, staring out at the wasteland that was the Shinigami world before him, the seemingly endless stretch of land.
"Yup." Ryuk answered blankly, plucking an apple off the withering tree beside him.
There was a moment of silence. Awkward silence.
"Hey, Ryuk?"
"Yup?"
Ryuk turned to Rem, who now seemed to have a slightly more… was that a serious gleam in her eye?
"I was just wondering. If we're gods, then why do we die? Why aren't we called beings… Or some other strange name like that?"
Ryuk found himself at a loss for words, though only for a brief moment. "Rem, is something wrong?"
Rem shook her head. "Nah."
Ryuk threw her an accusing glance, but shrugged it off, not really caring any longer. "Well, really, you're over thinking it." He allowed himself a lazy yawn.
"I figured as much." Rem muttered. There was another odd moment of silence before she sighed and shrugged. "I better check up on Misa, she was contemplating the eyes deal. I hope you enjoy watching your human, Ryuk."
Ryuk nodded in parting, Rem doing the same.
And she left.
Ryuk shrugged, deciding to go back to the human world.
Not more to do here, anyway.
The Shinigami Realm was so boring.
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It wasn't until they pulled up to the beach in their caravan of cars that Mariko realized how early they were going.
"The sun's rising." She gaped blatantly.
"Of course it is! That's why Jemma and the other girls woke us all up!" Ami shouted with brummagem joy and happiness. For some odd reason, the thought, 'Sunshine and lollipops!' popped into her mind.
"Sorry, guys." Jemma muttered from the front seat, twisting her torso around to face them. "We only have a week, I wanted to make the most of it." She winked and smiled, before hopping out of the car on the side opposite of Mariko.
Mariko was staring at the beach, just… blinking. It was beautiful. The white sand, the sea was a beautiful emerald color, and the sky was a perfect purple red, and orange…
Like a picture in a romance movie.
The thought had nearly brought her back to Near before he gently elbowed her. "Er. Love, you need to get out before I can. I'm in the middle, remember?"
"Oh." Mariko chuckled slightly and slid out of the car. Jemma had driven, Ami had sat in the passenger seat, Keila had sat in the back with Mariko and Near, though Near and been smashed in the middle, much to his detest.
Near smiled and slid out gracefully, with Mariko holding the door for him. He smiled and kissed her gently. "Love you." He smirked and began to help the rest of them to get everything out of the trunk.
Mariko, stunned, just nodded softly, face pale.
They set up camp, all ten of them. Mariko blinked. An entire strip of beach had been reserved?
On top of that, beach can be reserved?
She grinned, made a face at Near, and the day was spent well.
Mello, of course, had brought chocolate, which had melted almost immediately, much to his dismay.
It seemed like a normal day. Up until Near and Mariko were sitting underneath an umbrella, Mariko having her knees drawn up to her chest, hair loose, waving in the wind, staring out at the waves and the shore, with Near sitting beside her.
Everything had seemed normal until he said something that disturbed her.
It disturbed her immensely.
"Is sex a big deal to you?"
Mariko turned and just stared at him incredulously. "What?" She squeaked out.
"Sex. Y'know, we're getting… Older. I'm just wondering what it means to you. Is it a big deal, does it not matter?"
"I… I… I don't know!"
"Milia," Near stared at her seriously, leaning inward. "I've seen the way you look at me."
"What way?"
"You have this… lustful look in your eyes when you look at me. I just want to know if I'm assuming correctly."
He was almost whispering, and that shot Mariko into a sense of awe. He cared so much… She was lucky. Really, truly, lucky.
"Look! That's what I'm talking about!" Near hissed quietly, snapping Mariko to her senses. "You get this glazed look in your eyes."
"Oh…" Mariko blinked slightly. "Well, um…"
"I really want to know, Mar… Milia."
Mariko paused for a moment, nervously looking downward. "Well… Maybe… A little. But just a little! I mean, not a whole lot!" She grinned sheepishly, cheeks almost immediately becoming a shade of scarlet.
Near sighed. "Let me restate the question. Are those looks you're giving me lust, or adoration?"
Mariko, stunned, meekly muttered, "Lust."
Near suddenly seemed far-away, his gaze drifting out to the shore where two of the girls were splashing wildly at each other.
Mariko hadn't noticed it, but the sun was beginning to go down, and they were beginning to pack up.
Even Near was standing up to close the umbrella.
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Later that night, Mariko got out of her shower and changed quickly, hopping onto her bed without thinking anything of it.
She was just about to drift to sleep when there was an odd rattling sound, then creaking.
Then footsteps.
Her blood turned to ice.
Mariko gingerly opened one eye to find…
It was Near. Standing there, gently shutting the door behind him.
"I want to talk." He mouthed.
He moved forward with surprising grace and sat down beside her as she sat up. "Hm?"
"I was thinking about what you said.""And…?"
"And… I'm okay with sex. As long as you're okay. Because I know you want to have sex with me."
Mariko just about passed out right then and there? This? Hers?
She stared at him for a moment, eyes pressing, then, nodded abruptly.
Without warning, Near lunged forward swiftly and beautifully, dragging her up into a kiss. The move completely caught her by surprise. If she hadn't been sitting, she would have stumbled backward. They took slow, gradual steps.
Her arms wrapped around his neck.
They seemed to fall backward onto the bed.
They moved a little closer.
They stopped muttering to themselves and just lived in the moment.
And his hand very, very slowly, began to reach for the back of her shirt.
The rest of the night, however, was their own.
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Beyond grinned maliciously. He grinned darkly.
His face lit up.
Perfect.
Absolutely, utterly, perfect.
DUNADUNA! Okay, here we go!
So close now. (:
I'll talk to you all later, I tried to make this chapter longer.
Byyyee~!
--Rem