***Hello, everyone! I actually wrote this yesterday, but that was about the extent of my productivity on the Saturday after finals week. I don't own anything, and let's go!
Chapter Two: First Meeting
Patient Name: Light Yagami
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 119 lbs
Diagnosis: Psychotic depression
Status: Under close observation/being treated
L could only assume that the status was a nicer way for the staff to say that they were keeping Light alive but had no idea of how to help him.
He put the chart overview back into the box on Light's room door, just below the room number. He went inside and noticed right away that the lights were out. When he turned them on, he heard rustling in the corner.
Although there was a bed, a chair, and a desk in the small room, Light had chosen to sprawl out in the corner of the room. His black, long-sleeved shirt and pants undoubtedly hid scars, but L was more focused on the fact that he was stick-thin.
His head was tilted to one side, and his half-lidded eyes let L see that Light's emotional state was just as frail as his body. L crouched right next to Light, waiting for some semblance of a reaction.
Nothing.
"Light Yagami, I am L. Can you hear my voice?" L asked, speaking in his general monotone. He felt thin fingers brush against his shin. Light had just barely moved his fingers, but it seemed like such a struggle for him.
"You can hear me, then. Good," L said. Slowly, rust-colored eyes met charcoal. L had seen this look in the eyes of patients before—utter despair, total listlessness, just wishing to be gone from this world.
After a few seconds of struggling, Light managed to flop his right arm over, as if he were about to receive an IV. L felt a twinge of anger—Light was that conditioned to accept needles.
"I'm not here to give you any injections, Light. This was supposed to be our first psychotherapy session, but... I would rather be more familiar with you first. Can you stand up so you and I can go to the cafeteria? You're wasting away," he said. Just the sight of Light so thin made his stomach ache with hunger pains that were all too familiar...
After a bit more work, the brunette's fingers traced four letters against L's shin. S-I-G-N. Although the Yagami family had mentioned that Light was intelligent, neither they nor any of the medical staff had mentioned that Light knew sign language.
"I understand sign language. If it helps you communicate, then by all means, use it," L said. He watched Light's hands where they laid limp at his sides. Slowly, he spelled a message with his right hand.
C-A-N-T M-O-V-E.
L raised an eyebrow. All of the medical records he'd read detailed Light simply not wanting to move or stubbornly refusing to do so. "Why not?" L asked. H-U-R-T-S, Light signed.
To experiment, L carefully picked up Light's arm and slowly bent it. Light winced, his toes curling. "I'll help ease your pain. It will hurt at first, but it'll help you," L said. He picked Light up bridal-style, being careful not to jostle him too much.
Light watched this person who was moving him, feeling his muscles ache each time he was moved even in the slightest. When he was laid slowly on his bed, his limbs splayed out starfish-style, he bit down into his lip to cope with the pain, tasting copper. Once the movement stopped, he felt something like cotton against his bleeding lip.
"It's okay, Light. Your pain will end soon," L promised. Once the bleeding stopped, L threw away the bloodstained cottonball he'd used on Light's chapped lip. Then, he began to massage his limbs, one at a time. L could feel the tension from just how little Light moved as he exercised each limb.
Every time Light seemed to be in discomfort of any kind, L felt pangs at his heart. It took over an hour to work out all of the tension. Once L was done, Light seemed less stiff and more relaxed. His breathing was less autonomatous now than it was before, and it brought L great relief just to hear him breathe somewhat normally.
"I'll bring you something to eat, as well as your nighttime dosage of medications," he said. As he turned to leave, he felt Light's hand brush against his thigh. L-I-K-E M-I-S-A, he signed.
L nodded, making a note to contact the Yagami family about the name Misa. "I'll return shortly. Perhaps we can both make progress," he mused.
Light seemed to be back into his own mind by then, so L left. Once he was outside, he grabbed the chart on the door and added a note:
There is hope for him yet.
***Be sure to leave a review on the way out, and I'll see you all in the next one! Bye!