Ryoko Shiraishi/Colleen Clinkenbeard as Kohaku Hatashi
Shiori Izawa/Kira Vincent-Davis as Sakae Shiraki
Sanae Kobayashi/Jessica Straus as Yue Hatashi
Shinichiro Miki/Travis Willingham as Kyoya Hatashi
Kosuko Toriumi/Jason Douglas as Ryuichi Shiraki
When clothing isn't described, either school uniforms are present (we all know what those usually consist of) or an aforementioned outfit is still being worn.
Silently, Kohaku and Sakae walk the empty street, dimly lit lamp-posts shining the way; Kohaku is fuming quietly, hands clenched at her sides, and Sakae is feeling large amounts of sadness, tears threatening to spill. Neither female can fully grasp that Light killed somebody; they presumed the man was innocent before the opposite was revealed afterwards, but it doesn't change that Light hadn't hesitated to kill the convict before they learnt the truth about him. In fact, that's what made it worse; he just went ahead and killed the man, not caring if he was good or bad in a logical standard. It wasn't right; Light wants perfection, but there's always going to be someone who'd think differently than him; it's how the balance of mankind works.
They're nearly a block away from Light's house when Kohaku snaps, unable to contain her building rage. Glancing around for anything to damage, she spots a trashcan and wastes no time knocking it over before landing a few powerful kicks into its side, creating a massive dent in the weak material; she's frustrated, mad at herself and Light for taking things so far, blaming herself the most for placing the idea into his head. However, perhaps he already had the suggestion in mind, seeing as he agreed with her without much thought; even so, she feels she's to blame. I wish we never found the damn thing...
"Kohaku..." Sakae utters, tearfully gazing at her friend. She feels frustrated herself, mostly upset, but violence isn't going to solve their problems; besides, they've seen enough callousness already. Approaching her fuming friend, she reaches out; before her hand lands on Kohaku's shoulder, her wrist is smacked away harshly. Instantly, she becomes disheartened; she doesn't deserve frustrations being taken out on her, too. "...Kohaku...?"
"Don't fucking touch me!" Kohaku yells, avoiding Sakae's gaze. She fails to control her emotions. "Just... Just fucking don't..." Her voice is breaking; slowly turning, she faces her friend, a few tears streaming down her face. "This is my fault... All of my goddamn fault..." Her gaze intensifies as she glares at Sakae. "So, don't you fucking dare try to comfort me when I don't deserve it! Light wouldn't be this way if I hadn't suggested-!" She stops mid-sentence, shaking her head. "Just... Don't say anything else to me, Sakae... Not right now, goddamn it..." She sniffles, wiping her tears and blinking back the ones that still threaten to spill. "Come on, I'll take you home..." She starts walking down the empty street again, holding back her remaining frustrations.
Releasing tears of her own, Sakae silently follows. She can certainly see why Kohaku blames herself, but she doesn't see her as the sole cause; they all had a say in what happened, so they're all at fault; they could've stopped upon realizing people were actually dying, but they hadn't. Personally, she allowed herself to be peer-pressured, but she doesn't hate her friends for it; they thought they were doing the right thing. Our worlds are going downhill... Things are going to be different now... So much different...
They're only two blocks away from the apartment building when Kohaku stops escorting Sakae home. She doesn't bother sticking around to be certain Sakae's safe, nor does she even state a goodbye as she strolls off into the darkness, heading towards her own home, which is many blocks away; she still isn't in the right state of mind to care about anything and she'd likely wonder if Sakae got home safely when her common sense finally returns. She grumbles; I should've known better; we should've gotten rid of the Death Note when we had the chance. L has a lead on us and Light is getting more fucked up by the minute... We're fucking screwed...
Eventually, she finds herself standing in the middle of the street, staring at her house; it's protruding the only source of light in the darkness. Hesitation keeps her from entering; she's stressed enough already. She strains to listen for any sounds coming from her home, but hears nothing. With a sigh, she approaches the door and enters, shutting it behind her gently.
She strolls through the house, glancing into each room before reaching the kitchen. Inside, her parents are seated at the dining table, quietly eating; that's better than them yelling, she supposes. They don't notice her, giving her time to collect her thoughts; she can't recall the last time they were civilized, other than the time she got stabbed. Thinking further, she realizes she hardly socializes with them, thanks to their constant arguing, but honestly, she doesn't care enough either way to hold a stable relationship with them; she'd rather be in her bedroom, doing literally anything else.
She makes a move towards her bedroom, but immediately pauses when her father starts speaking. "You're home early." Goddamn it; they noticed me, fucking hell, why?! Son of a bitch! She faces the kitchen again, eyeing her father first; Kyoya's hair is short and raven-black, eyes are light blue and mostly hidden behind glasses, and is wearing an office uniform. She wonders why he isn't frustrated like usual; perhaps he had a great day at work or...something.
She glances elsewhere, avoiding eye contact; she feels the urge to explode again. How the fuck am I early? I wandered the streets for hours. At least, I think I did. Maybe he means I arrived earlier than usual. Whatever, I should probably avoid being smart with him; I don't need to hear him yelling throughout the night again, not today anyways. I need... I don't know what I need, actually... Everything's so...fucked... "I didn't feel like staying at Light's tonight, so I just came home..."
"Is something the matter, sweetheart?" her mother asks, watching closely. Kohaku blinks, confused; why does she suddenly care? What the hell is going on? Am I asleep? Why aren't they getting drunk off their asses yet? Am I really home that early? She stares at her mother, unintentionally admiring the woman's overall appearance; Yue's long dark-brown hair is in a high-ponytail, her eyes are a dark shade of blue, and she's dressed in a bright yellow dress with matching heels; Kohaku guesses she had gone out with friends earlier or something, not that she actually cared about that.
She continuously stares at her parents, different emotions swirling inside; anger, sadness, disbelief, betrayal, frustration, and every other negative feeling. All of it is becoming far too much; she can't handle it anymore. Just like with Sakae, she starts releasing a few stress tears. To her surprise, her parents jump out of their chairs and hurry over. Huh. Maybe she passed out in the street and is having a crazy fever dream because there's no way they're that worried about her whilst she's uninjured.
"What's wrong?" Kyoya asks, sounding panicked. He grips her shoulders. "Did something happen? Are you hurt?" Everything is wrong, I'm not hurt, and something happened, but I can't tell you why or what happened exactly. Also, I really wish you would stop shouting in my fucking face. I swear, the one other time you guys worry about me and it's during a time where I don't want either of you worrying about me. Oi...
"You can tell us anything," Yue states, pulling Kohaku from Kyoya's grasp so she can hug their daughter. "I promise we'll listen and help you in any way we can." Sure you will, right after you get mad, but I'm not about to reveal anything important. I'm on my own here...
Kohaku doesn't understand why they're acting as if they care; the only other time was when she was on the verge of bleeding to death from a stab wound and they had bothered her for, like, an entire week before they went back to arguing with each other. Other than that, they always yell and complain about her, and they whine about everything else, too; sometimes, maybe most of the time, her mother will defend her actions but Kohaku doesn't care about that; the arguments always keep her up late and no amount of defense in her honor is gonna make her forget that. Although this is the second time her parents worried about her, from what she could actually remember, she decides not to let the rare occurrence go to waste. "..." She isn't sure how to explain without really explaining. "...My... My friend hates me, I think..." She sniffles. "...Actually, I'm pretty sure he does..."
"Tell us what happened," Kyoya urgently demands.
Kohaku glances at him as she pulls away from her mother. "I... I made plans with my friends and very recently backed out..." She sighs, a few more tears escaping. "...Light, he didn't like that... He kicked Sakae and I outta his house... That's why I'm here instead... He was so quick to yell at us and he just... He threw us out like we were nothing..." That's exactly what happened, except I can't let them know about the Death Note; they must never know.
Yue speaks in a reassuring tone. "Oh, honey, he's probably just angry about the sudden change of plans." No fucking duh, Mother. "He might've been looking forward to things. What happened between you three was just in the moment; give it time and he'll come around." I highly doubt his anger will die, Mother; that Death Note has him corrupted to hell; he's the fucking devil now.
Fuck this bullshit! "Why do you even fucking care?! You never cared before! All you two ever do is argue about things I do or about shit that doesn't matter, all while you drink yourselves to death! Hell, the only other time you didn't scream at each other was when I nearly died!" She moves further away from them. They stare at her with widened eyes, surprised by her outburst. "And, for your information, I've always known you wanted a son instead! I figured that out years ago! You want a golden child, not some punk ass who rarely shows positive emotions and has only two friends! All I ever do now when you yell is wonder why the hell you never tried for another! If you want a son so badly, make or adopt one instead of constantly complaining about it! Goddamn!" Finally, I've released all that I've kept inside, mostly. Now, I just gotta wait for their shock to vanish and they'll start yelling back at me. What-fucking-ever. She brushes her tears away.
What happens isn't what she expected; her mother begins sobbing as she moves to sit at the dining table again. Her father simply sighs as he stares at her sadly. "We're sorry you heard what we've yelled in anger," Kyoya states with a frown, speaking for his wife as well. "None of it was true. We love you as you are. We're sorry we made you feel unwanted and unloved; that's furthest from the truth. I shouldn't have let my stress from work affect my behavior here. We've only ever been worried about you. We should've shown that concern in a better manner." He approaches her and hugs her. "You're our little girl. We'll always be worried about you. We'll always love you. Don't ever think otherwise."
That's just a bunch of bullshit, too! They're just sorry they got caught! "Whatever... You guys are confusing; you've got the oddest ways of showing you care..." Kohaku wipes the rest of her tears, calming down pretty quickly. She pulls away from her father's touch, not wanting his comfort. He continues to frown, but steps back, turning towards his sobbing wife; he approaches her and holds her in his arms, rubbing her back. "So, you guys don't think I'm a mistake...?" she softly asks.
Yue, still crying, looks towards her daughter. "You were never a mistake to us... Never..."
Kohaku shifts on her feet uncomfortably; she doesn't know what to do. Should I help Dad comfort her...? Should I go to my room now...? I don't know... Uncertain, she just stands there, watching. "...I'm sorry for questioning you... I'm... I'm not that good with people... I don't trust most... Ummm..." She doesn't know what to say either.
Sensing her discomfort, Kyoya takes pity on her. "You should head to bed. It's been a long night. We can talk more in the morning." Feeling relief and some guilt, Kohaku nods, uttering a quick goodnight before she turns and heads towards her bedroom; she's glad to be out of that situation, but feels bad for being so awkward that she hadn't been able to do anything to ease her mother's obvious pain. Hopefully, her father can...
Sakae walks down her street, negativity evading her mind. Did I drive Kohaku into leaving...? Did I upset her that much...? Was she too distraught to think logically...? Was that all about what happened with Light...? So many things cross her mind; it's unbelievable. Nothing is going well anymore. Light thinks otherwise, which explains why he got so pissed, but that doesn't make it right; it makes it worse. I wonder if we'll ever be able to convince him to stop... She pauses her walking and leans against the brick wall. "Why does everything have to be so difficult...?"
"Have at her, boys!"
"You goddamn brat! You're next!"
"Don't you fucking touch her, ass-face!"
She shudders, frantically shaking her head. Not again... I don't want to hear those voices anymore... Why won't they be quiet...? Since they began their usage of the Death Note, her memories of her parents' death occasionally replay in her mind; they'd been triggered out of the box she locked them in, tormenting her like they did for months after the actual incident. I don't know if I can escape these memories again... They just won't go away; I can't push them away...
Suddenly, she hears somebody calling her name. Glancing to her right, she spots her older brother walking towards her. Ryuichi, only a few years older than herself, is holding a briefcase, signaling that he might've only just gotten off work. She's relieved; she isn't alone anymore. Getting off the wall, she meets him halfway, placing herself in the middle of his path; she needs a small distraction from her negative feelings. "Hey, Ry. How was work?" She hopes her voice hadn't cracked.
It hadn't. She receives a shrug, followed by a short verbal response. "It was work." He starts walking again, past her, and glances back to signal for her to follow. She does, a few steps behind him. As they walk the small distance to their apartment, she admires him; he's a foot over her in height, he has shaggy red hair that falls past his ears, he's dressed in his baggy working clothes, and, though she couldn't see them anymore, he shares the same eyes as her, only his hold no regret and some sorrow. Perhaps someday, he'll marry and be happier, she thinks, her gaze moving to the ground. Eventually, they find themselves heading up the stairs of the apartment building. "What happened today?" Ryuichi suddenly asks.
Sakae crosses her arms, hugging herself. So much for a distraction... "Kohaku and I are in a slight disagreement with Light. It's no big deal, though. We'll settle it the next time we see each other." Hopefully.
"I see," he responds. "What was it about?"
Sakae metaphorically waves off the question. "It's really nothing to worry about. Like I said before, we'll settle it soon. It's no big deal, really." Except it really is a big deal... I wish I didn't have to hide these things from him... But how else will I be able to protect him from it...? He deserves better than to get involved in these matters...
Ryuichi makes no response, silence forming between them. When they finally reach their apartment, he unlocks the door and they step inside. It isn't relatively large, just big enough for the two of them; there's a kitchen, living room, a bathroom they share, and two small bedrooms. Sakae goes straight for the kitchen, seeking something to munch on. "I'm gonna fix dinner," Ryuichi announces, approaching from behind. "Do you want some?"
"Nope." Sakae pulls an apple out from the fridge, roughly closing it back. "I'm not that hungry tonight." She slightly shrugs, acting indifferent. As she stares at the fruit in her hands, she realizes she probably won't even be able to eat it. Ryuk loves apples... He's our... No, he's Light's Shinigami... Shinigami exist... A notebook that can kill people exists... One simple argument with him could make me no longer exist... Everything's getting so much more complicated...
Ryuichi crosses his arms, staring at the back of her head. "Sakae, when will you eat with me again? Because this grudge you've got, it can't go on forever."
Grudge? Sakae turns towards him and stares back; she can practically see sadness protruding from his eyes. Oh... Right... That grudge... That's been the least of my concerns lately... He hadn't been there when the burglars killed their parents and almost took her; he hadn't been there to witness all the horrible shit they did; he hadn't been there when Kohaku came to save her; he wasn't even there when the cops came to rescue them from further injury; he wasn't there to stop it or to comfort her after the fact. She glares at him; remembering her grudge and everything she's ever dealt with is taking a toll on her, again. "The day you realize you can't control what I feel and do is the day I'll eat with you again!" she yells, releasing her anger upon him. She pushes past him and heads to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her as she leaves Ryuichi stunned.
He stands there in the kitchen, frozen. The last time she had an outburst like that was when I had shown up in her hospital room the night our parents died... He sighs, arms dropping to his sides. He stares where his sister once stood. Does she really think that way about him...? She thinks he's controlling...? He's just trying to be a good brother. He sighs again, shaking his head. He looks at her bedroom door; there's no way in hell he will leave things as they are. He approaches her room and knocks on the door gently. "Sakae, please, open the door."
"Why?" She's leaning against the other side, holding back tears.
"Please, Sakae. Can we just talk?" he pleads.
There's silence on the other side of the door. After a moment, it opens. Sakae glares at him again, tears filling her eyes. "Why?" she angrily repeats. "Why do you want to talk to me now? Our "disagreements" never stopped you from ignoring me before, so why is it stopping you now?"
Ryuichi doesn't reply, not really. Instead, he pulls her into a tight hug. "I..." He sighs. "I know you're mad at me, and I know you still blame me for what happened, but you're still my little sister. I care about you. So, whatever's going on right now, you can tell me. I don't want you holding back anymore; I don't want you hurting anymore." He doesn't expect anything from her, so it surprises him when he starts feeling her arms wrapping around him. "So, are you okay...?"
Not really, no... Sakae presses her face into his shirt to hide her tears. "I don't blame you... Not anymore... I haven't for a while... I just..." It's hard to explain when she has to keep a secret. "...So much has been going on... I'm really scared, Ryu..." She sobs into his clothing. "Light... He's changing... I mean, he just... He's been acting really strange lately... He basically sent Kohaku and I away because we aren't agreeing with him about something anymore... I'm really scared of what will happen to our friendship... And I'm terrified of what's happening with the world... It's all too much..."
Ryuichi isn't certain how to respond. He awkwardly pats her head as he attempts to comfort her. "It's... It's okay, Sakae. Everything's going to be fine..." Except he doesn't know if everything's going to be fine because everything is changing. "I'll always be here."
Don't make promises you can't keep... Even so, his words make her feel better. She sniffles. "Thank you..."
"You're welcome," he replies back. He pulls from the hug. "Shall we eat dinner, then...? After I make it, of course, but shall we...?" She gives him a false negative look before smiling, wiping her tears away as she nods. Even though everything else is going bad, maybe they can make something else good again...
At the ICPO headquarters, officials are gathered inside an office, sitting at their desks; at one end, Watari sits behind a laptop that displays the letter, L. Reports of statistics are being given out to everyone by Kanzo Mogi, a tall, broad man in his thirties with short, spiky black hair, dark eyes, and formal wear like everyone else in the room. Beginning with the tip line reports, they've received three-thousand twenty-nine responses about the murders via telephone and e-mail; however, most callers have been either curious citizens and prank calls, leaving only fourteen people who claim knowledge of knowing or seeing Kira; such accounts are followed up and carefully documented, but nobody can provide actual information that isn't already publicly available; additionally, at least twenty-one of the callers have claimed to be Kira, so files are created for all of them, too. Victim reports follow shortly afterwards; it's confirmed that information of heart attack victims are publicly available in Japan prior to their deaths, all occurring between the hours of four in the afternoon and two in the morning on weekdays with sixty-eight percent occurring between eight in the evening and midnight, and weekends, plus holidays, seem to be the exception to the rule since the times of deaths vary much more widely during them.
Ultimately, L gives a positive response; he suspects that Kira might be a student, given the times of death. His words make everyone mumble to themselves. Furthermore, he reveals that Kira is, allegedly, being driven by a very idealistic notion of justice, likely aspired to be a godlike figure, and has a very childish concept of right and wrong; again, that's merely speculation. Even so, he recommends them to re-examine any assumptions they've made because they need to consider every possibility; in his belief, it's the shortest route to finding and arresting Kira.
Mr. Yagami questions for anyone else to speak up if they have something to add. Unfortunately, someone does; Matsuda thinks it's the perfect time to state that, although he doesn't support Kira or condone the murders, throughout the world but especially Japan, they've observed a dramatic decrease in the number of violent crimes committed. Ultimately, just about everyone in the room becomes annoyed by his statement; they've already expected that outcome. Seeing their reaction, Matsuda visibly appears panicked but when Mr. Yagami responds calmly, he just sits back down silently, embarrassed.
After giving his thanks, L requests something that's directed to the teams investigating the victims, TV news, and internet; he wants them to go back and take a closer examination of the exact way the victims' identities were made public and additionally wants them to be as thorough as possible, and wants information on whether or not photos of the victims are available to the public in Japan. After that, the meeting ends...
Midnight arrives. Kohaku can't seem to fall asleep; too much is on her mind. How much does L know? Is he just a hint away from figuring us, erm, Kira out? Is he days away from locating him? Is he right outside Light's door? No, he wouldn't arrest Kira personally; someone else, perhaps Mr. Yagami, would do it... Hell, I wonder what the man will think when he learns Light's a killer... Speaking of which, why hasn't he killed me yet...? I'm sure he's thinking about it... Or am I just getting paranoid for no reason...? Perhaps, because of our friendship, I'm safe...? I hope Sakae is alright... I shouldn't have left her alone...
She huffs, sitting up. She starts rubbing her head. "Fucking hell... I can't sleep with all this racket," she utters, sighing. Gazing down at her attire, which consists of a black tank-top and matching jogging pants, she shrugs. "Eh, good enough." She stands and approaches the window; she's going to sneak out, again. Lifting the window seal, a loud sound is created. She freezes; did they hear that? She waits for her parents to burst into her bedroom, expecting to get caught red-handed, but no one comes; nope, they didn't. Patiently, as to not cause any more noise, she climbs out of her room, releasing a long breath of relief when she succeeds in being silent during her escape. She's free to roam the streets.
Thankfully, the streetlights always remain on during the night, continuously serving as her guide through the darkness. She isn't aiming to go somewhere in particular; she just wants to wander and get her thoughts straight. I wonder if Light is killing someone else right now. He probably is; he doesn't take many breaks. I hope Ryuk is annoying the hell outta him. He makes a real good distraction, that's for damn sure. Maybe he's juggling apples. That's certainly something I'd like to see someday. She continues strolling down the sidewalk, barely avoiding stepping into glass from a broken beer bottle. I should've thrown on some shoes before I left. Too late now. She'll just be extra careful with where she's stepping.
She doesn't know how long she'll be walking, but as long as her thoughts calm the fuck down, it doesn't matter; eventually, she will turn around and head home, but until then, somewhere forwards is her destination. She starts strolling past an alleyway, but pauses when she hears a sobbing female, followed by the rough tone of a man. Oh, don't fucking tell me that someone's... She glances towards the alleyway, immediately spotting the silhouettes of three persons. Without hesitation, she steps inside. The streetlight is barely shining into the alleyway, but it's enough; she can see the faces of the men and woman when she's close enough. The woman, thankfully clothed, is pinned against the wall, one man holding her in place whilst the other roughly fondles her. The men start laughing at the woman's misery and Kohaku can't stand the vulgar words they're using, can't stand what they plan to do.
She sees red. Suddenly, when she isn't far from them, she starts sprinting at the man who's lifting the woman's shirt. He hears her coming, but doesn't do anything (apart from glancing her way) when she swings her fist into his face, knocking him flat onto the concrete ground. Never stopping, she jumps on him before he can even process what has happened and continues smashing her fist into his face. As she does this, the other man releases the woman out of shock; his would've-been victim runs out of the alleyway, screaming. Kohaku doesn't stop hitting the man in her grasp, not until she feels intense pain in her left leg; she hadn't known about the gun.
She flops off the unconscious, and fucked-up faced, man, landing on her back. She reaches towards her wounded leg; I should've seen that one coming. Instantly, the other man is on her, pinning her hands above her head with one of his own; he smirks down at her, waving the gun in her face, likely out of spite. Fucking idiot. She knees him in the crotch with her injured leg while he's fucking around, hissing in pain as she does but she's happy to see the man hurting, too. She quickly knees him in the nose afterwards, making him drop to the ground; his gun drops from his hand, too, as he holds his face. She swats it away as she straddles him, fist aimed at his head. As he groans, she smirks. "Next time," she begins. He makes another quick move at her, but she hits him in the face as hard as she can, knocking him out. "Aim for my fucking head," she finishes, spitting on him afterwards. Hissing, she gets off the man but remains seated on the ground, back against the wall. Man, this hurts like a bitch, she thinks, gripping her injured leg, really feeling the flaring pain as time passes on; adrenaline rushes can only be but so helpful for a short time.
"In there!" she hears a woman yell from outside the alleyway. That woman... She came back...?
Kohaku is flabbergasted; she hadn't seen that one coming either. Peering towards the entry of the alleyway, she can see a few silhouettes heading her way. How the fuck did the woman get help so damn quickly? This alley must be pretty damn close to the police headquarters or something. I'm one lucky bitch. Soon enough, she's able to actually see the men approaching her, both with a weapon in hand; one is young, possibly a rookie, and the other, she knows him quite well. "Mr. Yagami?"
Mr. Yagami's eyes grow wide. "Kohaku?" He glances away from her, taking in the state of the unconscious men lying nearby. He doesn't say it aloud, but he's kinda impressed that she'd taken down two predators without assistance. He kneels beside her, allowing the other cops, who are filling into the alleyway, to take care of the men.
"You know this girl, Chief?" Matsuda questions, putting his gun away.
Kohaku glares at him, hissing through her pain. "If he didn't, he wouldn't have known my goddamn name." She rolls her eyes, forgetting her pain for a few seconds as she grows annoyed. Why did they bring a rookie along for the ride? She yelps when he accidentally knocks his foot against her injured leg. Goddamn, that hurt!
Matsuda swallows nervously, appearing sheepish. "R-Right." He crouches beside her injured leg, giving Mr. Yagami a concerned glance before he looks back at her. Around them, the remaining officers are dealing with the unconscious, and gravely injured, criminals. "Are you wounded?"
Kohaku looks at him incredulously. Is he really that fucking stupid? Or is he blinded by the darkness...? Either way, she can't hold back her remark. "Am I wounded...? Am I wounded?! Are you fucking kidding me?! Do you not see the blood flowing outta the hole in my fucking leg, the same one you kicked with your clumsy ass?!" She shifts, yelping again; she clenches her fists, the pain flaring through her entire leg instead of around the wound. "Fuck!"
"The paramedics will be here any minute," she hears someone state, but she's too focused on her pain to pay attention anymore towards whoever's speaking. They better hurry the hell up, she thinks, cause this pain is killing me! She's almost certain that Mr. Yagami starts speaking to her again, but she doesn't care enough to attempt listening; she just wants the pain to go away. Goddamn, I miss the adrenaline rush...
The wait for the paramedics isn't long; they arrive after another few minutes. Kohaku can't remember much after that; she remembers being given drugs to ease her pain and wondering if they were allowed to do that on the spot, she remembers drifting to sleep when her back hit the gurney as Mr. Yagami held her hand, and she remembers seeing his blurry face as they both entered the back of the ambulance, something else she wondered about, too; everything else is a blank when she comes to inside her hospital room.
Groggily, she glances around and grimaces when her eyes finally focus. She never liked hospitals; they smell of despair and death, two things no one should ever like unless they're a masochist, sadist, both, or whatever else. Her room looks so bland, just like any generic medical room, and it smells like chemicals; she hates it. She glances down at herself afterwards; she's in a hospital gown and her leg is bandaged. She feels no pain, so the drugs are still influencing her, she assumes. She stares at the bandages. I'm certain it's gonna scar.
Her growing discomfort suddenly subsides, quickly turning into great irritation when she finally notices that her parents are sleeping in nearby chairs; of course they were told. As if on cue, Mr. Yagami enters the room and the two share a very brief conversation; the crime will be kept from leaking out to Kira (she had to convince the man to give her that information) and she requests that he keep her involvement secret from her friends (especially Light, though she doesn't voice that aloud), the man reluctantly agreeing. When he left, her parents awaken from their slumbers and before they can get a word out, she demands the same from them; they aren't allowed to let Light or Sakae know. Although they question why their daughter asked such a request, they accept; they won't speak a word about it.
Approximately three-to-four days have passed since the disagreement between Kohaku, Light, and Sakae. They're ignoring one another, keeping to themselves; they aren't ready to speak again, the "wounds" still too fresh. Sakae keeps her mind on her studies, though she occasionally glances at her friends during their shared classes; Kohaku keeps her mind on healing and being quiet, claiming to anyone who asks that her newfound limping is from falling down some stairs; Light keeps his mind on the Death Note and how he'll keep his tracks covered, and occasionally thinks back to the disagreement whenever he catches a glimpse of Kohaku and Sakae but not once does he think about apologizing to them for anything. Overall, they're temporarily content.
Nightfall comes as quickly as the day went. Light is inside his bedroom again, but isn't writing in the Death Note; instead, he's helping his sister with her homework, again, as Ryuk watches them from the bed, bored as hell. From time-to-time, Sayu will slip in a question about Sakae and Kohaku; she noticed they haven't been hanging out with him lately. Instead of answering, he dismisses the questions and keeps the topic on her math homework. Eventually, he grows tired of attempting to help her without Sakae's assistance (she made it more tolerable) and asks her to try doing the problems on her own; she agrees. However, the early arrival of their father makes her instantly forget about doing her work.
During dinner, there's silence. However, that quickly changes when Mr. Yagami decides to make conversation with his son about his studies. Shortly after answering and getting responses out of his mother and sister, Light questions his father about why he's looking so tired; Mr. Yagami merely states it's the case he's working on, not allowed to say more than that (although he did share very little information with Kohaku days prior, out of sympathy since she'd been shot).
Eventually, dinner ends. Light goes back to his bedroom, using his family's shared home network to hack into his father's computer while Ryuk constantly watches him; it's Light's way of keeping track of the investigation. Very quickly, he learns that the police are suspecting a student, so he begins making plans to fix that problem as Ryuk cackles at the information, thinking Light will get caught soon enough. However, Light's new plans put a damper on these thoughts of his; Light is going to do as he always did, except he'll be adding the time of death, too.
As Light goes about making his plan a reality, he's scrolling through a list of criminals in the police reports when several names catch his eye. Studying the entries carefully, he quickly learns that he yet took care of the scum who changed Sakae's life forever. Writing their names down, he continues scrolling and soon spots another name that captures his attention, but what he reads makes his eyes widen. Suddenly, Kohaku's limping comes to mind and he finds himself clenching his fists; why didn't she tell me she was attacked? Without another thought, he writes the names of the criminals that his friend encountered the night of their disagreement.
Nobody messes with my friends, he thinks before recommencing with his plans...
The next day goes by quickly; during school hours, while Light is portraying the role of an innocent modeled student, twenty-three criminals have heart attacks at the specific times he'd written; everything goes according to his plans. The following day, the same occurs; twenty-three heart attacks throughout school hours while Light fakes his innocence.
Lunch is taking place at the school. Students are crowding in the cafeteria, gathering around in large groups as they find their lunchbox friends. In the far corner, Kohaku is sitting alone, staring out the window; she doesn't plan on eating, just wants some distance from everyone around her as she thinks about things. On the bright side, she isn't limping anymore, but her skin isn't fully healed yet; just another few days or so. On the dark side, she can't get the disagreement out of her head, but only two bits of it matter anymore; is Light still mad? Has he killed any innocent people yet? Although she'd deny it aloud, she misses hanging out with Light and Sakae; they still are her only friends. This is all my fault and I don't know how to fix it...
She hears someone approaching and glances towards them; it's Sakae. Nervously wrapping her arms around herself, Kohaku faces her friend completely with a neutral expression. Neither of them had a falling out, but Kohaku recalls yelling at Sakae and leaving her alone before she was in the safety of her apartment; it's the only reason why she was avoiding Sakae, too. She feels really guilty for her behavior that night. "I'm sorry," Kohaku utters, the words barely escaping.
Sakae shakes her head, smiling slightly. "It's okay. You were in a rough mindset." She shrugs. "Actually, I was getting to that point myself, so I'm kinda glad you were the one to blow your top first. Unfortunately, I still blew mine and it was towards my brother, so..." She shifts on her feet, glancing down at them awkwardly. "We all make mistakes, especially when we're upset about something..." She glances back at Kohaku, barely catching her nodding in agreement. She decides to change the topic. "Not hungry today?" Kohaku shrugs, giving her a rare smile. "Do you want something to drink, at least? I can't keep you from starving yourself, but you still need to stay hydrated or else, you'll die within a few days."
Kohaku scoffs. "I don't need a lesson about the human body and what it needs to survive." She nods, though. "But yes, I'd like a strawberry milk, please and thank you." She removes her arms from around herself, placing them on the table which she stares at.
Sakae grins. "One strawberry milk coming right up, madam of darkness and despair!" Gaining a light chuckle from Kohaku, she skips away from the table and towards the vending machine; luckily, the line is already gone. She skims through the options, trying to decide what she wants. "Hmm... What looks good...?" she asks herself aloud. Eventually, she settles for a strawberry-flavored Fanta and then buys Kohaku two strawberry milks; her friend goes through beverages like they're nothing, therefore she's getting two. When the three drinks are in her hands, she hears someone call her name. She turns around and spots Light; not too far behind him, Ryuk is floating. Instinctively, she glares at him; the night of their disagreement is near the top of her list of worst nights ever. Staring at him, she carefully shifts the drinks in her hand so she can open her own. "What do you want, Light?" She sips some of her Fanta.
Light rubs the back of his head, appearing nervous; Sakae swears she sees a hint of blush in his cheeks, but thinks nothing more of it as she waits for him to speak. "Well..." he starts off slowly. "I wanted to apologize..."
Shocked, Sakae accidentally sprays some of her beverage on Light. "Oh gosh!" she exclaims, realizing what she just did. "I'm so sorry!" She hadn't expected him to apologize; she thought Kohaku and herself would have to do the honors. Maybe the Light we know is still in there somewhere, she thinks as she watches Light wipe his uniform jacket with a napkin he'd been carrying.
Light waves his hand. "It's fine. Just-" He stares at her, no longer wiping his jacket; he's still holding the napkin, too. "Just... Do you accept my apology?"
Sakae stares at him for a moment before sighing, shaking her head slightly. If her hands weren't full, she'd place her hand on his shoulder. "Light, in the words of our mutual friend Kohaku, and also please excuse my poor language, that was such a half-assed apology." She sighs again. "Technically, you didn't apologize; you just said that you were going t-oh, nevermind." She huffs. "I guess I could accept your attempt at an apology, but you were such a jerk, Light. I don't think I can forgive you completely, not yet anyway."
Light nods shortly. "I understand. I... I didn't have the best reaction to...certain matters." He frowns. "I regret how I treated you." A few seconds pass by. "Both of you."
Sakae doesn't seem to notice the delay in his statement. She'd cross her arms if she could, but she still has her drink, and Kohaku's drinks, in her hands. "I know, but you still have to think about others, Light; we can't always agree with you." She sighs, again. "Come on, you still have to apologize to Kohaku, except try doing a better job because, well, you know how she is..." She bites her lip, glancing towards the table where Kohaku is sitting. "The disagreement bothered her the most, I think..." She blames herself for everything...
Light nods. "I know." Sakae gives him a questioning look. "I expected such."
"Ah." Sakae nods. "Come on." She walks past him, heading towards Kohaku's table; Ryuk remains verbally unacknowledged as he follows silently behind Light. Sakae grimaces when she notices that Kohaku looks annoyed; she clearly doesn't want Light around. "Hey, Kohaku," she awkwardly greets, biting her lip again out of nervousness; she doesn't know how she'll react. "Uh, here's your milk. I got you two since you love it so much." She places the strawberry milks in front of Kohaku; she gets a gentle thanks in return. Sakae sits down beside her. "I brought someone who wishes to apologize for what he did and said," she announces as Light silently sits across from them.
"Yeah, I noticed," Kohaku replies in a bitter tone. "But I don't exactly hear an apology."
Sakae sighs, sipping some of her drink again. "Yeah, about that, I didn't exactly get one myself, so..."
"Shocker," Kohaku sarcastically remarks. She downs the first milk in a single move. "I'm not even surprised. He's never had to apologize for anything in his life. Of course he doesn't know how to do it when he finally fucks up." She shakes her head, rolling her eyes. She lightly glares at him. "You just gonna sit there and look awkwardly out of place or are you going to start speaking your piece?"
Light stares at her. "You're still mad."
Kohaku responds with sarcasm. "Nah, how'd you guess?" She rolls her eyes again. "Yes, I'm still mad. Why wouldn't I be? You could've-" She glances around at the crowded cafeteria. "You could've done a really bad thing to someone who didn't deserve it." She sips at her second container of milk. "But whatever, you're forgiven. Mostly. There, now you don't have to try apologizing. You got mad because the plans have changed. That's understandable. I can't, however, forgive you for what you did prior to...what happened. So, let's leave it at that and move on." Light smirks and nods; Kohaku feels like strangling him. "Anyways, hi," she greets, trying to control her anger. "I haven't spoken to you guys in, what, five years?"
Sakae giggles. "Try five days." She finishes her drink.
Kohaku waves her hand, uncaring. "Days, years; same thing. I resorted to speaking with myself like an insane person, so it was a pretty long time, goddamn it."
"If you say so," Sakae says. She half-smiles. "So, is everything going back to normal now...?" She missed her friends.
Kohaku shrugs. "I don't know." She finishes her second milk. "Define normal."
Sakae hesitates, glancing between her friends. "Before we found the notebook."
"Unlikely," Light remarks, picking at his food. Neither of his friends had noticed he'd brought lunch with him.
Kohaku sighs. "Sakae, I don't know why you thought Light would stop using the notebook. Clearly, he won't be stopping any time soon, based on his remark. It could be years from now before he finally tosses it away, but even then, I don't think things will return to how they once were. Everything has changed and there's no going back. This right here is as good as it'll get."
"That doesn't mean we still can't have the relationship we used to have," Sakae states.
"I feel like you didn't hear a single word I said." Kohaku rubs her face, sighing. "Look, things are still pretty tense between all of us or at least between Light and I. So, as I said, I don't think things will return to how they were before." She understands that Sakae wants things to be normal again, she wants that as well, but there's no changing anything that happened. All they can do is prevent their friendship from getting any worse.
"Okay..." Sakae frowns.
"So..." Kohaku stares at Light, speaking quietly. "Kill anyone else lately?"
"Perhaps," Light answers with a smirk. Sakae stays silent, eyes on Ryuk; he's staring back.
Kohaku glares at him, stopping herself from slamming her fist against the table. "Just tell me exactly what you've done, so I can tell you if you're an idiot or not. Some of your plans are reckless, if you haven't noticed." L would've been stumped about your location if you hadn't fucked up. Because of your reckless thinking, he has a trail; it's really small but it exists. Why did I forgive this fool?
"May I ask why I need to reveal what I've done within the past five days?" he asks in a mocking tone. "I thought you didn't want any part in this anymore?"
"Did you not hear the words I said?" Kohaku questions back. She continues in a quieter tone. "Dude, I'm trying to help you keep your identity a secret from L and I can't do that if I don't know what you're planning or what you've done, but since you wanna use that mocking tone with me, I won't waste my breath anymore." She glares at him as he smirks at her again. "I hate you sometimes." I hate you most of the time, actually. We never should've taken that damn notebook. She doesn't hear his remark after that, but responds anyway. "Whatever." Light chuckles and Sakae smiles a little; Kohaku figures she responded correctly and sighs. Hopefully, things won't get any worse than this.