Chapter 27

I was so tired.

My elbows were sore, so were my shoulders.

My neck felt like it had been stiff for the past 18 years of my 14-year life.

I stared lifelessly at the papers in front of me. This was my 8th final exam for Math and Science. The last one. Honestly, despite me complaining, Hoshino was a really good teacher.

He saw how I was improving, amped up my workload, and gave me notes so I didn't have to write them all down. I was learning at an extremely rapid rate to the point that I felt all my past teachers were purposely stalling for time in their classrooms so that they could teach less and earn more.

I rolled my eyes back onto the paper, squeezing my pencil hard. I was nearing my stamina and concentration. I couldn't think anymore, but at least I had to pass.

I racked my brains for the answers, trying to defuse the big number into smaller and more effective parts.

One more hour to go…

"Light! How was your first day at University? Did your opening speech go smoothly?" I heard my mom's cheery voice when I entered the house, too tired to think.

What? Light had his first day?

Oh.

Wait.

Oh.

"How was it, Light?" My voice came out much more feeble than I had imagined as I appeared in the light of the kitchen.

I pressed on a tight-lip smile to cover up my fatigue.

Light noticed my state before turning to face me with a concerned look yet mom interrupted him.

"Sayu! Welcome back! I hope you're not giving Mr. Hoshino a hard time! Are you doing well in your studies?" Mom's wrinkled face beamed at my entrance, completely unaware of my state.

"Yeah," I said lifelessly, not even trying to bother how tired I was. I was too tired to act. Too tired to play house-house with the woman. Thank goodness it was the weekend tomorrow.

"Light, how did your day go?" I ignored the woman's stern face from my lacklustre response before limping towards my brother, trying to place on a goofy smile. He looked disturbed for me before blinking it behind his eyes and answering my question.

"It went smoothly," he said with a melodious voice and shining brown eyes, the expression on his face turning anything but stiff. I laughed weakly, leaning my head on his chest and closed my eyes. He was calm, way too calm for a guy who met L.

Seems like he did some planning from my suggestion about the guy being L.

"So I was right, huh?"

His hand flew up into my hair before fluttering his hands through them, giving me a low 'hm' of confirmation. I breathed in his musky scent, trying to calm down. Good, at least he's not that stiff and bothered like the anime Light. I cracked open my tired eyelids before glancing at mom who was swooning over Light and my overly affectionate actions.

"You two are really close, huh?" She sapped happily before I grinned through my heavy eyes.

"More than you think, mom," I teased as I glanced at Light who gave me a sudden nudge in the hip in warning. I squeezed him in the waist, mocking his attempt to silence me.

Ryuk behind us laughed at the woman's ignorance.

"Well, that's good! I've always wanted an older brother in my younger days," she sighed nostalgically before I waved at her.

"She really doesn't know, does she?" Ryuk continued to chuckle with a sinister tone before glancing in between Light and me. "And once she does, it'll be too late."

Too late.

What did he mean by that?

I resisted the urge to question Ryuk right then and there.

Did he know about my future plans?

"That's interesting, well, I gotta go and study my tutor's material! See you tomorrow morning!" I pivoted around and headed up the stairs as I heard her question about dinner.

"Diet!" I replied back lazily before closing my doors and plopping down onto the bed. To be honest, I was just tired. I couldn't deal with the woman or have enough brain space to start manipulating the protagonist of this anime.

I closed my eyes, trying to morph into my blankets.

I'm so tired…

So tired.

The weekend passed in a blink while I was studying for my history and Japanese courses. I had no trouble passing the English exams in a full day, knowing that I'd never had to touch the subject until I entered To-Oh.

It was then I was considering the paths I should take.

Honestly, I never finished my English degree when I was in my past life. It would be easy if I were to take it again, not to mention the university I was in was one of the top ones...it would be easy for me to skip the whole thing and laze my way through class.

But that was a waste of money and effort. I would rather learn something than waste my time. It was a once and a lifetime opportunity, not to mention To-Oh was already an extremely prestigious school in Japan.

With the powers to the Death Note, in which I kept 1 more page for my extra use, I could easily hire tutors for my classes to advance similar to what I was doing right now. Creative writing and English was my passion, but that did not sit well with Sayu's family.

If I wanted to merge into the family and their expectations, then I would have to at least study psychology and law.

I groaned, clutching my head in frustration.

The thing is, I didn't want to study law.

I didn't want to study something that I had no interest in.

I was against my personality in this dilemma.

I only did what I wanted.

Psychology was okay for me, but…

Oh hell, where was the google search bar?

What courses did I need to graduate and move into the NPA department of interrogation?

I rolled my eyes, sighing before swallowing down my own complaints.

I'll aim for an investigation officer first then. Afterwards, I'll request a transfer after I actually get into the NPA.

Yeah, that was a way I could choose.

It was only in the evening of 4 pm when I received a call from the hospital informing me that my father, Soichiro Yagami had collapsed. I drummed my fingers in the taxi as it moved, humming to a popular pop song that was playing on everyone's iPod these days.

I wasn't even slightly worried.

Not because I knew he collapsed because of stress.

Why would I waste my emotions and effort on a character who was going to die sooner or later?

I started tapping my foot on the rug of the car, bouncing lightly as the taxi came to a stop at a red light.

In fact, I was happy that his condition had given me a free pass out of Hoshino's tutoring. Yes, that was the only thing Soichiro had contributed positively to my case.

Well…

My lips instantly turned into a frown.

Now I had to put on a dramatic act of a panic attack. What a pain.

Not only was it a pain, but I also had to act and make my tears believable to the point of buying over L.

And I was definitely not looking forward to meeting the detective face to face with a false first impression. What kind of character did I want L to believe me to be in the first place?

Emotional? No, that didn't suit me.

Strong morals against evil? That might be buyable since I was the daughter of the head police.

But did I really want to be screaming 'justice!' the whole entire time L was alive?

No, I should go with a girl who hates liars.

Who was open-minded and honest.

That was a reasonable excuse to want to join the interrogation team. A reasonable facade to have if L asked me anything about the Kira case and how all his suspicions pointed to my brother.

That would make him trust me easier. Yes, that was the way to go.

I closed my eyes with a sigh of stress, catching the taxi driver who glanced at me by my sudden change in emotions.

I just hope it all works well.

"-I will bring Kira to justice if anything happens to my father!"

Oya? Did I miss one of the big reveals that L suspects Light?

"Dad! Dad! Dad, are you alright?!" My breath was quickened and the dabs of water droplets rolled off my forehead as I ran into the room with my school backpack dangling behind me. Everyone in the room except the other two men had watery eyes filled with grief and relief.

I walked over to my mom, not sparing a glance at my brother nor the jet-black-haired stranger in the room.

"Dad!" Tears dropped out of my frames as I collapsed beside his bed, sighing in relief at his open eyes. Mom sniffled, patting me on the back to calm me down.

"Heh, little girly's acting is sure on point." I heard Ryuk's voice and fought the urge to scoff at him.

"It's nothing major, Sayu," out came a cough from Dad's mouth before mom lunged towards the desk, handing him a warm cup of water. Soichiro took a sip before rasping out his condition to me.

"Did I bother your tutor, Sayu?" Dad's eyes showed faint guilt which was outlined with bloodshot and dark circles.

"You said that you were fine!" I broke out in more tears while throwing my arms around him carefully. "You said you were getting enough rest!"

I felt a soft hold on my shoulder and turned to look back, sniffing up my invisible snot to look up at Light who had bandages wrapped over his wrist. Bandages?

Light was still in his tennis change wear, his racket bags that lay in the corner of the room. My eyes trailed over to the slouching man behind Light before growling out my inevitable fury.

"Where is that damnable L?" My hostile tone came out more jeering than I wanted it to me. "I am going to charge him for overworking his coworkers!"

Light's eyes widened just for a moment of surprise from my words before placing them in a frown. The only thing he didn't hide, was the amusement dancing in his eyes. From my words, he already knew that I knew L was right behind him. He also knew that I was deliberately bringing the detective up just for the laughs and breaking the stiff tension in the room.

"Sayu! Do not-" Dad coughed at my remark as I hissed lowly at Light.

"Tell me where he is," I demanded. "I will sue him with my lawyers!"

"I am right here, Miss Yagami." The man with jet black hair and a slovenly white T-shirt echoed out at my command. "Though I doubt you will be able to sue me since my terms were already signed by Chief Yagami."

My eyes rolled towards the slouching man, glaring daggers and living up to Light's amusement standards.

"You are ignoring the basic human needs, dear detective! One human should at least have 8 hours of sleep, 3 meals per day, a place to shower and rest!"

"Terms are terms, Miss Yagami, although I do understand your concern, I did not personally demand Yagami to stay up until his state was in danger. However, I apologize for my lack of notice." L's black circles lifted with his slight smile.

Blunt, isn't he?

"Achem!" I heard mom's stern tone before softening at the rest of us. "Your dad needs some more rest, it would be helpful if you took your conversation outside."

It seemed like Dad wanted to say something to stop us, however, when he saw mom's face, his mouth clamoured shut. We left the room in utter silence as mom's sorrowful expression echoed our minds.

"Light," I rasped out, snatching his bandaged wrist the moment our feet touched the outside hall. "What happened to your wrist?"

Light mused at my actions.

"I have to apologize for that Miss Yagami," L grimaced at the long usage of my name. "It was not my intention to damage his limb in our tennis match."

Huh? Wasn't this supposed to be done to L instead of Light?

My brain racked through my memories for the answers. Yeah, it was supposed to be Light who injured L, not vice versa...unless Light had purposefully let L win.

My memories flashed to the chess match Light had played with me, me deliberately telling him that losses could contribute to the enemy letting his guard down.

Could it be? I stared at Light in confusion for a minute before blinking them away.

My eyes turned accusingly at the oversized large jeans that the man wore, then his rude action of stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"First my dad, now my brother? Are you some kind of condition crusher?!"

"Perhaps," L shrugged indifferently. "I may also bring some more if your brother proves to be Kira."

I rolled my eyes at the man, huffing before pulling the straps on my heavy backpack.

"Do what you will, but keep his life intact at least." I let go of Light's wrist as L turned puzzling at me.

I heard Ryuk chuckle at my words before he said, "girly may not help you, after all, Light."

To my awe, not even the slightest hint of emotion ran over his casual and calm expression.

"Miss Yagami, it seems as if you will allow me to perform some more condition-crushing acts on your brother." The smile on L's lips widened before twitching his hands to bring it onto his lips.

"I have heard that the Yagami siblings were quite close, was I wrong?" His tone sounded more amused than doubtful. Bullshit 'heard!' You saw us acting through those implanted lenses!

"You are not wrong, L," Light softly ruffled my hair as he snickered at my glare. "But this is how much Sayu trusts me."

"Then I should also voice out my concerns of your sister being a suspect," L's eyes turned completely innocent at his only words, only smiling at me with glee.

Fwah? Since when did I turn up on his suspect list?!

"L! How could you say that?! Sayu is only 14 years old!" Light raged out, alertness filled his eyes. But only I knew that from L's words, Light had found a way to push off his suspicion onto me.

"Age does not matter in crimes, Light Yagami. In fact, it only acts as a cover of protection." L's light tone turned to me, this time his round eyes filled with hypnotic happiness.

"Don't you agree, Sayu?"

Oh, so now it's Sayu?! Geez, although I did prefer L to call me my first name, that was a bit too rude for Japanese culture!

In the corner of my eyes, I saw Light's lip twist for more protest.

"Then I plead you to go easy on me with your interrogations in the future," I shrugged nonchalantly. "I expect 8 hours of sleep, 3 meals per day, and a place to shower."

"I can give you the first two," L chuckled. "But for the last two, it depends on your suspicion percentage."

Bruh, you've already seen me changing. What's the difference? The look on Light's face was a bit uneasy.

"Fine," I gruffed out. "Then I expect an apology if I am found innocent and a lifetime worth of sweets."

L's eyes gleamed.

"What type of cake do you prefer?" He asked as I beamed at the change in topic.

"I'm more of a chocolate person, but matcha would be my second choice!" I blabbered on as we started to walk down the hall, completely ignoring Light out of our conversation.

"I have to agree with your preferences, but I'm more of a vanilla person." L nodded at my words, pondering hard on my question if he preferred chocolate or vanilla.

"Ah, before that, I would like to ask the reason you placed a listening device behind your living room clock."

I froze.

Light froze.

We both froze.

"You placed a listening device in the house? Is that true?" Light eyes instantly narrowed at L, then at me before I hastily placed my hands up in surrender.

Smart.

I whistled in my mind as my own brain racked itself for a suitable excuse.

Not only did Light voice out a natural reaction, but he also covered it up with undeniable suspicion to L's words, which hinting to L that he was not aware of any hidden searchings through the house or cameras. Not to mention his use of facial muscles in turning at L's words first then at me, proved that we were much closer than L was to us.

But this was also testing me.

If I were to outright lie when he had evidence, I would be directly telling L that I was unworthy to trust, not to mention my background with my father's morals meant that dad did not guide me in the right way. It would prove to him that I would lie to save my own ass, and not care about the majority of the world.

This could increase my suspicions as Kira undoubtedly.

"In my utmost defence, I didn't even get to use it!" I jerked my head towards L who was smiling merrily at both my brother and my reactions. "L, you be my witness! The battery wasn't even 1% used!"

"I have confirmed it to be true," L nodded at Light's eyes, which softened only a tiny fraction. Dammit, now Light was suspicious of me!

Damn you L, you played it well by forcing this when Light was here!

To be completely honest, I was aware of what L was doing. He did not suspect me even a bit. No, he suspected Light. However, by pushing Light's mind to question me twice, he was deliberately testing to see if Light was the kind to betray his family for power or a superior being.

Light had not noticed this fact.

Dammit, Light's too caught up on the fact that L also suspects me, good heavens, why the hell was Light so stupid in this version?!

"I am curious as to how the hell you know that though," I spat out and glared at L who giggled childishly. Now, reveal that you have been in our house!

"Fingerprints. Your father allowed me to conduct a throughout search in your house." He answered.

I cursed myself for not wearing gloves the time I had implanted the device. No wonder dad was also suspicious of me during Light's birthday! L had planted the doubts in his eyes the moment Soichiro joined the task force!

Everything around me felt as if it was slipping away. The plot was changing.

No, L did not suspect me just to gauge out a reaction from Light. He had actually suspected me of being Kira.

Not that I didn't have a backup plan. I always had my condition to feign ignorance when the actual Death Note fell into L's hands. Should I just betray Light for my own ass?

Something in me squeezed at the thought, darkening it with red blobs before sinking down into my gut.

No, I couldn't. I couldn't take on Near by myself.

I needed Light.

And that just made everything much harder.

I stared at L who stared at Light and me, waiting patiently outside of the hospital for my answer.

"Alright, I admit, I was interested in spying when I was younger. Totally bought it because I wanted to tone into my family's conversations, but I forgot about the device when I had the chance to use it." I said with a warily grin before Watari, L's assistant drove his car in front of us, opening the door for L to get in.

"You seem to be very honest, Sayu Yagami." L glanced at Light then to me. "Would you two like to hitch a ride with me?"

"We appreciate the offer, L," Light smiled tightly before pulling me aside. I stumbled. "But we really shouldn't be in debt with you anymore."

L's eyes nodded with a blinking gesture before he bid farewell with us and the car disappeared into the distance.

When caught in a bind, attack first.

"Listen Light," I yanked his collar down so that he was at my eye level. His lips pursed at my actions, not happy at the information he just received.

"I am playing a very dangerous game with you," I whispered furiously under my breath, but loud enough to know that he had heard every word I pronounced clearly. "L will now try to break whatever we have in between us. And the moment that is broken, we will lose this game no matter how much your brain tries to clock us out of the situation."

"And the listening device?" He snarled calmly at me despite his eyes whirling in fury that matched my frustration.

"I. Wanted. To. Hear. About. The. Kira. Case." I growled stiffly.

"When?" He demanded.

"When I suspected that my own brother had the Death Note," a sardonic smile grew across my face.

"That was how," he said venomously and tried to swallow whatever clot his throat. "That's how you knew about the note."

Excuse me? Did he not hear L say that the battery was close to 100%? Or did he already figure out the possibilities of other listening devices? I didn't even bother to correct his assumptions.

"Do not test the limits of my patience, Light." I mocked with a half-assed expression. "The moment you try to use me as your scapegoat, I will reveal my condition. And the moment I reveal that, you will be facing the world's greatest detective by yourself."

Pure rage filled his face as he gripped my shoulders with his dull nails, only to earn a fiercer glare from me.

"You do not know who you are playing with," Light's voice was strained and threatening.

"You know who you are playing with," I scathed back with the mention of the whole world. His eyes shut painfully before taking a few breaths to stable himself, opening them with desperation.

"Sayu, you don't understand, I need you."

I stiffened at his remark, watching his soulful dark eyes blazing with hope. For a moment, my heart fluttered at his emphasis that he needed me.

Someone needed me.

Someone saw me.

Someone saw me as useful.

I was useful.

Do not fall for it, girl. He is only trying to hit your emotional cord.

I fell silent and the facts.

How…

I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling a wrench of sourness in my nose.

...How could he use that word so casually?!

I wanted to cry.

My emotions consumed my eyes, blinking rapidly before choking out slowly.

"Need and want are two different things, Light." I barely whispered my next words. "Do not get them mixed up."

With that, I released him, pushing his heavy body away with my trembling hands before walking away in silence.

I bit my lip as I heard the sound of screeching cars in front of me. Blinking away my watery eyes, I stared up at the people on the streets as I hugged my body.

I will never become anything more than a tool for him.

He will never become anything more than my stepping stone.