Chapter 28

I stared at the text on my phone listlessly, flickering my gaze above and under, to stare at what was under my study table.

We won.

My wrist moved across the page, trying to write down the answer to my final page of exercises before my phone buzzed again.

Alyona, boss wants to thank you personally for our victory. Are you free on April 18th? We are having a congratulations party with all our newly formed alliances.

I frowned at the words, thinking carefully about what was the purpose of my presence being at the party.

Oh.

Henrik was going to introduce me as his long-lost daughter to the alliances. But for what?

'What time?' I texted back.

No later than thirty seconds, I received a location and a time. I wrinkled my eyebrows at the location, knowing that the name of a famous and overly priced beauty salon would not be the place for some kind of ball.

They were going to doll me up.

Not that I hated it, but what for?

To be noticed? But couldn't he just send my photo or an announcement through his family?

I replied with confirmation before turning to hear a knock on my door. I paced quickly before seeing Light's calm face with Ryuk floating eerily behind him.

"Light," I greeted emotionlessly without letting him in the room. Something morphed into resignation through his long sigh before he lightly pushed me into my room, guiding me back to sit on my pink covers.

"Sayu, we need to make up."

I blinked nonchalantly before replying with silence, making his tight smile grow more patient at my lack of contribution to his apology.

"Sayu," he called again, this time plopping onto my bed to stare at me. "I'm sorry."

Honestly, I did not want to sound like a bitchy girlfriend and ask something along the lines like, 'for what?'

"Light, no one likes being manipulated," I folded my hands across my lap neatly before staring into his deep eyes. Ryuk watched us with his bored gaze at the corner, although not saying his boredom out loud, his grin and morphed into a large yawn.

"Especially manipulators like you and me."

The smile on Light's face disappeared before ruffling my hair. This time though, I left his gesture without any resistance, knowing that his actions were an agreement to my words.

"You either trust me, or you don't," I whispered before taking my eyes off of his, twiddling with the edges of my sweater. I waited before his hand touched my cheeks, pulling my face to reveal his frown.

"I do," he answered seriously before I closed my eyes, feeling a lack of sincerity from him.

"You have no choice," I answered for him before opening my eyes, to face his calm ones. He already knew that I was going to call him out. Already knew, but didn't mind. It was a sign that he had trusted the slightest bit in me, yet I knew that his trust wasn't willing.

I didn't take this personally though.

Light never trusted anyone.

"I've always been honest with you if I could," I chuckled dryly at my own lie before licking my lips.

"It would help if you could trust me, even if your words sounded ugly," I said again.

There was one reason why Light had gotten so accustomed to lying. Because he knew that it was what people wanted to hear.

"It's not possible," Light breathed through his mouth as if considering my proposal, only to refuse it before he could actually choose. Well, at least this time he was being honest with me.

"I am not someone who cannot take her brother's plans, Light." My fingers twitched to his hand on my cheek, taking it off from my face before intertwining my fingers with his. He didn't flinch nor stiffen at my actions. He only watched with curious amusement.

"We are both cruel humans who view others as nothing but pawns," I clenched tightly and smiled softly at him. "But I do not wish to be seen as a pawn of yours, my dear brother."

Silence rang between us, the only sounds were of us breathing calmly, trying to assess one another. I had proven to be useful to him. I had proven to be on his side. I had proven that I was the only one who could understand him.

What else do you need, Light?

"You leave me no choice," he said. This time, Light finally untensed his jaw with a small smirk, making me grin.

"I will never," I fluttered my eyelashes like a silent vow before leaning forwards to his lips. "-Give you that choice."

He responded to my kiss, pushing his mouth fondly against mine before breaking off, eyeing me with a certain shimmer in his eyes. His eyes told me that he was expecting me to break his walls as if he had planned this whole conversation from the moment L dropped the bomb on us and had challenged me in secret. I had fought, proved myself to be worthy, and stood by his side.

It took me breathless yet there was something possessive and dangerous with that glint. Before I could think, his soft features engraved themselves into my mind as he yanked me towards him, enveloping me in his arms before murmuring his dancing words.

"My little sister, you are so lovely."

Although nothing was said between the two of us, Light's silent gesture was to wait for L's next move. I, on the other hand, was busy preparing for my exams and April 18th.

I dragged my curious feet in front of the salon at exactly 10 am, where Felix had agreed to meet me. Pushing open the heavy doors, despite the tingling awareness that I probably should have waited outside.

Inside, the golden and red walls gave off a sense of royalty, the seats being painted with golden swirls and red cushions that seemed too bouncy to be from this country. Was it from England?

I squinted at the marble floor, it being so clean that it literally reflected the clothes that I wore, which was so out of place for the chandelier that hung dazzling from the middle of the salon. Was this even a salon?

"Alyona," I heard the blond's voice as I turned towards him, seeing a rack of dresses decorated with different colours from white to red, blue to black, and black to gray. Each of them had different styles and designs, almost as if they were shimmering with jewels. I resisted the urge to gape open my mouth at the scene before me and pointed to the rack in utter shock.

"Yes, this salon is a gift from our boss to celebrate your debut in the mafia society." Felix lowered his head politely yet did not change his neutral expression. The corner of his lips had twitched up when he saw my speechless mouth open and close.

"My papa is rich," I gasped in English as Felix snorted.

"I thought you would have known the moment I casually gave you those 10,000 dollar papers in cash." Felix shrugged and left the rack, coming towards me and extending his hand. I took it as he led me through the empty place, showcasing what it held in store for me.

A closet full of clothes, personal designers, hairstylists and makeup artists. Everything was exclusively mine.

I felt like royalty.

"What...what does he gain from this?" I forced out before Felix smiled knowingly.

"You are indeed a clever girl, my lady." He said.

"What do I have to do?" I turned my head towards the blond in a black suit as he handed me files from his other hand.

"This salon is not only for dress-up. You will use this as a place to disguise yourself for missions." Felix took a hold of my shoulders and guided me to the only seat in front of a shining mirror before calling the hairstylists.

Two people stepped out from the line of waiting workers, introducing themselves as Malane and Belopher. They started to untie my messy ponytail as I focused on what Felix was saying.

"After the battle between your," Felix pursed his lips. "-Brother and Near, you will start doing missions for the family. Most of them involve seduction and infiltration."

I chuckled at his words, applauding Henrik for placing me in the faculty that I desired to learn from. Felix looked at me strangely before clearing his throat.

"We are aware of your purity for your age, so we will hire tutors to teach you during the phase that Light Yagami rules over the world after L's death." Felix paused deliberately at the word 'tutors.'

"Ah, so I'll learn sex techniques. Sounds fun." I nodded as he spluttered out my remark before calming his face.

"I'm glad you find it...interesting." He cleared his throat as I started flipping through the files, only to find a bunch of profiles about young men and their groups.

"The first couple of pages are the information of your mission today," Felix pointed out as I paused closer to the pictures. "Your mission is to seduce the sons of the groups, or at least establish a closer relationship with them."

"And because I am being announced as Henrik's long-lost daughter, they all think I am innocent and gullible about his work?" I raised my eyebrows and jeered a bit at my own words.

"Precisely. You will gain their favouritism, as they will potentially become the next head of the group. If possible, lead them on to support us. If you find them unusable, provoke them to do more crimes." Felix said.

"And have Kira finish them off, huh?" The smirk on my face grew wider. "What a sly papa I have."

"Think of this as his trust to you," Felix murmured. "If you are able to succeed, those who have fallen in your grasp will follow you, and not our boss."

I mused at his words.

I have his trust because of our death vow.

"Please do not tell me I will become his successor," I rolled my eyes before Felix scoffed.

"I'm glad we see eye to eye," he said. "No, you will not become head, I will."

"Whoot," I whistled before turning to him with a big grin. "Hope you take care of me then, brother. Do you want me to sign a contract with you or something?"

Felix grimaced at the thought.

"No, I trust that you'll serve the family because of your vow with the current boss." His grey eyes flashed with hesitant trust before turning away from me as the hairstyles started to snip my hair.

"Felix, tell me, how old are you?" I asked as his head turned to me in surprise.

"Nineteen," he said curtly.

"Ah, five years older than me, huh?" I quirked my lips. Damn these teenagers just getting more and more talented! What was I doing when I was nineteen?! Watching K-pop idols and studying for my French exams!

"How long have you been following Henrik?"

Felix shifted his feet uncomfortably at my question before gruffing out, "I'm his nephew."

"Wha-" I whipped my head around to face him, causing the two hairstylists to stumble at my sudden action.

"You-" I pointed at him rudely before staring at him up and down. "You are blond! He's gray! You have gray eyes! He has green!"

"My mother slept with his brother," Felix narrowed his eyes at the thought of his mother. "That bitch was never worth standing beside him."

"And so where is your father?" My head was forcefully yanked to the front but I kept my eyes on Felix.

"Killed by my mother," he explained shortly.

I flung my arms out, wiggling them in the air.

"What is with you mafia people?! Not that I care, since I'm guessing that she did that out of jealousy?" I asked curiously.

"She was a spy," Felix answered.

"She dead yet?"

"Yeah."

We fell silent at our own words, not knowing what to say to each other.

"That's why, I am pissed that your brother killed his own parents who loved him," Felix said with a strained strangle.

"You know that I'm going to be letting them die in this life?" I quirked my lips up into a slight smirk as I saw his knowing gaze.

"They didn't care about you that much, did they?"

I hummed in affirmation, letting the designers dress me up like a barbie doll. The clock struck 2 pm when we were all done, Felix extending his hand once again as I took it gracefully, entering the black limo.

It had come to me that even if I did suddenly change names and start parading with the mafia, no one would question me about my identity or the sudden betrayal of the Yagami name.

I could look different.

I marvelled at my straight black hair that was now extended all the way to my waist, giving off an innocent look with my white dress that hugged my curves along with the transparent sleeves that showed off my graceful arms.

Green contacts had been shoved into my eyes along with the newest design of glitter that was sprinkled around the corners of my eyelids. My mid-tall white heels clicked with a fluttering sound every time I walked.

So this was disguise.

It was easy to lie to my mom about dying my hair for no reason but fashion, since she didn't care about me either way, but I had to applaud Henrik, he already knew my size in dresses somehow. Was it because he was experienced with women?

I didn't know.

All I knew was that I was going to have a very fun time.

"Ah! So this is your daughter!" A voice bellowed out as I turned, laying my eyes on a fatso with small eyes. His arms were extended as papa hugged him with no hesitation at all. His accent screamed French with rubies and sapphires decorated all over his fingers.

"Marco, nice to see you!" Papa smiled widely as he pushed me closer to him, me being the graceful daughter, extended my hand as the fatso leaned down and puckered his dry lips on my white gloves.

"Merci Monsieur Marco! Comment allez-vous en ce beau jour?" I curtsied as Marco blinked in surprise before beaming out, catching the attention of all other males around us.

"What a talented girl! I heard that Henrik found you in Japan! Yet your French is so good!" Marco patted my shoulders and gave me a thumbs up.

"Merci beaucoup, Monsieur Marco! I always try my best." I replied, this time switching to full English as he nodded.

"I've heard that you know many languages for your age, Alyona. Truly, it is an eyeopener today!" Marco nodded and nudged Henrik with pride. Henrik laughed lightly, slinging his arm over Marco.

"Ah, Monsieur, it is not enough, I can be more ambitious than that," I flicked my wrist playfully as the music in the room started to play.

"I see where you inherited that from," Marco glanced at papa before swirling him away. I turned around the room with a smile, strutting forwards to the assortments and eyeing the fine pastries that were decorated neatly throughout the whole table.

"好像我们的小姐是一个贪吃鬼," I heard a mocking tone before picking up a glass of apple juice calmly.

"谢谢你的赞美, Anthony, though I'd prefer you insult me in English rather than testing me for my language skills." I saluted him with an innocent smile as the jet-haired boy gazed at me with piercing eyes.

"Your Chinese is quite good for a Japanese girl," his lips pursed up before picking up an identical glass of juice. My eyes momentarily flashed at my first target.

"I've heard much about you, Anthony. Rumours are that you are quite good at archery compared to your brothers." I took a sip, not taking my eyes off of him. His black suit was finely toned with the Armani brand, deeming his status amongst his older brothers.

"Don't even compare me to them," he chuckled darkly and brushed his hair up with his fingers, leaning against the table as if he owned it. "I'm the only one that made it here."

"Seems you are quite skilled then," I fluttered my eyelashes before walking closer to him. He eyed me warily before leaning backwards at my closer motion. I patted his shoulders, making sure to pick up a piece of his hair that had fallen on his suit.

"Sorry," I murmured while lowering my gaze. "I'm a bit of a perfectionist."

Anthony's gaze hardened at my words, wincing a bit before nodding.

"I can understand that, my parents literally demand it from me," he shrugged before glancing at my hand that held his piece of hair. He didn't comment though, only stared at it before speaking up.

"It brings up bad memories."

My eyes widened frantically at the 15-year-old boy, flickering my eyes around before apologizing in a whisper.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Anthony held up his hand.

"No worries, I'm just saying that because I was testing you," a smug smile appeared on his olive smooth skin, highlighting his black eyes.

"Not much of a manipulator, are you?" He said.

Oh no, boy, you don't even know what a true manipulator looks like.

"I-" lowering my gaze again and forcing a blush onto my cheeks, I cleared my throat. "I didn't have much practice."

"It's understandable," another voice came out from my right, this time a dyed green hair boy stepped out from the shadows that covered a corner of the table. "You haven't been in this family for long, have you?"

I shook my head hesitantly before glancing up at the tall male.

"You are?"

The male raised his eyebrows at my question, before chuckling out.

"You may call me Hugo, my lady." He picked up my hand and met his lips on the back of my palm, gazing at me with calculating eyes.

"Hugo...from the Xzar family?" I gasped as Anthony beside me grunted.

"You are correct, Alyona. I hope you don't mind me calling you that." He shuffled his feet confidently towards the champagne area, picking the closest glass in contrast to Anthony and my fruit juice glass.

"If you allow me to call you Hugo, I'm fine with it." I sipped my glass before hastily reaching out for the champagne glass. Hugo caught my wrist with a skeptical smile.

"Alcohol isn't for little girls, Alyona."

"I will have you know that I'm 15 this year," I rolled my eyes and took back my hand begrudgingly.

"And as your older senior in this line of work, I advise you that alcohol isn't good for your growth." Hugo smiled sarcastically at my behaviour before handing me a glass of apple juice. "Kids should stick with juice."

"It is quite rude to be calling us kids, Hugo." Anthony cocked his eyebrow before giving a sardonic smile. "Well, for an older senior like you, it isn't even mildly entertaining that you only line as the second for inheritance."

Hugo laughed bitterly at Anthony's statement.

"Did I offend the young master? If so, I apologize. 我可不是像你这样自大的小子." Hugo bit out.

Anthony sneered in response.

"You can only be arrogant like me if you have the skill, Hugo." He growled.

"Perhaps. But there is more to skill, isn't that right, Alyona?" Hugo brought the conversation back to me, which placed me on the spot for both of my targets.

Both of them looked at me expectantly as I sighed innocently.

"Don't judge, but this is only my view," I gestured to myself before continuing. "Skill is definitely important, but the most important is charisma."

"Oh?" Hugo raised the corner of his lips in amusement. Anthony's sneer slipped from his face.

"I've seen countless men at my non-blood-related father's workplace who followed a guy who has absolutely no skills. Of course, he died quickly, but his men still followed him to the grave." I shrugged.

"You two might be potentially leading a group of mafia," I gave a lopsided grin. "You will need men to follow you, more than anything."

Both of them remained quiet at my words, pondering over them before Hugo broke the silence.

"Alyona, you are much wiser than I expected." Hugo's mouth twisted with interest.

"Wise does not mean the strong, Hugo." I mouthed before his grin widened even further.

"You'd make an excellent advisor, Alyona." He bowed in another person's direction before turning back to me. "I can see that with you as the advisor, any group could thrive."

He bid goodbye before walking away to the direction that he bowed to before us. Anthony wrinkled his nose childishly before turning to me and extending a hand.

"Would you do me a favour of a dance?"

My eyes glinted.

Mission success.

The party went on as usual, me talking and getting to know more people, and them either trying to test me or trying to force some information about my papa's group from my mouth. Needless to say, if they gave me a test, I played the innocent new girl. If they tried to get information, I snapped wittingly at them, changing the subject.

They all left with confused yet satisfied impressions from me.

The party ended at 5 pm, Felix congratulating me on my well-done performance that he had somehow seen from meters away. He dropped me back at the salon where I changed my clothes and headed out to walk home by myself.

The streets were quite busy, people either just getting off from work, or trying to go somewhere. I sighed dreamily at my past three hours in that ballroom, loving every moment of it. It was like those England balls except it was more Asian than western. Nevertheless, I had enjoyed it quite fully.

And now was the problem that Felix had told me just a few minutes ago. Because of the overwhelming heart attacks from papa's enemies, there were suspicions that the news may have travelled to L. If it was traced to any of papa's group, then the Death Note pages would be endangered.

I had told Felix to tell Henrik that the Death Note was the last option if they were cornered and that L would not be able to suspect our group just yet. He could be suspecting that Kira had somehow gotten his hands on a mafia group and killed them all in the name of justice.

The streets were noisy before something flickered on the huge screen of a tall building. I froze numbly at the letters of KIRA floated onto the screen and a computer morphed voice echoed out its prediction of a couple of deaths, following that the deaths immediately occurred after a short time span. Everyone on the streets had frozen in both admiration and fear in KIRA's words.

Oh shit, Misa Amane has appeared.