(edited 01/03/2021)
September 12th, 1999.
This, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face, is why she's glad to be alive.
"Hey, Misa we're all going to the mall, want to come?" Some girls from her class were forming a small crowd in front of the school building, giggling between themselves.
Misa plastered a smile on her face as she walked towards the girl, Nami. "Sure," school, no matter how easy it was, had the habit of exhausting her. Sitting in that chair while listening to lessons she already knew was...maddening. "Who's coming?"
"All of us here, Hana-chan, Kaoru and Kaname-kun said he might come. If I tell him you're coming I'm sure he'll come!" Cute, as if that boy could possibly interest her.
She quite like Nami, the girl was kind like people rarely were. Bubbly and full of life. Misa could ruin that girl, she didn't want to. (what kind of monster would?)
Nami was of average height for a fifteen years old, barely starting to look like a woman. With light brown hair was kept just above her shoulders and bangs being clipped up by cute hairpins, often hearts or bunnies. Yes, Nami was pretty cute.
"I'm not interested," she quickly tried to correct the situation, one girl with the ugliest shade of pink for hair rolling her eyes. "I just want you to be happy! Like with me and Kaoru, we could go do our hair together and go on double dates! Please Misa, Kaname-kun's nice! If he's not to your taste I'll find you an even nicer guy! One that will treat you like a princess and-"
No, she really didn't want the girl to lose that gleam in her light brown eyes.
"Oh I don't think I told you about that date we had last week, he got me some roses and we went to take a walk in the park. Oh Misa, he's so wonderful!" One day, one day she would tell her in who's bed her precious Kaoru slept in last night.
That boy was of the worst kind, a lying and cheating bastard. Nobody had proof that he was cheating on her with another girl, but they all had their doubts. Before she could notice, he had already sunk his claws into Nami too deep for her to tell the girl anything without proof and be believed.
"I don't need a boy to make me happy and you shouldn't either," selfish bitch or not, she didn't want her only true friend to be heartbroken.
"There's something your not telling me." There was a lot of things she wasn't telling Nami. "I just don't think you should need a guy to be happy." You shouldn't need anything really, especially not something as fickle as humans.
Misa bounced on the heel of her feet as their little group waited for their turn to pass the street, she didn't bother with the other conversations going on. "So you do care!"
The taller girl hugged her closely and the blonde choked down a laugh. This girl made it very hard not to care for her.
"Don't choke her Nami!" One of the other girls whose name escaped her, giggled. "Yeah, the boys won't forgive us for killing such a pretty face!"
How...vain, and predictable.
Still she playfully winked at the second girl who very clearly didn't like her, oh yes the dumb blonde card was one of her favorites. "You're so sweet!"
Despite her original dislike of canon!Misa, she must admit the girl did know how to play her cards right at times. Acting like she was stupid, fooling the great L even. Not many could claim to something like that, not to mention she managed to survive longer than the two geniuses without having their brains or ressources.
L and Light flaunted their brains which eventually got them killed. Yes, she believed Misa had the right idea. Snake under the pretty flower and all that, it did help that the men of the task force constantly underestimated her.
To some extent, Misa did the same. Getting good grades, but never too high, upbeat attitude and wide smiles. Cute, but ordinary.
Call it paranoia, but she was afraid to grab attention. In a world where names and faces could kill, being anything more than ordinary was dangerous. Misa Misa did not like danger.
" - sa! Misa! We're here already," Nami chuckled as she dragged her inside the mall. Shops were their playground for a few hours, the group of...seven teenagers earning themselves either disproving glances or fond smiles from the other customers.
When she caught Hana and Kaoru exchange lustful glances, she almost threw up.
Hana Takahashi was even faker than her - which was saying a lot, the girl was a cancer. She was supposed to be friends with Nami and that didn't stop of sleeping with her boyfriend, over and over again.
"How about we get some ice cream?" Hm, she could go for some ice cream actually. "That's a good idea Kaname-san." Misa said making sure to emphasis the -san. She knew the boy had a crush on her and had no intention to give him false hope.
Being fifteen again sucked because puberty made it so that boys started to notice how her body was developing. She hated the glances on her growing bust and tights-covered legs, it was like ants were crawling all over her skin. She had to remind herself many time a day that this was completely normal and that hormones didn't define a boy.
She simply wasn't interested in relationships, maybe after she saved her parents of their impending doom and the boys around her matured enough for her to truly notice.
Kaname was nice, all things considered. Even offered to buy her the sweet treat to which she responded with a sugary grin and a decisive no.
The plastic cup in her hands creased when Nami was ignored in favor of Hana by her boyfriend. The girl retreated in her seat, hurt and Misa had never wanted more than to crush the someone's skull.
"My parents want me home soon," she lied easily, the chatting teenagers pausing to look at her. "I'll see you guys on monday, ne?"
"Wait! I'll come with you," Misa thanked whoever was above when the voice was far too light to belong to Kaname, instead Nami was the one to follow her outside the mall after quick goodbyes.
The two had began walking to school together at the start of middle school, leaving only a street away from each other. The parc they were walking through to reach the intersection was quiet, the sun almost completely gone behind the buildings.
"...Kaoru and Hana are sleeping together, aren't they?" Nami was naïve, but not dumb. She heard the rumors, just didn't want to believe them.
"They are. I'm sorry Nami," They both knew Nami would forgive her for not telling her about Kaoru's unfaithfulness. Still the girl took a step back, features tightening.
"I heard the whispers, but I never thought he would actually..." Tears filled her eyes, Misa closing hers. (look at what you did, heartless little girl)
"I don't know," and she didn't, how dumb could the boy get anyway? "It wasn't you Nami, it wasn't you."
The girl's breath hitched, tears rolling down her round cheeks. "My chest hurts..!" Misa gathered the sobbing girl in her arms then, shushing her softly.
"You're okay, you're going to be okay." The blonde slowly led them to a patch of grass to sit on, kissing the girl's temple as they lowered themselves to the ground. "He's an idiot and she's a bitch."
"Yeah, they kind of are..." Fresh tears gathered in her honey-brown eyes, the girl's forehead resting in the crook of Misa's neck. "I'm so dumb."
(and I am a monster in human flesh)
"You're brilliant," she corrected the girl who was laying in her lap, hiding her face in blonde locks. "You're kind and beautiful."
(I don't deserve you, the world doesn't either)
"I'm sorry for not telling you," making excuses wouldn't change anything.
"I know, I wouldn't have believed you anyway." There was a choked bout of laughter, uneven breathing trying to slow down.
"Want to sleep at my place for tonight? Mom and I made some cookies last night." She slowly, gently brought them both up on their two feet after the girl texted her mom she would be spending the night.
Nami made her hope for a better future, to get that nice house next to her parents' and that dog.
Nami made her forget that she had for some reason had been reborn in a story that she thought was fiction, that she knew of the future, that shinigami and death notes existed.
She clung onto that hope with all the might of a dead girl.
The glowing red numbers floating above Nami's head were a painful reminder that she was anything but normal.
Nami Matsuo
4 9 8 76 3 2 8