Chapter 4 - One Hell of a Date
*Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or its characters.*
Time. Time is what I hate the most. It's so unforgiving. Proceeding only forward, never stopping. No matter how hard I tried, time wasn't slowing or picking up it's pace. It's the most precious thing in the world, yet many people take it for granted, including me.
December 19th
Inside an old, worn down apartment building, a redhead lies in bed half asleep on an old bumpy mattress. Sunlight peeks through the long ruffled curtains and settles on the girls face, just above her eyebrows. As she yawns, she rubs the tired from her cloudy green eyes. The redhead sits up and reaches her arms above her head in a long satisfying stretch as she yawns once more. She throws her blanket off of her and in one swift sweeping motion, lifts her legs up and over the bed, planting the palms of her feet firmly on the wooden floor.
A familiar buzzing sound is faintly heard from across the room and she turns her head to look over toward its direction. She stands up and sluggishly walks over to the cellphone annoyingly buzzing on the top of her dresser. The phone vibrates again once she picks it up and she squints in an attempt to shield her eyes from the brightness of the screen. She sees a notification of a missed call from Light Yagami.
Suddenly, she begins to remember everything that occurred last night. One memory in particular she wishes she could go back in time to erase.
The previous day
A few days ago Light and the redhead made a bet on who would score higher on the mock entrance exam for To-Oh. The terms they had agreed upon were this - If Light Yagami won the bet, the redhead would have to go on a date with him. If she won, the brunette would have to buy her cheesecake whenever she wanted it for a whole month. Of course, she couldn't pass on the opportunity. She patiently waits around at her computer for the results of the exam. After a few minutes, an e-mail notification pops up in the corner of her screen. Quickly, she moves the mouse over to it and clicks. After scrolling down the electronic letter she reads her results. "Hell yeah!" She exclaims out loud and fist bumps the air.
She grabs her cellphone and snaps a picture, sending it to the brunette boy. Almost immediately, her phone rings. The redhead answers. "I'm assuming you got my text, Yagami."
"I did, Alexandra. A 97 percent. I'm impressed, it looks like you learned a few things during our study sessions after all. However, before you embarrass yourself by exclaiming how you won the bet, you might want to check the picture I just sent you." He says harshly.
The redhead looks down at her phone and widens her eyes at the picture she just received. "No way!" She says disappointedly. Light passed the mock exam with flying colors. He aced it and somehow managed the score of 101%. She couldn't believe it, she wouldn't be getting free cheesecake after all.
"Now," Light begins. "About that bet, I assume you're going to hold your end of the bargain?"
The redhead scoffs. "What do I look like? A sore loser? It's still on, Yagami." Though she didn't want to admit it to him, she was actually excited to find out what kind of date the brunette would take her on.
"Good, I was hoping you'd say that. I've made reservations at a restaurant for later, I'll be at your place to pick you up at five o'clock."
"Huh? You made reservations for the same day we would get our results back? You set me up, Yagami! You knew I wouldn't win!" She pouts, a little disappointed that the brunette counted on her scoring lower than him.
"I promise you, I did no such thing. I made the reservations just in case. You can't expect a fancy restaurant to just allow us to walk in there without calling ahead of time." Light had it in good faith that the redhead had a chance at winning the bet, he was being honest when he said he made the reservations just in case.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure that's really the case. Where are you taking me anyway?" She asks.
"You'll see when we get there, trust me you'll love it. Anyway, I had Sayu help me pick out a dress for you tonight. It should have already been delivered to your door."
The fact that Yagami had made reservations and went through the trouble of buying her a dress, having it delivered today made her question if he was really telling the truth about the whole 'just in case' thing, but she brushed the thought off. "Wearing a dress wasn't part of the bet." She says boldy.
The brunette laughs on the other end of the line. "I know. You don't have to wear it, but I'm dressing up so I thought you might like to as well. It's your decision though."
"Fine. But it better not be too flashy."
A few hours later, after the redhead gets out of the shower she decides to open the box with the dress Light got for her and see what it looks like. She opens the package and pulls out a plain, silky red dress with long sleeves. The redhead wasn't the type to wear fancy clothes, but this dress was beautiful. In the box, underneath the dress she pulled out, were a pair of black, strappy sandals, with a heel no longer than an inch. Light really outdid himself. The redhead slips on the dress, tugging at it a few times before feeling completely comfortable with how it looked. She puts on the heels and frowns when she looks down at her bare toenails.
After deciding to paint her toenails and fingernails red to match the dress, she finishes off the look by putting her hair into a loose bun and ties it off with a black ribbon, leaving a few loose strands hanging out here and there. A sudden knock sounds at the door. "Coming!" The redhead hums. She swings open the door, a little disappointed to find Mr. Taniguchi standing there instead of Light.
Mr. Taniguchi gasps dramatically. "Oh! Little Red! How beautiful you look! Are you going somewhere special?" He asks.
"Yeah, actually. I have a date. He should be here any min-"
"Oh! How lovely!" Mr. Taniguchi cuts her off. "Hold on for a minute, I have just the thing for you dear!" He searches around in the back pocket of his slacks and pulls out a small box and hands it to the redhead. "Open it up."
The redhead flips open the top, revealing a shiny silver locket in the shape of a heart with a sparkling red gemstone in the middle. "Wow, Mr. Taniguchi. This is amazing."
"Indeed it is dear. The locket used to belong to my wife before she passed, and now it belongs to you."
"No way! I can't take something like this from you."
"Please, I insist." Mr. Taniguchi picks up the locket by the ends of the chain. "If my wife were still alive, I am certain she would want you to have it. Now hold still." He carefully places the locket around her neck and secures the chain together.
"I don't know what to say… Thank you, Mr. Taniguchi." The redhead looks at him with disbelief.
"Just make sure to take good care of it dear. Now, where is this boy you're supposed to be going on a date with?" He questions.
"Right here." Lights announces. He carefully inspects the redhead, happy that she was wearing the dress he bought her. It fit perfectly, considering he and Sayu guessed the size. It snugly wrapped around her figure, just enough to reveal the small curve of her waist. "Wow, you look stunning." He says to the redhead with stars in his caramel eyes.
"Thanks Light."
Mr. Taniguchi strides over toward the brunette and looks him up and down. "And what a handsome lad! Ohh to be young again." He hums. "Don't keep her out too late, young man." He winks at the brunette and pats him on the back.
The brunette clears his throat. "Of course." He smiles back at the elderly man.
"Alright, I'll leave you two alone now." Mr. Taniguchi claps his hands together and quickly heads back downstairs toward his apartment.
"Ready to go?" Light asks the redhead.
"Sure."
"Oh, one more thing." Light places a long, tan jacket over the redhead, allowing it to loosely hang on her shoulders. "There, that should keep you warm enough until we get to the restaurant.
After walking for a few blocks the redheads' feet started to get sore. "You know, walking around outside in heels isn't exactly ideal. How long until we're there?" She complains to the brunette.
"Sorry about that, I guess I didn't really think of that. We're almost there." He reassures her.
"I hope so, I'm hungry too."
"So am I, but you don't hear me complaining do you?" He snaps back and the redheads grows quiet. Light stop walking for a moment to point at a building across the street with a ridiculous grin on his face. "There. See?"
The redhead looks in the direction the brunette pointed to. The first thing she noticed was how out of place the restaurant looked next to the more modern buildings spread out around it. Much like her apartment, the exterior was all dark red brick with an elegant touch of natural vines growing up the sides. The front of the restaurant had soft, illuminating lights stringing down the walls, carefully placed as to not disturb the plants growing beside them. Purple chrysanthemum flowers rest in a planter box just underneath a huge bay window, to the left of the front entrance. Further toward the sidewalk, a stone bird bath with a feeder sitting in the middle of the water, on an island was in use by a few small pigeons with white bellies and purple wings, gathering some food for their young before they head back to their nests for the night. The bird food was nicely placed in a stone mold of two hands, as if the object were handing food out to the pigeons itself. The redhead was in awe of the sight before her. She was a sucker for old architecture and she was surprised she never came across the restaurant that was so close to where she lived.
Little did she know, the entire time she was examining the exterior, her mouth was agape. Light looks at her as her eyes sparkle and laughs. "I thought you might like it."
"Like it? I love it! How the heck did you manage to find this place?" She silently wondered if Light had ever taken someone on a date here before.
"I asked around." He admitted. "My mother said this is where my father would take her every year on their anniversary. I've never been here myself, though."
"Well your dad has good taste. Mrs. Yagami is a lucky woman." The redhead admits.
"Yeah, I guess she is. Let's head inside, they should have the table ready for us now." Light wraps his arm around the redhead waist and together, they walk through the middle of the entryway, past the bird bath and chrysanthemums.
The walls on the inside of the restaurant are emery, with light yellow flowers and a grey hue for the leaves. Sleek glass tables are decorated with woven flower vases with a plentiful amount of flowers in them, ranging from lavender to tulips and irises. The dim lit atmosphere was calming and relaxing along with a low volume of classical music. "I can't believe this place." The redhead says to Light with astonishment. She thought she could almost live there because of how beautiful the inside was and made a mental note to ask Mr. Taniguchi if she can replace the wallpaper in her bedroom with a similar resemblance to the ones at the restaurant.
After being greeted by the hostess, Light and Alex are seated right beside the huge bay window that looks out through the purple chrysanthemums, leaving room for view of the birdbath outside. She looks through the window and sees the purple winged pigeons bathe in the water before turning around and flying away together. While lost in amazement, the redhead doesn't notice the waitress approaching the table. "First time here?" The waitress asks, eyes gleaming through her pink glasses.
Alex is pulled from her wondrous gaze, "Yes. This place is amazing!" The server hands the redhead and Light a menu with see through plastic on the front and black fabric, embroidered with yellow and purple flowers on the back.
"I'll let you two have a few minutes to order, but can I get anything for you to drink in the meantime?" She pulls a small tablet and a pen from the pocket of her collared shirt.
"I'll just have water, please." The redhead requests. The waitress turns her attention to Light.
"Water for me too, thank you." He bows his head respectfully and the waitress trails off to gather their beverages.
A few minutes later she returns with their drinks and asks if they're ready to order. After writing down what they want, she collects their menus and heads off into the kitchen.
As the redhead's eyes wander around the restaurant she notices only two more people seated with what looked to be a couple still waiting for a table at the front entrance. There was only one other waitress that she noticed zipping through the isles of tables and flower pots on the floor, filled with plants.
"So," Light grabs the redheads attention. "Mr. Taniguchi is your landlord?"
"Yeah." The redhead takes a sip of her water from the straw. "I met him when I first moved to Tokyo."
"Why did you move to Japan?" The brunette asks. He was curious to know more about her, but he was hesitant to bring up the topic, considering she had told him that her parents died. He watches as the redhead fiddles with the hem of her sleeve. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring something like that up."
"No, it's okay." She assures him. "I was actually adopted. I lived in an orphanage in America for a few years before I was brought to Japan."
"Wow. Did you have any friends in America?"
"I did, or at least I thought I did, at the orphanage…" She looks down at her hands and taps her thumbs together. "But I haven't talked to them in years, I'm not even sure if they remember I exist."
"That's awful."
"Eh, people come and go I suppose. What about you, what are your friends like?" She asks.
"They're alright I suppose. Not nearly as interesting to hang around as you are, though."
After exactly 20 minutes the redhead and the brunette receive their meals and ask for a refill for their waters. They both ordered the same thing, a Gyudon beef rice bowl and Udon noodles. "Thank you. It looks delicious." Light tells the waitress.
"Enjoy you two!" She bows at and walks over to a recently unoccupied table, clearing it of dishes and shoves a few dollars, that were left as a tip, in the pocket of her pants.
The redhead lets out a small puff of air and curiously looks at the brunette sitting across from her. "Why do you wanna know so much about me anyway? I know we're on a date and all, but let's be honest, you barely spoke a word to me all year in history class." She thought for a moment that maybe she had sounded a bit rude but regardless, it was the truth. She really wanted to know why he started hanging around her basically out of the blue. Sure, they had a project to do together, but even after they finished that he was persistent enough to keep hanging around her.
A memory of a quiet redhead twirling a loose strand of her hair with her nose in a book, sitting underneath a tree pops into Light's mind. "I just thought you'd make for some interesting company." It was true, when he saw her sitting on that bench outside of the academy he couldn't help but approach her, at first it was because she seemed so focused and intrigued by the book she was reading, silly expressions would appear on her face every so often like she was totally entranced by that book. It was also her red hair, it really stood out among everyone else in Japan. Of course, he'd seen her around in school but he never had a good enough excuse to go up to her until he realized she was reading the same exact book that he had. He smiles at the thought before taking a bite of his food.
"And? Am I as interesting as you thought I would be, Yagami?" She jabs her fork into the egg sitting on top of her ramen and shoves the whole thing in her mouth.
He laughs as a piece of food sticks to her chin. "You sure are." He taps his chin, letting her know she has something on her face.
The redheads cheeks match the color of her hair as she grabs a napkin from the holder and wipes the egg off her face. "That's kind of embarrassing..." She mumbles. "Anyways, I guess I can say you're not the stuck up ass that I always thought you were, so that's something."
Lights eyes widen in disbelief. He raises his arms in the air in a 'What?' motion. "Me? Stuck up? I'm the nicest guy in the whole world! I might take a little pride in the things I do. I'm intelligent and I have a good head on my shoulders, there's nothing wrong with using those things to my advantage from time to time." Before the redhead could snap back with a sarcastic comment, the waitress strides over to the table.
"Can I get you two anything? Refills? Dessert?" She asks.
A glimmer of light shines in the redhead eyes at the word 'dessert'. "Do you have any cheesecake?" "Preferably strawberry." She asks optimistically. Though she was loyal to Haru's grandmother and her bakery, she was curious as to how this restaurant's cheesecake might taste.
"Yes! I can get it right away for you." She looks over at Light, waiting for a response from him.
"None for me, thanks." He declines the offer but the redhead ends up telling the waitress to get him a piece anyway.
After finishing their delicious dessert, they gather their things and get up from their table. Before leaving the warmth of the restaurant, Light pays their bill and tips the waitress. On their way out of the restaurant, they pass by the chrysanthemum flowers and the pretty stone bird bath, currently unoccupied and the redhead stares at it in awe for the last time tonight.
A few blocks ahead the redhead stops to take off the heels she was wearing. "Sorry, Light. These shoes are beautiful but I'm definitely not used to walking around in heels like this."
"So you'd rather walk around barefoot?" He mocks. "What if you step on something and get hurt?"
She playfully nudges him. "Let me wear your shoes then. I already have your jacket."
He catches his balance. "My shoes would be too big on you, you'd probably trip over your own feet." He laughs.
She pulls a pair of sneakers from her purse and shows them to the brunette. "Im kidding. I came prepared." She slips her sockless feet into the sneakers. As she stands back up, she hears loud footsteps coming from behind them. Before they're able to turn around and figure out who it was, she is snatched by a man wearing a hood over his head, hidden beneath the shadow the hood casts over his face. A cold, sharp knife is pressed against her throat, sending a paralyzing shock throughout the redhead's body.
"Make any sudden moves and I slit her throat right here." The man hissed. He forcefully pulls the redhead a few backwards as he puts space between himself and the brunette.
Light's heart races, almost pounding through his chest as he sees a terrified look spread across the redhead's face. He takes a deep breath and composes himself. "Nobody has to get hurt." He speaks calmly and firmly. "We can give you whatever you want, just put the knife away."
"I'm not putting anything away." The man snaps back. "Empty your pockets, NOW." He groans.
The brunette raises one hand in the air. "Okay, I'm going to reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet." He slowly pulls out his wallet and reaches out for the man to grab it from him.
"No, you bring it to me." The man demands. "And don't try anything funny or the girl dies."
"Okay." Light takes one step forward. "My name is Light. Light Yagami. The girl's name is Alexandra. We're high school students." He takes another single step forward and the redhead watches as his eyes turn cold, appearing darker then they were before. "What's your name?" The tone of his voice changed completely, it was calm and firm but at the same time threatening, scary even. For a moment, the redhead almost didn't recognize him.
"You think I'm stupid enough to tell you my name kid?" The man says harshly.
"I suppose not. But you are stupid enough to rob someone in the middle of the street." Light takes another step forward.
The man presses his sharp knife harder against the skin of the redheads neck and a small drop of blood flows out, sliding down her neck "Watch your mouth, kid." He hissed. "Don't move any closer!" He raises his voice as the brunette takes another step forward. "Throw the wallet in front of me."
Light obliges and tosses his wallet at the man's feet. "Okay, you have it. Now let the girl go."
"Shut your mouth." The redhead is forcefully thrown to the ground and she whimpers. "Pick it up!" The man kicks her in the stomach, causing the brunette to lunge toward him. He throws his hand out toward the brunette, pointing his knife directly at him.
Light throws his hands in the air and clenches his teeth. "Don't hurt her again."
"Try something like that again and I will." He threatens. "Pick up the wallet you dumbass."
The redhead reaches out to grab the wallet from the ground, she quickly glances up at Light before standing back up. "O-Okay, here." Her voice trembles.
The man shoves Light's wallet into his pocket. A glimmer of silver catches his eye. "Give me that necklace." He reaches his hand out to rip it off her neck, but as soon as he touches it he screams and falls onto the pavement.
Light pounces forward and swiftly delivers a brutal kick to the man's face, leaving his nose bloodied and knocking him unconscious. He bends down and retrieves his wallet from the man's pocket. "Let's get out of here."
"S-Shouldn't we c-call the police." The redhead shivers as she wipes the blood from her neck.
"Someone else will find him, we can worry about contacting the police later."
"O-Okay."
Light and the redhead quickly run back to her apartment, leaving the man lying unconscious on the cold sidewalk.
After arriving at the redheads apartment building, they walk up a flight of stairs and down a short hallway before stopping in front of her door. The only light preventing the hallway from being completely shrouded in darkness was a faint glow from the moon shining through the open window at the end of the hall. A small gust of wind makes its way through the window, catching on the girl's dress allowing it to gracefully flutter before softly settling back into place.
"Well, here we are. I would say tonight was fun but…" Light trailed off. "Are you okay?"
The redhead sighs. "Well… I was terrified but…" She brings her hand to the cut on her neck, the wound now closed, dry blood stuck to the scab. "Other than this, yeah, I'm okay."
Light pulls her into a hug. "I'm so sorry that happened." He whispers.
"Don't be. Tonight was fun." She pulls away from his embrace and smiles at him.
The brunette tucks a loose strand of curly hair behind the redhead's ear. "You really are something else." He looks at her with a gleam in his eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She questions.
"You just went through a terrifying situation, and now you're standing here telling me it was fun."
"Well, the date was fun… But the whole situation with that guy… I was useless." She fidgets with the sleeve of her dress and frowns as she notices that it's ripped.
"Don't say things like that. There was nothing you could have done."
"I could have done something. I should have-"
Light brings his index finger to the girl's lip, silencing her. He leans in toward her ear and whispers, "Don't say anything." He pulls away, leaving just enough space between them to allow fresh air into their lungs. He looks into her sparkly green eyes and places his thumb on her bottom lip before slowly dragging it down over her chin and onto the soft skin of her neck. He moves his hand and places it on the back of her neck.
The redhead's heart beats faster as she glances at the brunette's lips and looks back up into his eyes. He leans forward, shortening the distance between them before pulling her into a soft, passionate kiss.
A few hours later : The Yagami Residence
After finally getting home, Light plops down onto his desk chair. He grabs a pen and takes it apart before carefully sticking the part that holds the ink into a small hole on the bottom side of the drawer. He lifts the false bottom and pulls out a notebook.
Little did the redhead know, when he took his wallet back out of the robbers pocket, he also stole the other man's wallet. He opens it up and pulls out the ID, the name reads 'Hiro Nakamora'. He inspects the man's picture, burning the image into his mind and flips open the notebook. He writes the man's name down and closes the notebook. "That bastard will get what he deserves." He mumbles under his breath.
Ryuk stands in the corner of the room, watching silently as Light puts the notebook back into the false drawer. Fed up with the feeling of someone watching him, even though they can't really see him, he speaks up. "Hey, Light." He calls out.
"What is it Ryuk?" Light asks.
"Uh… Well, I was going to say anything but it's really starting to get on my nerves already. Just know that by me telling you this, I'm not trying to help you out or anything. It's just really starting to give me the creeps.."
"Just spit it out already, I want to go to bed."
A wide grin spreads across the shinigamis face. "There's a human who's been following you around all day. He's outside of your window right now."
"What?" Light walks over to his bedroom window and slyly peeks through the curtain. He sees a tall, dark haired man hiding behind a telephone pole, peeking up at his window.
Ryuk chuckles.
"You couldn't tell me this earlier, Ryuk?" The brunettes eyes widen. "If he's been following me all day then he must have seen what happened earlier."
"Uh oh. What are you going to do now, Kira?" Ryuk questions.
The brunette ignores the shinigami and pulls out his phone before dialing a number. The line rings a few times before someone picks up. "Tokyo police station, is this an emergency?"
"I'd like to report a crime."
End of Chapter 4