XLIV – An Irresistible Offer
Once the winter break was over, Light had to return to school. He met with his classmates, ignored Ryuk, and gave a few answers in class. He's been lucky, for once in a while – he answered a difficult question in a flash once the teacher promised a bonus of ten points for the end of the semester exam. He's been going to Physics just for the sake of being in class. Light was way ahead of his colleagues, which meant he was bored most of the time. It also meant he could steal those ten points in less than ten seconds.
After the classes were done, he stopped to play some tennis with three of the school's best tennis players. Of course, he kept playing nice so they could play again sometime. Light didn't hit the ball as hard as he could, nor did he bother to calculate the angles and the time his opponents would need to reach the ball. He estimated the angles and kept serving them easy hits. He was playing for the physical exercise, not to prove himself superior.
"So you broke up with Midori, too?" his teammate asked while the opposite team was preparing to serve.
"I did… sort of. We're on a break. I barely have time for her anymore and she doesn't like that, so if she wants to see someone else, I'm fine with it," he explained as the ball was flying towards him. Light hit it without any effort, sending it back.
His teammate looked surprised. "She turned me down, that's why I'm asking. So you're not still in a relationship, right?"
"It's more of an open relationship, if you want… We're more than friends, but not exactly in a relationship. Though if you want me to ask her to date you, I'm not going to do that." When Light saw his teammate losing a point, too distracted to play, he began to laugh. "Not for free, anyway."
"The next tournament is in March. I can't pay anything until then, you know?"
Light thought for a moment. "Perhaps there's something else you could do for me. I'll tell you in a couple of days. We'll keep in touch, right?"
The other smiled brightly. "Of course. Thanks! You know, I've been trying to get to her for a whole semester, but Midori only sees you… It's frustrating sometimes."
"I know what you mean," Light smirked. "Believe me, I know…"
"You?! No way! There's no one standing in front of you."
"There is, actually. You remember Cat, right?" Light grinned, serving a bit too strong for his opponents.
"Wait a second. Are you trying to tell me that you've got competition? You?" His colleague began to laugh.
"I do! It's true. And it's pretty bad, too. He's a few years older, with a career, from a rich family and climbing the social ladder faster than an escalator. And in the mean time, I'm still here, trying to make time for every project and exam at the end of the year…"
The other whistled. "You're fried, man! Just give her up and get another. If she wants to run off with Prince Charming, there's not much you can do about it. I bet there will be tons of pretty girls in college and there must be at least a few of them a little more exotic. I mean, it's college, right? Students come here from all over the world. Maybe you get lucky with an American – I heard they're good and pretty easy."
Light laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess… Who knows? I'm not really into tan skin and bleached hair though. I guess I'll look for a European." Of course, his team won almost all the sets, losing just one. Either way, Light was pleased to win the match and a favor as well.
He went to grab his school bag and then left. On his way home, Light had a strange feeling, some unexplained suspense. Something was about to happen, but he had no clue about it. Eventually, he reached his house and tried to open the door, expecting it to swing back and welcome him like it always would. Only today, the door remained rigid and locked. "That's strange…" he mumbled, as he reached in the pocket of his school bag for the key.
Light unlocked the door and turned on the light in the hallway before stepping inside. "I'm home," he called. "Mom? Sayu?" but nobody answered. "Even stranger…"
Walking to the kitchen, he saw no one. All the lights were off, the TV too. Light climbed upstairs, when three details caught his attention. A thin pencil lead was on the cream colored carpet. The handle of his door was perfectly straight. Also, the paper was back in between the door and its frame.
Light took out the paper and entered the room. Picking up the pencil lead would have drawn someone's attention. It only took him a second to realize that someone's been in his room, someone other than his mother or sister. Considering his father was working on the Kira case with L and that he hasn't heard anything new from L in a while… this might be L's turn to make a move. Light already suspected surveillance cameras and microphones having been installed during the time when the house has been empty.
The team had to leave everything untouched, so of course, they noticed the paper and put it back at the same height as before. His mother or his sister wouldn't have noticed it. But the door handle and the pencil lead went past unnoticed, so they remained deranged from their initial position.
Kira threw his bag off his shoulder and laid in bed, sighing. He's had a rough day… He looked at his phone and called Midori. This was a great occasion for some relaxation and it would be one of the first things on any teenager's mind.
"Hi, how are you? I'm sorry for the day before… Yeah, I know," he whined. "Listen, do you want to come over? I'll be home alone for a few hours. No, I've got no idea. I think they went to choose Sayu's dress for the end of the school year's ball. You know, she wants to come to the graduation ball because she's my sister and all that… Silly, right? But I said I'll keep an eye on her." Light stretched his arms, one at a time, so he could still keep the phone pressed against his ear. "Sure, if you have one you want to see. By the way, do you want to order something to eat? Okay. That's fine, too. Sure. Take care."
'Hey, Light? Why are you calling her over? Didn't you just promise her to that other guy?' but Ryuk got ignored again. Not even a look or a gesture. 'Light?! Hey! Answer me!'
Instead, Light took his shirt off and arched his back a little. He looked through the papers in his drawer and found a flyer of a restaurant with the number and menu for their delivery service. He called and ordered the food Midori wanted, then wrote down the hour when they were supposed to reach his address. If the delivery boy was late with over five minutes, they could get the order for free.
'Light! What's going on? You don't even look at me. Light! What's this about? I don't get it,' the shinigami kept wondering.
Of course, Light kept ignoring the creature. It was much too risky talking to him before he knew exactly how many cameras and microphones were there in his house and their precise place. For once, he felt a bit nervous about Midori being at his place, but perhaps that will make the surveillance stop. It was all or nothing and he couldn't risk changing his behavior because of that – L would definitely notice.
He could be certain that his father was watching the cameras as well… Maybe others. Honestly, he doubted the legal character of such measures, but L was probably so esteemed by the police, he could get away with it. He kept wondering why would he be supervised that way, when it suddenly hit him. He remembered the leaking information he has been using, which meant that more families were in the same situation.
How many could L keep under watch at once? Was it possible to gather all of those cameras in one room? What would Caterina say…? Light sat at his desk and began to write down the events from the past month on a clean page in a normal school notebook. The major ones that L would know about were the information leakage, the FBI agents, and possibly the experiments he's done right before that. Could he have come across some lead pointing towards Reiji's death?
Light closed the notebook and threw it back in his bag once he heard the door bell ring. He rushed downstairs to greet Midori. "I've missed you," he mumbled as he held her tightly in the doorway.
The girl was confused, even if she clung to him like her life depended on that. In a way, it kind of did, but she had no idea about it. "Light… really?"
He let her step in and take off her shoes. "Of course. I'm so sorry about this, but it's stressing me out… You know, the finals, the entrance exams… I need to graduate with a high score and repeat the performance at the entrance exams so I can get where I want to get."
"Well… what university do you want?" she asked, carrying the conversation simply because it was less scary than talking about their relationship.
"To-Oh. I'll study law there and then, continue with a Master's Degree. I think I'm not going to stop at working in the police, you know? I want to be a judge."
Midori looked impressed. "Wait. Did you talk about it with your dad? I mean, the entire school expects you to go to the Police Academy, not law school."
"Well, not yet, but I don't think he'll be against it," Light smiled and scratched the back of his neck. "I mean, I respect his work and all, but I want something more. I heard the pay is better, but the responsibility and the stress levels are pretty much the same. It's no striking difference."
"Really? Um…" Midori looked up the stairs and down the hall. Were they going to his room already, or staying in the living room?
"Wherever you want." Light smiled. "Feel free to make yourself at home."
The girl thought it would be safer in the living room. "Light, I'm… I'm unsure. Are we still, or…?"
"I don't want to keep you waiting for me. I've barely got any time for you at all. Even now, I studied late in the past two days so I could get a couple of hours free now," he whined. "You really shouldn't wait, you're beautiful and you could find yourself someone with more time than me. Even in college, I'll spend most of my time studying, you know…?"
"I could wait, if you say we'll be together." Midori turned to face him, even if she was afraid of his reaction.
Light sighed heavily. It was frustrating how much she could get attached to him in such a short time. "If I get to work as a judge, I'll have to work a lot – sixteen, maybe eighteen hours a day. That's the way you get others to notice you, to trust you and give you more cases. It's tons of hard work to get at the very top, and then I'll have to work to stay there."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Then why not just be a policeman? You get your weekends off, at least."
"My dad rarely does. Whenever there's a complicated, difficult case he keeps working for days on end. When that happens, mom sends Sayu or me to bring him lunch at his office. He barely has time to eat and we see him… once or twice in two weeks, perhaps?" Light sighed. "And even then, he's so tired, he just eats and goes to sleep." Light was hoping he could hit a sensitive cord with that argument. It was close to the reality, especially since the Kira case investigation has been taken over by L.
Soon, the delivery boy rang the bell and Light went to receive the order. He opened the door, took the two menus and the desserts, then the delivery boy gave him a letter as well. Although he didn't know who could possibly send him something like that, he hid it under his shirt and fixed it under the belt of his pants. He couldn't let L see that he received anything other than the order.
Light paid, then stared after the car. He remembered the plate number. Strangely enough, the car didn't have the company's commercials on it. "Do you mind setting the table?" he asked Midori, who was already in the kitchen.
Caterina eventually convinced Namikawa to rent an apartment at the top floor of a hotel. It was only for a while – they didn't set a certain date for when to return home, but Caterina kept saying that she missed living in such a place.
"We could buy such an apartment and have it designed for you," he offered. They had ordered lunch there and were now sitting on the balcony, watching over the city.
Caterina leaned in her seat. She couldn't take her eyes away from the view she didn't previously appreciate for its true beauty. "I know, I know, it's not economic… But I get bored so easily! I'm not used to living in the same place for long."
"Redecorating every now and then would still cost less than paying a rent like this every month."
She sighed. "I'll think about it. So, I've talked to the girl – Rin, but that's probably not her real name. She's good with computers and asked for video games to pass the time. And spicy food. She broke into the hotel's data base in two minutes and left without leaving a trace. She broke into the security system of a supermarket and showed me what was going on through the surveillance cameras, then left just as discreetly. I think we should keep her around, what do you say?"
Namikawa thought about it for a while. "She could prove dangerous if someone else hires her… She's the nerdy type, I assume…?"
Chuckling, Caterina nodded. "Definitely. I think we could buy her with some last edition games and VIP passes to comic cons, movie premieres, and other events. Rin smokes though… She's going to need money for that. Cigarettes are expensive, if you sum it up…"
"How much can a high school girl smoke?" he asked, ironic.
"Middle school, you mean. Half a pack every day. And she wants to drop out, because she says the educational system is too slow for her learning pace." The man threw her a suspicious look, but Caterina shrugged. "Not my body, not my choices…"
"Correct, but that's still too much for her age."
"Remember why I didn't get along with Mr. Ooi. Let's just trust her to do her job. She seems good at it."
Namikawa nodded. "The Yotsuba group could overpower the other companies on the market if Rin provides us with the right information. At the same time, we'll be two steps ahead of Ross."
Caterina smiled. "Have you heard anything from Vitto lately?"
Her question made a sly smirk spread over his face. "I think we might get ourselves a driver, after all…"
Caterina chuckled. "I thought you said you liked driving."
"Wouldn't it be absolutely humiliating if we spared Vitto and kept him as a servant?"
"You talk as if he was a pet. He's not handsome enough – which is odd, for an Italian. You know they've got themselves the reputation as the best lovers in the world."
Namikawa raised an eyebrow. "Weren't those French?"
"They're the best kissers, or that's what magazines, films, and literature aimed at women had all been claiming since forever. Well, not really forever – just during the modern era."
"You don't seem very interested in Italians or Frenchmen, though," he grinned.
The girl rolled her eyes with a smile. 'He could pass for an Italian…' Vitto's words about Light crossed her mind, making her curse that smile on her face. It wasn't a smile meant for Namikawa's jokes, it was a smile meant for Light, which found its way to the surface. She shook her head slowly, trying to bring herself into the present moment. She couldn't be with one man and think of another.
At the same time, a wicked grin was spreading over Light's face. He had walked Midori home because she was suddenly too nervous around him, and so, he caught a moment away from the cameras. On his way back, Light took out the letter and unfolded it. The envelope wasn't signed, but the letter was. It said,
'I hope you found the food hot enough. I dared ask one of my messengers to intervene and deliver this letter as well. Yagami the young, I have knowledge of your family, of your close friends, of your school and classmates. If you refuse, I will torture them one by one and publish the images in the media.
I also have knowledge about your ex girlfriend, the daughter of the Dragon. As we both know, she is currently with another – Reiji Namikawa, Vice President of sales at the Yotsuba Group corporation, the Asian branch.
The company's European branch is messing with my affairs. Your job from the moment you have opened this letter is to wreck havoc in the Asian branch, which you realize will be to my advantage. In exchange, you will be paid as much as you say you need for each action and an extra every month, determined by your results.
Unlike others, the daughter of the Dragon does not interest me the slightest. This can be a very profitable affair for both of us, as you can see. If you agree, write your bank account, email address and phone number on the back of this letter. After that, you will leave it by the grand fountain in the central park, on the bench with one board missing.
If you do not do this by sunrise, I will consider that you've declined the offer and you will stand the consequences. You should know better than to mock me.
Best regards,
Ivan Frost.'
Light read it several times – he couldn't possibly get luckier than that. Ryuk could barely wait for some clarifications.
"Ryuk, listen to me well," he said in a low voice, as he walked through the streets. "L is most likely trying to get me. I bet there are cameras and microphones in the house, so I want you to locate every single one of them."
'Why would I do that?'
Light chuckled. "If you're lucky, you can find yourself a blind spot where you could eat an apple every now and then. Otherwise… You can't starve to death, so it doesn't matter."
The shinigami freaked out. 'What do you mean, it doesn't matter?! I'll find every single one of those!'
"Good." Light waited for the train to pass so he could continue his walk home. The barrier signed them that a train was near.
'Light… What about that letter?'
"It's an offer. It turns out, I'm going to ruin that Reiji and get paid for it. Even better – at the end, I get Caterina too." His blood was boiling with excitement. "Actually, I think I'll go now." Light turned around and walked back towards the city, heading for the park. He always had a pen with him. He also knew his bank account by heart – he had opened one because the school only paid him the scholarship through the bank.
'Doesn't that make you a criminal?' the creature asked, flying faster to keep up.
"Me?! Never. I'm not going to kill Reiji – I'm going to corner him and ruin him, so that Caterina sees my true power and returns to me."
That evening, after leaving the envelope, he went home and went on with his usual routine. He dined with his mother and his family, then studied upstairs. Light kept planning his next move, but he kept the plans in his mind – the only place unsupervised by L. According to Ryuk, the detective had cameras covering every single inch of his house. He probably could see even what he was writing in his notebooks.
Kira remembered Caterina's warnings of playing his cards much more carefully – no matter how entertaining this cat and mouse game with L might be, he couldn't put his whole ideal at risk for this. Analyzing, Light was trying to find the weakest in Reiji's circle that would be corruptible or possible to threat into action. He was going to need at least two people helping him – one will ruin Reiji's home, while the other will ruin the Asian branch of Yotsuba. The sales had to drop dramatically, because Reiji was Vice President of sales… that should make him look like an incompetent, so his superiors will try to replace him.
With all of this in mind, he could barely find his sleep. Naturally, when he woke up, Light wasn't in the best of moods – he even forgot about the surveillance for a few minutes. He had to go to the bathroom, wash his face with cold water and yawn several times in order to be sufficiently awake to remember. Yet, being so careless and relaxed could prove to his advantage, making him look like any other normal teenager.
Light realized as he was getting dressed that the first class of the day was suspended – their teacher was out of town for three days. Frowning slightly, his left hand tapped his forehead as if to say, 'remember, you knew that from before'. With one hour at his disposal, he went downstairs for coffee and breakfast.
"Good morning, darling!" his mother greeted him. "Hurry up and eat something. You don't want to be late!"
"The teacher is out of town, mom. I forgot, so I woke up like usual," he smiled. "The first class is canceled." As his brain was taking its time waking up completely, he suddenly found himself in a bit of a tight situation. This one hour to himself could save him or damn him in the eyes of L and probably in those of his father, as well…
His mother saw him pouring himself some coffee. "Since when do you drink coffee?" She wasn't mad, but surprised to find out.
"I've… had a hard time falling asleep. I keep thinking about college, about the entrance exams, you know? I need a coffee, sometimes. I've started about… two months ago, I think. This semester, anyway." He sat down on his chair and rested one elbow on the table.
"Just please, don't drink too much of it. One is enough for a day." She had good reason to worry, because her husband often had more than three cups a day. "By the way, have you made up your mind? Are you going to the Academy?"
Light shook his head. "I'd rather study law, and I want to go to To-Oh. That's why I'm worried about the entrance exams…"
"There will be students from all over Asia! Maybe more!"
"Exactly. One in ten will be admitted, or less. But that's why it's the best university on the continent, right? They only admit the best of the best, and I want to be among them. If I can be at the top of the list, it's even better. The university offers one free entrance at a private gym weekly for the first semester to the first student admitted, and a scholarship. If I can keep myself at the top, I'll get these during the second semester as well, and in the following years."
The woman smiled with confidence. "I'm sure you will score the highest, again! You always had the best scores in school."
He chuckled. "Right… Well, you can't score over 100, and if there are several students with this score, they will use our graduation exams to decide the hierarchy. But those don't really worry me – these are designed for the average high school student, so everyone has a chance to pass. Just think of all those who graduate from high school and then go on to work immediately. Or maybe they qualify in something, take a six months course…"
"That's right. It's nearly impossible to find a job without high school… Then, I expect a perfect score for those!" She smiled brightly. "What do you want for breakfast?"
In the mean time, Sayu went to answer the door. It was the postman with a package for Light. "Hey, brother? The postman says you've got to sign! Light?!" she called.
"Coming." Light sat up and went to see what was it all about. He wasn't expecting anything, so what could it possibly be? An answer from Frost… maybe? "Yes?"
The postman and Sayu saw how confused he seemed. "Have you not ordered anything?"
Light felt what seemed to be a book in a thin cardboard envelope. "I've ordered a book, but that's been almost two months ago. What took you so long? I thought it got lost on the way."
"Hey, it's not my fault! It just got at the headquarters this morning!" the postman defended himself. "Light Yagami, right? Sign here, please. Have a good day!"
Sayu watched as the postman left. "…You ordered a book? About what?"
"That doesn't concern you," Light frowned towards her as he closed the door. "Go help mom to make breakfast or get ready for school. Shouldn't you be in a rush by now?"
"Nope. We've finished the text book with our headmaster and so, she said we're free to skip. She's going to be a grandma soon – her daughter is due at the end of the week! She's so happy! We told her to show us pictures when we meet again at the festivity at the end of the year." The girl clapped her hands in excitement. "I hope it's a baby girl! She can dress her up in ruffled skirts and pink Hi Kitty overalls and give her flower headbands and pretty ribbons!"
Light rolled his eyes with a smirk. "It's a baby, Sayu – not a present. And it's stupid to hope for a gender or another. Whatever the gender, it's a baby and the parents should be happy with it."
"Mom! Light says it's stupid to talk a baby's gender!" she called towards the kitchen.
He laughed and opened the package, on his way to his room. He didn't order anything, just like Ryuk pointed out, but he had to act like he did. He knew a website that deleted records after a month for every transaction, which also happened to be selling books. L had no way to check if Light really did order anything.
It was a science fiction novel – the first volume in a series of six, by a Russian author. He skimmed the description on the back, already certain that the book was a gift from Frost. It was about Earth, millions of years after a nuclear war, and in a terror-based post war political and ethical context. It definitely sounded interesting, so it won't be a pain to pretend reading it in the eyes of L. There was a good chance he will enjoy it.
After he left the book by his school bag, Light went to have breakfast with his sister and his mother. He was going to make his moves at school, and for that, he had a precise plan. First, he went at a public copy center and printed a list of criminals and murderers – those with major crimes, some in prison and many of them still free, wanted in several countries. He said he was studying criminal psychology and he needed those for a group project. Of course, Light wasn't their typical client.
Regardless, Light scheduled one page of the Death Note worth of criminals daily, for the following ten days. It will cover him up from the present, January 9th, to January 19th. By that time, L should end his surveillance. All he had to do now was to find a way to deal with Reiji…
"Hey, Light!" his colleague from before called from behind during a break. "What's up? Did you talk… you know?"
He sighed. "Not exactly, but she began to realize it won't work between us. She should accept you around any moment now."
"What did you say, then?" He looked truly worried. "You haven't… rejected her upfront, right?"
"More or less. Not upfront, no, but I told her I want to go to To-Oh, that I'll be very busy with school, that I want to be a judge which means many hours of work."
His colleague looked confused. "But then… are you planning on staying on your own? Forever? I mean, don't you want a woman?"
"If both are dedicated to hard work in a couple, they can understand each other. I can't have a girlfriend studying less and working less – she'd going to feel like I'm neglecting her. Not on purpose, you imagine, but…" Light sighed, "I want something else. At least for the next eight, maybe ten years. When I reach a certain level of stability, I can focus on family too, but not until then."
"Is that what you told her? Then I guess… I'll go try my luck again." He left with a smile. "Hey. Anything you need!" he gestured a phone call, to which Light nodded with a smile. He will ask for that favor back soon enough.
Ryuk was growing impatient. 'Why did you let him have Midori? I thought she was a great stress relief.'
"Also quite stressful when she opens her mouth. Don't worry… He's got a debt to me that he will pay in a heartbeat, as soon as I ask for it." Kira sat on a bench in the school yard and unpacked his lunch box. His mother was always careful he won't forget his lunch, and he was grateful for that.
'What about that book? I don't remember you ordering anything last month, or the month before.'
Light took it out of his school bag. "Thanks for reminding me. There must be a message somewhere…" He looked through the pages, but the book held nothing suspicious. When he slipped off the second cover, he found an envelope glued in between with a thin piece of scotch tape. "I'm starting to like this Ivan Frost."
'Why not between the pages? Would that be too obvious?'
Light placed the envelope in the book. "See? It shows. You can't do this without damaging the book. He would have had to cut out the space through several pages, which is regarded as an act of vandalism among book lovers, just like folding corners or underlining phrases. He must be very fond of books… Either an avid reader, or a writer himself."
'This writer?!' the shinigami asked, surprised.
"Maybe. In truth, the political context of the Empire in this book is very similar to communism, with a few changes… Human rights are very limited and propaganda is everywhere. He could have written about a group of rebels trying to defeat the system and this would have been a killer psychological thriller, but instead, he follows a physicist transported through time during a failed experiment."
Ryuk looked over his shoulder at the book. 'Whatever. Just open the letter!'
"Right." His eyes went at the bottom and he immediately saw it was signed by Frost again.
'Yagami the young, the situation is becoming more pressing for both of us now. The European branch is moving more aggressively towards the East, threatening the market of countries that had been part of the Soviet Union. These countries' market is mine alone, please understand.
I wish to know your plan and the resources you will need. Let me warn you – do not overprice anything. Your pay will be a separate transaction. You have time until the end of the week to comply.'
"He will be pleased to know I've already got a plan…"
Ryuk's eyes widened even more. 'You do?!'
Light began writing on the back of the letter. Frost seemed to be a fan of old-style hand-written letters, whether he was writing these himself or had somebody else writing them for him. It was easy to understand why, though – these were impossible to track. Phone calls could be recorded, while e-mail could be copied. But these? These were out of any kind of network, delivered by his men, and therefore impossible to track… Of course, if nobody betrayed Frost. But Light hoped that was not going to happen.
Author's Notes:
Chapter proofread by AbandonedSock, as usual.
Thank you for your support, HisRedRose123. It made my day when I saw another review from you, and then your activity on Wattpad. I've also began posting this story on ArchiveOfOwrOwn or AO3, and I'll keep posting on these two websites until they catch up to FFN. Even so, updates will keep being published here first, and then copied on the other two websites in a matter of hours, maybe days.
