STRAWBERRY MEMORIES- ICHIGO NO KIOKU
Chapter XVIII
Misa, what is love?
That morning Rem looked at the image that stood out in front of her in amazement. On the bed there were two figures crouched under Misa Misa's heavy blanket. She could not believe to herself when, approaching her monstrous face, she noticed that the chest on which her Misa was crouched like a child was L's chest, who instead had his chin resting quietly on the model's blond head while his arms almost encircled her, in a protective manner. Rem felt something in her chest bother her, like an insistent crunch in her empty ribcage, where there would have been a heart if she had been human. Could that be the jealousy Misa often talk about?
Whatever that feeling was, she decided it was inappropriate even for a shinigami to watch that sentimental skit and decided to go for a ride. Shortly after Rem left Misa, feeling observed, slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was the detective's white shirt. She calmly breathed in the scent that that white garment emanated and snuggled better on his chest. She gently lifted her left arm wedged between them so that she could squeeze the boy's torso and felt his abdominal muscles tense slightly as she touched them.
"Good morning Misa"
She heard uttered by him in a still sleepy but clear voice.
The girl raised her face and gave the detective a beautiful smile. Even in the morning with his long raven hair tousled and his white face half hidden by them, he looked beautiful.
"Good morning Michelangelo,"
She answered, stroking his cheek as if to thank him again for the night talks.
"shhh"
She heard him whisper seriously but with a hint of a smile.
"Nobody must know it."
He finished saying looking at her with those impenetrable eyes. He too was admiring her clean face, the long loose hair illuminated by a few rays of sunlight, and the happy eyes of the girl. He realized, however, that he was holding her in a hug and that she still had her legs intertwined with his. Because of this, his body suddenly woke up, and despite himself he could feel exactly every inch of skin that was attached to hers. He tried not to think about her white and soft breasts pressing on his chest, her flat belly touching his, her warm naked thighs intertwined with his long legs; he tried with all his being not to think about it but it wasn't enough, he was 24 years old for God sake... Simply to avoid such a thing he shouldn't have slept hugged to an attractive young girl for whom he felt something. What the hell had he thought of the night before? Had he gone mad? It was only a moment, yet that single moment was enough to awaken his more physical side with decidedly embarrassing consequences.
That's all I need...
Thought the young detective panicking, biting his lip and peeking under the covers the decidedly evident consequence of his actions, at that moment he hoped with all his heart that Misa would be 7 years old and he 12, in a moment in his life when the sensation of her body attached to his would never provoke that physical reaction. Tremendously scared that the girl might notice it, he immediately tried to dissolve the embrace with the first excuse that came to mind.
"It's time for breakfast Misa chan!"
He tried to say in a voice much less imperturbable than usual, indeed decidedly agitated.
Misa made an annoyed face and hugged him tighter to her, preventing him from escaping.
"Ugh Eru always think about eating! Just wait a bit please!"
She told him rubbing up against his chest, unaware of what she was doing to the poor man.
"Misa, soon Watari will bring me breakfast and what will he think when he doesn't see me in the monitor room?"
He asked again, praying to any deity that she understood it was time to pulls away.
"He'll think you've finally had a good night's sleep, do you know that your dark circles have gone a bit?"
She said happily and she approached the detective's face with both hands to touch with her fingers the decidedly less marked dark circles. However doing so, she inadvertently bumped him with her hip, L at that moment wanted to die with shame. The girl stopped torturing L's dark circles and remained with her hands in mid-air with her face completely red.
"Eru chan... what's ..."
She said terribly embarrassed trying to lift the covers, but the boy stopped her firmly. Misa knew from L's reaction that what she felt was definitely what she thought. Finally she sat up in shock covering herself, suddenly demure.
"You ... you perv!"
She screamed at him indignantly, then after having gathered her thoughts she screamed.
"Oh my God it's all my fault! I should have known that Eru chan is just like all the other guys. "
She continued saying more and more embarrassed and with her face red like a beet.
"What a fool I am! I'm so ashamed! "
She continued saying avoiding to look at him.
"But, I AM different from all the other guys"
He said decidedly offended.
"I didn't dare to took advantage of Misa as your "boyfriend" did a few days ago."
He finished saying cursing himself for the annoyed tone that came out of him by mouth.
Misa finally turned to him and gave him an offended shove.
"You didn't understand, you stupid!"
She screamed at him filling his chest with small fists.
"I didn't mean that ... I just feel shameless, what will you think of me now after I jumped on you yesterday? It's just that Misa trusts Eru so much, she's so comfortable with him that she was simply surprised and suddenly realized that she is a little teaser… Eru chan is so pure and innocent and I'm a mess instead."
She ended up saying hiding her face between her knees.
"I'm neither pure nor innocent Misa chan," he said seriously, "I'm not very different from Kira after all."
He continued in a voice that didn't sound like his.
Misa looked at him suddenly concerned.
"But you are very different from Kira Eru chan ..."
He turned toward her with much darker eyes than when they woke up earlier.
"L and Kira are only divided from the perspective of today's society on what is right and what is wrong. Kira thinks he is the Justice and kills illegally to reach his ideal world. I say I am the Justice and I act according to the law, yet I always reach my goals, often acting to the limit, lying, playing dirty just to get to my goals. All of this is allowed by international law, but it does not mean that it is fair, or moral. I used Misa for the Kira case, just like Light is using her for himself. You must never forget it."
Misa looked at him now much more worried forgetting what had just happened.
"It's not true at all L. Light plays a role, like I play a role with him. Eru, on the other hand, does not act, and although he is using Misa's help, he does not do so without apprehension and concern. Eru cares about Misa's life, not like Kira who could kill her without remorse at any moment. And then remember that it was I who insisted on helping you! "
She got down on her knees in front of him and held his hands softly, so she walked over and left a tender kiss on his cheek.
"I like you, Eru, and I will never think of you as similar to him ..."
She ended up saying blushing slightly.
The boy touched his cheek in amazement and his gaze returned to the sweet one as before.
"Yep like this Eru chan! I don't want to see that gloomy expression anymore! "
She said satisfied.
He showed on his face an amused grin.
"L likes Misa too."
He said in response to what she had confessed to him.
"but you will have already noticed by yourself a little while ago."
He continued saying quietly getting out of bed.
The girl turned red with shame and threw a pillow at him.
"But how can you say something like this in such a calm manner, you perv! I just told you I'm embarrassed!"
She finished saying by crossing her arms.
"I hope that after this story you won't keep saying things like: L is not a boy, L doesn't like girls, L is only interested in sweets etc"
He said walking towards the bathroom and taking off his shirt, then adding.
"Because I never told you Misa chan, but it's quite offensive."
The girl threw him the last pillow in annoyance.
"what are you doing now? Don't you have your own bathroom to wash yourself? "
She yelled from behind as he pulled the door closer.
"Why is a problem if you see me like this, when you went downstais far more undressed?"
He asked her looking up with a thumb in his mouth.
"It's no big deal, in fact," she replied annoyed, "just hurry up, Misa needs the bathroom too".
The boy smiled amused and finally entered the bathroom.
He needed a cold shower, and quickly.
Misa was nervously tapping her black nails on the bench in the university courtyard. Light was making her wait longer than usual, and Rem hadn't even shown up that day. Who knows where they all went? As soon as she formulated that thought she looked up and saw her shinigami approaching from the top of a building.
"Rem! Where the hell you have gone? You can't drop Misa like this! Although both of us are in such a mess... "
Rem stepped in front of her with the same stiff expression as ever.
"I went a bit to check Ryuk and Light's moves."
The girl snorted indignantly.
"Yes, but you could have warned Rem."
She looked around, continuing to tap with her fingers angrily.
"Misa is pretty stressed out these days."
The shinigami approached her and began to circle over the bench.
"Is that why you were asleep with that detective last night?"
Misa went red with shame and covered her frightened mouth.
"Rem, how are you going to say such a thing here? If Light heard you?"
"Calm down Misa, Light won't be coming soon. The headquarter called for him which should keep him busy for a while. Apparently, the investigation is at a standstill. You gave that detective a lot of work using your eyes."
Misa snorted, even more agitated than before.
"Perfect, even Misa Misa is at a standstill. I thought I could help him and instead I messed up on my own. If only Light hadn't discovered everything ... "
The girl got up and started pacing back and forth, clutching her leather coat.
She was a little relieved at Light's delay. It gave her time to think and calm down.
"Misa ..."
She heard Rem's voice reach her from behind.
"Yup?"
She answered without even turning around.
"Do you love that detective?"
Misa immediately stopped her hysterical march and turned to the shinigami surprised.
"Rem? Why this question ... and then what do you know what love is? "
"Well Misa Misa has tried to explain it to me many times and lately I've been thinking about it very often ... I don't know why but being in this world is making me see things from a new perspective."
"Anyway, Rem is not easy to explain ..."
Misa tried to evade the conversation by turning hastily.
"When you explained it to me it seemed so simple instead, you said that when you love a person you always think about him/her, that your heart beats fast, that you give your life for him/her, that you look for more physical contact"
The shinigami paused for a moment and looked at Misa seriously.
"These are all things that prove that you love that detective."
Misa sat down on the bench and looked down. The last thing she need was Rem that tried to discover human feelings. She hated being analysed, and most of all she hated opening her heart to others. She saw a drop of water hit her hand.
Perfect, she thought, I really do not need this today.
"Rem ... I repeat it to you, it's complicated."
She insisted looking at the shinigami with more conviction, hoping she understood that she absolutely did not want to talk about that topic at the moment.
"So why did you tell me to write your name on the death note in case he was in danger? Why do I hear your main organ pounding more when you are close to him? And why are you always looking for physical contact with him? Like tonight. "
Misa began to get really nervous and clapped her hands on the bench.
"What's wrong with you today?!"
The shinigami remained impassive, completely unaware of the annoyance she was causing the girl.
"I would like to understand…"
"But understand what?"
The model asked exasperated.
"I would like to understand and recognize human feelings."
Rem said, looking up at the sky.
"Well then start by understanding when Misa Misa doesn't want to talk."
The model replied in an unpleasant way crossing her arms. In short, what's wrong with everyone? She didn't need the third degree from a shinigami about how Misa Misa felt or not. She didn't want to categorize how she felt about Eru, it was special. What there was between them was not simple love, it was not what she played in her teenage love drama. What there was between them was not among anyone else in the world. They were unique. Human love ends, people break up, they betray each other, they die. Like her parents, like L.'s parents. Their bond was secret, and whatever happened to them, it would remain immaculate forever. Like a precious stone hidden in the rough rock. What was love compared to this?
"With Eru it's different, that's all..."
She said sighing and looking more softly at Rem.
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard the phone ring. It was a text from Light.
«Megumi, unfortunately I can't come this afternoon, I'm too busy for exams. See you soon though.»
Obvious. He couldn't write her:
«Hey Misa, no homicides this afternoon. Kiss Kira.»
The girl thought slightly amused.
This meant that Light knew he had the phone under control. Misa answered him immediately letting him know that she had guessed that.
«Don't worry Light. I take the opportunity to study too. I look forward to hearing from you. Kisses Megumi»
"Come on Rem let's go home, it seems that today we can rest a bit."
She said to the shinigami walking towards the exit of the courtyard.
She was almost at the entrance when her phone rang again. It was an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Misa chan."
"Eru...it's you!"
The girl yelled happily, she had never received a call from L.
"To what do I owe the pleasure? Do you want to go out with Misa Misa again? "
The model asked enthusiastically.
"Uh no..."
Replied the detective on the other side of the line slightly confused.
"Why do you ask that? Do you want already date me again?"
"What do you mean with "already"? And when were you planning on going out with me, Eru chan? Do I have to wait another 12 years by chance? Because otherwise Misa would like to be notified, I might consider seeing someone else in the meantime."
She said in a high-pitched voice and clenching her fists tightly.
"You already see someone else Misa chan"
The detective pointed out, not catching the irony in the girl's voice.
"What? You know perfectly that with him isn't a real date! Are you stupid? I mean seriously, not pretend to! "
"Ah."
""Ah"is that all you can say? Don't you even try to fight for Misa Misa? "
"I'm confused where Misa chan's conversation is going..."
She heard him say from the other side of the phone, she heard that he was touching his hair. She pictured him with his head tilted and his hand in his dark hair, puzzled.
"Aren't you the least bit jealous about it?"
The model insisted again.
"But jealous of what?"
The boy asked with a decidedly confused voice.
"Oh forget it, you are a disaster with women Eru chan ..."
She snorted disappointed.
"I wouldn't say, if Misa Misa wants "already" date me again..."
He answered laughing.
"Still with this 'already' ..."
She answered, annoyed.
"Misa tries to listen to me now. You can't go back to headquarters this afternoon, Light is here, and I don't know until when. So, wait for my call before you come back."
Misa snorted loudly into the receiver.
"Wonderful! Today everyone stands Misa Misa up! Obviously, you don't mind at all if I will dating someone else in the end. "
"What are you talking about?"
The boy asked with infinite patience.
"I had an appointment with Light today, then I wanted to go home in peace and spend some time with you tonight and instead you all have better things to do"
She replied, more nervous than expected.
"Ah, so you put Light and me on the same level?"
He asked suddenly. He had finally come to the same childish line of speech as Misa.
"Then you are jealous Eru chan! In the end I discovered you! "
She screamed, hopping. The boy shook his head hopelessly.
"Well Misa chan, see you later."
So he got off the phone unceremoniously.
Misa remained with the receiver on her ear for about ten seconds, blinking offended.
"How dare he?!"
"What happens Misa?"
Rem asked worriedly. The model did not answer her and tried to call back the number with which the boy had called her but ...
"The phone number you are looking for does not exist"
The girl stomped her feet in annoyance and felt a few tears of anger sting her eyes, but soon after she received a text message, again from an unknown number, but different from the first.
"It is useless for you to try to call me, my numbers last only one call. Try to be mature and have patience "
"How dare you?!"
The girl repeated again.
"Me, immature?! But if he is the most childish in the world! "
Rem decided not to intervene anymore, realizing that this was not the case.
The sound of another text message broke the silence again.
"In case you didn't understand, I was talking about the date. I have a lot of work by now, but as soon as I have time, me too I would like to date you again."
"Misa..."
"Yes Rem?"
"Your heart is beating fast."
AUTHOR CORNER:
Hi to everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter; I don't have much to say but if you want to check my Instagram page you can find my fanarts about this chapter too! My profile is this:
julietteyuuki/
In there you can check also when I update my ff!
Btw I wanted to thank so much 0404617 that followed my story and added it to his favourites.
Obviously, all of you, If you are concerned about something or want to give me some advices, please do it! They are welcome!
See you soon
By Juliette