STRAWBERRY MEMORIES- ICHIGO NO KIOKU
Chapter XIX
"Very well Misa, now give me a seductive look, so good, bend your face a little more... Great! Now make an innocent look, like a schoolgirl at her first crush. Yes! Like this, very good! They will go crazy for these photos!"
The flashes of the cameras illuminated the white room, where a sailor dressed Misa, but with a pleated skirt too much shorter for the Japanese school standards, posed casually following the director's orders. Rem was on the side of the room waiting for the girl to finish her shooting.
"Perfect, we are done for today Misa Misa, this was the last look."
The girl stretched and jumped off the stool on which she was standing.
"Oh very well, Misa Misa is super tired but super satisfied about the looks! Thank you very much Mr Kojiki your photos are always the best!"
"And you have not seen the ones of today yet, come here Misa Misa, I'm gonna show you them. Tonight, before you leave, I'll give you the copies witch you can add to your photobook. While for the magazine you will have to wait a week, we will win the front page of Teen Idol again for sure!" Misa approached the photographer's computer and opened her mouth surprised, so she clapped her hands really satisfied.
"Mr Kojiki… what a great job! Misa Misa is really proud of you!"
The photographer swollen his chest proudly and raised his chin satisfied after the model's compliment.
On the various photos there was a Misa dressed as a fallen angel, a Misa dressed as a bride and finally as a schoolgirl, in those photos the girl went from sad and nostalgic looks to winking and sexy looks.
"Misa Misa?"
Her manager came running.
"Your phone is ringing, it's an unknown number."
The model smiled happily at her.
"It's ok Mamorou I perfectly know who he is, give me the phone."
"Eru chan!"
"Misa, good evening, am I disturbing you?"
"Not at all, Eru chan would never bother Misa. So what are you calling me for? Can I come back?"
It had been a week now, that everyday Light stayed at headquarters late at night and Misa had to come back only after 1 P.M. Not that she didn't mind staying out with her manager, the two of them are having a nice tour between nice restaurants and karaoke's locals, but she was really starting to miss L and especially she was missing their night chats.
"Yes. We finished early today, I'll have Watari pick you up."
"It's perfect Eru chan, I just finished my photoshoot. Wait a minute... so does that mean that you're alone now?"
She asked, raising her voice happily.
"Er yes... why do you ask?"
He answered the model's question, sensibly concerned.
"Why do I ask, you said? What kind of idiot are you Eru chan... it's been a week since we've been alone!"
"It's been a week that the anti-kira team works non-stop do you mean…"
Answered the young detective with an annoyed tone.
"Eru chan hasn't slept with Misa for a week..."
The boy remained suddenly silent. Misa could feel the embarrassment from the phone.
"Eru chan? Are you there?"
"Actually, I haven't slept properly in a week, and anyway that night was a one-time thing. I have to work, you know it very well."
Sighed the boy, his patience was hitting his limit.
"You are wrong, during night you have to sleep, Eru chan, not to work! Since you refuse to go out with Misa or sleep in her bed, tonight you are obliged to come and see her!"
«Misa...»
«Before I go back I buy ice cream, I'll go to the place where you took me last time."
She said with a smirk, she knew that someone like him would never resist to something like this.
"At 9 P.M I'll be in your apartment Misa chan, only for an hour, and it's only for the ice cream."
Answered him as she expected.
"Ok! So see you later Eru chan."
"Who was, Misa? Your boyfriend?"
Her manager Mamouru asks her. Misa suddenly smiled and blushed.
"A sort of..."
She answered running towards the dressing room.
Two hours later, she was on the couch in her apartment looking at her photos from that afternoon.
She had already prepared the ice cream on the table: two huge glasses of black cherry and chocolate. L's favorites flavours.
She was wearing a wide black t-shirt and a pair of thigh-highs socks over her knees, comfortable.
At 9 P.M, she heard a knock.
"Come in, Eru"
She said, remaining on the couch cross-legged.
He entered the room in with his usual manner, greeting her with a nod and dragging himself beside her as he sat in his own way.
"You can relax when you're with me, we don't have to think about the investigation tonight."
She told him, annoyed by his behaviour.
"Here you are."
She said, giving him his ice-cream with a smile.
"I missed you so much."
She continued to say as she leaned her head to his shoulder.
"What are you looking at, Misa chan?"
He looked at the pictures all over the table, while he was putting the first spoonful of ice cream in his mouth, he seemed really tired that night.
"Oh these."
She said, taking the photos with her hands
"These are the photos I took today, do you like them?"
She asked him by showing him the pictures.
"They are like those of the magazines that I have collected in these years."
He replied looking at the photos, then he turned to the girl.
"But I prefer Misa in real life."
The girl pushed him.
"Then try to see me more often if you prefer me in real life, idiot!"
She said to him making a face.
"What part of being mature and having patience it's not clear to Misa chan?"
Misa hugged him hard in response and inhaled the scent of his shirt.
"I missed Eru chan's scent too..."
She told him peeking at his face from below. The boy stood still and looked in front of him.
"When would you like to go out Misa chan?"
"Why are you in such a hurry now?"
She answered, astonished.
"Nothing, I was thinking of Kira. I might not have much time."
He answered with a thumb between his lips.
Misa felt worried and she got off the couch, so she took Eru's face in her hands, knelt before him.
"Why are you talking like this, Eru chan? This is no joking thing!"
The boy stopped staring the wall behind her and looked at her face, so he made eye contact with her for a long time, then he touched her face with his bare and cold hand and he began approaching her. Misa thought that he was finally going to kiss her so she closed her eyes hopefully, but L's lips did not arrive. The only thing she felt was the detective's index finger that was wiping a tear from her eyelashes.
"Don't cry for me Misa chan"
He just told her before backing away.
"I am now almost certain that Light is Kira, and that the new power that allows him to kill people without knowing the name is not his, but someone else's. Someone has joined Kira and he is helping him on the outside. Meanwhile, Light is at headquarters and pretends to follow the investigation. All these theories would lead me to suspect you too Misa, I do not hide it from you. You are the only one who got in contact with him lately. But I don't know why, an irrational part of me is telling me that it's not you... In fact, it's like he's telling me he doesn't want to find out. Because if you are the one who is helping him, I'd lose the only friend I have in the world, the only one who knows my name. And at this point I don't care if you kill me, and I don't want to know if you will."
He said, looking at her with his big and widened eyes. Misa felt she was dying inside. For all those days she had done nothing but insult him by telling him that he did not want to see her, but what could she expect, since she had lied to him from the beginning even for good purposes? Without realizing it, she started sobbing and her eyesight got blurry.
"So… when do you want to date me, Misa chan?"
He finished saying by looking at her with a serious gaze.
Misa lowered her head looking at her knees, she became to squeeze her T-shirt until her knuckles turned white, so she shook her head fervently.
"Eru chan you are such an idiot!"
She yelled at him in the face, totally upset.
"I will never let Kira kill you! At the cost of my own life Eru chan! You are the only person in the world that I love and would die for you, even now, even immediately, just to save you..."
After she told it, she covered her mouth with her hands totally embarrassed of what she had just confessed, so she suddenly got up trying to escape from that embarrassing situation. But L grabbed her by the wrist just in time, holding it tightly. Misa looked at him with curiosity, he had an indecipherable gaze.
"I must apologize Misa, I'm sorry I caused you alarm. Forget it all."
Misa sat by his side and took him by the shoulders.
"No, I don't forget anything. Go ahead and investigate me, arrest me, but please don't get yourself killed, please don't give up! We'll stop him, we'll stop Kira. So we don't have to decide right away when to go out, we'll date when you will want to."
She told him by shaking him slightly.
L looked at her and smiled.
"Who told you I gave up? I hate to lose, you know."
He answered with a laugh.
"I just don't know if I will witness the victory. That's all."
He said with a shrug.
"You haven't finished your ice cream."
"What?"
He asked her.
"Finish the ice cream Eru chan, otherwise I won't stop worrying... that's not like you."
Said Misa, looking at her hands which they are resting on her heavy stockings. Suddenly she felt a heat on her left hand, so she turned around and saw that L had put his hand on hers. It was the first time that he touched her on his own will.
"Thank you Misa."
He just said to her smiling. She gave him a smile and tightened his hand.
"How about this saturday?" he told her again "so I'll take a small break from the investigation."
"Where would we go?" she asked him, "Cause I need to know how to dress-up!"
She told him, in order to take the edge off.
"You can get all dress up."
He replied quietly, he knew it would make her happy.
"Yes, but you too please!"
She told him pointing to his shabby clothes.
"And why do you care how I'll dress?"
He replied touching his faded jeans.
"'Cause if I'll be more elegant than you, I'm gonna be embarrassed!"
She answered raising her chin. She felt the boy at her side sighing.
"All right, I'll wear the clothes I wore when I lived in England. I'll have to tell Watari to wash them...»
"Now we are getting somewhere!"
Misa answered satisficed, hugging him tightly.
"I can't wait to see you! It's not that I don't like you dressed in your everyday outfit, Eru chan is always pretty! But I'm still curious."
The detective widened his eyes surprised.
"I'm always pretty... mmh? Then it means I won't have to make great efforts to look handsome."
He shrugged taking his thumb between his lips.
"Don't use it as an excuse to be scruffy Eru chan!"
Misa scolded him by sticking her index finger under his chin with a stern look.
The boy raised his hands like to an arrest.
"All right, all right, I give up, Misa chan."
"And now finish your ice cream"
She continued threatening as she putted the glass on his hand, he took it laughing and getting back to eating without too much effort.
"I mean…what kind of boyfriend are you?"
She suddenly heard him swallow loudly the last bite and cough. The girl burst out laughing.
"I knew you would react so Eru chan! Don't worry, we have to date ten times a least before that, and to do many other things."
"I don't know if I'm more worried about the ten dates or the "other things"
He said after having resumed to breathe normally.
"And now we can go to sleep", she answered, completely ignoring his last sentence. She got up and pulled him to herself to get him up.
"Come on Eru chan, it's late. Let's go."
"Misa, I thought I was clear about this sleeping thing..."
Misa literally snorted him in the face.
"It's all your fault, if you hadn't told Misa chan that maybe you had no time left, you wouldn't have forced her to rush things. So, don't make a fuss and come sleep with me."
"Maybe you didn't understand Misa chan. If you do not want to rush things "too much", you better not sleep with me"
He replied then laughing slightly at the girl's scandalized expression.
"Eru chan! What a perv!"
"No Misa chan, I'm just more mature and responsible than you. And even patient after all..."
He replied with his index finger under his chin as he looked up.
Misa smiled at him softly and let her arms go on her hips, as a sign of surrender.
"All right, Eru chan, you won this time. But only because I appreciate your "chivarly". All the other guys who have been with Misa Misa have never had all these problems and have not had so much "patience""
She said quoting the last word with her fingers.
"All the other boys?"
He echoed.
"What a jealous! I'm 19 years old Eru chan, I'm a model and we're in the 21st century."
"I already know that."
He answered, unwilling to continue that conversation, but Misa's attitude was completely different.
"mmm let me think... I dated Hideki, then Sota, and then that model who I never remember the name... ah yes! Masaki! And now..."
"Light Yagami"
He answered annoyed.
"No, I was going to say L Lawliet"
She replied in an offended tone, as she tried to pronounce his name properly.
"ah"
"Talkative as ever, I see..."
Said the model rolling her eyes.
"however about Light… I don't consider him my boyfriend, it's a fake relationship.»
"Of course, it is for Misa" L replied, "but from what I saw in his room, for Light it is not a play at all. So you can also add him among the guys who have no patience." He ended up saying so he got up from the couch and headed towards the exit.
"Hey! do you think you can go away using that tone with Misa Misa?" she asked with an offended and a bit gratified tone while she was pulling him by the arm.
"Which tone?" he pretended to be clueless…
"Like you don't know it! I'm referring at your tone as an offended boyfriend." she said rolling her eyes.
"You didn't say you wanted to wait 10 dates and do many others things before referring at me like that?" asked him quoting the last two words with his thin fingers.
"Aye, but Eru says he has no time, at this point I can call you as I want!"
Simply replied the model exhibiting a magnificent childish expression.
"So…will you visit me before Saturday?"
"That's a slim chance of happening Misa, Light is here every day and you must find the time to date him and to investigate too...".
The thought of it makes Misa's blood run cold.
"Right..." she answered "Actually, I'm not keen on doing it."
She spoked very frankly sighing…
L looked carefully at her. She seemed sincere and he wondered why the chances of her being the second Kira were around the 40%, he was missing something for sure. But he had promised himself not to think about it and to trust someone for once…
"I'm telling you, Misa, if you don't want to cooperate with the investigation anymore, just tell me and we'll figure something out... you can pretend to go missing and I will handle the whole Light problem."
He smiled at her gently. Misa gasped at that attractive proposition, but she could not take it, she has to carry her plan to the very end. On that day, all alone, she came up with a couple of ideas and if everything went well, she would be able to save L's and Light's life. She was always rooting for Kira's ideals, after all...
She shook her head.
"No Eru I can no longer. I know for a fact that if Light is actually Kira and if I just disappeared, it won't be a problem for him to kill me, he knows my name and my face. You could do nothing to save me..."
She answered looking down.
"and then… I still want to help Eru chan, now this is my home and Eru chan is my only loved one besides my sister."
She touched his cheek gently, caressingly…
"How strange" he answered, "you speak as if I were part of your family. I don't remember what it's like to be part of it."
He answered more to himself than to her, eyes straight, here he recollected himself and his pupils came back lively.
"Anyway, now I have to go back to work, good night Misa and thanks for the ice cream."
He said smiling, leaning an arm to the doorpost.
"Yeah goodnight… and then you leave Misa to sleep all alone..."
She answered him pretending to whine.
"You're being childish Misa Amane."
"And you're a good guy Michelangelo Lawliet."
She answered, winking at him.
"You don't know what you're missing" she smiled at him naively and kissed him on the cheek, but close to the mouth, too much close…
"oh, I know it perfectly…" L thought, unable to control it.
Misa was in the courtyard of the University, this time she was leaning against a vending machine with headphones in her ears. For once she was listening to real music, obviously goth, and she wasn't using it as an excuse to talk to Rem. About Rem, she was quiet from the previous morning, that argument about feelings had changed something in her and she had begun to avoid talking to her. Despite hearing little surrounding noise, she felt that someone was approaching. Then she felt two strong arms holding her and warm lips blowing into one of her ears.
"Good morning ally of mine."
"Light!"
She said turning to face him and returning the hug.
"How was the week? Did you check the photo album I gave you?"
He immediately asked without even taking a breath…
"Man… not even time for a small talk"
She thought, annoyed.
The girl popped a kiss on his lips and answered nice as pie.
"Of course! If you want, I'll whisper their names in your ear, one by one ..."
The boy grinned satisfied and held her tighter.
"If you keep this up, I will end up loving you Misa."
They did, indeed, on the outside look like a regular in-love couple, and yet there was little romantic between them. He was just using her out of guilt, and she was in on it waiting to make the right move. It was a slow and dangerous dance, really dangerous. Misa, saw a black car in the distance out of the corner of her eye. She quickly realized that it was Watari's car. L probably wasn't kidding when he told her they suspected her as the second Kira.
"Yes, I know" he told her slowly pretending to smell her golden locks "they've been following me for a while. But you are really good at pretending nothing is happening…right?"
He asked her, looking straight in her eyes. The girl nodded silently.
"Do as I do."
He commanded her as he approached her face with a clear call to kiss him. She cursed Eru chan and the whole anti-kira team, to play along with Light she had to make out with him in front of everyone, especially in front of a certain person.
She approached his lips too and so Light kissed her, forcing her mouth to open to put his tongue in and pushing her against the vending machine. From a distance you could see a girl leaning against a vending machine while kissing her boyfriend who was bent over her and held her by the shoulders.
After he departed from her lips, Misa saw the boy checking with the corner of his eye if the car was still there.
"No way Misa, we need to talk somewhere else, I have to give you more albums and I wanted to talk about something in private."
He told her by lightly moving Misa's bangs out of her eyes, continuing to play the role of the good boyfriend perfectly. But his eyes were sharp and devoid of feeling.
"Yes, you are right it is not appropriate to speak right here."
She answered.
In the meantime, L was insistently biting his thumb while watching the scene.
Light seemed to be devouring Misa's face, while she, she was kissing him back... but not with his heat. He was running the game, it was obvious. L noticed that the girl's arms were stiff on her sides and they were not returning the boy's grip. It was very strange, L believed that Misa was obsessed with physical contact. Well, he wasn't an expert about gestural naturalness, at least not personally, but despite the girl seemed to play her role very well there was something in her attitude that alarmed him. She seemed stiff, careful, fearful. She was exactly the opposite with him, although she knew that he didn't like too much physical contact, she always ended up on him, to hug him, to lean on his arm, to kiss him on the cheeks... for Misa physical contact was a type of language. A language that by now he had learned to decipher: the grip on his hand was a "I will always be with you", the head on his shoulder was a "I missed you so much", the grip on his arm was a "do not go away", the hug was "Misa needs you and you need me but you don't realize it yet", the fists and pushes were "I'm embarrassed", and the kisses, the kisses were... They could not be interpreted, more than anything else during those moments his head has gone blank and he could not interpret what they meant for Misa but he simply got lost in the moment and in his feelings... fear, sweetness, desire not to be alone anymore, but above all to wanting more of it.
"What do we do, L, follow them?"
Watari's voice distracted him from his own thoughts. The guy sat better on his seat and crouched on himself.
"No, there's no need. I saw what I wanted to see."
"Greater protection for miss Amane then?"
L looked out the window again, where Light was taking Misa away quickly, with his arm firmly on the girl's narrow waist.
"Absolutely, Watari."
He answered.
Meanwhile, Light and Misa had joined a cafe.
"Here it will be fine, it is the most secluded place I know."
He said looking at the empty room.
Misa looked out the window and she noticed, almost with disappointment, that the black car was no longer there. Suddenly she felt lost, the fact that Watari or Eru himself were watching them had gave her a little more security.
"They seem to have left."
Said the girl, turning herself towards the young man.
"Yes, but better never to let your guard down. Here."
She took a hand over the table and felt some sheets of paper pinch her palm.
"These are the photo-cards I was able to retrieve from the computers of the headquarters. They are 30 criminals wanted by the Interpol. I recommend you follow the instructions I left in your pocket."
Misa touched the pockets of the jacket and noticed that there was a piece of paper as he had said, he must have slipped it while kissing her shortly before.
"Once you have the names send me a message saying "I miss you so much Light kun" and then we'll meet and you'll give me the name list. Of course, after you have done, you must burn the photos I gave you. But not in the fireplace I recommend, the ash ends up on the walls and the forensics could reconstruct the photos with their powerful tools."
Misa smiled at him surprised.
"wow Light kun, how wise you are!"
"enough to try to create a new world." he answered quietly "and to kill L", he smirked.
The girl tried to held her gasp when she heard those words.
"however I will follow through with it, don't worry. As always."
"Excellent." he replied "now let's move on to the last point."
Misa held a sigh.
"As you know well we must try in every way to make you see L."
The girl nodded more firmly that she could.
"The problem is that since he realized that Kira no longer need the name of the person to kill, he no longer exits the headquarters. At least he doesn't when I'm around... and besides, HQ is impenetrable. I tried to look for his photos in the databases too but there are none, to take him a photo instead would be suicide. But we still have a chance. It's a bit risky, but it's worth it. I know for a fact that there are financial companies that would kill to have our power and after having it they would kill to keep it and having more. All we need is that your Shinigami brings your death note to one of these companies, for example the Yotsuba, which turns out to be the most corrupt in Tokyo, and they start using it. You and I would stop killing criminals and put L into crisis. That's where you come into the picture, Misa. You're an actress, right? By now, L will have discovered your true identity and I'm sure he thinks that you are involved. If I'm not mistaken to reproduce his formidable reasoning, I will propose you as an investigative partner, as an actress it'll be simple for you to lure out the Kira in Yotsuba. So, he will keep us both close and he will keep an eye on us. Yet at the same time you will see his real name. He's going to show up for you just because he want to frame you, because if he dies right away, it would mean that you're, in fact, the second Kira, and that I'm the first one. For this reason, we will give him 23 days of life before his death when we will use the notebook, then the 23rd he will die and we will maneuverer his last actions in order to ensure our freedom."
Misa clapped her hands pretending to be excited for such a well-orchestrated plan.
"wow Light kun, you've outdone yourself once again! There is no escape this time, L!"
Light smiled full of himself and crossed his legs.
"Obviously we have to stick to the plan otherwise we will both end up dead. So, when all of this will be over, we'll can rule the new world together. I will replace L in the investigation and I will pretend to hunt me down, and from the outside you'll continue to pursue our plan."
"I can't wait Light-kun! I can't wait to achieve this goal!"
She said happily and taking his hands on hers,
"But listen to me, I came up with an idea to make things a little easier. If we add a fake rule to the death note? So that both Yotsuba and L will believe what we want them to believe to?"
Light bent his head curious.
"What do you have in mind, Misa?" he said leaning toward her and looking seriously into her hazel eyes.
"How about if we insert as the last rule of the death note that once you use the notebook you must continue to use it for life? Otherwise, after 13 days, you die of heart attack."
Misa saw Light as he opened his eyes wide. She knew that she had amazed him. Now she was sure that she had him and that he would not kill her. All she had left was to organize the counterattack.
"In this way it will seem impossible that we were the old owners of the notebook because otherwise we would have died…in addition those of Yotsuba will believe that the old owner has let himself die and when L will capture them they will say that Kira is already dead."
"Misa but it's just perfect!"
He told her taking her by the shoulders "how did you get this idea?!"
"I've just been thinking about it in these days" she answered raising her chin proudly "and then Rem had explained to me that you could add fake rules without problems on the death notes, just shinigamis can do that."
Light looked up at Ryuk.
"And what do you do all the time except eat apples, eh Ryuk?!"
Ryuk laughed amused.
"Who knows all these things? I barely perform my work with my own death note! By the way Light is already 4 hours that you do not give me an apple!"
"When you'll be useful to me somehow I'll give you one of them" Light answered him annoyed before turning to Misa again.
"Well Misa we got a month, then the world will be ours."
Author:
Hello everyones!
You will have understood that the title of the chapter refers to the lack of time of L. As in the manga and anime, in fact, L suspects that although he may win he may not attend to his victory and for this reason in my story he decides to rush things with Misa, and it's also my ruse to get these two to move on a bit. Btw I know that the 13-day rule is wrong, but I needed a way to gain Light's trust.
I hope you enjoyed it!
See you!