STORY SUMMARY: Being reborn into a Japanese story was bad enough. Being reborn as the twin sister to a certain notorious mass murder, was another thing entirely. Told in a series of drabbles. Warning: Mild incest themes.

Rating: T (Subject to change)

GENERAL DISCLAIMER: It's not my sandbox. I'm just playing in it.

AN: Enjoy!

Destroy She Said

Chapter Seventeen : Blank

Gingerly, I peeled myself of the floor and slithered my way out from my hidey-hole—pacing was now on the itinerary.

So what's next? A good idea was to graph out future events so that I could keep track of the timeline. It was too complex to create and also maintain mentally; and while having something like that on paper probably wasn't the smartest of options, I could always commit it to memory and destroy the evidence afterwards. I marched over to my desk and pulled out some loose-leaf. Where to start…

I already knew the timeline was slightly varied from the original by several weeks, minimally. The tale from my first life had taken place within a few short months—with some eventual plot-leaps scattered throughout. Meanwhile, the current Kira had been at large already for two months and still no sign of L. (Though, if my intuition was correct, Dad and the police department were already working the Kira case; if the amount of stress he'd been expelling lately was any indication.) This would complicate things by making impending events more difficult to predict. I decided the trick was to pinpoint key events and then utilizing those as a springboard—with a precautious glance at my door, I selected a mechanical pencil and began constructing a flow chart.

First, was the initial death of that man who'd taken a daycare full of children and teachers hostage. I could vaguely remember the incident nine weeks back, but the culprit's name and the date were unclear. I hasty Gentle search (this world's take on Google) solved that problem. Kuruo Otoharada, December 14.

Okay, next should be L's broadcast. That had yet to happen, but it would be a good clue as to when Light would start experimenting with the death note. After that, was Raye Penber, the bus jacking, the murder of those twelve FBI agents, and Penber's fiancée, Naomi Misora—but for now she was irrelevant. I clicked my pencil twice.

The other Light had made so many menial errors in the beginning. If handled properly, most of them could have been prevented; perhaps even extending his life expectancy. While, I knew there were many more significant events yet to come, those were the most malleable. If I changed any one of those things; Light could effectively evade capture…ideally. But which one? The most obvious choice was the broadcast.

By using it, L had not only deduced that Kira was in the Kanto region of Japan, but he'd managed to narrow down his search from roughly seven-billion people to three-million. Quite a feat—however, Light had been ignorant to fall for that hoax. He'd allowed his ego to cloud his judgment; so perhaps, that was the primary event I'd tinker with. Worst case scenario, it would buy me enough time to developed a more failsafe scheme while L's sniffing around for other leads. Though, truthfully, I didn't think it would deter him for long. He'd doubtlessly circle back on a hunch or something—and then we'd be right back where we started. There was also the possibly that L's involvement was what lead to Light experimenting with the death note in the first place. L was definitely a trigger device—but hopefully Brother could get there on his own.

Alright—so I had a game plan. It wasn't concrete and there were a lot of what-if variables…but for now it was the best I could do with what I had. I would just need to keep a watch out for any signs that Soichiro was communicating with L. That was a surefire way to draw an estimate when he'd make his move. And when the time came, I only needed keep Light from murdering Lind L. Tailor. How I was going to do that without (further) arising my brother's suspicions, not a clue.

Stifling a groan, I stretched out my legs and began folding up my diagram. I'd catalogue a more complete version later on.

Fun fact: my mother from life numero uno had been a first generation immigrant from Denmark. Ergo, she'd insisted that me and my sisters were educated in her native language—Danish—along with English. Between the three of us, my dialect was absolute garbage but I adapted to the written half fairly well. I'd kept this skill to myself, and never spoke or wrote a word of it in front of company.

So, I figured this was an easy way to make sure no one could decrypt my chart at first glance even if it was discovered. But I wouldn't put it past Light to try anyway. For now I stashed my mark-up in the pouch of an old toy bear. Most of my stuffed animals we crammed into my closet, but this one I stationed at my bedside. The best place to hide anything was in plain sight, after all.

oooo

Next on my agenda was damage control. I'd avoided conflict long enough—the last thing I needed was my wayward behavior forming a wedge between Light and I. Especially at a time like this. So, cautious of any squeaky floorboards, I steeled myself for once again coming face to face with my brother's pet shinigami, and moved to stand outside his room. Inhale. Exhale. I didn't bother knocking. Light didn't usually lock his door as it would shatter his illusion of normalcy—though I was certain whenever he was busy slaughtering criminals with the flick of a pen, it would be securely locked.

"'Ello, brother o' mine." I said, sweeping inside flamboyantly. As I entered his domain, I took note of everything. Light was at his station (what else was new), his television on, low volume. Ryuk was splayed vertically across his bed; it took every muscle in my body to keep my eyes from stalling. Instead, I ignored him in order to nose-dive onto the mattress in a typical Minori-like fashion. Half out of curiosity to see if I'd pass right through him now that I'd touched the death note, and half to get a reaction. Ryuk didn't disappoint as he shrieked and rolled off the side to avoid getting a flattened. I fought a scoff. It was hard staying scared of something so outrageous. It was like the boogeyman emerging from your closet only to trip over a bunny slipper. Pfft. Light, clearly startled, stared at me and then what should have been an empty space on the floor but what was really Ryuk.

"Light, tell yer sister, I hate her." A voice hissed from below.

My lips twitched. Damn it. FOCUS.

"Minori. How many times have I asked you to knock."

"Do you want an exact number?"

"Just—" he dropped his pen. "Never mind. What do you need?"

My face grew serious. Mending our bond was essential to our survival—but at the same time, if Light thought I was observing him too closely he'd tighten his barriers. Mind games were never my forte; they were Light's. I couldn't come across as phony. To pull this off, I'd have to be a genuine as possible; which shouldn't be too difficult because I truly was concerned for him. How to proceed—

'Self-consciously', I began inspecting my nude nail polish and when that didn't hold my attention, the hem of my sweater.

"You know, onii-chan. If there's something going on—you can tell me." My eyes flicked towards him before dropping back down.

A small crease appeared below his brow. "I don't know wha—"

Bingo. My head whipped up and I glowered. "Don't. Don't you dare lie to me, Light. You've been different. You don't look at me the way you used to. And when we talk its like you're not even present."

Amber orbs widened. "That's not true."

"Yes. It is." I rose to my feet, and strode to stand above him. He looked perturbed at my advance. I wondered if it was an act. If so, we really were two-of-a-kind. Hastily, I grabbed his face, mildly astounded when his expression became even more surprised; vaguely aware that his hands had relocated to my hips. To restrain me or hold me still, I wasn't sure. My grip on his jaw was tight, but I refused to loosen it until red marks began forming along his skin. Only then, did I slide the tips of my fingers into his hair line, and gently weave pieces between my knuckles. Weirdly enough, my eyes felt damp but that wasn't part of the performance so I didn't acknowledge it. All that mattered was that his face had softened. I wanted to pat myself on the back.

"Please be open with me, Light. When have we ever kept secrets from each other."

Not the right move, apparently—because just like that, any progress I made, shut down. His gaze hardened and I knew I was losing him. Crud. Big guns time. Bending over, I pressed my newly healed forehead against his, breathing deeply from the air he released. It tasted like peppermint. "Please." I whispered.

The hands situated in my sweater had at some point shifted upwards to grab large fistfuls of my clothing, suddenly jerked me forward until I stood snuggly between Brother's knees, our faces mere centimeters apart.

"Is that why you lied about coming in here while I was at school?" He asked bluntly. Was it my imagination or did his tone sound strained?

I tried to look guilty, which wasn't tough. "Yes."

Light lifted on hand to stroke my cheek. "Did you find anything notable?"

My heart skipped a beat. "No." Somewhere in the background, Ryuk guffawed like a maniac.

Abruptly, Light stood up, causing me to almost lose my balance, but instead he rotated our positions until it was I seated and he crouched before me. "Isn't that a little hypocritical?" He asked, setting both palms on the arm rests, thus caging me in.

I gapped. Did—did Light just accuse me of being a hypocrite? Oh, that was just precious. I felt my temper flare. I suddenly really wanted to try smacking him again. Of course, I couldn't say any of that out-loud. Not that it mattered—apparently I'd just accidentally stepped on a conversational landmine.

"You're just as guilty as I am of being dishonest."

I frowned. Okay, so that was worrying. Light obviously had some dirt on me…but the question was what ant hill had he demolished to get it. As far as I was concerned, there were three biggies:

1. That I was a fully aware reincarnation.

2. I possessed knowledge of future events.

3. I knew he was Kira.

If Light had discovered any one of these details it was GAME OVER. In my head I invented a blaring alarm and an animatronic voice repeating: Alert Alert—ABORT MISSION. My panic must've been way too evident because Light smiled sympathetically, which was probably the freakiest thing he could have done under those circumstances and leaned closer.

"I know what you did."

UH-OH. I debated running—but as Light earlier demonstrated, he had no qualms about lying on top of me.

"And I understand why you did it: I just wish you'd come to me sooner." Wait. What? "At that age I'm sure many of your friends were pressuring you into being more adventurous with you male classmates but—"

I slapped a hand over his mouth; I refused to believe I was blushing. "Wha—what are you talking about?" I sputtered.

Light shook my hand off. "Tadao Kurosawa." Umm—not a turn I was expecting but definitely preferable to the alternative.

"I know it was years ago but we can still bring him to justice. The academy doesn't take abuse lightly and neither will I."

PROCESSING…PROCESSING…Processing failed. The kiss. He was talking about a fictional kiss: meaning it never happened. (Not that anyone else needed to know that) And how had he made the automatic jump to abuse? Obviously, I'd been correct in assuming he'd read my diary—how was I supposed to explain myself without revealing that I'd made it all up. Also, hold up a sec…Just how had the interrogator become the interrogated? Was that his strategy?

Scowling, I clasped my hand back across Light's lips. "Diversion tactics? That's a cheap trick! Don't try to change the subject. We were talking about you and your recent case of PMS."

Fiery eyes narrowed and a hand swiped mine and held on. "No. We were discussing trust and your lack there of."

"Says the guy who pokes through my personal belongings."

"That was different."

"How?!" Our voices were getting steadily higher. Or maybe just mine—I didn't care.

"Someone needs to protect you. Its obvious that you're insufficient at doing so yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think the journal entry said it all."

I jutted my chin. "So you admit to vandalizing my property! You were the one who ripped out those pages, weren't you? And for gods sakes, it was just a kiss, Light. A kiss! It doesn't mean anything!"

"That's where you're wrong, imouto." Huh? Light released my hand to instead grasp my jaw bone with two fingers. I watched in shock, the same type that causes bystanders to stare at car accidents, as his face loomed closer until I could feel the faintest brush of his lips against mine. For the second time in two days my mind zeroed out.

Neither of us closed our eyes—mine wide with bafflement while his fostered something far more sinister. Just as Light began to apply more pressure—I head butted him. My cut reopened but I was to busy bounding away from the swivel chair as Brother was forced to stumble backwards, and darting for the hallway. I was down the steps and out the front door before I'd even given my feet directions. I passed Mom and Sayu outside the fern bushes, carrying heavy grocery bags, but I couldn't slow down. The former called something after me, but my racing blood and the soaring wind blocked it out. I didn't care if this body was fragile and useless. It was going to run until either my mind shut up or the world made sense.

AN: This scene was insanely entertaining to write- Please let me know what you think of it.

imouto- younger sister

nee-chan- older sister (Minori meant it sarcastically)