"So why did you want to go out for breakfast?" you asked, nibbling on a hotcake, your fingers spread out either side to bear the heat.
"I might die tomorrow," L said, eating his own hotcake.
Your hotcake paused halfway to your mouth as you stared at him disbelievingly. You laughed loudly, making him look at you questioningly. "Why are you laughing?"
"That's a good one, Ryu-kun, so what's the real reason?" you giggled.
He continued staring at you, as if attempting to deduce whether you were being serious. "That is the real reason. If the second Kira demands that I appear on air tomorrow, there is a high probability that I will be killed," he said, going back to his hotcake.
You sat there in shock, completely jolted from your previously cheerful mood. You let everything sink in, including the new second Kira theory. "What have you done to prevent this situation?" you asked, leaning across the table.
"This is not the place to talk of such things. Let's go," L said, moving to leave the store.
"Wait! Go where?" you asked, grabbing onto his arm.
"The hotel," L replied.
"But…if it's your last day, don't you want to do something you know…special?" you asked, genuinely surprised by his lack of enthusiasm.
"Should I?" he asked, his eyebrows high in surprise.
You nodded your head. 'Isn't he bothered by the fact the he might not be breathing after tomorrow?'
"But the investigation…" he said, obviously impatient to get back.
"Not today," you said, resolutely, "Today, you're coming with me."
You stepped off the bus and looked around, breathing in the crisp, cold air. "Here take this, you'll need it," you said, throwing a black jacket and boots at L.
He stared at the boots, unhappy about having to wear them. "It's either them or frostbite, your choice!" you said chirpily, happy about coming to the festival again.
Muttering, he pulled them on and joined you to gape at the massive temple in front of you. "It's so…majestic…. and…big!" you said, for lack of a better word.
"Takahata Fudoson Temple? Am I right?" L asked, going through the files in his brilliant memory.
"Yep. The Dharma doll fair," you said, also going through your own memory files, "I haven't been since I was really little and my parents…"
"Something wrong?" L asked, catching a hold of your sudden silence.
"Iie. Just a memory catching up with me," you dismissed, shaking off your sadness.
You walked under the beautiful painted arch and gasped at the sight before you. There were rows upon rows of daruma doll vendors. "There's so many…" L said, shock apparent in his voice.
"Well if you buy one, it's supposed to bring you good luck for the year," you said, recalling the old legend.
"Is that so…" L said, peering at the stalls full of bright red dolls.
You were running around like a kid in a candy store. "This one! No, this one!"
L watched you, his expression unreadable under his black bangs. The only hint of emotion was the upturned corner of his mouth. "Why aren't you excited?" you asked, silently appearing beside him like a wraith.
He looked over to his left, taken by surprise. "I've never visited a festival before," he said, glancing over at a smiling father as he handed his kimono-garbed daughter a small daruma doll.
"Arigatou, oto-san," L heard the tiny girl say, before she wrapped her arms around her father's waist and hugged him.
L looked back over to you to see you staring at the laughing family, their faces glowing as they reveled in their joy. 'I remember the day my father gave me a doll like the one that girl is holding…I just thought it was the best thing in the world…wearing my first kimono and then father's doll…'
"Ahiru-chan."
"I-uh…pardon?" you said, completely lost in your own thoughts.
"Are you feeling alright? Your eyes were all glazed for a while there," L said, looking at your eyes as though he could tell what was wrong with a glance.
"Oh, yeah, fine. Gomen, I just went to my own world there," you said, and went back to watching the family enviously.
L sighed, and grasped your hand. You looked back at him in surprise, and then down at your hand, which now had something resting in it. It was a daruma doll. The painted face stared unblinkingly up at you, its wide grin frozen on its face. You ran your fingers lightly over it, feeling the cool wood under your fingertips. Your eyes moved up to the face of the person who had given it to you and you flung your arms around him in a massive bear hug. "ARIGATOU, RYU-KUN!" you shouted, oblivious to the stares you were earning from the surrounding crowd.
"It was no problem," he said, smiling a small smile at you.
You suddenly leant in and lightly pressed your soft lips against his cheek, "It means a lot to me."
You quickly turned and walked away, not wanting L to see your crimson face. Behind you, L was rubbing his cheek in wonder. He took his fingers away from his face and stared at them, before rubbing them together. A faint blush spread across his cheeks and L looked up at your figure and saw your own matching blush.
'Why did she…'
You had been wandering around the temple with L for hours now and were happy to finally be able to rest your feet and watch the fireworks, which would start in just over 10 minutes. You sat down on the fresh green glass, trying not to spill your tea. You looked over to see L seating himself next to you. You smiled at him, trying to cover the pain you were suffering. A family was having lunch on a table a few meters away from you; they were all smiling and laughing, completely comfortable with each other's company. You looked down into your tea, a burden weighing heavily on your heart. "You miss your parents?" came a soft voice, and you looked over at L in surprise.
Deciding that you might as well confide in him a few details about your past, you nodded. "My parents brought me here when I was around 7…I was so excited. It was the first festival I'd ever been to," you said, staring into your tea, the memories playing through your mind.
"Well you lived quite close so why-" L broke off, realising that he wasn't supposed to know that information.
You rounded on him, your eyes livid. "How do you know?!" you shouted at him, getting louder at each word.
He looked into your furious eyes and decided it was best to tell you the truth and get it out in the open. "You were mumbling in your sleep and some of it caught my attention so I investigated and found this," he said, and then held out an A4 piece of paper.
You snatched it, the rage still burning within you. It was a newspaper article with the headline "Aoyami Mansion Destroyed in Fire." There was a large picture of the remains of your beloved house in the center, next to a picture of you and your parents in a family portrait. You stared down at your parents smiling faces, completely oblivious to the fate that laid before them. "Why…" you whispered, before looking up at L and screaming, "Why couldn't you just let it lie?! Why do you need to know everything?!"
You flung the paper and him and sprinted off into the surrounding bushes.
You were hugging your knees, bawling your eyes out as if you were a little girl. The fireworks had started a few minutes ago, but you didn't care. Your hair had spilled over your shoulders and cascaded around you as your tears rolled down your face. "Ice cream?" a voice asked behind you.
Already knowing whom it belonged to, you didn't reply. Silently, he sat down beside you, his head tilted upwards to see the fireworks. "You're going to miss them," L said, licking his ice cream.
"I don't care," you replied, sulkily, as your tears stopped.
The two of you sat in silence for a while, L licking his ice cream as he watched the fireworks, you trying to fight the urge to cry again as the memories threw themselves at your vulnerable mind. "Still got that ice cream?" you sniffled, in a childish voice.
A corner of his mouth tugged upwards as he moved his arm and offered you the ice cream in his other hand. You gratefully took it, licked it a few times, and turned to look up at the fireworks. They were magnificent – red, blue, gold, the colours exploded across the dark sky. You looked across at L, and watched as the fireworks lit his eyes. All anger and frustration you had against him dissipated in that second, and his eyes swiveled down to meet yours in a questioning gaze. You scooted closer to L and daringly laid your head on his shoulder. He shifted slightly to bear your weight but otherwise made no movements. You blushed that he had allowed you to be this close to him, and breathed in his sugary scent as you watched the fireworks together in the night.