Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own "Death Note". And sorry for forgetting the Disclaimer last time.

Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing and adding me to your Alerts and Favorites. You make me smile :-)! And from now on, to make it easier for everybody, I'm going to bold every first letter in a new paragraph, so that you can make them out. Otherwise, you are welcome to tell me how to separate paragraphs by Private Messages or by Reviewing. Please bare with my ignorance.

A was reckoning. The desk of her bedroom stood right in front of the great windows, so that she could view over the place by the palace and over all of Tokyo. The lights of the many houses made chaffing spots of yellow light all over the horizon, the streetlights colored the rainy clouds a sickly shade of orange.

Raindrops ran as though racing each other down the windows. The light from outside made them over sized, plastering their transparent, reflectional shadows all over her face. She lifted her head, looking out the window. Some of the golden hair had fallen out of place. She hated her hair. Always in the way.

Once again she bowed over her reckonings. It was not that she did it because she was bored. A was always bored. She more or less did it to gather her thoughts or to plan, while her hands and a little part of her mind were busy with the numbers.

She had been waiting outside while Kira interrogated George Clemens. Had heard the thuds when he hit him. She listened to their conversation, and she knew everything was lost when Clemens revealed he had shut to kill Mikami. She thought he had always been too lighthearted, in fact he was balancing a thin line between lightheartedness and foolishness.

Of course she had known that Mikami was still alive, but that she could not have told him. Then they would both have died. Now only Clemens was dead. That was better.

A had never really slept that well. Usually just for a few hours, then she would wake up, unable to sleep through more of the night. It was now 5.30 in the morning. She got up and let the pencil drop with a little clank on the glass desk, and walked into the big, white and steely kitchen of her apartment. She never ate much, either. For the most she drank water, never liked all those sticky sodas and things like that, not like L. He had been so fond of them it was almost sick. When he was still living at the orphanage, he would always be spotted eating cakes and drinking sugary tea. It was disgusting.

One time, when she came into the room he was sitting in, he had asked her if she wanted anything with him as he put a chocolate chip cookie into his mouth. She had told him that Roger wanted a talk. On his way out, he had looked her in the eye. And she had been caught, enchanted by those deep, black, silent eyes. Never forgot them. And now… now they were gone and would never come back, she would never see them again. She thought that L was probably the only person she had ever taken seriously. Mello was just so emotional and Near was little boy who had gotten himself killed by playing noble. Other people were just ignorant. At least L was against a Shinigami, so what could he possibly… No! Why did she even remember this? It was a stupid memory of past times. The past did not exist anymore, ergo it was not important.

A took a clean glass and filled it with water from the sink. Water was basically all the human body needed to drink. She saw no need in drinking tea, wine or… sodas. She frowned behind her expressionless mask at the mere thought.

With her glass in one hand she returned to the desk. It was still raining. Tokyo looked sad, polluted and somewhat abandoned in the bad weather. It was unusually bad for May, actually.

Somewhere out there William was. Probably sleeping or cleaning his weapons. Well, A thought flatly, simple minds, simple joys.

She really did not hope he would do anything rash now that Clemens was gone. He had befriended that Irishman way too much. He should have known that there was a great possibility that the plan would fail, and that he would then have to deal with the sorrow of Clemens's death afterwards. If William did something like storm the palace in a mix of sorrow and anger, the whole plan would be ruined. He would be captured, and A would have to help kill him, or at the very least watch as Kira did it. It would be hard to put on such an act, especially if William got sentimental and started pleading her for help. Oh, how she hated sentimentality. It brought nothing but misfortune.

A had never been emotional, she saw no need of showing others how she felt. Had never let anyone know what was going on inside her, although she had no problem imitating other people's feelings. She had, like L, always been a good actor.

Feeling. What was the point in doing so? No one would react or do anything about it anyway. Emotions were equal to weakness, since they would make people do irrational things like go to war. They were useless, feelings. When they went in, the brains went out.

"Have some wine." Light did not take his eyes off the woman on the other side of the table, as he lifted the bottle once again.

"No, thank you," she said and instead filled her own glass with glittering mineral water.

Light's eyebrows knitted, but he sat the French vine down. She noticed his expression.

"I'm sorry, Lord, I only drink water."

He smiled. "Not at all. In fact I should probably do the same. It'd be better for my body, I suppose."

"Indeed, Lord." She returned his smile somewhat nervously.

"Soup?" He lifted the layer of the soup tureen, an enchanting smell of French onion soup sneaking itself up their nostrils. He thought that this time, to be polite, he must offer her to take the first portion.

"Thank you, Lord." She let him fill her bowl.

It was one of the most beautiful places in the palace. At the topmost of the tower, a little pavilion was placed, almost entirely made of glass. It gave a tremendous view over the skyline of Tokyo, but completely soundproof, not a single noise form outside could break through the glass. The sky was a deep blue, and yet fragile, color, stars generously strewn across the globe. They were blinking coldly from their far-away homes in outer space, watching the two people in the glass pavilion. The moon was gigantic, one could make out all the countless craters on the scarred surface. The Milky Way was thrown right across the sky, vaporous and still curiously clear, like flour of diamonds. They sat in the middle of the room, above them the ceiling was also made of glass, two small candles on their table.

Adéle Segan was wearing a black evening gown with no decorations whatsoever. High, black heels and little, sparky, golden earrings. And then only her wavy her and her magnificent eyes. He must admit she was enchanting. The moon had made a film of silvery white on one side of her hair, her eyelids falling slowly as the first spoonful of soup disappeared between her lips and she closed her gray eyes. He watched her calmly, supporting his chin in his hand, legs crossed, a curious smile on his face. He had not even touched his own portion.

"Adéle, do you like the soup?"

She opened her eyes, snapping out of it, removing the spoon. "Yes, very much, Lord."

"That's good. I figured you would since you grew up in France."

A looked at him. So, he did not quite trust her yet. He made it sound like it merely was polite gesture in her honor, but she knew he was trying to make her release some information that could relate her to Whammy's House. "I am very honored. Thank you, Lord." She bowed her head deeply to him.

Adéle Segan grew up on a French orphanage, her parents unknown. A tragic story about a girl fighting for everything she ever had. A, on the other hand, had been at Whammy's House since she was a mere baby.

"Forgive me," Light started, "but I read about you before hiring you as my physician. I've got to check on everyone I let into the palace. I have to make sure I can trust them. You saw proof of that last week." He smiled in what would seem bitter way, but she new better. He distractedly touched his cheek. The cut was healing quickly.

He looked up at her and their eyes met. Her eyes, globes of sacred light, so similar to the magnificent moon. She was indeed very beautiful. But however clever and bright she might be, Light knew she was blind and naive towards him, like Mikami and everyone else. Blinded by God, they only too late realized he was using them. But he had to win her trust completely if he should have Ryuk grant her the Eyes. He probably already had it, her trust, but he could not afford to take any chances. Or could he? If she turned out to not be proper material, he could simply dispose of her. He was in such desperate need of Eyes he could almost not afford to wait any longer. But – if she let it slip that he was killing merely by a notebook, there would be a catastrophe, and who else would he turn to while Mikami was out? She was his only hope. Beside… himself. But no, he had not sunken that deep yet.

"I completely understand, Lord, of course you have to check everyone you let in. I think it is very clever of you". Adéle smiled.

Ryuk yawned behind him. Should he have just killed Light? Was it really worth all the trouble? All the romance was no fun, the idiot was basically just sucking up to the chick. But still, Ryuk would have to wait and see. What was better, after all, this or the Shinigami Realm?

A placed her hand on the white tablecloth as she lifted her glass to drink some water. She closed her eyes briefly, but opened them immediately as she felt something warm placing itself upon her hand. She slowly put down her glass as she with her gaze followed Kira's fingertips to his wrist, up his long, slim hands and all the way to his face. The eyes were covered by the brown hair, but he was smiling in caring way.

He is trying to win my trust, A thought.

"Adéle…" Their hands knitted by themselves, and he tightened his grip a little. "You're one of the most beautiful women I've ever been so lucky to meet, to even see. I must admit these past weeks I've had trouble stopping to think about you when I go to bed. You fill my mind, Adéle."

She knew he was lying through his teeth, but she put on a mask of being enchanted by his words. Kira got up, and walked up behind her chair, slowly, stopping behind her. She turned her head to look at him, but he told her to just relax. Then he stuck his hand in his inner pocket of the jacket and drew forth a square box, covered in blue silk.

Light opened up the box and took the necklace from inside it. It was of startling silver, shaped in discrete stalks and leaves, small diamonds as the cores of the flowers glittering in the circle of the necklace like a tiny Milky Way.

Light took each end with his fingertips and joined them around her neck.

Adéle lifted her hand and touched the necklace, which felt cold against her skin. It was beautiful.

A was sure she was a mouse and he was a snake, friendly as long as he saw benefit.

"Do you like it?" Kira whispered in her left ear.

"Yes, Lord… I don't know what to say. It is very beautiful, thank you so much…"

"Not as beautiful as you, of course," Light smiled. He let his finger run down the fine carvings of the silver, she felt his breaths against the skin of her neck. He gently brushed some locks of her hair behind her ear, caressing her cheek. She turned around, meeting his shadowy, invisible eyes. He put his hand under her chin, leading it closer to his own lips…

Someone knocked on the door in the floor, under which stairs were leading downwards. They both froze, Light drawing himself away from the young woman, irritation deeply cut in his face. "Enter."

A black suited man opened the door and stumbled inside. He looked bewildered and harassed as he fell to his knees before Light, but first of all terrified of having to come up here.

"What is it?" Light barked as he brushed non-existing dust off his sleeve.

"Lord… It's… I…"

"Spit it out, man!"

"I'm sorry, Lord… It's… the Government offices… someone just… just…"

"Didn't I tell you to spit it out?!" Light now looked genuinly mad. "Come on with it or just go away!"

"My apologies… The Government offices, Lord. Someone just… just blew them up."