Beware the one close to you. (text message from Misa)
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The whole next day Raito didn't see Misa, but he couldn't stop thinking about her or what she said. "The one close to him"? What did that even mean? Surely she couldn't mean L? She never even met him.
Or it could be someone else entirely, like his girlfriend. She conveniently gotten sick just before this whole mess started, maybe she was using that as an excuse for him not to suspect her.
No, that was just stupid. He couldn't think of any reason to distrust of his own girlfriend.
It was all too confusing. He'd just have to wait until he met with Misa later before anything made sense.
On his way home however, he ran into her.
She was standing next to a vending machine, fumbling through her purse for change.
"Misa," Raito said as he headed up the sidewalk.
"Oh, Raito-kun," she said, turning around to greet him, "what are you doing here? Misa thought we weren't meeting until later."
"So did I," he said, trying not to scrunch his face at her abnormally high-pitched voice, "but I think we need to talk now." His tone left no room for argument.
"What would Raito-kun like to talk about?" Ugh, did she really have to use "kun" all the time? They'd only met three days ago. And why did she always say names in the third person?
"I want to know what your problem is," Raito said bluntly, "why you're sending me weird text messages, and most importantly...,
"Who are you really?"
For a moment Misa looked stunned, surprised that Raito would ask something so callous. Then she composed herself and looked him straight in the eye. her gaze incredibly peircing.
"Meet me in three hours at the love hotel down the road."
"A love hotel?! Why the hell would you think that I'd even-" She put a finger to his lips, cutting him off.
"Because it'll be completely private," she said. "I'll tell you everything then, I promise." She smiled sweetly and headed off. "Don't forget," she called back, "Three hours, Raito-kun!"
As Raito aproached his house the feeling of unease failed to lift like he thought it would. He'd had this feeling all day, but it had increased when he met Misa again.
He couldn't help thinking he might be walking right into a trap.
As he opened the door he almost bumped into Sayu, who was clad in jacket and backpack.
"Oh, Nii-chan, I didn't know you wre home already."
"I guess I am," he said, eyeing over his sister. "What about you? Going to join the circus?" She chuckled.
"Silly Nii-chan, of course not!" she said. "Yoshi-chan and I are going to spend the night at Sakura-chan's. We're going to watch movies and play games all night!"
"Whatever. Are Mom and Dad home?" Better to act as is nothing's wrong.
"No," his sister said, "they went on a date. They said not to wait up for them." She gave him an incredibly smug grin, "Why, have a hot date tonight?"
"Absolutley not!" he said. "And for your information my love life is none of your business."
"No need to get so angry, I was just curious. Well, I'm off!" She waved to him as she got on her bike and pedaled off to her friend's house. As she road off he wondered if she did her math homework yet. It was only Wednesday after all.
In his room he ate a few ohagi and changed out of his school clothes.
He really didn't want to see Misa again (there was just something about her that got under his skin), but at then same time he couldn't just leave this mystery hanging.
Curse his inate disire to investigate.
Eventually it was time to leave. As he headed out the door a thought suddenly struck him.
He might be walking right into a trap. If that was the case, he wasn't going in unprepared. He quickly ran into his father's study and grabbed a gun he knew his father kept there. Sticking it in the back of his pants he left the house and grabbed a bus to the street where he would have his confrontation with Misa.
He hoped he wouldn't regret this.
When he got to the hotel Misa was meeting him at, he almost turned around then and there. Whoever designed this building most have been out of their mind. There wasn't anything explicit anywhere, but the tirm "luvvy-duvvy" seemed like a gross understatement for this place.
Sigh.
Might as well get it over with.
Misa had given him instructions via text on what to do when he got there just a few minutes ago, so he didn't really have any time to psych himself into it. At this point, his desire for answers was the only thing driving him forward.
"Hi," he said, walking up to the front desk, "someone's expecting me."
"Name," the attendant asked, typing some keys on a computer.
"Yagami Raito." The attendant mulled over something on the screen for a minute before looking up again.
"You're in luck, a Amane Misa-san said someone with your description was coming Yagami-san." He was handed a key and pointed down a hallway. "Last door on the left."
"Thanks," Raito mumbled as he headed to the room.
He knocked on the door once he reached it.
Ten seconds later he was forcably pulled inside by a seemingly impassioned Misa. She threw him on the bed at went to double lock the door. When that was done she flipped on the television and pulled up a chair.
"So no one will bother us," she said, answering his unspoken question.
"Look," he said, regaining his composure, "I'm starting to get a little, no, make that very sick and tired of all this crap I've bee getting from you. Now start giving me some straight answers for a change or-" He reached for his gun, then horribly realized it wasn't on his person anymore.
"Looking for this," Misa asked, holding the gun in question on the tip of her finger. Her voice also seemed to lose the annoying squeak it had. "Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you," she tossed it on the bed next to him. "Besides, I could have done it a million other ways before now."
"Then why haven't you?" A dark thought crossed Raito's mind. "Wait, this isn't-"
"No, this isn't some weird, perverted sex fantasy." She eyed him impatiently, "Do you what me to explain this to you or what?"
"Fine by me," he said, enticed by the promise of revelation.
"First of all, I assume you've already tried to look at my public records, right?"
Raito nodded.
"Then you should know that 97% of all that is falsified."
Raito suspected that much, but he let her continue.
"My name and a few other facts were left intact, but I was completely different than what the records say I was when I was younger." She paused, remembering. "I got involved with the wrong crowd when I was twelve, and got into some pretty major incidents with them. Eventually we broke into the school for what we thought was just a harmless game, but we were caught and expelled before anything really serious happened."
"And all this has something to do with me?" Raito asked, speaking up for the first time since Misa started talking.
"Are you familiar with spirit games? Séances, Oui-ji broads, Kokkuri-san?"
"You didn't answer my question, but yes, I am."
"Have you ever heard of Death Note?"
This sent chills down his spine.
"No."
"Not many people have, it's incredibly secretive. Almost like a cult."
"That was the game you were playing when you got caught, wasn't it?" Raito said as the pieces starting to form in his mind.
"Exactly."
"But then how is it dangerous? I mean, isn't there just some trick to it that makes people believe it's real?"
"Not this one. This one is real. You basically kill people with it."
Raito gulped.
"The basic principle is you use the book to call for a Shinigami, then write the name of the person you want to kill, and the Shinigami will kill them."
"B-but why are you telling me all this?" Raito asked. "I've never even heard of Death Note, and, (even though I totally understand the value of preventative measures), I'm not into that kind of stuff anyways. How is this relevant to me?"
"Raito," Misa said, place a hand on his shoulder, "your sister is about to use the Death Note."
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Layman here, at the end of chapter #3.
First of all, I have absolutely no idea how Japanese love hotel are run. Anything and everything in the lobby scene was taken from the 0.001% knowledge I do know and a little imagination to fill in the blanks.
Also, if things go right, the next chapter should bring everything together. See you then.