Shades of Grey Chapter 8
I woke up all groggy the next morning. It was June 12th, a Saturday - I didn't have any classes today.
Hmm... what had happened yesterday again..? It seemed important.
Oh right. Light got put into confinement. Holy crap.
I got up, and walked over to the fridge. Ayame was out with some other friends, shopping, probably. I, on the other hand, had to go to the hotel at four, so I wasn't exactly busy.
I opened the fridge door and realized it was mostly empty. It was my turn to go grocery shopping this week.
I went onto my computer, and checked my bank account online. I was running out of money.
I had taken all of the money off of my parents bank account - they had given me the password on my 18th birthday, believing they could trust me not to spend it - but, we weren't the richest family around, just average, and with the only source of income I had was from the Kira case (which wasn't much, let me tell ya), I was loosing money rather quick. I needed another job.
After getting myself a bowl of cereal, I got changed and put on my shoes. It was pretty warm out today, so I didn't have to worry about a coat. I walked down to the nearby grocery store.
It wasn't big, per say, which meant it was also pretty cheap. My kind of store.
While an employee registered all my items, I let my eyes wonder around. And guess what I saw? A 'help needed' sign around one of windows, that's what. Perfect.
I quickly asked the man at the counter about a job.
"That depends," The guy said, who's name tag read 'Makoto'. "When can you work?"
"Hmm..." I paused. L was really good at sneaking up on us with meetings, though when I think about it, he mostly had them on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Mondays. So…
"I could work Fridays," I suggested. That's when I had the least classes too.
"That works." Makoto said, shaking his light brown hair out of his eyes. "Come in tomorrow at one to make sure you can do the job, I'll tell the boss. It's not much, just shelving and cleanup. That good?"
"Perfect." I said, picking up my groceries. "Thanks."
"See you tommorow!" Makoto answered cheerfully. He seemed nice.
When I got home, it was around twelve. I opened my laptop to check my email. I had gotten one from my friend in English, and a chain mail from Ayame. Sighing, I closed my e-mail, browsed the web a bit, then studied like I actually should.
By the time I was done, it was 3:30.
"Shoot," I said, gathering up my things.
I put my shoes on, and quickly ran to get a taxi.
"Get me off of the task force" Soichiro said.
"W-What?" I asked him, running inside.
L didn't say anything.
"If my son is in confinement, I don't know how I'll act. Get me off." Soichiro insisted.
"No!" Matsuda exclaimed.
"We can put you in confinement as well, if you wish." L suggested. "But I'm not going to kick you off. Our fellow comrades obviously don't want you to leave."
'Yeah right, like that's any better, L…'
"Fine," Soichiro agreed.
'Oh.'
"But you will make phone calls to your wife, family and friends. It will not be announced that you're in confinement," L continued.
"I don't care," Soichiro said. He really worried me.
"Okay then," L said. "Watari, would you please?"
"Yes, Ryuuzaki," Watari said.
It had been 14 days. No criminals had died. 'Is... is Light a murder?' A mass murderer, actually.
I looked at Light on the screen. He looked... lonely. But he looked like he was deep in thought, too. Probably missing intelligent company.
Aizawa walked in. "L. Every criminal reported in the news in the last 13 days have all died of heart attacks."
"It's Kira!" I gasped.
"Let's tell Soichiro!" Matsuda said, stealing L's microphone.
"Guess what! Criminals are all dying!" He yelled into the thing.
"R-really?" Soichiro asked.
Matsuda put the microphone down. "Now we have to tell Light..."
"No." L said. He pressed the button on Light's microphone. "Light-kun... no criminals have died. Are you ready to make a confession?"
'What?'
"No, because I am not Kira, I can't confess anything," Light answered.
"You look really bad... you sure you don't just want to just come out of there?" L asked.
"No… this pride of mine," Light said, a strange tone to his voice, "I'll have to get rid of it."
There was something even stranger about how Light said 'Get rid of it', but it seemed I was the only one who heard.
Suddenly, Light's whole face changed.
"Wh- … what..? … L, I know I said to do this myself… but I am not Kira!" He said suddenly.
Everyone looked surprised, to say the least. L grabbed the microphone again.
"Light-kun - I am sorry - but I cannot let you go." Even he sounded slightly confused.
"But I'm not Kira! Look into my eyes! Use zoom or something! Can't you tell?" Light yelled, desperation in his voice. Somebody zoomed into Light's eyes, as he requested.
… He looked so innocent...
"I'm not Kira, I'm not Kira, I'm not..." Light buried his head into his knees.
I watched, my voice having left me completely.
"..."
The days actually went by quickly. Soon Light had been in confinement for a total of 23 days. It was a Tuesday, and Ayame and some other friends and I were sitting around campus.
"Hey, Mayu?" My friend, Kumori, asked.
"Yeah?"
"Where's Light been? You were dating him, weren't you? I haven't seen him since May!" Kumori said.
"… I-I wasn't d-dating him," I'm guessing I blushed. "But yeah, I haven't seen him in a while either."
"Maybe he went on vacation?" One of Ayame's friends - I didn't know his name - suggested, flicking his brown hair out of his eyes.
"Maybe… To-Oh is tough after all, we could use a break too," Yet another one of Ayame's friends, Machi, agreed.
Saved for now.
That Friday, I was at my new job at the grocery store, when Makoto walked up to me.
"Mayu," He said.
"Gah!" I said, startled. I dropped the tomato I was putting in the tomato bin. "Y-yes?"
"How much does a promotion appeal to you?" Makoto asked.
"How come?" I asked, picking up the tomato, wiping it off on my sleeve, and putting it in the bin.
"We have a new worker coming in, he's also going to work on Fridays, so I need you in a higher position. Plus, a cashier would be nice. So, do you want to?" Makoto asked.
"Sure!" I said. More money would be nice. I was getting by now, but extra money would be good.
"Here, the boss said he'll pay you extra today." Makoto said, smiling.
At the end of my shift, Makoto handed me my new paycheck.
"Wow! Thanks!" I exclaimed. It was almost twice my original salary.
"You're welcome," he answered, flashing me yet another smile.
On the way home, I passed by a floral shop. 'Flowers would be nice, our room is so boring...' I thought to myself. I walked in.
Immediately, the scent of almost every flower known to man washed over me. "W-wow," I breathed, closing my eyes and enjoying it. The walls were a light, purplish blue, but the green of leaves and colours of flowers really made it unnoticeable. The flowers were arranged in rainbow order, and by name of the flower, I was guessing. There were also perfumes, shower stuff, and air fresheners on a table in the corner, in every scent of flower imaginable.
"Oh, hello!" A woman said.
"O-oh, hello," I said, remembering the people in the shop as well.
"Do you like my shop? We just openened a few weeks ago," The woman asked. "Oh, I'm Sakura, by the way."
"It's so nice," I nodded. "Very organized."
"Oh yes, sorry, I have OCD, so everything has to be organized, y'know?" Sakura said, blushing.
"Oh, I see! Easier to find things then," I said.
"Yeah, so, what are you looking for? Anything specific?" Sakura asked. I'm guessing she hadn't gotten a lot of customers, usually shop owners don't care that much about you.
"Uhm… what would be good for a college dorm?" I asked.
"Oh, come here!" She said. "What colour are the walls in your dorm?"
I thought about putting the flowers in the common room. "Brown. Kind of an orange, fall like theme, I guess," I said.
"Oh, some fire-like colours would look nice… here," She said, handing me a bouquet of assorted flowers in yellow, red and orange colours. "Is that good?"
"They're kind of expensive..." I said, reading the tag. It was about half of my salary.
"Oh, you can have them half off," Sakura said, waving her hand like she did all the time. I wonder why no one came here…
"Really? Thanks!" I said, handing her the money.
"Thank you! I hope you like them!"
"I will," I smiled at her, walking out of the door. I'd be coming back some time soon, I was sure.
When I got home, I put the flowers on a side table.
"Maaayuuuuu!" I heard Ayame calling from the bathroom.
"Yes?" I asked.
"Can you help me with this?"
"Okay!" I called, walking towards the bathroom. Ayame was holding onto a brown highlighting kit.
"I want to dye my hair underneath brown," She explained. "The exchange student from Canada - Skailah or whatever - said I'd look good, and I think so too," she said brightly. ((A/N 'Skailah' is Ayame trying to pronounce Skylar))
"'Kay, how do you want me to help?" I asked. I had had some experience dyeing hair, when my brother had wanted to bleach the tips of his bangs once, while mother was busy and father was at work.
"Can you pin up my hair and make sure I don't miss anything?" She asked.
"Sure," I said.
As I applied the dye, me and Ayame talked a little bit.
"Who's the guy with the spiky brown hair and brown eyes?" I asked her. He had suggested that Light was on vacation.
"Oh, that was Montaro. Funny.. you know, his name means 'big boy', when he's one of the shorter guys I know.." Ayame giggled.
"Yeah, he's about my height, and I'm kinda short even for girls." I laughed.
We kept talking for a bit.
"Hey, can I meet this 'Skailah' person sometime?" I asked. I had never met him. Never seen him, I'd even say.
"Sure!" Ayame said. "Oh, now I can wash it out, right?"
"Yeah. Make sure you get all of it out," I said.
"I will, I will!" Ayame said. She was just always happy wasn't she?
The next day, Saturday, I was hanging out again with a bunch of people. Ayame was showing off her new hair.
Suddenly a guy walked up to me.
"Hello," He said, with an accent. He was probably this Skailah person Ayame was talking about. He didn't look Japanese. He had light blonde hair and blue eyes. He was also pale, but then again, we weren't exactly tanned yet.
"Oh hey, Ayame was talking about you! You're Skailah, right?" I asked.
"Skylar," he corrected me. Bleh, foreign names are so hard to pronounce.
"Skailarrr…" I said.
He laughed. "Close enough for now," he said, giving my shoulder a pat.
I flinched. I didn't like to be touched, especially by people I didn't know. Even by Light.. wait- why did he come up? Anyway.
Skylar looked at me funny. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"Oh, nothing... just don't like to be touched much," I explained.
"Okay then," he said, unceremoniously dropping the arm."You're Mayu, right?"
"Y-yeah," I answered.
The day went by quickly. Soon me and Ayame were back at our dorm.
The next week, on Friday, I was at work when I saw the new employee. It was Skylar!
"Oh, hey Skailarrrrr!" I said, laughing. What? It's fun to say.
"Hey Mayu! You work here too?" he asked.
"Yep! I needed some more money," I made a face. "So, how do you like the job so far?" I asked.
"Oh, it's okay," he answered. "Different because I don't know the japanese words for all these food's.." he said.
"Oh right," I said. "So, why'd you come here anyway?" I asked.
"I always have liked Japan." He said. "I love anime, y'know? I thought it'd be nice... my parents said they didn't want me here because of the heart attacks going on,"
"Yeah, I guess most of them are happening here," I said, not really liking where this conversation was going.
"Yep, but I'm not a criminal so I'm safe, right?" He said cheerfully.
"Y-yeah..." I said. I wish I was 100% safe... but fighting to find Kira isn't exactly safe. And I'm not even 100% against Kira either. He had saved me from certain death...
"So, what are your thoughts about Kira?" I asked.
"The heart attacks? Oh, I'm trying not to think about it. Maybe save myself if I keep quiet about it. What about you?" He asked.
"I dunno... Like, criminals being gone is good, but I don't think he should've killed all of those innocent people too, though," I answered.
"Oh, right, like those FBI agents…" Skylar answered.
We didn't say much for a bit. But he was smiling at me... how come?
"Get back to work, people! Chop chop!" Makoto said suddenly.
"O-oh, okay!" I said, going back to the cash register.
50 days.
It had been over 50 days since Light had gone into confinement. Who does that?
I also had to go to the hotel, now, too. I ran to get a taxi, then ran into the room.
"Hello,"
"Ryuuzaki, why are you still keeping them captive. Criminals have been dying for a while now, shouldn't you let them go?" Aizawa asked.
"No.. all we have found out is Misa's obsessive love for Light-kun," L said.
"Look, Ryuuzaki, if Kira could kill without any information, then all criminals would be dead right now. The searching of their houses showed nothing. We should start trying to capture the real Kira!"
"..." L said nothing, but simply grabbed the microphone to talk to Soichiro.
"Yagami-san," he said.
"Yes?"
"I need to talk to you in person. Please get ready to leave."
L had a plan.
He set up a camera in a car and told us that we may watch as we pleased. So, of course, everyone watched.
Soichiro was driving, Misa and Light were in the back seat.
"We get to be freed, right?" Light asked. It was good to hear his voice again.
"No, Light… I'm taking you to the execution chamber," Soichiro said. 'What!'
I could hear Light and Misa asking/shouting the same. And, honeslty… what?
"L declared that if you two are executed, then the Kira killings will stop." Soichiro continued, unfazed.
"… haven't they already?" Light asked, confusion taking over panic.
"No," Soichiro said, simply and harshly.
"You'd trust L over your own son?" Misa asked, clearly in panic.
"Somethings wrong... this isn't like L..." Light said. 'Just my thoughts, Light.'
The car stopped.
"Where are we?" Light asked.
"Are you letting us free?" Misa asked, almost smiling.
"Yes.. no one will see what will happen here.." Soichiro said. "Light, I'm going to kill you here then kill myself."
'!'
"Wha- Dad, your insane!" Light said.
"If you do this, you're no different from Kira, don't you realize that!" Misa yelled. I could see tears in her eyes…
"No. I have responsibility as a parent, and as the chief of police," Soichiro said. He pulled out a gun..!
"N-no!" Misa said.
"Misa, my son and I will die here, but you have no reason to be killed by me. You'll be found eventually." Soichiro said gravely.
"B-but, if you kill me, the truth will never be found! y-you can't-" it didn't even sound like Light at this point.
"Shut up." Soichiro started to pull the trigger.
I gasped, as did the others members of the task force.
"Light, both of us are murderers, we'll meet in Hell," 'This is crazy!'
"NO!" Misa screamed.
Soichiro pulled the trigger.
. . .
Nothing happened.
"A-…a blank?" Light gasped.
"Thank goodness," Soichiro said.
"What? 'Thank goodness'?" Misa asked, both anger and fear in her voice.
"… Ryuuzaki, how was it?" Soichiro said.
L picked up a microphone.
"It went well," L said. Light and Misa turned to the camera, which was in the mirror of the car. "If Misa was the second Kira, she would have killed you. Also, if Light-kun was Kira, he would have no problems killing his own father... but he could have realized half-way that it was an act." L paused. "… still, I'll let both of them out, but Misa will have to be under surveillance still."
So… it was an act? And, seriously, he couldn't have told the rest of the task force? Oh, right, it was probably a stupid test, to see if we didn't mind his methods, or something.
"What? Why?" Misa asked, already back to normal.
"Look, if you're innocent, you'll just gain protection from the police," Soichiro said.
"Okay, so basically I have a bodyguard." Misa said brightly.
"Also," L said. "I'll let Light-kun take part in the investigation. But only if he's with me 24/7,"
"Okay," Light said, his mind made up about the whole thing. "I understand, Ryuuzaki. Let's catch Kira... together!"
"Yes." L said. We all smiled.