I'd like to thank Demongirl1o1 for being the first reviewer! You get a cookie!
Inspiration for this chapter: a Hershey's bar (I really needed it to stay awake!)
----chocolate!----
Mr. Yakatome looked up from his attendance sheet, attention caught by a knock on the door. "Come in," he called, thinking it might be a student from a neighboring classroom, wishing to borrow a few of their textbooks. The door to the classroom opened, and a young lady looked guiltily into the classroom, peeking her head in a bit before stepping all the way into the floor, closing the door behind her.
"I'm sorry I'm late, sir," the young lady said, bowing. Mr. Yakatome blinked before scanning his list, eyes finally resting on an unfamiliar name.
"Ah, I take it you are a new student, Ms. Menshi?" The girl nodded, and murmurs rippled throughout the classroom. It was very rare that the class got new students. In fact, several families had been leaving the prefecture once word leaked out of Kira's residence nearby. All the same, the young lady was undaunted by the whispers, and her gaze was fully on him. "Would you like to explain to us why you are late, Ms. Menshi?"
The girl laughed nervously, and a few of the guys chuckled. She was innocent looking at her best, and the feeling increased when she tucked a stray strand of chocolate, shoulder-length hair behind her right ear. "Well, I got lost on the way to school, so..."
That was all it took. The whole entire class erupted into laughter, the girl included. Even Mr. Yakatome laughed a little. That was one late excuse he had never heard before. Then again, this girl was an exchange student, and even though she looked like she had been raised in Japan, she had a slight accent that came from years of speaking English. She could have been born in Japan, raised in another country, the male teacher mused. Sighing, he pointed the girl to a seat in the very back of the room. "I'm afraid that's the only empty seat we have open right now, but you can call it yours."
Naeko nodded and walked past all of the students, most of whom flashed her encouraging smiles and whispered introductions under their breaths. She plopped into her seat in the back, totally prepared to pay attention to the lesson that was about to unfold. Unfortunately, she wasn't prepared for the teacher to get called down to the office. Yakatome sighed and told the class he'd be right back. The moment the classroom door slid shut, several people were up in Naeko's face.
"Hey, so, did you really get lost on your way to school?"
"What's your first name? Can I call you by it?"
"Do you need a guide for the school? I'm totally available after school, if you want to be shown around!"
"Are you single?"
This last question got Naeko to laugh. How crazy were these people? She was just a new student, geez. In the U.S., new students were ignored, until some clique decided to "adopt" them. "Um, well, my first name is Naeko. Naeko Menshi. I used to live in this town, about 10 years ago. But then, after certain...circumstances...my parents decided to ship me off to the United States. Right now I'm living with my aunt and uncle."
"So, if you used to live here, how did you get lost?" It was the same guy who had asked the question earlier.
Naeko chuckled again, causing several smiles to break out through the small crowd formed around her desk. "Cut me some slack! I haven't been in this prefecture for 10 years! Although, making detours along the way to stop at a few of my old hangouts didn't help my time much either." This caused another barrage of questions, none of which Naeko even had time to answer.
A lone voice said, "Mr. Yakatome is coming," and the students immediately scampered back to their seats. While they were moving, Naeko could see one student who hadn't even moved from his seat. She was glad that there was at least one sane person in this classroom. Upon taking a closer look, Naeko could see that he was good-looking, with light brown hair, and it was hard to tell, but she guessed he had brown eyes. Once in a while, the boy would look out the window next to him, and then look back to the book in his hands.
True to the boy's word, Mr. Yakatome came in a minute later, flustered and laden down with several heavy textbooks. Dropping the textbooks onto his desk, Yakatome leaned heavy onto the edge of the desk and sighed with relief. Then he addressed the class, "Alright, now that that's over with, let's get out our Literature textbooks please, and turn to page 61. Today we'll be starting a section on fables. Can anyone tell me a famous writer of fables?"
Naeko lazily raised her hand, and Yakatome called on her. "How about that Aesop dude? Like, Aesop's fables?"
Yakatome nodded. "Yes, Aesop wrote thousands and thousands of these fables. Today we are going to read one called "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing". Has anyone read this fable before?" Again, Naeko lazily raised her hand. "Alright, Miss Menshi, would you care to tell us what the fable is about. Or rather, what is a fable?"
Naeko sighed, earning a few giggles from those around her. "A fable is a story that has a moral; or in other words, it tells us how to run our lives. "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" is about a wolf that disguises himself as a sheep in order to sneak into a pasture full of sheep, thinking he'd be able to feast easily this way. During the night, however, the shepherd visits the pasture, and when he grabs the wolf, the wolf is killed instantly. The moral...well, if you're gonna harm somebody, expect it to come right back at you."
Yakatome smiled, and a few of the cheekier students clapped. In a spur of the moment, Naeko stood up form her chair, made one elegant bow, and then sat back down, earning more claps. "Yes, I suppose that's the easiest way of putting it, but how many of you think that the wolf should have died for what he did, or planned to do?" Most of the students raised their hands. Naeko was one of the few who didn't. Seeing that they were in the minority, those who previously had kept their hands down now raised them, until Naeko was the only with both hands down.
Yakatome grinned; this new student was quite the interesting pupil. "Alright Miss Menshi, I suppose you get to answer a few more questions. First of all, why don't you think the wolf should die?"
Naeko had her answer ready, and she immediately responded, "Because the wolf did nothing wrong, that we know of. The fable does not state if the wolf killed any of the sheep in the pasture; it just merely states he was disguised when he was allowed in. If this were a murder case, the verdict could have been attempt to murder. But you don't get a death sentence if you had an attempt to murder, now, do you?" The class was silent as they pondered this thought. Then, a voice spoke up from the other side of the classroom.
"That doesn't really matter, does it. Think about all of the other animals that wolf has slain. Just because he wanted to kill one more doesn't mean he gets off the hook." Naeko turned to face the brown-haired boy she had noticed earlier. He was in a thinking position, with his hands clasped and chin resting on his hands.
"Yes, but some animals must kill to survive. Those animals had been needed for the wolf to eat. If he hadn't have killed them, the wolf would have died from starvation. You and I kill for our food. All around the world, people kill farm animals for food and other necessities. We need those animals to survive, and it's not like we can survive on plants alone. Scientists have proved it's bad for our diet if we go too long without meat." Naeko argued, determined she wouldn't lose this verbal battle. She was surprised, however, at Mr. Yakatome's willingness to allow the debate. In fact, he looked giddy that two students were arguing over a stupid question.
"The problem was, the wolf was using a disguise to kill. He was taking the easy way out...the coward's way out." Naeko thought for a moment, and then her heart sank. What the guy said was right, absolutely right.
"Yeah, but," she said desperately, keeping a clear tone for her voice, "a death sentence was still too much. In a few states of the U.S., there is a law that you cannot sentence anyone to the death sentence, no matter how terrible their verdict. I mean, it doesn't matter if you killed several people or just one, you can't be killed for that. That was even proved in the Tate and LaBianca murders! It could be different for a terrorist or something, maybe, but I think terrorists are to the extreme anyway."
"That's the United States. We are Japan."
"That doesn't make any difference!" Naeko pounded her fist onto her desk and stood up, glaring at the boy. It was deathly silent in the room as the students waited in silent exuberance. No one had stood up to Light before when it came to academics. Even Yakatome was waiting with wide eyes, wishing he could tape this debate and put it on youtube.
The brown-haired boy slowly rotated his head so that he was looking directly at Naeko. For a moment, the girl's breathing hitched, and she caught herself looking with wide eyes. Then, a calming sense washed over her, allowing her to become rather stoic again, hiding most of her emotion. One emotion she kept out, however, and that was to aid her in her quest for a verbal victory. The boy's voice erupted into her ears, bringing her back to the real world.
"It doesn't matter anyway, because Aesop made up the story. None of that could really happen. A wolf would never be smart enough to use a disguise, and a normal shepherd wouldn't be able to kill a wolf by just touching it."
Naeko frowned, and sat back down. She was utterly defeated. What a sorry loss. In a last defense, she retorted quietly, "Fine. Go murder someone, so that we can put you on trial and tell you what we think should happen to you. We won't kill you, that's what'll happen. We'll throw you in jail to rot for 50 some years, and then we'll let you out 35 years earlier than we planned because we're all jackasses that can't think worth a damn. What's wrong with the world is that people who do serious crimes can get out of jail much faster than someone who got thrown into jail for no reason. The world is fucked up, I'm telling you. Fucked up, and I wish someone would stand up above all of us and just fix it." Naeko sighed, and the boy gave her a queer look. In the end...Naeko 1, Mystery Boy 0.
When Yakatome determined that the "debate" was over, he continued with the class, calling on everyone but Light and Naeko. Luckily, the class period was almost up anyway by the time the debate had officially ended, and Yakatome barely got to ask any more questions, because he was busy coaxing answers out of the students he called on. The bell rang, and classes switched. Oh, Naeko could tell it was going to be a very long day...
"Oh, and Mr. Yagami, would you mind showing Ms. Menshi around the school? I know you usually go home right after school, so could you spare a little time for her?" Yakatome looked at Light, confirming that his request was not that of a question, but of a command. Light nodded, and Mr. Yakatome smiled. "Alright then, I'll see you all later!"
...and that day just got a helluva lot worse...
---boo!---
Alright, anyone else think that this chapter was too short? Please review, I'd love to know you think of the second chapter! The next chapter will get more in-depth of the relationship between Light and Naeko. Friend or foe? Only I know what'll happen! Muahaha!! That shouldn't stop you from reviewing, though! So please do!