Wee! Happy New Year everybody! I hope you all set resolutions! I didn't! XD Well, maybe I want to lose a pound or two, but making you guys happy comes first!
I don't own Death Note, and I'm kinda glad I don't! XD Otherwise I might actually have to WORK! (gasp!)
---drunkongrapejuiceteehee---
"Naeko." Silence.
"Naeko." Silence once more.
"Naeko, will you just respond to me?"
"What do you want, Light?" Naeko sighed. "I'm still in my emo corner. Leave me alone."
Light pulled Naeko up from the floor by the collar of her uniform. "What the hell is with you?"
Naeko shook Light off and brush invisible wrinkles out of her uniform. "I wrote in it. I wrote a lot. I can't believe you are so calm and collected after all you've done. I think I'm entitled to a bit of mental chaos."
Light watched the back of Naeko before he sensed eyes watching him. Tensing up, Light sighed to himself and stepped forward, encasing Naeko in his strong arms from behind. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize. You did me a big favor, though, and I can't thank you enough for it."
Naeko felt her muscles tighten, but she figured Light had a good reason for his actions, besides a death wish. A good reason, such as a spy coming within hearing range. "No, I guess I should be over it by now. I mean, it was wrong of me to think you were cheating on me." Naeko turned around and wrapped her arms around Light's neck, bringing her face up close to his to give him a peck on the cheek. It had been like that all the previous week.
Light, thinking Naeko had gotten the message, nodded and encased her in a tighter hug. Before she left her close proximity with Light's face, however, Naeko whispered, "You are dead."
Light was saved from having to respond as the bell rang, signaling the start of the next class. Light wrapped his arm around Naeko's middle and led her rather harshly back to the school's back entrance.
Ever since he and Naeko had resolved to a pretend relationship, Naeko had been acting oddly. Actually, if he thought back, maybe asking her to write in the death note was a bad move. Even if he got a temporary rest from being on the "Kira suspicions list", Naeko was, as she put it, "having a mental breakdown". Light could only try to comfort her in his own, oddly scary way. But when Naeko started going outside for lunches and free study periods, Light started cracking down the whip.
"Light, we have the next period together, right?" Naeko asked, dragging Light out of his thoughts. Naeko started walking a little closer to Light, a troubled look on her face.
"Yeah. Why? Something bothering you?" Light looked down onto the brunette's head, and Naeko laughed shrilly.
"Actually, yes. You could remove your arm now. The glares I am receiving are scaring me worse than anything I could write in a notebook." Light looked up the hallway and promptly removed his arm from Naeko's shoulders. Who knew he had so many fan girls? And who knew they were all so vicious? Light decided to write his and Naeko's wills later.
"Oh, oi! Naeko, is that you?" Naeko and Light both turned as a boy shouted loudly from the end of the hallway. With so many students leaving their lockers to go to their next classes, the crowd in the hallway was huge, but Naeko was able to spot the familiar face in the bunch.
"Kenji!" she said, brightening up a bit at said's enthusiastic greeting. Kenji squeezed through the crowd and wrapped an arm around Naeko's shoulders, ruffling her hair a bit to show it was all fun and games. "What are you doing don here? Aren't all the seniors' classes on the highest level of the school?"
"Yeah," Kenji replied, "but I just wanted to check up on my favorite kouhai. Oh, and also, I have tonight off, if you wanted to go shopping." Kenji let go of Naeko and stood in front of her nonchalantly, waiting for an answer.
"Um, yeah, sure. I'm free! Uh, we can meet up after school at the front gates, okay? I have to go so I'm not late to class! See you then!" Naeko didn't really appreciate Light dragging her down the hallway, but she got over it when they entered the classroom just in time for the bell to ring.
"Glad you could join us, Mr. Yagami and Ms. Menshi." Light and Naeko bowed their heads as a sign of acknowledgement, but took their seats instead of responding to their teacher's sarcastic comment. "Now, your regular teacher for this block is unable to come in today, so I'm in charge. As usual, we will have a question and answer session."
Naeko groaned inwardly. Thanks to cancer, their 5th block teacher often was sick and couldn't come to school, so every time the office assigned the class this teacher. His name was Mr. Tahuko, and he was the equivalent of the 7th layer of hell.
"Now, today we will be moving on to study the human mind. Or, in other words, psychology." Tahuko wasted no time in diving into the lesson, and every student wished they could suddenly disappear from the room.
"Today, however, I want to get a feel of how your teenage brains work." Mr. Tahuko looked around the room, eyeing every student with a subtly hidden glare. His eyes stopped roaming once they reached Naeko. Naeko stared back with just as much force, knowing it would be her downfall.
"Well, since you look so eager to prove yourself, Ms. Menshi, please inform me of something. Who, in this world, do you think you could not live without?" Naeko felt several pairs of eyes turn to her, but the question was not one she had been expecting. Therefore, she took her time in replying.
"Sir, there is no one in this world that I could not live without. I make it a point in my life to stay away from others." Naeko shifted uncomfortably in her seat, knowing her answer would not suffice.
Tahuko chuckled as he crossed his arms and leaned back against his temporary desk. "Really? I have heard a rumor that you and Mr. Yagami are currently dating each other. If that is true, then why would you agree to date each other if you did not truly care for each other?"
A few of the kids in the class grinned or snickered at their substitute's words. Naeko took a deep breath and glanced over at Light. He was looking back at her, his expression unreadable. How was she supposed to answer that question? Slowly, placing every word in its position for the utmost affect, Naeko said in a calm and collected voice, "There was once a single person I thought I could never live without. But now she is dead, and I am still alive. It is true; even if I did get close enough to someone – Light, for example – and if something were to happen to them, I would never be shocked or depressed enough to die. Although I would be extremely sad, it could never weigh me down enough to break me. I have already had that experience…I am unbreakable."
There was a calming silence in the room after Naeko's speech was finished. Students and their teacher pondered Naeko's words, until one brave girl spoke up.
"I think she's right…I really love my brother, and even if he can be annoying sometimes, I'd be really sad if anything happened to him. It's just really hard to believe that I'd go into such depression that I'd die if he died, though."
Another boy spoke up, following the girl. "Yeah, I think you'd have already had to have been depressed before something happened to your loved ones." Slowly, everyone in the room came to an agreement, and small conversations and chats were started all over the room. Tahuko let his students talk, as he was still trying to find a way to twist Naeko's words.
"Alright, I see your point," Tahuko said a few minutes later. The room immediately became silent, and students turned their heads to face back up to the front. "I guess there is nothing I can say to counter that. So, who should I pick on to answer my next question? How about—"
Naeko didn't care who the teacher picked on. She was still thinking back to the "one she couldn't live without", and how they had left her all alone. Silent tears made their way down her cheeks. Down her cheeks, under her chin, down her neck, only to disappear behind the collar of her uniform, where they were sucked up greedily by the material of her top. The minutes flew by, and then the bell rang, calling Naeko out of her stupor.
Naeko was undoubtedly one of the first people out the door. Her tears had already dried, leaving pale streaks down her cheeks and the tell tale sign of red, puffy eyes. Pushing her way down the hallway, Naeko made her way to the stairs and ran down them, stopping for no one. Eventually, she made it out of the school and out into the fresh air. Not stopping even though her legs were killing her, Naeko ran down the street, hugging her school books close to her.
Even though she had a suspicion, Naeko was still surprised when she found herself standing outside of the local park's entrance. It seemed to be the place she could go to whenever she was sad. Luckily, there was no one at the park, so Naeko could sulk alone, by herself. Taking a place on her favorite swing, Naeko dropped the books she had forgotten about. Bringing her hands up to touch the frosty cold metal of the swing, Naeko leaned against the sides and slowly rocked herself back and forth.
She tried not to think then. If any thoughts were to enter her mind, Naeko knew they could turn against her in an instant, and she would start crying again. Mostly, she found herself interested in the people walking past her on the street, or the rare glances she could get into the cars going back and forth. Naeko found other people's lives interesting, and when she was in the U.S., she made up a hobby of walking down the street at night, when lights on in houses, giving her a better view of the insides. It was amazing what you could learn about someone with just one glance inside their house.
Although, in the United States, she hadn't had anything to link her back to this awful place. Well, awful in only one way.
This place held memories. Memories she'd rather have locked away. Memories of her late sister, of her childhood friend whom she was pretty sure was Light, and of the time the three of them had spent together. Merrily playing in the park, watching scary movies late at night when both sets of parents had to go out and Hisa was left to baby-sit, and the much loved sleepovers in the backyard, in only a tent and sleeping bags.
Naeko sighed. God, she could still remember the laughs, the jokes…she could remember rolling over in her Barbie sleeping-bag and looking into Light's beautiful brown eyes. As much as she wanted to stay in denial, with proof set so profoundly in front of her, Naeko felt the only thing she could do was to give up. Releasing her hands from the swing chains, Naeko buried her head into her now cold hands and rubbed the threatening tears from her eyes before they could fall.
Naeko didn't even realize how long she had been sitting in the park until a small group of elementary-schoolers came running down the street, letting themselves into the park with shouts of joy. Guessing that school – and her peaceful thought time – was over, Naeko stood and picked up her books, ready to leave to go back to her aunt's house. Just after she left through the park's main gate, however, she was stopped by a familiar voice.
"Hey, Naeko! I thought I'd find you here!" Naeko twirled around and was encased in a huge hug by her friend, Kenji. "I've been looking for you forever, after I heard that you skipped out on the rest of your classes," Kenji said, pulling away from his hug to look Naeko over at an arm's length.
"Sorry, Kenji," Naeko said, smiling apologetically. "I guess I was just a little upset about what we were talking about in class."
The smile on Kenji's face fell. "Want to tell me about it?" he asked softly. Naeko looked down at her shoes, unsure of what to say as an answer. Part of her wanted to get it off of her chest, and another part of her, the dominant part, wanted to keep her life a secret from all who tried to get close to her.
"Maybe...later," Naeko finally said with a sigh. She held her schoolbooks tightly to her chest and took a step forward so that she was standing closer to Kenji. The older male was surprised to notice that she was shivering.
"Oh, hey, are you cold? I mean, you haven't been out here in this miserable weather the entire time, have you?" Kenji asked, concern etched on his handsome face. Naeko nodded sheepishly, and Kenji rolled his eyes. Even if it was a blessing to most guys, Kenji thought the guy who voted for miniskirts as the girls' uniforms should be socked in the nose.
"Here." Kenji took off his school jacket and draped it over Naeko's shoulders. Naeko opened her mouth to protest, but Kenji looked at her with those glittering, mischievous eyes. "Don't worry, it's only temporary. You can borrow it until we find you a sweater at the mall. Although it probably won't help your bare legs…anyway, we'll find you a sweater. You can think of it as an early Christmas present from me!" Kenji gave Naeko a big grin as he began to lead her down the street, in the direction of the local mall.
---
"Um, Kenji, I have to use the bathroom. Could you wait here for a second?" Naeko asked sweetly. After wandering around for an hour or two, getting several of the things on Kenji's shopping list, Naeko had finally been able to enjoy the other's company. She thought it was odd how well they got along, even though they were practically strangers.
"Ah, sure. I'll just find a place to sit out here," Kenji replied, a big grin on his face. Naeko smiled back and turned to go down the narrow hallway leading to the public bathrooms. Kenji's smile was what she admired most about him. Naeko loved that no matter what she said or asked, Kenji would always reply to it with a smile.
Slipping into the woman's restroom, Naeko groaned at the line. It had been a busy day at the mall, and the bathrooms were no exception. Not that she had really wanted to actually use the restroom anyway, but earlier Naeko had leaned on a table at the food court and had gotten sticky stuff all over her hands. Placing her school books by the door, Naeko made her way through the other women in the bathroom, Naeko slipped and slided over to the sinks. Washing her hands with warm soap and water, Naeko rubbed her hands together to make sure all the sticky stuff had been banished before she dried them on her skirt. What was the point in washing your hands if you were going to get more germs on them from touching the paper towel dispenser?
Parting the crowd with as much politeness as she could muster, Naeko made her way back to the outside of the bathrooms and picked up her school books from beside the door. It had been somewhat of a hassle to carry them around, but Naeko didn't mind too much. She held them tight to her chest to feel more secure, because she didn't like being in places with too many other people.
When Naeko was back out into the heart of the mall, she looked around for Kenji. He was sitting on a bench straight in front of her, with his back to her. Another person was sitting by him, and from the looks of it, the person was a woman. Naeko walked forward, about to tell Kenji she was back, when she heard the conversation the two high-schoolers were carrying on.
"—such an ugly little girl, why do you care about her so much?"
"I don't, but I have to follow through with my end of the bet. Plus she's such a sad specimen when she cries, it kind of sickens you to see it."
"I can't see why you couldn't just leave her alone out in the cold; maybe she would have frozen to death!"
"That's cruel, and you know it. Also, it isn't even cold enough to snow; how would she be able to freeze to death? Besides, even if she's a pain, I feel sorry for her. You know my sensei was the one who ran over her sister 9 or 10 years ago..."
Naeko didn't want to hear any more. Dropping her books in shock, Naeko ran through the crowd to the nearest exit. Once she was outside, Naeko immediately began down the street that would lead her to her home.
How could he? Why would such a kind person pretend to care for someone? Kenji had mentioned a bet…so she was just the object of a bet? Silent tears made their way down Naeko's face as she hurried down the street, not even caring about the books she had dropped in the mall.
Because the mall wasn't even that far from her aunt's house – probably only half a mile away from the park, and the reason Mayako always seemed to be out shopping – Naeko arrived at her house in less than half an hour. Barging straight in, Naeko was confused as to why she was in such a tight hug.
"Oh, Naeko darling, I was so worried! Please tell us the next time you want to stay after school! The Yagami family has been waiting here for a while, so you'll have to say sorry later. Now can you be a dear and get dressed? I laid out a cute little—Naeko, darling, why are you crying?"
Every set of eyes in the living room was on her. Naeko moved out of her aunt's arms, hiding her face with shame. Without even taking off her shoes, Naeko pounded up the stairs to change into the outfit she was sure her aunt had been talking about. The moment her bedroom door slammed upstairs, Mayako gave a worried look to Yuki.
"Oh dear. It looks like she's had yet another bad day," Sachiko said quietly, her hands resting on Sayu's shoulders. The Yagami family had decided to keep it casual for their dinner date with their neighbors, and despite Mayako's words, they had not been waiting long.
Light stared at the bottommost step on the stairs. He thought about telling the others that Naeko had left early from school, but he knew it would be better if he kept his mouth shut, if only for Naeko's sake. Shifting uncomfortably in his new jeans and tight long-sleeved shirt, Light just had to wonder why Naeko was acting so strangely. The death note could not take all of the blame for her odd behavior, because even though she was distancing herself from others, Naeko had not been crying when Light had gone to find her earlier during the lunch break.
Ryuk, hovering behind Light near the couch, also noticed how oddly Naeko was acting. Although he had been out watching Light's back for him, Ryuk could connect with people's emotions by spending time with them faster than normal humans could. "Hey, Light, you should talk with her later," Ryuk said, his tone as sincere and thoughtful as he could get it. Light just bobbed his head a little, a silent way of saying that he planned on it.
"Um, since everyone's here, maybe we should head into the kitchen now?" Mayako asked, clasping her hands together nervously. It had been a while since she and Yuki had had visitors over for dinner. Sachiko smiled and followed Mayako into the kitchen with Sayu, leaving the men to catch up.
---
The kitchen was fairly silent, only the clinking of utensils with glass plates and the soft thud of glasses being placed back onto the tabletop. Mayako glanced around to make sure the food was being accepted by her guests. So far the faces had been of pleasure, not disgust. Naeko just ate her fill, her gaze fallen, only looking up when her name was specifically mentioned or when a question was asked and she knew the answer.
Mayako cleared her throat and pushed her plate farther into the middle of the table, away from her body. "So, Naeko, I hope you're getting along with Light."
Light and Naeko both looked up at the same time, and Naeko nodded. "Very well," she said quietly.
"Light told me you two are going out!" Sachiko said cheerfully, also pushing her plate forward to motion that she was full. Both Yuki and Soichiro made faces at that last comment, but neither said a word. Both knew their wives would have a fit if they did.
Sayu leaned over and patted Naeko on the shoulder. "Don't worry. My brother may study a lot, but you're probably the first girlfriend he's ever had, so you're kinda special. Tell me if he treats you badly and I'll beat him up!" Sayu winked at Naeko's confused face and then let out a cute laugh.
"Sayu! You know I'd never do that!" Light said sharply. Naeko, who was sitting in-between the two, felt like she was in a cartoon where two people were pulling on one person in the middle. Of course, her arms were nowhere near being ripped off.
Mayako giggled and brought a petite hand up to cover her mouth. "Oh, Light, you're so lucky! Naeko is such a cute girl!" Naeko blushed red, and pushed her plate away, all thoughts of eating pushed from her mind. Now that she was the center of attention, any bite she took had the possibility of being spewed out with one suggestive comment.
"Oh, I know!" Sachiko continued. "She looks so much like Hisa, though! Maybe if her way was a bit lighter—"
Naeko stood up from her place at the table, holding her stomach. "I think I need some air…" she mumbled and stumbled over to the back door. In a flash she was through the door and out on the back porch.
"Still a touchy subject?" Soichiro guessed. Mayako nodded, tears welling at the corners of her eyes. Yuki frowned with concern and put a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder.
"Poor dear," Sachiko said, feeling very sorry for what she had said. Sayu just nodded, a little slack jawed. Light had always put on a cheery face for her, and to see a teen around his age acting so differently from him…
Light stood from his spot and pushed in his chair. "I think I'll go try and comfort her," he said softly, allowing himself out the back door and onto the porch.
Naeko heard the door open and close, and she was prepared for the arms that snaked around her and held her tightly. But Light's curious, loving, soft voice was too much. "Talk to me."
---
Wow…that was…weird. Okay, so, this chapter would have been longer, but I really wanted to update and so since I already know what I'm going to type, the chapter after this one should come up quickly too! I'm actually really proud of myself for this chapter, because I thought it was going to be much worse.
Also, a lot of you have been wondering about Light's emotions during this whole thing. You'll learn about them in the next chapter. It's like letting the cat out of the bag! Review, please! I didn't get many this time, even though I've been working super hard on this story! Over 4,100 words! In one chapter! That's review worthy!
EDIT: I think a loverly reviewer pointed out that Light's sister's name was "Sayu", and I had it as "Mayu". Sorry about that!