Wow, yay! Lotsa reviews, ne? I feel spoiled. It's great to come home from a hard day at track practice and see all the emails from you guys alerting me to my new reviews! Unfortunately, the Internet isn't working very well for me right now, so this chapter might be coming a little late. I hate sharing computers…T-T
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"What is this?"
"It's lunch. Eat it, gulp it down, poke it with your fork until it scurries off your plate, I don't care! But don't complain to me! It's not like you have much of a choice of your lunch selections anyway! Anything you got would be this bad, so live with it!"
"Actually," Light began to intercept, but then shut off, "You're right."
Naeko smirked. "Well, that is my job, isn't it? If I'm not here, who would be there to keep you out of trouble?"
Light smiled lightly. He was slowly but surely adjusting to the life of a normal boy sent as an exchange student to his girlfriend's country. Wait, was that normal? Well, it would have to work, because he needed something to cover up his secret life as Shinigami extraordinaire. In actuality, he was rather anxious. Naeko had convinced him to leave the death note at her house, and it was now sitting, hidden, in a little box underneath her floorboards. How very clique. But, it would have to do. Somehow, the thought of some punk American kid breaking into his locker and finding the death note there was even worse than Naeko's parents finding it. Although, the punk Light could deal with easily, with just the flick of his wrist. Naeko's parents wouldn't be so easy…
"How cute!" Marlie giggled. The three teenagers were sitting at a small table on the outskirts of the lunch area, but none of them were touching the gross blobs of food the cafeteria workers liked to call "food".
"Usually the lunch isn't this bad," Naeko explained to Light as she stood to dump her tray, taking only a shiny red apple to save for Ryuk. "Most of the times you can actually tell what it is – or, should I say, what it's supposed to be."
"Exactly," Light said with a grimace as he too stood to dump his tray of untouched food. Marlie followed soon after, but only after she took a brave bite of the green lump sitting next to the yellow lump. She made a face, then hurriedly gathered the tray up and ran to the trash can, almost running over Light in the process. After dumping her tray, she proceeded to spit out what she had stuck in her mouth. Light felt herself feeling bad for the girl, but she was the idiot who willingly tried the food. Maybe he could keep some of this lunch food in a Tupperware tub and carry it around for protection? 'Touch me and you taste last Tuesday's Meat Surprise!'
Naeko sat back down at the table and spun the apple around by the stick. Light sat back down beside her and pulled her closer, until she was almost sitting on his lap. Naeko didn't seem to mind, or, she was most likely used to it by then. But Marlie just guffawed, jealous of the close relationship her new friends had. It was odd to see Naeko – a girl previously know at the school for her dislike of public affection and touchy-feely boys – sitting on the lap of a person she had just "met" (granted, they were childhood friends, or so they said) two or three weeks ago!
"Oh, hey," Marlie suddenly perked up, "Did you hear we have another new student here besides Light? He's not from Japan though."
"Hm? Really?" Naeko asked, just to be polite. Her best friend was a major gossip queen, and often Naeko was only part of the loop because her friend created the damn thing.
"Yeah. I haven't seen him yet, but supposedly he's really weird. Like, I heard he wears his hair all the way to one side so it sticks out, and he's got dark rings under his eyes…probably an insomniac, which, admittedly, would be pretty cool…"
Marlie rambled on while Naeko continued to play with the apple on the table, and Light tried to think of anyone he had seen in the hallway who looked like the person Marlie had been describing. It was weird getting 3 new students in one day (even if one of the students was coming back from an exchange program).
"So, you're saying he's never been to this school before?" Light slowly said, trying to remember each word he had learned, and in what order they went in. Well, it was nice to see that brushing up on his English on the plane had been a good idea.
Marlie made a face. "Of course not!" Light just shrugged. So, he wasn't an exchange student coming back after a long, hard year or something. Maybe Light should keep an eye on him…
Just then, the bell rang and at least two hundred students stood from their tables and walked to the hallways where their lockers were. This was the bad part of having High School lunches all at the same time, instead of staggering them. There were so many people, you just got pushed along in the crowd.
Light stood up, lifting Naeko off his lap as he did so, and took his girlfriend's hand with a light squeeze. Naeko squeezed back just as gently and led the way through the crowd to their senior hallway. Light sighed; Naeko was such a better girlfriend than Misa, a girl Light had gone out with for a few weeks before Naeko came to Japan. Misa was very demanding, and hung herself on Light on any chance possibly given to her. Naeko was more laid-back, and calm, but Light could still tell that she cared deeply, and vice-versa. It was like the difference between lust and love. One was naughty, invigorating, and down-right fun, but you couldn't enjoy an honest relationship without the other.
Naeko's locker came first in the long line of them, so she slowly withdrew her hand from Light's larger one and leaned up on her tippi-toes to give him a light peck on the cheek, while making sure no one was watching, because kissing wasn't allowed in school. Neither were hugs, but nobody honored the hug rule. Even the teachers hugged each other sometimes, so the students didn't feel obligated to listen when the principal found a couple hugging in the hallway and called the whole school to a meeting.
"See you in 5th period," Naeko said softly, and Light nodded. The only actual "periods" they had together were 5th and 7th, so Light still had to wait a whole period before he would get to see his girlfriend again. He was sure he would survive, if only just.
Light walked on to his locker, while Naeko busied herself with opening hers and getting out the needed books and requirements for her next class.
Naeko's next class was right by her locker. News in Today's World. That was the unofficial title of the class, and lord knows why she decided to take it. She probably needed a few more credits and didn't want to take any of the other boring classes. But they debated a lot in this class, and she liked to debate. Talking, getting out her feelings, and getting a grade for those two things made her feel a lot better by the end of the class period. Or maybe it was just the fact that she was allowed to shout at her classmates when they interrupted her.
Naeko entered the classroom and immediately took her seat in the far back. Most of the other students preferred to sit up by the teacher, but Naeko like to sit in the back because she could work on homework while the other students debated, and she could also get a got look at all of the other students' reactions, which helped her pick sides a bit easier on debates she didn't know a thing about. But, then again, sometimes people joined sides because the smarter people in the class were on that side. How very petty.
"Alright class," Mr. Hawnes said as soon as everyone who was in the room was in their seats, "I'd like to start off today by announcing our new student, Mr. Ryuuga."
Eh? Ryuuga was a Japanese name! Naeko sat up in her chair and scoured the room, finally resting eyes on the person in the seat next to her. How could she be so unobservant? The new kid had walked in and sat down right beside her, and she hadn't even noticed! "Mr. Ryuuga, could you please raise your hand."
"Mr. Ryuuga" raised his hand slowly, and not very high. Everyone in the class turned to look at him, and, well, gaped. Because Ryuuga was sitting with his knees up to his chin, his feet on the corner of his seat, and toes dangling off the edge, a pair of beach flip-flops forgotten on the floor. He was hunched over, one hand rested on one knee while the other hung limp in the air. His hair was combed to one side, and stuck out much like Marlie had said. Naeko couldn't get a good look at his face, however, because he was facing the front.
"Well, now that we've gotten that business out of the way, I'd like to start today's activity. Today, I will assign you into a group of two, and you and your partner must agree on a position. We will be discussing the Kira case. Tomorrow, you and your partner will debate against another group with a different position than yours."
Mr. Hawnes started reading off names in the pairs. Naeko had that sick feeling in her stomach that came with premonition.
"And Naeko, could you please pair with our new student and show him the ropes?" Naeko nodded despite herself, and turned to face Ryuuga, who in turn faced her.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Naeko Menshi. Looks like we're partners, huh?"
"Yes, looks like it," Ryuuga said back politely. "My full name is Hideki Ryuuga, by the way."
"Okay," Naeko said brightly, "then can I just call you by Hideki?"
Hideki nodded. "So, the Kira case," he said slowly. Naeko nodded and looked into Hideki's huge, black eyes. Those eyes were studying hers just as much as she was studying them. "What's your position?"
Oh, well, shit. Could she honestly say her position out loud? This wasn't like her first debate in Japan, or even her second, where she had been so firm in her beliefs. Now, even if she didn't like the idea of killing people, she had to agree to it, because she was the co-owner and the occasional user of the Death Note. Not to mention she was the girlfriend of Kira, the world's next King.
"Um, well, I think that what Kira does is wrong, but he is trying to make a better world," Naeko finally said. Hah! I am Naeko, hear me roar! If I can play it right, I won't have to take sides at all!
"If Kira came up to you and asked you to help him make his – as you call it - "better world", would you help him?"
Crap. Crap. Crap. Brain overload! "Well, it depends, "Naeko countered smoothly. "I'm not going to do anything illegal, but I bet I'd be great moral support!" Well, she had done illegal things (coughcoughUSEDTHEDEATHNOTEcough), and she fought with Light about the Death Note at least twice a day, on a good day. So, she was already on a lying spree with this guy, and she'd only known him for…a minute and 23 seconds, exactly. One minute and 24…one minute and 25…
"I see," Hideki said, a look of concentration on his face as he studied Naeko's. It completely unnerved Naeko to have someone look at her for so long, so she decided to turn the tables.
"So…your name is Japanese, isn't it? But I heard someone say you aren't from Japan!" Naeko put on her best 'cheery-and-ready-to-welcome-you-to-my-school' look she could muster at the moment and waited patiently for a reply. But instead she got Hideki's face shoved close to hers.
"Come on," The raven said, taunting the girl, "even you must know that that is merely an alias. Right…
Second Kira?"
Naeko was shocked. Her eyes opened wide, and her breathing hitched, but only for a second. "Well, I guess anybody can have an alias. What's your real name, then?"
Hideki made a sort of snort/laugh, and turned to look at the teacher, who was listening to an animated pair of students on the other side of the classroom. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?" he asked softly, as if offended.
Naeko quickly nodded her head, and then swiftly changed it from side to side. "Well, no, but…I'm sure you must know how awkward it is to talk with someone who just told you they gave you a fake name because they don' trust you."
"I never said I didn't trust you."
"But you accused me of being the Second Kira. And—wait. Is there even a second Kira? I thought there was only one?"
"Oh, so you caught on?" Hideki said with a smirk. Naeko's anger bubbled, seething and steaming in the pit of her stomach. "Yes, I do believe that there are two Kiras, and, of course, I believe that you are one of them."
"Why?" Naeko immediately demanded. "I'm not suspicious in any way! In fact, I'm as normal as you can be!" Hey, I'm a pretty good liar! That totally sounded convincing!
"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Or not.
"Yes," Naeko said defensively. Just who was this guy, barging into her life and then pointing an accusing finger at her? Granted, a very smart, pointed finger, but still!
"Well," Hideki began, toying with his fingers, "to be perfectly honest, I've been watching you since you were in Japan. Actually, that's when I started watching you, to be precise. And if you had just stayed away from my number one suspect of being the first Kira, we wouldn't be going through this."
"Who are you talking about?" Naeko asked shrilly, still managing to keep her voice low so the teacher's attention wouldn't be attracted to them.
"Yagami Light," Hideki said simply, keeping to the tradition of saying a Japanese person's last name first.
Naeko's eyes darkened. To Hideki, it made her look like she was extremely angry. But inside, Naeko was worried. This guy knew they were the Kiras! In the next period, Naeko would have to tell Light about this! Hopefully 4th period would be the only period Naeko shared with the creepy boy beside her.
"Why aren't you two debating?" Mr. Hawnes asked as he walked up to Hideki and Naeko.
"Sorry," Naeko said apologetically, "we used up all of our ideas. We were just trying to think of new ones!" A new way of getting rid of this psychopath!
"Alright then, hurry up!" Mr. Hawnes said with a sigh. He wasn't exactly Naeko's favorite teacher; most likely he wasn't anyone's favorite teacher. He was such a drama king!
"So, our position?" Hideki asked once Hawnes was out of earshot.
"I don't care, I told you I'm a bit of both," Naeko said tiredly. "You seem like an anti-Kira kind of guy, so that'll be our position. "Because he does bad things to people who could possibly have undergone a change in their life for the better, but never got a chance because he killed them." How's that sound?"
"Fine with me," Hideki replied. He was concentrating again, with those big, black, ringed eyes of his. Naeko involuntarily shuddered.
"Just remember," she warned him, "Light and I are not guilty of anything. Don't try to say we are, because we aren't." She sounded like a five year old scolding its mother.
"Right, I'll remember that," Hideki said, a little out of focus, as if he were daydreaming a little too hard.
"Make sure you do," Naeko said with a pout, and then the bell rang, saving her from having to further converse with the weird, alias-bearing, ringed-eyed teenager.
Naeko practically ran out the room, had to do her locker combination twice because her hands were shaking so much, and dumped her books inside once she got the locker door open, picking out her other hardbacks and necessities afterwards in a huge hurry. Slamming her locker door shut, she sprinted to her next class, where Light already had a seat in the back, an empty seat with his books on it reserved for her.
Approaching him with a hardened gaze, she whispered to him, "We have a problem."
--whoopsie--
Kay, so, that's a lot shorter than I thought it'd be. Lotsa reviews, yay! I woulda put the full 10 pages in, but I would have rather updated quicker with a shorter chapter than make you lovely people wait longer for a meager 3 pages more. I'll try harder next time, I promise! It's just that this seemed like a good place to stop!
So, how many of you like the way I portrayed L? (Er, Hideki, I guess, because nobody's supposed to know his real name yet! Shush! Don't tell anybody! XD) I think he's kinda fun to write! I hope I'm getting his character right! And, should I have it to where L and Light are chain cuffed like they are in the anime and manga? I wanted to write a fic using that as a setting (and I still will, but be warned, it'll be LxLight! XD) so I kinda wanted to practice in this fic. But if it's not a good idea, tell me so, okay? Or it's goin' in!
Please review! It makes me happy to see that I'm still getting reviews after so many days! You rock, minna!