So sorry, I think I might've lied a little when I said the updates would be coming sooner. Fortunately, I didn't lie when I said there are only a few chapters left. And I want you all to know how close I came to giving up on this fic. But, since it's only got a little torture left to hold me to, I'll finish it. (bows)
Naeko didn't know what was going on. Most of the time she had a small clue, or even a hint of a clue.
But when you're thrown into a party at a mansion you didn't know even existed in your home town, expected to greet a good population of the guests (of whom only half speak English), and then are left on your own to fend for yourself for the rest of the night, there's probably going to be a little culture shock.
Pulling her shawl a little closer around her shoulders, Naeko shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another. She had no clue where Hideki was, and the thought that she had come to the wrong mansion party raced through her mind.
Haha. That was a good one. Mansion party. Ha. Haha.
Cursing her inner sarcasm, Naeko tried to peer through the crowd, looking for people she might recognize. Wasn't this supposed to be for Hideki's friends and classmates? Everyone here is at least 30 or 40 years old! Naeko didn't recognize a single person, which was just slightly odd. According to Hideki, he had given out invitations to all of the kids in their grade. So why are all these people old?!
Skirting around an older Egyptian man, Naeko bustled past an elderly Chinese lady, stopping just in time to avoid running into a man who was speaking Romanian very quickly. At least, that's what she thought it was. She couldn't tell his ethnicity just by looking at him, and the only languages she knew were English and Japanese. Hideki has a wide variety of friends, doesn't he? I wonder if he's traveled all around the world…?
When Naeko wasn't looking, she accidentally bumped into yet another person. Bowing to them without looking at their face, she said in flustered voice, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there. Please excuse me." She really hoped the person spoke English, and would understand her apology. Trust her to get in a fight at an extravagant and lavish party.
"You know, I almost prefer it when you're spazzy and rude," a chuckling voice said, and Naeko's head shot up.
"Hideki!" she said cheerfully, half-tempted to jump on the other teen and give him a giant hug, she was so glad to see him. The teen was wearing a set of formal wear and his hair was slightly tamed, at least, more than usual. He looked…good. Blushing slightly, Naeko continued, "I was just about to go looking for you. I get so lost, just looking at the crowd."
Hideki smiled slightly. "I'm glad you came. I've actually been looking for you, also. I'm sure you're not used to events like, this, right?"
Naeko scoffed. "'Not used to it'? I'm completely and utterly lost. Don't tell me you know all these people personally?"
"Personally? Well, I suppose you could say that. Most of them are friends that I met while traveling in a student ambassador program." Hideki looked around at the countless people crammed into the main hall of the mansion. "There are a few I know better than others, but essentially they are all my acquaintances."
Naeko raised an eyebrow. "I thought this was a party to get to know your peers better?"
Hideki looked a little hurt. "Well, I handed out the invitations, but apparently nobody showed up."
Naeko was going to sympathize with Hideki, and say something like, "Well, I'm sure they were just busy," or, "Then those people are complete asses," but then she realized it was Hideki.
"Yes, I'm sure you did, you complete and utter liar," Naeko said with dry sarcasm.
Hideki tucked his hands behind his back and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Naeko laughed, glad that Hideki wasn't acting all pompous and uptight just because he had a few important friends over. "So, I'm the only one from our class who showed up?" she asked, just to be sure.
"Well, since no one accepted my invitations…" Hideki murmured with a small wink. "I guess that would be a 'yes'."
"That's just great. Now I have to actually socialize if I want to have a good time," Naeko said with a small sigh. "Socializing…yuck." Naeko stuck out her tongue and put her hands on her hips. "So…what to do now?"
Hideki stepped forward, closer to Naeko, as a young man serving drinks tried to step around him. "I was actually going to introduce you to a few of my closer friends," the teen said, putting a hand lightly on Naeko's shoulder. "That is, if you would like to."
"That'd be a lot easier than making my own introductions," Naeko admitted. "I'm not good with talking to strangers, actually, especially if they're intimidating." Naeko looked around at some of the chatting people around her and realized that none of them were speaking English. "Also…I think I'll need a translator."
It was Hideki's turn to laugh. "Everyone here speaks English, rest assured. Most of them live here and just represent their countries at parties such as these. It's not often that they are able to speak with others in their native tongue."
"Ohh…I see!" Naeko said, looking around. "But still, it would feel awkward walking up to someone who is speaking Russian, for example, and saying, 'What's happenin'?' Even I don't have the guts to do that. Plus, just about everyone's older than me!"
"Then, how about I introduce you to a few people at a time? If you do it in a small group you don't have to do the polite conversation thing," Hideki said knowledgably, holding up a finger like a school teacher.
Naeko nodded her head. "True, true. Lead on!"
While Naeko was shaking hands with a smile on her face, Light was shaking hands with tears in the corners of his eyes. He, his mother, and Sayu had been preparing themselves for this day, but no amount of preparation can prepare someone completely for the death of a loved one. The funeral had ended a while ago, but a long line of people still remained, waiting to shake hands with the remaining members of the family and share the mourning. Sayu had excused herself a while ago, the tears running down like streams upon her cheeks. Sachiko was also crying, but she held a small handkerchief in one hand as she shook people's hands with the other.
Matsuda was next in line. His eyes had dark rings under them, and his body held the posture of a defeated person. Silently, he shook Sachiko's hand, and then moved on to Light. The two men stood facing each other, and then Matsuda let out a small sob. Light stepped forward and wrapped a comforting arm around the man, sharing silent tears. Though Light had been in America, he had still been contacting the team, keeping his façade of trying to find Kira. It seemed like just yesterday that he had been arguing with Mogi over the phone about the murderer's whereabouts.
"Light-kun?..." Light looked up to see Misa standing in line, her heavy black eyeliner smeared down her cheeks. Matsuda stepped to the side so Misa could come up and wrap her arms around Light, and Light was so miserable he didn't even care that Misa was squeezing him just a little too tightly. Had she even known his father?
Light managed to evade Misa's grasp and rubbed at his eyes, brushing the salty tears away. God, it was times like these that he wished he could see Naeko. He deeply missed the bright girl, and was cursing himself for not asking her to come with him.
Ahhhh…love.
Naeko opened her eyes with a small groan. It was dark in the room she was in.
Whoops, nevermind. A door across from her opened, letting in a strong ray of light. "Ah, I see you're awake."
"Where am I?" she grumbled, sitting up in what appeared to be a king-sized bed with the softest sheets she had ever touched.
Hideki ignored her question, stepping into the room but leaving the door open so he wouldn't have to turn on the lamp. "You know, you must be the biggest klutz in the world. I've never seen someone slip on their own dress and give themselves a concussion. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Hideki raised a hand to Naeko's forehead, checking for a temperature.
Naeko's face was blank. "Hold up. I did what?"
"That shawl of yourself is pretty slippery, isn't it?" Hideki asked, nodding his head towards the shawl that had been folded and placed at the end of the bed. "If it's too long, don't you think you should wear something else? But I have to say, I was quite surprised when I suddenly lost sight of you. I didn't expect you to be on the ground."
"How come I don't remember any this?" Naeko half-growled.
Hideki just shrugged. "Concussion?" he guessed.
"And you let me sleep? You aren't supposed to let the person sleep! You're supposed to say, 'Stay with us, no! Don't go! Stay awake okay?!' and hold me until I fade out dramatically!" Naeko said frantically, waving her arms around and making hand gestures to the piece of drama she made up on the spot.
"You were already asleep by the time I got to you," Hideki said defensively. It was then that Naeko realized the teen had changed back into his regular clothes.
"Hey…is the party over?" Naeko asked.
"Yeah. It's one in the morning," he said off-handedly. "I would have taken you home, but I don't know where you live and I don't know your phone number." Hideki reached over Naeko to open the drawer in the bedside table, taking out a cell phone. While the drawer was open, Naeko saw a wallet and her interest perked, though she tried to hide it.
"Here," Hideki said, handing the cel phone to Naeko, "use it to call your parents and tell them that you're fine. I'm sure they're worried, since most formal parties don't last until 1 AM." Hideki winked and stood, already on his way out the door. "It also snowed while you were asleep, so I don't mind if you spend the night instead of asking your parents to brave the roads. You can have this bedroom if you do. If not, I'll be in the room 3 doors to the left of yours. I can call a cab for you."
"Uh, thanks," Naeko said, but Hideki was already out the door. Staring down at the cell phone in her hand, she flipped it open and stared down at the keys. In the end, she called Marlie's phone number.
"Hey, yeah, is Marlie there? Yeah, I'll wait…hey! Can you call my parents and tell them I'm spending the night? No, not at your house. At someone's else's house. …Yes, it's a boy, but--HEY! They know who it is! No I'm not doing anything like that. …Why would the color of my underwear matter? You know what, just do it, okay? As my best friend? Alright, thanks. Bye."
Flipping the phone down, Naeko effectively cut off the call. Leaning back against the pillows, she stared down at the phone. Would Hideki track the call? She didn't know why, but for some reason, she didn't want Hideki to have her number, and it would look suspicious if she hadn't called anyone.
Almost without thinking, he eyes wandered over to the bedside table. Well, my parents did always tell me to put things back where I found them, she thought, reaching for the drawer. The metal rails squeaked against each other a little, as she pulled on the handle and reached in with the hand that had the cell phone, planning to switch the two.
Her fingers were just brushing the cool leather of the wallet when the door to the bedroom opened once more. With a small thunk, the cell phone fell out of Naeko's grasp and her hand flew out of the drawer like it was on fire. "Oh, um…"
"I forgot to tell you where the bathrooms were," Hideki explained. "Down the hall, past my room, and then you turn left at the T intersection. That one is closest, but if you wake up tomorrow and go to breakfast, there's another one beside the kitchen." Hideki had a small smile on his lips, but his eyes told that he was a little agitated. "Just so you know. Breakfast is at nine tomorrow. The alarm clock on the cell phone is set for 8:30, so I'd keep it out." With that, Hideki exited just as quickly as he left.
Damn…
Next chapter: The Confrontation! Hideki reveals his true identity when an uninvited visitor comes to pick Naeko up!
Sneak Peek:
"W-what do you mean you're from the Japanese police force?"
"It's exactly as it sounds," Hideki said, stepping closer to Naeko, a wild gleam in his eye. "And now that I've caught the Second Kira, I'll be heading back to Japan…
And I'll be taking you with me."
"You won't touch her," another voice cut in. "because she's mine."
Ja ne! It would be amazing if the next chapter was the last. I hope it's extra super long!