Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note.

Chapter 2

Boredom

Light sat at his desk with his cheek resting on his hand as he stared at an open text book. He was absently twirling his pencil in his other hand as he studied the book in front of him. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he wrote down another answer in a notebook, partially hidden under his book before he flipped the book closed just as a tapping noise to his right caught his attention.

He turned his head to see Noriko waving and smiling brightly at him from his small balcony. With a sigh and a quick eye roll, he got up to open the sliding door and let her in.

"I do have a door you know, and it's not on the second story," he said with a sigh to the girl who was jauntily walking into his room.

"Yeah, I know silly, but this is funner," she answered with a grin.

Light shook his head and sat back down at his desk as Noriko walked over to his bed and plunked herself down with an exaggerated sigh.

"What Noriko," Light asked, knowing that she wanted his attention. He had known her for all seventeen years of his life, and as a result he knew her well.

"Nothing. I just don't get to see you much anymore. You're always too busy with school and getting ready for the college entrance exams."

"Sorry, Nori," he replied absently. "How about I make it up to you?"

The teen girl's bright green eyes examined Light quizzically and a thin auburn brow arched upwards. "How?" She inquired curiously.

Light turned his desk chair so that he was facing her and smiled sweetly. "Well, there's a formal dance in May," he stated noncommittally with a small shrug.

Noriko raised an eyebrow again and waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she rolled her eyes at him. "That's next month. What about it?" she asked impatiently.

"I could take you," he replied, folding his arms over his chest to watch her.

"Why would you do that, when you have so many other girls to choose from?" she asked sarcastically. "Besides, since when do either of us go to the school dances?"

"Well, I would do it because I wanted to. I don't care about the other girls, and it's our last year, so why not," he answered.

She sighed and looked up at his ceiling.

"And what makes you think I'll be able to go, Light? Izanami doesn't exactly give me much spending money, and I don't start getting the money from my inheritance until I turn eighteen next year. Another fourteen months."

Noriko had long since stopped calling her mother mother, it was a title she didn't feel the woman deserved nor wanted.

With a sigh, Light got up from his desk and walked over to Noriko who was still looking up at the ceiling. He sat down next to her and nudged her with his elbow. She turned her face to his and looked into his brown eyes.

"And what makes you think I plan on letting you pay for anything?" He asked as he smiled.

"I don't have a dress or anything you know?"

"If it means I get to see you in a dress, then I'll gladly buy you one," he teased, poking her playfully in the side.

She snorted loudly and rolled her eyes, waving his hand away. "Just what are you implying, Mr Yagami?"

He chuckled at her reaction. "Oh nothing... Seeing you in a dress might be pretty funny."

"Why?" she asked defensively.

"I don't think it would suit you. You're too tomboyish."

"That's enough out of you mister number one student," she retorted, pinching his arm with a smirk. "Just to prove you wrong, I'll go to the stupid dance with you."

"I know," he said as he got up and walked back to his desk.

"A little full of ourselves, aren't we?"

"No. I wasn't going to let you say no, I would have dragged you if I had to."

"Hn. Whatever. What time is it anyway? It's Friday, we have cram school tonight."

"We still have about twenty minutes before we have to go," he answered after casting a quick glance to his wrist watch and flicking on his television set.

"A woman was found dead today in a dumpster near a local bar..." A female voice said as it poured from the speakers.

"I'm pretty sure that's the fourth killing this week," Noriko said distastefully.

"It's the fifth. The world is rotting, it would be so much better without all those criminals," Light replied heatedly.

"Yeah. It really would be nice if they all just disappeared."

The two teens sat in silence as they watched the afternoon news.

"Oh, can I borrow a jacket?" Noriko asked suddenly as she got up from the bed and stretched her arms over her head. As she stretched, her shirt rose some and revealed some of her pale stomach and back.

Light furrowed his brow. "What's that?" he asked almost harshly.

Noriko gasped slightly at his tone, before realizing what he was looking at. Glancing down, she hurriedly pulled at her shirt to cover the dark bruise on her right hip.

"Noriko," he pressed. "Tell me. Now."

"I, um, I fell," she muttered as she nervously looked away from his penetrating gaze.

Light sighed. "You're a horrible liar. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's nothing, I just sort of accidentally ran into the kitchen counter," she replied as she pushed a stray strand of her auburn hair out of her eyes.

"You and I both know it wasn't an accident," he uttered quietly. "Is that the worst of it this time?"

She nodded her head and bit her lip. "Yeah. It was my fault really. He came in drunk and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"For as smart as you are, you really are dumb sometimes. None of it's your fault, Noriko. It's your mothers, she married the guy."

She shrugged at his words.

It was true, her mother had married a drunk named Katsuo nearly two years ago. The man was a chauvinistic pig who liked to drink and push Noriko around. He hadn't done any serious damage but bruises were a regular sight on her pale skin. It angered Light that she just brushed them off, but he figured that as long as he wasn't trying other things and being extremely violent she wasn't going to complain much or let anyone help her.

"True," she sighed, "So can I borrow a jacket?"

"Yeah," he replied as she opened his closet and looked around. "The black one is next to the wall on the top shelf," he called to her.

"Ah, found it. Thanks," she smiled as she shrugged on the black sweater she always borrowed from him.

"Just keep it. It's not like I ever get to wear it."

She pouted slightly. "You don't have to let me borrow it if you don't want to."

"Didn't I just say to keep it," he said with a sigh and a shake of his brown haired head.

"Thanks, Light. You're the best," she beamed as she hugged him from behind.

He just sighed again.

"Light! It's time to get going, dear," Light's mom called from downstairs.

"Coming," he called back. "Ready, Noriko?"

"I'm always ready," she said with a cheesy grin as she turned towards the door, only to run into it. She absently rubbed her nose as Light chuckled at her.

"You're such a klutz."

"Whatever. Let's go," she mumbled as she left his room.

"Hi Mrs Yagami, Sayu," she chirped with a wave as she walked past the kitchen.

"Hello, Noriko. I really would prefer if you used the door next time," Mrs Yagami scolded lightly as she came out of the kitchen with her hands on her hips and gave Noriko a disapproving look.

"Of course. Sorry, Mrs Yagami."

"Bye mom," Light said to his mom as he walked towards Noriko who was waiting at the door.

"Are you going to be eating with us tomorrow night, Noriko?" Mrs Yagami asked.

"No, I've been bugging you too much. I really don't want to be a burden."

"Whatever," Light muttered, before calling over his shoulder, "Yes mom, she will."

"Alright, have fun."

Noriko silently followed Light out of his house and down the street. They had walked three blocks and still hadn't spoken.

"Are you just going to give me the silent treatment all night," Light asked in a bored voice.

"I don't want to burden your family more than I already have," she said softly.

"You aren't a burden, Noriko. Besides I know you never eat at home, I'm not blind, you've been losing weight again."

"Yeah well, I try not to be home as much as possible."

Light put an arm around her shoulders and she snuggled against him as she let out a tired breath. She was shorter than him by a few inches, the top of her head barely passing his shoulders.

"You know people are going to get the wrong idea about us," she pointed out, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Like you've ever cared what anyone thinks, and besides, it keeps those annoying love obsessed girls away," he replied.

She pinched his shoulder lightly and smirked. "So I'm just a tool to keep the fan girls away, huh?"

"They're fan girls now? And ...yeah."

Noriko tried to pull away so she could smack him, but he held her tightly and wouldn't give her the chance. He just laughed at her and the stubborn look on her face.

"I'll get you later," she mumbled as she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I never asked, how did you do on the exams last week?" Light asked the indignant girl.

"I placed sixth in the class," she shrugged.

"That's good."

"Hopefully it's good enough to get the scholarships and grants I'm going to need if I plan on going to college," she replied thoughtfully. "Not all of us can be number one."

"You'll be fine," he said as he gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"I sure hope so. It's the only way I'll get out of that god forsaken place I call home."

"That isn't true."

"What's that supposed to mean, Light?"

"It means that I would make sure you got out of that place. You deserve so much better than that, Noriko," he almost sounded like he was scolding her as he spoke.

"So did my father," she murmured sadly.

"Speaking of which, should I pick up your classwork for you next Friday?"

"Yes, please. You can meet me there if you want, my dad always liked you."

By there, she meant the cemetery that held her fathers ashes and tombstone. The following Friday would mark the sixth anniversary of his death, and she had made a habit of skipping class on every anniversary. She would instead go and sit in front her father's stone and tell him about her life and things that had happened in the year that had past.

Light had known the first time she had been absent from class that that was were she was, and he made it a habit to pick up her work and sometimes meet her at the cemetery. If he didn't meet her there he would go home and wait for her. The last two years though he had met her at the cemetery with her school work and food, and they would sit and chat until sun down, before going their separate ways.

They reached the school a few minutes before the class was to start. Many students had already arrived and were milling around in their different groups gossiping and talking about their plans for the weekend. A group of girls that had been talking in the back of the room all stopped gossiping to look at Noriko who had just walked in with Light whose arm was still draped over her shoulder. One girl in particular gave her a nasty look before tossing her long black hair over her shoulder and returning to gossiping.

Noriko rolled her eyes as some of the girls eyed her and pointed at her while talking in hushed whispers in the corner.

"I'll see you after class, Light," she said as she took her seat that was in the front of the class.

"Ok." Light walked towards the back of the class and took his own seat near the window.

Noriko sighed in frustration as a shadow fell over her. "What do you want?" she asked harshly as she tilted her head up to look at the black haired girl standing over her.

"I want you to stay away from Light. It's not like the two of you are involved, I can never get near him whenever you're around. It's pathetic really, he's the cutest boy in school and he hangs out with trash like you."

"I'm the trash, Kimiko? You're one to talk. Is there anyone on the football team you haven't dated? And Light can't stand you which is why you can never get near him, snotty little brats aren't his type," Noriko shot back evenly.

"You stupid little who-"

There was a screeching noise as Noriko stood up and pushed her chair back, she set her palms on the desk as she leaned forward into the other girl's face. The whole class went quiet as they stared at Noriko and Kimiko.

"If you don't get the hell outta my face, I'll make sure the doctors won't be able to do anything else to that nose of yours," Noriko growled menacingly before smiling sweetly.

"You're trash, just like your mother," the other girl whispered harshly.

There was no holding back as Noriko raised her right hand and let it glide over Kimiko's cheek. A loud slapping sound echoed through the room as most of the students went silent and turned to see what was going on.

"Get the hell out of here Kimiko before I slap more than that smile off your disgusting face," Noriko ordered in a harsh undertone. Her face was red and her eyes held anger.

The black haired girl was speechless as she put a hand to her stinging cheek that now held a red imprint of Noriko's palm. "I'll get you for this Noriko," she muttered as she stalked past the girl to her stunned friends.

Light had seen the whole thing and had even heard the comment about Noriko being like her mother. He frowned at the black haired girl who had offended Noriko and shook his head before turning away from her as she walked to her friends. The girl hung her head angrily and quietly sat in her seat, staring at the back of Noriko's head as her friends fussed around her.

"So what was that all about anyway," Light later asked as they walked home after class.

"Nothing, Kimiko just thinks that she can get everything she wants. I proved her wrong."

"I see."

"Whatever. She's nothing," Noriko said as she yawned widely.

"You'll be over tomorrow for dinner, right?"

"Yes, Light, I will," she answered in a sigh.

"All right. Want me to walk you to the house?"

"No, it's just down the block, I'll be fine."

Noriko waved as she turned down the street to her house that was a few blocks from Light's, but in a less expensive, slightly more rundown area.

She stopped at the wooden fence in front of the small two story house and stared forlornly at it before slowly opening the gate and walking inside.

"Where have you been?"

Noriko sighed at her drunken mother who was sitting on the couch with Katsuo and some of his friends sitting on the floor or in chairs. The radio was playing loudly and some of the men eyed her as if she were a piece of meat.

"I had cram school. I'm going to bed."

She turned and headed up the stairs to her room. At the top of the stairs she turned right and went into the door on her left, the door on the right lead to the her bathroom. The hall to the left lead to her mother's and Katsuo's room.

She closed and locked her door before slumping down on her bed.

"It's ten. I might as well try to get some sleep," she said to herself tiredly.

She readied herself for bed and lied down to sleep. It was difficult to get to sleep with the music on downstairs, but she was rather used to it and managed to fall asleep after an hour of restlessness.

She awoke a few hours later to someone trying to open her door.

"What?" she called groggily.

There was no answer so she stayed in bed, the music was no longer playing and the house seemed pretty quiet.

"Three forty seven." she grumbled sleepily.

The flooring outside of her door squeaked and the handle turned again.

Noriko's eyes narrowed as she stared at the door.

'I lock it for a reason,' she thought sourly.

After a few minutes, she heard the footsteps of the person outside her door retreat down the hall.

She sat up in bed as she heard the door to the room that Katsuo and her mother shared open and close.

"What the hell..." she whispered, "What was he trying to get in here for?"

She frowned at the darkness and lied back down to sleep.

At 9 o'clock her alarm went off, she smacked it on to the floor grumpily as she pulled her blankets up over her head. Sometime later, her magenta cell phone that had been a gift from her grandmother began to ring and vibrate from where she had set it on her desk.

"What now," she grumbled as she reached for the offending object.

"Hello," she grumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"You aren't still asleep, are you?"

"Yes, I was, Light. Now what do you want?"

"Don't be such a grouch, Nori," he sighed. "It's almost eleven. Get ready and get over here, I'm bored."

"First I'm only good for keeping the snobby girls away, now I only serve to distract you from your boredom. Great," she muttered sarcastically.

"I love you too, Noriko. See you soon," he mocked cheerfully before hanging up on her.

"Stupid, Light," she mumbled as she set her phone back down on the desk and threw the blankets off herself.

She dragged herself over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt as well as her under things. She opened her door and crossed the hall to her bathroom. After a fifteen minute shower, she got dressed and brushed her hair. She decided to leave her hair down, but used a thick black head band that had a red scarf running through it to push it back out of her face, she tied the scarf at the back of her head and left some bangs out to frame her face.

Plopping down on her bed, she put on a pair of red and black striped slip on shoes. She also grabbed a necklace, it was a small black metal cross with a ruby in the middle and little diamonds on each end of the cross. It had been a gift from her father, the only time she didn't wear it was when she was showering or swimming, otherwise it always hung around her neck.

Sadly, she ran a finger over the cross, remembering her father's words when he had given it her. He had told to always wear it, it had been a family heirloom, and it had been passed down to all the first born daughters in the family. It would always protect her from harm he had said, and keep her name from prying eyes.

She never had understood what he meant 'keep her name from prying eyes.' She had asked him once, he had just smiled and ruffled her hair before saying he wasn't sure either, but that his ancestors had been superstitious.

With one more look at the cross, she tucked it under her black shirt and grabbed her phone and a small purse that held her wallet and what little money she had as well as the black sweater Light had given her. Closing her door behind her she walked down the stairs and headed for the door hoping to get out of the house unnoticed.

"Where are you going?"

Noriko stopped a few feet from the door to turn and see her mother standing in the doorway of the small kitchen.

"Why do you care, Izanami?" she inquired blandly.

"I don't," the woman replied bitterly. "You are my daughter though and I still have a say in what you do."

"No you don't. Now if you don't mind I have somewhere to be," Noriko said haughtily, turning towards the door.

"You're such an ungrateful little whore."

"I learned from the best, didn't I, mother," Noriko replied with a sneer as she turned back to the woman.

Izanami crossed the room and glared angrily at Noriko.

"You should be grateful I let you stay here. You're nothing but a waste of space and money," the woman spat at her.

"Like I said, I learned from the best," Noriko shot back angrily.

Izanami glared at her daughter before raising a hand and slapping her harshly across her right cheek.

Noriko hissed in pain as she felt the palm collide with her cheek. She turned her head back to the thin woman in front of her. Her eyes coldly met the angry brown eyes of Izanami who quickly turned away and walked back to the kitchen.

"Like I care what you do, you worthless brat," she muttered.

Noriko took in a deep breath before turning and exiting the house.

A block from Light's house, she pulled a small mirror out of her purse and inspected her cheek. The red mark had faded slightly but was beginning to leave a light black and blue bruise.

"Stupid woman," she muttered. "And why do I always have to bruise so easy?"

Noriko but her lip in thought before pulling her phone from her pocket and flipping it open. She pushed the button that had Light's number programmed into it and waited for two rings before he picked it up.

"Hey," she said cheerily. " So I'm just down the block. Meet me outside?"

She heard Light exhale before replying. "What happened, Noriko?"

"Nothing. It's just such a nice day."

"You're a terrible liar. Just come to the door already, I'll be down in a second."

"But," she heard the line click as he hung up. "Whatever."

She closed her phone and walked inside the gate to the Yagami house. Before she even reached the steps, the door opened and a little brown haired girl ran out to greet her.

"Is it true? Do we get to help you find a dress?"the girl asked happily.

"Uhhh. Yeah."

"Sayu leave her alone. She hasn't even gotten in the house yet," she heard Light call to her from inside.

Sayu pouted some before pouncing back inside. Sayu was Light's younger sister, and in someways she was like a little sister to Noriko too. Light's whole family was like family to her. They had known each other for years, and cared deeply for one another. Noriko followed after the excited girl and shut the door behind herself.

"Hey, Noriko," Light said from behind her.

With a sigh, she turned to face him.

A moment later a frown creased his handsome face as he walked over to her and looked more closely at her cheek. He gingerly tilted her chin to the side so he could get a good look at the damage.

"It's nothing. I pressed my luck with my dear mother," Noriko said as she shifted her eyes to the floor.

"I really wish you'd stop taking the blame for everything," he told her. "And let me help you."

"What could you do ,Light? It's not like I have anywhere to go. I know you'd say here, but you don't have the room, so let's just drop it for now, ok."

"Fine," he replied somewhat angrily before raising her head with his fingers and placing a quick kiss on her forehead.

"What was that for?" she asked, slightly taken aback by the unexpected gesture.

"That's not an answer, Light," she snapped in mild annoyance when he just shrugged and walked into his living room with her trailing behind him.

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