"We're safe now." Nate announces, slowly pulling his bike to a stop.
Neon opens her eyes, taking in the surroundings. They're on the side of a road-- pretty much abandoned, by the looks of it-- in the middle of a forest.
Nate gets off the bike before offering her a hand. Neon stares at it, brows furrowed.
"Are you okay?" Nate maintains his position. "I'm sorry that ride was a bit too rough."
"It's not... that."
"Hm? What is it then?"
"It's just that... how do I know I can trust you? You just brought me here in the middle of the woods and--"
Nate chuckles, the sound unnerving as it echoes around the woods. "You don't. You keep your guard up as much as possible. At least, that's the smart choice." He shrugs, placing his hands in his pockets. "You don't get to take the smart choice right now though. You're stuck here with me and I could do whatever the fuck I want with you."
Neon's eyes widen, tears forming at the corners. "You- you creep!" She jumps back out the bike, nearly toppling it over. "My father--"
"However," Nate continues, fixing her in place with a sharp look. "The fact of the matter is that, despite having the freedom and ability required, I'm not doing anything to you, am I now? So, in my defence, that should be reason enough to trust me, huh? At least, for a bit."
Neon nods. "I trust you then... a bit."
He raises an eyebrow. "Don't make it so easy for someone to convince you."
Neon purses her lips. "I could be lying."
"Well, you didn't need to announce that you're lying to the world."
"Well." She mimics his sarcastic tone, lowering the pitch of her voice. "What do you expect me to do anyway?"
"Just shut up and co-operate." He glares, spitting out each syllable.
The two stare at each other for a moment, before...
Nate looks away. "I'm just a bit tense, okay?" He takes a deep breath as his body lightly trembles. "The waiter was actually one of my father's men. Deducing from the situation, he was planning to assassinate you, because well... everyone knows that you're the Nostrade's biggest asset. So, yeah..." He runs a hand through his hair. "... the whole date thing was a set up, which nobody informed me about by the way."
Neon prepares to take a step back, but then decides to stay rooted. "Why did you... save me then?"
"I don't really know. I guess I'm just against bringing ladies into men's fights. Honestly, it just seems like a pretty cowardly move to me..."
"Oh... I...Thank... you..." Neon slowly chews out, unsure of what to think of him. He appears to be way too nice for someone with such a deadly reputation.
"Eh." He shrugs again. "Anyways, we should try setting up some sort of camp now, huh. There's a cabin a few metres away from here where we could spend the night. It's not exactly the most comfortable place... but yea." He shrugs once more. "We can figure out what to do later. Are you good with that?"
Neon nods.
"Cool. I'll hide my bike in the bushes and then we can leave."
Despite the entire way passing without an unfortunate incident, Neon's heart refuses to slow down. Her heartbeat even gets loud enough to almost drown out all other sounds for her.
The cabin is not the most pleasant place to spend the night-- as stated earlier-- but, for some reason, Neon can't find herself to care about such a detail.
There is only a single room inside, filled half with crates and the other half with cobwebs featuring various designs. Nate clears some space for Neon to lie down and rest, and then begins going through the contents of the nearest crate.
"Basic supplies." He mutters. "Nothing much, really. We have a flashlight, although there is enough moonlight coming through the cracks. A bit of food, a lighter and some low-grade weapons. Maybe some other stuff but I haven't stocked for a while so it won't be much either."
"You make it sound like you come here quite often." Neon watches him work, a spark of admiration in her eyes.
"Used to. Then, I got too busy."
"... killing people?" Neon absentmindedly adds.
Nate pauses. "Not all my missions involve killing, you know."
"Sure."
Nate scowls. "You're such a--" Relaxing his features, he huffs. "Whatever. Go ahead, yeah. I kill people for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner. I can't even get a good night's sleep without killing someone, hm?"
"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not." Neon rolls her eyes. "Just let me sleep."
Nate glares at her. "Fine. I'll keep watch, okay?"
"Mhm." She mumbles, curling up to get more comfortable.
Nate bites into a granola bar as he waits, hiding atop a tree. An owl hoots nearby, ruffling its feathers at him. He stares back and the owl cries out, flapping away. As it stoops down, another cry rings out-- human this time. Female. Neon.
He instantly slides down the tree, one hand on his gun holster. "What--"
"Owls." Neon shudders. "So creepy."
Nate relaxes, still upset however. "What are you doing out here? Making this much noise too. Don't you realise how dangerous our situation is?"
"That owl was creepy though." She shrugs.
"Not. The. Point. You shouldn't be out here. I thought you would've been asleep already."
"Can't." She crosses her arms over her chest.
"Huh? Why not? I'm keeping watch, I told you."
"An entire mafia family's out there hunting for me-- us. How am I supposed to just sleep?"
"Fine fine... fair enough. Still, you should go back inside."
"No way! The night sky's way too pretty. Plus, my childhood fear of the dark might be coming back." She looks away.
Nate sighs. "Suit yourself. But if you die out here, it's not my fault."
"Right back at you."
"Like you have any right to say that! I have a gun. I can protect myself, okay? What do you have?"
"You." Neon answers simply, smirking.
Nate scoffs. "You're such a damsel in distress."
"You are going to protect me, aren't you?"
"Shit." Nate perks up, every muscle in his body tense.
Neon blinks. "What? Something wrong--"
Nate places a hand on her mouth. "Run. Back inside the shack. Go."
"Wha-"
"Just. Fucking. Go."
Neon hesitates for a moment, locking eyes with him. He slowly nods, face calm and serious. Frowning, Neon steps back and instantly breaks into a run.
"Good." Nate exhales, watching her retreating form. He can fight freely now.
"Don't move." Light Nostrade's figure emerges from the bushes, a gun aimed straight at his head. "Where is my daughter?"
Nate grins, turning around to face the man. "Oh no. You're a bit too late, sir. Your little princess has already run away."
"Don't play games with me, boy." Light growls, stepping closer and closer until the gun under his chin. "Where. Is. She?"
"I don't know." He shrugs. "She's your daughter. Shouldn't you, as her father-- oh, sorry. I mean as the owner of such a prized possession, you should know where said possession is."
Light mutters a curse under his breath, shoving the gun forward so hard that Nate is forced to step back. As the two stare each other down, there's not a hint of fear exchanged between their eyes.
"If you don't spit out her location right now, I'll-"
"Shoot me?" Nate smiles, charming with the hint of a threat. "Cute. I'd like to see you try-- and lose whatever remaining trust you've been working hard as a dog to build up between my old man and yourself."
Light scoffs, looking down on the boy like he's a mere pebble in his shoe. "I'm a man with dignity, brat. Unlike--"
Nate scoffs back, imitating his rough tone. "I know about you, Nostrade. You'd put wealth above everything-- even your own daughter."
Light ignores the comment, instead putting his phone to the ear. "Yes, I give your permission to track my position. I've found the blue-eyed brat. No, he claims that Neon has run away. Yes, of course, I'm sure his tunes would change after some choice persuasion. No, I don't need backup. I can handle a little brat on my own. I want every remaining unit of the force to be searching the area until my Neon can be found." As Light lowers his hand, he makes the mistake of closing his eyes-- for slightly longer than necessary.
Nate grabs the gun under his chin, shoving it down. A gunshot echoes across the forest, several birds flapping away. Suppressing his cry of pain just in time, Nate shoots forward, aiming for the man's solar plexus. One hit and he can knock he wind out of him. If not... He slides a knife out of the inside of his jacket, aiming it straight towards his left kidney.
"Feistly little--" Light slams his knee into Nate's solar plexus instead, knocking the wind out of him. "--brat." Nate falls to the ground, already unstable with a bleeding foot. Clutching his chest, he curls in on himself, every effort focused on regaining his breath.
Light chuckles. Crouching down, he aims the gun back at his head. "I could practically hear your thoughts, amateur brat. You really believed you could take me out that easily, huh?"
As discreetly as possible, Nate slips a hand into the inside of his jacket again, searching for--
In an instant, Light is upon him, a knee on his stomach and a hand restraining both of his wrists above his head.
Nate growls, struggling in his grasp. "Get the fu-" A strong fist connects with his cheek, twisting his head to the side. Copper floods his mouth and he snarls, spitting fresh blood onto his opponent. "Even if I knew her location, I'd never tell you."
Light fixes him with a calculating look, ignoring the drop of blood sliding off his nose. "It seems as if you're under the impression that your father has already forgiven you, boy. Are you forgetting your little act of rebellion there?"
"I don't need my old man to protect me--"
"No no noo. Let go of me, you creepy bastard--" Both men look up at the same time, frowning as one of Light's henchmen drags Neon closer by the arm. "-Daddy I--"
"Let go of Neon." The two snarl in unison.
The henchman instantly loosens his grip, allowing Neon to slip out and run towards the pair. "What are you doing with him?!" She shoots her father an accusing glare. "Get off of him! He--"
"Kidnapped you, yes." Light only tightens his grip on the younger man's wrists, digging his knee in deeper. "You're safe now, Neon. And I promise I'll never let you--"
"He didn't kidnap me!" Neon pleads. "He- he saved me!"
"All lies he fed you, I'm sure." Light hisses.
"Is she not in one piece right now?" Nate hisses back.
"But that doesn't mean you weren't planning on hurting her in the future. If you were feeling so kind, you should have taken her straight to me rather than keeping her with yourself alone in the middle of a forest."
"It was for her own safety!" Nate retorts, frustration dripping into his tone. "I didn't know if you were dead or alive, or even whether you were in on this or not."
"Fucking liar." Light raises a fist, ready to smash his face into a bloody pulp. How dare he accuse him of doing anything harmful to his precious Neon.
"Daddy no!" Neon screams, throwing herself between the two. "Don't hurt him, please. He saved me. I'm not lying. He was only helping me. He even killed one of his father's men to help me. Please." Tears fill the corner of her eyes and Light can't help but listen to her.
"Fine." He gently pushes her aside, getting up himself. Glaring down at the younger man, he continues. "I'm only letting you go, just this once."
Nate slowly stands up, brushing some of the dust off his pants. A hand slips inside his jacket as he brushes its sleeves, and--
In an instant, he's right next to Light, a knife under his chin. His arm is mid-movement, when--
A yelp escapes Neon's mouth as the gun shot sounds. The bullet passes through Nate's temple, lodging itself somewhere in his brain, splattering blood on Light's suit. A thud and his body is on the ground, no longer breathing.
For a moment, there's only silence. Even the forest animals seem to be waiting in anticipation for the next action.
"Good call." Light praises the henchman. As he turns Nate's face around with his shoe, Neon catches a glimpse of his wide lifeless eyes and pale face.
She drops to her knees, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. "Why'd you do that? Why'd-- Why'd you do that..." Hiccups turn into full sobs as she sinks further onto the ground. "You could've pushed him away again. ANYTHING!"
Light places a gentle hand on her head, crouching down to meet her eyes. "To protect the most precious thing I have. You."