Mysterious Guest: Ahh, glad to have you back, dear! No problem; I understand disinterest. In fact, I had a short period where I couldn't write, for I had no DN feels and so lacked inspiration. Lovely that you returned, though~ Life's treating me alright, I think. I hope it's treating you well also.
Haha, yeah, it turns out 'goth' people are actually very nice. And 'emos', unless they're the same thing. I lack the ability to call people the correct thing when it comes to groups like that... But I know I love emo people. They're wonderful. .w. Real-Life Sam is actually considered as such... Hm.
Ah! I shall think on this a moment... Good question.
If on the stage of feeling each other's pain (but not having the same injuries)... if one were to lose their arm, the other would feel the pain of the other's arm being detached. However, they would still feel in their arm. Then on the other hand, although he/she who lost the arm no longer has an arm, they would feel a phantom pain if ever their Bond's existing arm were hurt. ...I hope that makes sense~
Oh yes, I've tried pocky. It's wondrous. I even introduced it to 'normal' people when I got some for my birthday. One of these 'normal' people described it as 'like nutella on a stick.' :3
Mrs. Lawliet: Well then, pleased to meet you, Mrs. Lawliet. My friends tell me I'm like Light and Izaya (Orihara), because that makes a perfect combination. (Not really. The Izaya bit doesn't make any sense whatsoever.) L and Near; good choices, I daresay, even though I myself am not a fangirl of either. Same age as Near, eh? I suppose that could either be thirteen or eighteen, depending upon where we stand time-skip-wise. *strokes invisible beard* I'm glad you like the story, anyhow~
Eh, Warning; this chapter is filled with unwanted drama. xD Enjoy~
That Sunday, I had Light over for dinner, as usual. Of course there was also L, Sam, and Anna, but there was a sixth guest that night: Misa. Don't get me wrong; I liked her and thought of her as a friend, but if she got any hint from Sam or Anna that Light and I were together in any way that was more than friendship… I'd be dead. I wasn't all too sure what Misa would do if she found out…. I mean, I knew it would have to happen at some point, but it wasn't something I was really looking forward to at all. Besides, if she got reckless with her revenge against me, if, indeed, that would be what would happen, then something bad may be the consequence for all of us. So, I made sure to warn Anna and Sam not to tease me in any way, shape, or form.
Sweet. A night without teasing.
"Misa hasn't been over for dinner in a while!" Misa cried in delight. "And Ryuuzaki is here too, how nice!"
"Yes, hello Misa," L greeted.
"Then, Sam," she said, looking to her, "and Anna." She giggled. "It's still weird calling you two that since I haven't seen you as often. You know, your real names; I haven't used them." She tilted her head. "And of course I know Light." She gripped his arm, pulling his limb into a hug. "How could I forget him?"
"He's rather unforgettable," L deadpanned.
She laughed in joy and made her way into the house; Light closed the door behind her. "Ryuuzaki! Did I ever tell you how happy I was when I found out you were alive?" She pulled him into an awkward hug (he was still in his position, after all). "Oh, did I ever say sorry for calling you a pervert? I'm sorry! I completely misinterpreted your character!" she cried.
L just stared blankly into space, not quite hugging back and not responding at first. "It's fine, Misa," he said. "Please let go of me."
"Of course!" she chirped, letting go.
"Can I get a hello hug?" I asked brightly.
She looked at me. Something flickered in her eyes, but she beamed anyway and jumped to hug me. When she pulled away, she said with cheer, "Natalie and Misa should get together more often!"
"We should," I agreed with a smile.
Anna stood from the floor and pulled at Misa's shirt. "Misa, can I have a hug too?" she said hopefully.
"Well, of course you can!" Misa smiled, and leaned down to hug her too.
"Now, how come she gets hugs when she comes but all I get are hellos?" Light asked amusedly with a pleasant smile.
"Because you suck," Sam replied bluntly.
"What?" Misa cried. "Light doesn't suck! He's amazing!"
"Yeah, Light's awesome!" Anna agreed.
Sam rolled her eyes. "Right; hi Misa."
Misa huffed.
"Aren't you friendly?" I asked Sam, raising my eyebrows.
Sam only shrugged.
"Aunt Natalie," Anna inquired, "what's for dinner?"
"I'm making Udon and I've got fresh-made bread," I replied with a smile.
"Sounds good!" Misa grinned. Light sat down on the couch next to Sam – Sam frowned at this – and Misa immediately plopped herself down next to him, cuddling into his side. She spared me single glance; it seemed smug. I tilted my head ever so slightly, keeping my face blank. Then, with nowhere to sit (L was on the chair), I sat myself down on the floor with Anna. "Ryuuzaki," said Misa, looking to L, "will you be eating?"
"No; I won't be eating what you are, in any case. I am hungry at the moment, but I'm holding off eating for dinner so I can eat with all of you. I, however, will be having cake."
Misa frowned. "Of course you will."
"Well, L's amazing, so he can have cake," Sam shrugged.
I jumped at the chance she gave me. "Of course you think he's amazing."
She cocked an eyebrow, and Anna giggled. "What do you mean?"
"Sam," said Anna amusedly, "of course you would think L is awesome because you love him."
Sam pursed her lips, her cheeks coloring.
"Oh, right!" Misa exclaimed. "Sam and Ryuuzaki are a couple now!" As she spoke, she pointed both of her index fingers in L and Sam's direction. "Misa is so happy for you!" she cried.
"Um," Sam replied. "Thanks…?"
"You're so wonderful together!" She folded her hands together. "You're just so cute as a couple; I hope the relationship stays!"
"We're not cute," Sam protested.
L only gave a small hn, wordlessly stirring sugar cubes into his tea.
"Fine, Sam," I agreed with a slight smirk. "Don't you remember? You're sweet!"
"That's perfect!" Misa squealed.
Sam just glared at me from her seat at the couch, not even bothering to respond to Misa's rambling of what a perfect couple they were. I only smiled at her, raising my eyebrows. Both of us knew she couldn't tease me. Not here, not now. Misa was here. Therefore, she couldn't get back at me when I teased her or triggered teases such as this. She'd just have to wait it out. Anna, realizing the situation, laughed.
Sam's eyes suddenly glowed as a smile slowly spread across her face. She had an idea now, eh?
Sam turned to Misa and asked abruptly, "Is Light a good kisser?"
I mentally facepalmed, physically looking at her dully and quirking an eyebrow. Wow, Sam... Really? All you'd succeed in doing with that one is weirding out the poor blond.
Misa looked at her and blinked twice in surprise. Light raised his eyebrows. "Wh…what?" she asked eventually. "That was sudden…."
Anna was giggling hysterically.
"Yeah. Sorry. Is he?" Sam asked bluntly.
"Why would you want to know anyway?" Misa asked, squinting at her. "I thought you didn't like Light."
"I don't. Just tell me."
"Well, Sam, that isn't something to ask with Ryuuzaki and Light himself here," Misa pointed out, and laughed.
"In my case," said L, "it wouldn't matter. Anything Samantha hears, says, asks, and does, I know about."
Misa looked at him a second, then straightened up. "Ryuuzaki," she shouted, getting to her feet, "I take back what I said earlier! You really are a pervert!"
L just looked up at her blankly while Sam facepalmed, I laughed, Anna continued giggling hysterically, and Light chuckled. Some – no… many people may have thought Misa was annoying, but she was amusing, too. Friendly. And then there was that innocence she always carried even when she had the Death Note. Maybe she was just ignorant, I don't know, but I respected her all the same. It didn't matter if she wasn't as smart as others; she had her own quirks.
It really was too bad she was probably going to end up hating me.
The next day was, of course, a Monday, and all of us went to work. L and Sam worked to decode B's message before the ninth, which was only that Wednesday. It was preferable that they figure out what the blue triangle and the victim pattern was before the end of the next day, because that was likely when B would strike. For now, it was assumed that the time pattern matched the LABB Murder Cases, but it could be wrong. Until that theory was proved as such, however, they would assume that it was that time pattern.
Anna went to work with Near again, of course, but not much happened at SPK headquarters, as usual. Anna knew Near was planning something, though. It was rather simple, really. His plan involved Misa's kidnapping (though it wouldn't be kidnapping because she would come willingly), and the moment he felt the time was right, he would make his move on her. Tomorrow, he thought would do. She always went out for lunch on Tuesdays. Yes, he'd strike tomorrow, and he would catch Kira without L's help, and without Mello's assistance. (Of course, he wasn't factoring in Sierra because he didn't know about her. So, his plan might have ended up failing.)
Sierra and Mello were still in unknown territory, but they made their plans in the shadows. They watched Misa's home through surveillance cameras, as they had been doing. At the next opportunity, Matt would place a wiretap in her house, possibly earning proof she was Kira. Then, with that, they could move forward to Light and I to gain evidence against us. With Misa, though, it was harder to make progress….
Light and I, of course, had a typical Monday at work. The killer of Sayuri Sakamoto and Kenta Gakusha had not been figured out yet, unfortunately, and there was nothing we had to go on but a blue triangle painted on a wall. ('Maybe it's supposed to be a bridge? You know, cause there are lots of triangles in bridges…,' Matsuda suggested. 'No,' Light replied, 'that's not it either….') According to Ide, the murderer had left no evidence behind. Not a trace of DNA to be found; unless he was missing something. Was he missing something? Well, we all had to be missing some sort of hint, because we didn't know what we needed to do….
Misa was sitting on the couch that afternoon, relaxing. Light wasn't yet home from work; it was a bit past noon, and she hadn't eaten lunch yet. She flipped off the TV and stretched contentedly, then got to her feet. From there she headed into the kitchen and giggled as she threw an apple into the air and Ryuk caught it. "There you go, Ryuk," she said happily.
"Mm-hmm," he responded, munching on his delicious red apple.
She took her own apple and began cutting it up, humming to herself. Ryuk would hover over her, she would hand him another apple, and the cycle would repeat as she prepared herself a small dish of apple slices. Needless to say, she was eventually out of apples. Ryuk made a little 'Oh!' and looked to Misa. "Uh… we need apples," he told her.
"I know," Misa replied, heading to a cupboard to grab some cinnamon. "Misa will go out to buy more tomorrow."
"…Okay…."
"Come on," she said, raising an eyebrow and smirking as she turned to look at him, "you can stand a day without apples, can't you?"
"Well, yeah, but don't blame me if the withdrawal symptoms start."
She rolled her eyes and went back to the counter where her plate rested. "Ryuk, I know they don't start that fast."
"Eh, whatever." He tilted his head as he watched her sprinkle the cinnamon on the apples. "What are you doing?"
"Putting cinnamon on."
"Why would you ruin perfectly good apples with cinnamon?"
"I'm not ruining them, I'm giving them more taste," she frowned.
"Well, cinnamon is sweet, right?"
"Kinda."
"I thought you didn't eat sweet things so you wouldn't gain weight."
Her head turned so she could glare up at the shinigami. Then she turned away, tilting her head up as she snapped the lid shut with a hmph. "For your information, Ryuk," she said, "cinnamon is good for you. It helps cholesterol levels and it's actually very nutritious."
He just sorta watched as she went back to the cupboard to put the cinnamon away. "Oh," he said eventually. "Okay."
With that, Misa grabbed her plate and headed to the couch to eat her light lunch, setting the plate on the table and curling her legs beneath her. She took a bite of a slice – Ryuk didn't lie, it was juicy – and chewed before swallowing. "Ryuk," she asked thoughtfully, "do you believe in love?"
There was a pause. "…Huh?" was his intelligent response.
"Love," Misa repeated. "True love; soul mates; love at first sight; that sort of thing. Do you believe in it?"
"No," he said. "I think it's just human foolishness."
"Oh," she replied, looking down. "I believe." She finished that apple slice, and swallowed it. Another pause. "But… what about Gelus and Rem? They were capable of love, weren't they? They died because of it, so it must exist."
Ryuk only shrugged. "You can think whatever you want, Misa. You're not going to be able to kill me off, though."
"Hm…," she hummed, putting another piece of apple in her mouth. She swallowed. "Well, Ryuk… whatever you think, I believe in love. And I know that I love Light."
"You sure do." And he cackled slightly. Misa didn't hear the unsaid, 'But the feeling's not mutual.'
"Light…" she said, "…Light didn't…. He wasn't the same after he lost his memories. Light doesn't love Misa anymore… but he cares. He's trying, at least. He'll come back around, and Misa will have him back."
Ryuk was cackling a bit again.
She frowned at him. "What's so funny, Ryuk?"
"Uh," he answered, still sounding amused, "I don't think Light'll be coming back anytime soon."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean by that, Ryuk?"
"Well, he's with someone already," he said, his evergrin seeming to taunt the girl. "Didn't you know?"
She stood abruptly. "What?!"
"Oh… um…." He lifted his long, spindly index finger to his dark blue lower lip, looking upwards. "I take it I wasn't supposed to say that…."
"Who?!" Misa demanded. "Who stole him?!"
"I don't think she—"
"It was Natalie, wasn't it?! I knew it!"
"…Uh…."
She whirled around to face the clock. I would be home soon. She sneered at the poor time-telling device, then snatched the plate from the coffee table and brought it over to the kitchen counter. Then she left it behind, heading for the door.
"Hey," Ryuk called, "don't waste apples!"
She closed the door.
Ryuk was left in silence for a moment. He tilted his head. "Uh… oops." His wings flapped as he floated forward to follow her. "At least this might be interesting..." He snickered, and floated through the closed door. "Humans are so funny."
Conversely, I sat on my own couch not long after, pondering over the problem of Misa. It wasn't so much her that was the problem, but the fact I had no idea how much time she had left regarding her lifespan. She'd made the eye deal how many times now? Five times; that was right. I could only hope Rem and Gelus had a lot of life to give her. If only I could somehow stop this….
Oh.
This was the exact way Sierra had saved Matt, and the reason L couldn't be killed by the Death Note any longer. I only had to take Misa to my world and back, and she'd be safe for the time being. Her lifespan would no longer be fixed, and it was less likely she'd die so soon. Thank you, Light, for actually helping me figure that out. Evidently, I am an idiot.
I stood. I could go to Misa's house right now to do this. I didn't know when her life was supposed to end, so it was good to just get that done. It was better to be safe than sorry. So, I put my glass of water in the sink and headed to the door. With the turn of the handle, the door swung open to reveal none other than Misa, fist raised as though about to knock.
She blinked twice in confusion, then glared at me. "You took Misa's Light," she said in a low voice.
It was my turn to blink in confusion.
"Misa will slap you now!"
I reacted quickly and sidestepped, causing her to step forward and slap nothing. She scowled, accepting this, and walked angrily into the house. I closed the door behind her. "Welcome to my home; nice to see you," I said drily.
She looked at me with dark eyes, but her glare didn't really phase me.
Ryuk made his familiar snicker, and I looked at him. "Misa's just angry 'cause I told her about you."
I heaved a sigh. Nice, Ryuk. Figures it wasn't even my teasing friends I had to worry about after all. Ryuk...
"Do you admit to stealing Light?" Misa asked seriously, her tone slightly threatening.
"Misa," I said gently, "I would never steal anyone; I—"
"But you admit to claiming Light right now." It was more a statement than a question.
"Well, um—"
"Do you?"
"Yes," I responded immediately, straightening up and feeling awkward.
"Why would you do that?!" she yelled at me, and I winced. "Natalie, you knew Light was mine from the start! Then you took him!"
"Misa," I soothed, "think of it this way; I did not take him. He was not yours, and technically he came to me of his own accord." She opened her mouth to protest, but I kept going before she could talk. "Let me finish, please, Misa." She closed her mouth, still glowering at me. "Misa, you know I like you as a friend, and with the way I am…. I would never be with someone I knew was taken." I felt like an idiot talking like this, but oh well. "I could never take someone away from you."
"But you did!" she snapped. "He wasn't mine right now, but I was going to make him love me again! Fine, you didn't steal him, but you cheated because you took advantage of the fact his memory loss changed him!"
"Misa, I didn't cheat." I frowned. "And besides, I didn't really even ask for him. Sure, I'm going to admit I liked him, but I let him be. He came to me."
"Are you trying to say this is Light's fault?!"
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose in slight frustration. I don't know if it originated in Light, myself, or both of us. It didn't matter anyway. The fact was, at that moment, I needed to make her lifespan ever-changing like mine was. "Look," I said, looking at her straight in the eyes, "you halved your life too many times for the eye deal. I don't know how long you have left. Just let me take you through a portal so you can't die so easily. We can resolve this afterwards."
"No!" She squinted at me with not-too-happy eyes. "Why would Misa listen to you, anyway?"
"Misa, I don't want you to die!"
"Oh really?" she asked, then sneered. "Well, Misa wouldn't mind so much if Natalie were dead."
My eyes grew hard. "Misa," I said, an edge of coldness creeping silently into my tone, "I'm sure you would care because Light would die too. You seem to have forgotten the Bond that Light and I have which, I'm terribly sorry to say, you don't have. I sincerely apologize for having taken someone I didn't mean to take, but in all due respect, I don't think I could do anything about it at this point."
She scoffed. "What do you mean, 'Light would die too?' Are you implying he loves you so much he'd kill himself if you were dead? Misa somehow doubts that!"
"No," I answered, my expression unchanging from that hard gaze. "I'm talking about the Bond. The mind sync. The whatever-you-call-it connection with the mind. Now we get the same injuries. We're a part of one another, Misa."
"That can't be true. It wouldn't be fair!"
"Well, life isn't fair, and besides, it's not like I had a say in who I was mind synced to."
"Well, you were actually working against Light for a lot of these years while I was helping him, so Misa wins!" she chirped, her expression twisting into a sneer again. "Misa would do anything for Light!" she exclaimed, holding her hand to her chest as the sneer dissipated to be replaced with a mere glare. "Misa couldn't live without Light! Misa would die for Light!"
"I understand that," I said. "I know. But do you truly understand him? See past his masks to the person beneath? Why do you love him, Misa?"
"It was love at first sight!"
I didn't respond at first, my head tilting slightly. "Misa… if it were love at first sight… then it was only looks that drew you."
"No!" she interjected. "Misa knew that because he was Kira he was a good person! Light killed the murderer of Misa's parents; I could never be more grateful to anyone!"
I looked at her a moment, and she just glared back. My gaze had softened again at this point, but she seemed to want to stab me with those furious eyes. Oh, if looks could kill….
"Misa will get him back," she hissed. "Just you wait." And she turned on her heel, opened the door roughly, and left, slamming the door shut behind her.
I sighed, running my hand through my hair. Oh well… I'd let her anger blow over, and then I'd take her through the portal-warp-whatever-thing. Surely she wouldn't die so soon. She couldn't deny my help forever if she didn't want to die. I looked over to the wall. Well, Matsuda will enjoy this, I thought dully.
As Misa was making her way back to her apartment, not even noticing Ryuk hovering behind her, she pulled out her cell phone and called Light after walking awhile and burning off her anger. She wasn't going to yell at him, no, she wasn't mad with Light. Me, however…. Well, it was like Takada all over again. Maybe Mello could kidnap me, too, and then I'd be the one burned to death in a church. She wouldn't mind that too much. Unless I hadn't lied, and Light really would die with me….
"Hello?" Light greeted on the other line; of course he already knew what had happened.
"Light, why didn't you tell me?" she asked, her voice soft now. "You could have at least let me know instead of not saying."
"I didn't want to hurt you," he answered honestly. We knew she'd be angry, too, and it was best to have her complete cooperation...
"Well, I guess I'm hurt anyway," she sighed. "But at least Light still wanted Misa happy."
"Of course I want you happy, Misa." He had to soothe her, not just because he cared but also to make sure she didn't do anything rash.
"Light, can I ask why you picked Natalie instead? What does she have that I don't?"
There was a short pause. "…Misa… I—"
"I guess if you're going to say anything, it'll be the mind sync… but… Natalie helps Light more, doesn't she? Misa doesn't help as much."
"That's not true," he told her.
"Well, she got the Eyes, too, you know. Plus, Misa got us in jail last time…."
"Misa…."
"Should Misa forfeit?" she asked.
Light blinked, somewhere else, taken a bit off-guard. "Misa, what do you mean?"
"You said you wanted Misa to be happy. Misa is only happy if Light is happy. Do you think Misa would be happier without her memories? Am I more of a help with them or without them? I want to help you, Light."
"Stop saying you're not a help. You are."
"But then, I guess it would be better if Misa didn't know she was the one who put her and Light in jail when Near…." She didn't finish the sentence. "I'm not exactly helping you as Kira…. Light already has Mikami and Natalie." She said my name in a bitter, contemptuous tone. I mean, she stopped liking me awhile ago, after she started suspecting and once I started spending more time with Light. When I became Kira. But now, she actually had solid reason to hate me and so she was open with her dislike.
"Misa—"
"Don't worry, Light, Misa's Death Note is buried at its usual place. You can go and get it if you need it. Misa will forfeit, and she'll get you to love her again. Somehow." She smiled happily. "Bye, then, Light!" she sang, and flipped her phone shut without waiting for a response.
Taking long, purposeful strides, she headed to a hotel nearby to earn a room. She wasn't going back to her apartment quite yet; not tonight. She was going to find a way to make Light love her again; she just had to find a way. She knew she could think of something. She bought a room and got a hotel key from a disgruntled receptionist named Rin Saito (an old friend of hers, since she's been to this hotel often) before heading to the elevator to go to her room. After making her way inside, she immediately sat herself down on the bed and closed her eyes. "Ryuk," she said, "I forfeit."
He gave a shrug. "Alright; see ya," he replied, and turned to walk out.
When she opened her eyes again, there was no shinigami there and she remembered nothing of the Death Note. Only one thing was on her mind.
She was going to get Light back.
Ohh boy.
Fun Fact: I consider it to be around here that things start actually happening in this story. :T
Review? For...an angry Misa?