Chapter 4
It's now officially one day since the incident. My alarm has been beeping for about 15 minutes now but I just can't find the motivation to get out of bed. That, and I'm afraid that something's going to happen in school today. Seeing as it's a Friday, I might be able to skip school today and come in on Monday. Maybe then, everyone might have forgotten about the whole thing. Wait, no I can't do that. If I don't go in today, it might make me look suspicious. But, what if the police start questioning students? I don't think I can lie to a police officer, I might start stuttering and reveal something.
What if I get arrested? I might, no. I WILL go to prison. What if I never get released? Will I have to spend the rest of my life in a cell? And, what if I have to share it with a murderer? I'm not that bad. I mean I've used the notebook and that's caused people to die. But, I haven't REALLY killed anyone. I'm not a murderer… Am I?
GAH! I don't know what to do. I suppose, if I just take the Notebook with me and keep it on my person at all times then no one will find it.
"Fuck it. I'm getting up." I sat up and slid my legs round to the side of the bed.
After all this stress, I needed a cold shower… Perhaps maybe a little warmer than cold…
I stretched and stood up. My eyes were practically still shut, I just felt so sleepy. I waddled over to my drawers, opened the top drawer and rummaged through the many pairs of black underwear. Seriously, what am I looking for? One pair that's black is a darker shade than the other? Jeez, just wake up already. I then walked over to the cupboard, looked for a decent towel and then proceeded towards the bathroom. While walking past Karin's bedroom, I knocked on the door to make sure she was in there. Don't want to find the bathroom occupied after all.
"Who is it?" She called out.
"The tooth fairy!" I snapped sarcastically. Who else could it be?
"Very funny, do you want to come in?" She asked through the door. She sounds like she's still in bed.
"No, I was just wondering if you were in the bathroom."
"Are you talking to me?"
"Uhh… Yeah." I groaned
"Well, then I'm not in the bathroom." She sniggered.
I turned towards the bathroom and approached the door. As I got to the door I noticed a hot breeze coming from the crack at the bottom of the door. Thinking about it, the handle is quite steamy. Karin must have just got out of the shower or something. I paused for a moment to think, shrugged it off and opened the door.
Suddenly as if out of nowhere, I saw a figure in front of me in the mist. As my eyes started to adjust, the figure appeared to be rubbing a towel through their hair. I must be seeing things. Wait a second…. The image was now clear. There, standing before me. It was Sakura, naked. Her eyes were closed as she was humming to herself. I then realised, I'm stood right in front of her… In my underwear…
I quickly leaped out of sight beside the door and hid round the corner.
"Huh?" I heard from her direction.
She must have felt a breeze from the hallway.
"Strange, the door must have opened." She said to herself, confused.
Why is she still here? She must have stayed overnight. But then, where did she sleep? Ok, now I really DO need a cold shower.
Later on that morning, I got myself dressed and ready for school. The school was having an all classes day so that the whole year would share one big class. As if this morning wasn't awkward enough, now I have to share a class with Karin and Sakura for the whole day! In case I forgot to mention, Karin and I are twins. Not identical, obviously. She's one week younger than me. I thought that was impossible until I found out that one woman gave birth to her twins eighty seven days apart. Crazy shit. But anyway, I had one thing to look forward to. Seeing Light. We're in separate classes normally, but today, things are going to be different. I've always wanted to say something to him, ever since he helped me from that bully. I don't think I ever said thank you to him. I'd very much like to do that. I guess this is why I've made sure to look my best today, funny, it's almost like I'm meeting someone. But, that'd just be ridiculous.
I walked downstairs to find Karin making breakfast for the three of us. Strange, when I was walking down the stairs, for a moment I thought she was Mum. That was the last time I saw her, on the bottom of a staircase.
Back in England when Karin and I were 5, we heard Mum and Dad shouting downstairs. They did it a lot. Usually, I'd go to Karin's room and sit on the floor with her. I'd place her head on my shoulder and cover her other ear with my hand, Singing to her seemed to help with the rocking. But the last time, I decided to sneak to the staircase to have a peak. The first thing I saw was a broken wine glass on the table with spilt red wine around it. At least, I hoped it was wine. My father raised his voice at her, shouting about how she was "Selfish" and a "Waste of a marriage". She shouted at him, saying that the last time she checked, he was married to his job. The shouting went on for ages. She was pregnant at the time and was due in a few days. I think the argument started because Dad's never been there for us, so where would he be for our little one? Mum noticed me at the stair case so she ran over to me, she limped the whole way but Dad wouldn't let her go easily. As she reached out for me, Dad grabbed her leg, tripping her over. She collapsed down the stairs, falling forwards. She was rushed over to hospital but later the next day, Dad was told that she passed away, along with the baby. No charges were ever pressed as Dad made it out that she drank too much, went to go to the bathroom and tripped on one of Karin's toys. Ever since then, I've never been the same. I watched my Dad kill my Mother and my unborn little sibling as I reached out for her hand. I've had to live with that for the rest of my life.
This is why Karin and I have a separate home to him. We may have had to move with him, but we sure as hell weren't going to live in the same house as him.
I've never known a bigger cunt in all of my life.
He's just lucky I don't write HIS name in the notebook. Although… It wouldn't be a bad Idea. Maybe one day. But for now, I need to keep my head down. Even though it was only one day. That was a lot of deaths.
I walked over to the table, pulled back my chair and sat down, placing my head on the table. Why am I so tired?
"Good Morning Sleepy Head!" Karin giggled over to me.
"Muurrgh…"
"Man, you really are tired, aren't you? Didn't you get any sleep last night?"
"Of course I did!" I raised my head and looked over at her. I must have looked like shit, she just stared at me in disbelief.
"Really?" She said unconvinced.
"Then how long did you sleep for then?"
"Uhh… 3 hours. Maybe." I slouched.
She sighed, placed her left hand on her hip and pointed a spatula at my face with the other.
"Honestly, do you really think Light won't come out?"
"What!?"
"Do you really think the light won't come out?" She looked out the window.
"It's supposed to be sunny today…"
I took a breath of realisation.
"Uhh, Y-Yeah. Give it a little while, the clouds probably just need to pass a little more." Man, I really am tired.
"Wait a second, what has that got anything to do with how long I slept!?"
She smirked.
"Because if the sun really does come out, everyone will see those massive bags under your eyes."
She laughed.
"You look terrible." She chuckled.
"Gee, thanks. That's really boosted up my confidence. I've never felt better about myself than now."
"Just sayin'."
The sound of footsteps came from behind me. Karin smiled, served the food and placed the plates on the table. Sakura sat down on the seat on the other end to me. I couldn't help but think of earlier, I hope she doesn't say anything about the door opening, that'd just be really, REALLY Awk-.
"The strangest thing happened earlier."
…Shit…
Karin looked over to Sakura in curiosity.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well, I went into the bathroom to take a shower. And, when I stepped out after, the door was wide open. I swear I closed it." She prodded the egg with her fork.
"Maybe the handle might be faulty or something?" Karin questioned as she turned her attention to me.
I swallowed the food in my mouth, took a swig of orange juice and said.
"I'll take a look after school. One of the screws must have come loose."
Karin smirked.
"Told you we should have kept the sliding doors. We are in Japan after all."
I shrugged.
"I don't trust them for bathrooms, they look great for everywhere else. But, they don't seem secure for a bathroom, they could just slide open."
"What, like your one did?"
I paused.
"…Touché."
Sakura looked over to me.
"Thanks for letting me in your home." She smiled.
"Don't mention it. Though I was wondering why you stayed the night. Won't you get in trouble with your foster parents? I'm sure they're wondering where you are."
"Well, Karin said it would be ok. She got a sleeping bag out of the cupboard and let me sleep in the bed. She said that you said it was fine."
I looked over to Karin.
"She did?"
Sakura looked at Karin worried.
"Well umm, yeah." She stuttered.
"Well then."
I smiled. "At least she actually mentioned that to you."
Karin shot her eyes to me.
"W-What?"
I looked at her.
"She spoke to me just after you came in. I told her that it was ok just as long as you were comfortable with it." I turned my attention to Sakura.
"I do hope my sister didn't keep you awake all night. She likes to talk."
Sakura laughed.
"Yeah, she does." She smiled and looked at Karin.
Karin still looked a little confused but then turned it into a smile. She looked over to me and gave a light giggle. I smiled back at her. You know, today may not be so bad after all.
"Sakura?" I called.
She looked at me still giggling away with Karin.
"Yes?" She replied.
"If you ever need anything, if school is too stressful, or even if you're bored and you want some company. Don't hesitate to come over, our door will always be open to you." I smiled.
Sakura gazed over to me.
"Thank you." She smiled.
"That means a lot."
I stood up and started collecting the plates, walked over to the sink and placed them in the bowl.
Karin jumped out of her seat.
"I'll get that." She insisted.
"No, I'll do it." I smiled.
"You two finish getting ready. It's about time I did some house work for once."
She stared at me as if she hadn't seen me in years. I turned round and hugged her. She was surprised, took a big sigh and slowly placed her arms around me. I felt a tear run down my neck. Was she crying?
"It feels like so long since I last felt like this." She whispered, holding me tighter.
"I'm so sorry, it'll be better from now on. I promise." I whispered back.
She kissed my cheek and looked deep into my eyes, smiling.
"Welcome home, Big Bro." She smiled.
I wiped her eyes, removing the tears.
"It's good to be back. Little Sis."
We both took a deep breath and just as we were about to get back to what we were doing before, we realised that Sakura was stood there, the whole time. I walked over to the table and tore a page from my school book and grabbed a pen. I looked over to Sakura and then back to the page and started writing. When I was done, I walked over to Sakura with the page folded in my hand.
"Don't worry about your Foster Parents. If they have a problem, they can speak to me." I passed the paper to her.
Taking the paper, she unfolded and read the contents.
"Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to you to inform you on Sakura's whereabouts on this previous evening. Sakura's Study Buddy; my sister, invited her to stay the night for some last minute studying for an upcoming test. After supervising them, I can confirm to you that they were working very hard all evening. Please accept my apology for failing to inform you of her whereabouts. The fault is mine. Thank you for understanding." She read the letter out loud.
Karin looked over to the letter, reading it for herself.
Sakura passed the letter to Karin and walked over to me.
"This. I… This means a lot. Thank you."
"Don't worry about it. Don't forgot, any trouble, they speak to me." I smirked.
Karin walked over to us and gave the letter back to Sakura.
She grabbed my hand and pulled me forward, away from Sakura.
"What about the cutting?" She asked, worried.
"Never again." I interrupted.
"How can I know that to be true?" She whispered.
I took her hands into mine.
"You have my word."
She looked down to the ground, sighed and gazed her eyes to mine.
"Good… Thank you." She breathed.
"We're going to be late for school." I sniggered.
"I don't care." She laughed.
I looked over to the washing up bowl and then the clock. Looking back at Karin I shrugged.
"I still have time."
I walked over to the bowl and began to wash the plates.
"You two get your jackets on. I'll catch up in a bit." I called.
Karin and Sakura nodded and left the room, into the main hall. I looked behind me and examined my surroundings. Seeing that I was alone, I turned back around and finished washing the last plate. Looking to my right, I noticed the fruit bowl was full. Karin must have picked up some stuff at the store this morning too. I reached over to the fruit bowl and picked up an apple and as if out of nowhere, Ryuk floated down through the ceiling upside down with a bizarre look on his face.
"Is that… an Apple?" He asked, amazed.
"Uhh, yeah. Why? Don't you have apples where you come from?"
"Of course I do! Just… not as red and round as that." He wouldn't stop staring at the apple.
"You uhh, wanna try one?"
"Uhh, is it poisonous?"
"Why would my sister buy Poisonous apples?" I questioned, confused.
"…But is it poisonous?" He asked again, not convinced with my answer.
"NO!"
"Hmph… Well, I'll just have a bite…"
I chucked him an apple from the bowl. For around 15 seconds he just spent staring at it. He sniffed it a couple times but that was about it for a while. Until, eventually, he took the first bite. He grinned like I've never seen him grin before. He shot up into the air and spun around.
"This… Apple… Is… AMAZING!" He burst into excitement and threw the whole thing into his mouth.
Chomping away, he floated over to the fruit bowl to grab more.
"Stop!" I jumped in front of the bowl.
"You can't just go and eat them all, Karin only bought them today."
"So?" He seemed not to care.
"SO. These apples usually last at least a week. If all of a sudden, they all were eaten. Things would immediately look suspicious."
He started to see where I was coming from. Can't let anyone else know I have a Shinigami hanging around.
"I suppose that makes sense, but I'm Sooooooo Hungry!"
"Well, then on our way to school, we can stop by the store and buy some more." I suggested.
He began to start spinning around again.
"PERFECT! Human Apples are tasty!" He laughed.
"Yeah… They sure are." I laughed, awkwardly.
I looked over at the clock and realised it had been over 10 minutes since Karin and Sakura headed off.
"Oh shit! We gotta hurry!"
I rushed over to the clothes hangers, whipped my jacket on, grabbed my bag and pounced out the door.
Not knowing how far Karin and Sakura could have got, I ran as fast as I could to try to catch up. The school was a thirty minute walk away so I should be ok. Breathing fast and heavy, I was feeling pretty exhausted. This is when I looked to my right and saw Ryuk just casually floating next to me. Why does he have it so easy? He can fly for Christ sake. As we were getting close to the store, I saw Karin and Sakura leaving. I've finally caught up with them! But, I need to buy the apples. What if they get really far ahead of me again? But, what if they see me carrying a massive bag of apples? I can't just give the bag to Ryuk, it'd look like it was floating in their view. Damn it! I slowed down and entered the store. Approaching the fruit section, I grabbed a basket and began collecting the apples. Are people going to look at me funny for buying so many? Urgh! Screw it. I grabbed as many apples as I could and walked slowly over to the paying desk. I hope the cashier doesn't recognise me…
"Hello! Welco- uhh." She stared at the basket.
I had no idea how I was going to explain this.
"My school is having an open class day, I thought I'd get everyone a snack." Holy shit! That was pretty good, am I going to get away with that?
"Ah, I see. That'll be six thousand, two hundred and sixteen yen, please." She said, putting on an unconvincing smile. (For those of you wondering, that's £34.99/$52.16)
I paid, collecting the bag and walked out the store. Luckily, there's a park just on the other side of the store. I walked round the corner and turned to Ryuk.
"Ok, School is the most boring thing you will ever see. So, Take this bag, find somewhere out of site and eat as many apples as you like."
"How many apples are in the bag?" Why would that even matter?
"Thirty five." I answered, wondering why he needed to know. Probably just being greedy.
"Fine with me!" He snatched the bag from my hand and floated off.
Right, now I need to catch up to the girls.
After running for a little while longer, I finally caught up with them. Shame that by this time, we were at the school gate. Karin nudged my arm.
"You are so lucky you're not late." She seemed pretty concerned.
"Don't worry about me." I smirked.
As we stepped into the school grounds, I suddenly felt a heavy presence around me. I completely forgot about the students Ryuk killed. What if someone else was there? No… Calm down. Everything is going to be fine. My heart was racing, I could barely breath. Everything seemed dead silent. I could see people moving their mouths but I couldn't hear a thing apart from a horrible high pitch tone. My head felt dizzy. Everything started to spin, faster and faster and faster and faster. My sight appeared to be weakening, all around me was a blur. Until finally… Everything went black.
The next thing I knew, I was in a bed.
"Good Morning Sleepy Head…" I heard coming from my left.
I shuffled round to look. There, sat on a chair in front of the window was a girl's silhouette. As my eyes adjusted to the light. I saw it was Karin. She looked scared.
I tried to sit up but it hurt and made my head spin. I rubbed my eyes, looked at her and smiled.
"H-Hey there." I croaked.
"What the hell was that?" She sounded really worked up.
"What do you mean?" I asked, concerned about her.
"What do I mean!? You passed out! One minute I was talking to Sakura and the next, you collapsed to the floor. You smacked your head open on the corner of the pavement… There was blood all around your head! I… I… I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONE!"
She burst out into tears, clearly the whole thing shook her up pretty bad… Though since she pointed out that I hit my head, it only started to hurt more. The door behind me opened.
"Is… Is he awake?" That must be Sakura.
The door closed and she slowly walked around the bed, examining my state. When she finally got to face me, I could see that she was also pretty shocked.
She put her sleeve in her mouth and started chewing on it as she pulled a seat from the stack and sat next to Karin.
"How you feeling?" She whispered.
"Honestly?" I asked, turning my head to her direction.
She leaned forward, she looked even more worried now.
I cleared my throat, Wow that hurt.
"I feel… Just fine."
Her eyes widened, she sat up.
"In fact, I reckon with a little luck I can get up right now." I sat up, it hurt like absolute hell. But I'm not getting any better just lying there.
"Please don't hurt yourself!" Karin leaped forward and took my arm.
"You shouldn't be getting up, you haven't rested enough." She tried to sit me back down.
"I'm fine. Honestly." I looked at her, she didn't seem convinced.
She walked off around the corning and rummaged through something. When she returned, she was holding a pair of crutches.
"The nurse said you needed these." She said as she held them towards me.
I looked at them for a moment, imagining what people would think when they'd see me around the school with them.
"Seriously?" I really didn't want to use them. But somehow, I don't think there was any way that I'd be able to convince either of them that I didn't need them.
"Just, try it." She really wasn't having any of it.
The only thing I could do was just accept my condition and take the crutches. I just hoped Light wouldn't see me.
"See that's not so bad, is it?" She smiled.
"It'll take some getting used to."
I looked at the handles and adjusted my grip.
"They could at least have put some padding on them."
It's not even been five minutes and I'm already uncomfortable.
Sakura walked over to the cabinet, examined the contents and grabbed a role of bandages.
"Here, sit down." She said as she reached for the crutches.
I passed the crutches over to her and she began wrapping the bandage around the handles.
"See how this feels." She passed the crutches back to me.
I placed my hands onto the handles and raised myself up from the bed. Wow, this is actually quite comfortable, like a pillow almost.
"It's… Great. Thanks." I began practicing my movement to get the hang of not placing my foot on the floor.
She smiled.
"I'm glad."
Karin watched me closely.
"Try raising your foot higher into the air, it might help with your balance."
As much as she was acting like some sort of mentor, she was right. It did help.
"I think I've got the hang of it now." I slowed down and held myself up in front of them.
Sakura hopped forward.
"Then let's get back to class!" She smiled.
"We could all share a table!" She added.
Man, someone is certainly excited about this whole thing.
After we finally managed to get to the main hall, I couldn't help but feel nervous. Like, I know it was an all classes day. But, I didn't realise we'd all be put into this hall together like this.
Karin turned over to me.
"You got this, we'll find a table and no one will even notice we were gone." She whispered, trying to calm me down.
The three of us then examined the room, trying to find a free space. Sakura pointed out one at the far end. It seemed there was only one student sat there.
As we got closer to the door, I began to recognise the student. Sakura ran ahead and grabbed a seat. Karin followed. Well, there was no turning back now. It was finally time, Hello Light.
I eventually managed to get myself sat down on the chair, in the middle between Karin and Sakura. It was a square table so there was only enough room for the four of us. Sakura was sat to my left, Karin was sat to my right, and Light was sat right in front of me. I placed the crutches beside me, trying to balance them against the table. I couldn't help but notice that Light was watching me the whole time. He got out of his seat, walked round the table and adjusted the placement of the crutches, hooking the handles to the table.
"Here, that should be fine." He smiled and returned to his seat.
He looked at me, sympathetically.
"That was quite the fall you had earlier. Are you feeling okay?"
I couldn't speak, I wanted to say something to him but the words just weren't coming out. So, after a failed attempt at replying, I just did the next thing I could think of. I nodded my head. Karin looked over to me and then turned her focus to Light.
"He's still a little shaken up. It's nothing serious, just a stumble. Must be the heat." She tried to laugh it off, but it was still pretty awkward.
Light looked back at me and examined my face.
"Hey, haven't I seen you before?" His eyes sparked in realisation.
"Of course, you were getting picked on by that student… I'm sorry about that."
"Don't be… Thanks for scaring them off…" I felt like my eyes popped out of my head, I can't believe I actually spoke to him. Wait a second, he looks pretty surprised too.
"So, you can talk." He chuckled.
I felt like I was being watched. I looked behind me and looked around the room, Every now and then, some of the student's heads would tilt to my direction. I knew that they must be talking about me, I can see them whispering to each other. Am I just being paranoid? I turned back around and saw Light focusing on them. I could feel his gaze pierce through their view.
"Some people can be so immature…." He sighed.
He looked straight at me, pointing his pen at my face.
"Don't pay any attention to them, okay? They're just children who never learnt how to grow up."
I couldn't take my focus off of him. To think, all this time I've been admiring him from a distance and here he is talking to me… Protecting me. His serious look turned into a smile.
I smiled back.
"Thank you… Light." Karin was looking at me funny and Sakura began to giggle.
"W-What is it?" I asked, hoping I hadn't just done something embarrassing.
Karin leaned over to my ear.
"You're blushing like crazy." She whispered, trying not to laugh.
Oh god, that really is embarrassing! I shot back on my chair, nearly tipped back, pulled myself forward and landed on my foot. I let out a yelp and immediately covered my mouth with my hands to try to cancel the sound.
"Careful there. Don't want you hurting yourself more, do we?" Light chuckled.
I looked up towards him. He was still smiling. Maybe he didn't notice.
I sat up, tucked my chair in and just as I was about to say something to him… The headmaster entered the room.
"About time." Light sighed, scribbling a circle on his text book.
The room went quiet as everyone in the room turned their attention to the headmaster.
He dragged his eyes around the room, almost like he was looking for a criminal.
"Good afternoon Students. Unfortunately, due to extremely tragic circumstances, we have had to cancel the tasks for today."
Everyone started to gossip across the tables.
"SILENCE!" He yelled, silencing the whole room.
"Thank you. Now, I understand that things have not been easy for some of you in this hard time. We have lost six of our students this year… And that… Is six too many. Now, We have a very special guest here today to let us ALL know, just what is going to be done about this."
He took a breath and reached his right arm to the side of the stage area.
"I'll now pass you on to him. Thank you for coming, Mr Yagami."
My heart felt like it stopped, Light's father… He's a Police Officer. Why… Why is he here? I thought they concluded the deaths as accidents and suicides… Oh fuck… Fuck..! FUCK!
I could barely breath, it felt like I was sat in a fire. I looked around the room, was I the only one who felt like this?
Calm down, just breath, it's going to be fine, nothing to worry about, it's all going to be okay.
"Good afternoon. My name is Soichiro Yagami. You are probably wondering why you have a Police Officer stood before you. Well, I'm afraid I am not able to let you all know every detail but I can say to you all, that we believe the deaths of your fellow students… Are NOT coincidence."
The volume of the room suddenly burst out of students calling out.
The headmaster yelled out for silence and once again, the room went dead quiet.
"I know this is a shock. But we must look further into this investigation. So, for the safety of all of you, please stay home. If you still desire to go out and socialise, try to stay in a group. We can't have any more losses. We are closing the school for the next two weeks… Starting today. I must ask that you all get home carefully. If anyone has any questions to ask, feel free to contact me at the station. We will do our best to answer as many of your questions as we can. Thank you for your patience and time."
The room was silent. It was almost like the room was completely empty. Everyone's faces were emotionless.
The headmaster stepped forward and took a deep breath.
"You may all be dismissed."
Almost synchronised, everyone raised from their seats and began walking out of the exits.
Sakura stood up and picked up the crutches. Karin grabbed my arm and helped me up from my seat. I took my balance and Sakura placed the crutches onto my hands. Getting into a comfortable stance I took a breath and stretched my back.
Sakura scratched the back of her head.
"It's going to be a long walk home isn't it."
"I can take you." I heard from behind me.
Light was still here.
"My dad's here so he can give you all a lift if you like. I don't really think you want to go home with crutches, do you?"
I studied my situation and thought about the "walk" home.
"Sure, that'd be great. Thanks." I smiled.
I was pretty nervous, I was about to be taken home by the very man who just talked to us all about the deaths. The very killer of them all is going to be in the same car with a police officer and he is none the wiser… And I'd like to keep it that way. I suppose I could write his name in the notebook… No, that'd just draw too much attention to the school. Police officer dies after telling school the deaths may be linked? That's just screaming out suspicion. They don't know its murder, so I have a pretty good chance to not get caught. I'm sure things will be fine if I just keep my head down. Besides, I only really killed one. Ryuk killed the others. But, I hardly think blaming a Shinigami for the deaths would help me at all. They'd probably think I was insane.
Karin, Sakura, Light and I headed out of the hall to the nurse's office for a check-up. Light walked beside me and held the door open for the girls and me. We exchanged smiles as I entered the room.
I sat down and leaned the crutches against the desk. The Nurse called from her office.
"Won't be long there, just need to go over this report and I'll be right with you." She certainly sounded cheerful.
Karin looked over to Light.
"I hope we aren't taking your time."
"Not at all, my father's still talking to the headmaster." He replied.
The Nurse poked her head out the office.
Sakura stared at her, really confused…. Like the rest of us.
"Is he bit?" The Nurse asked in a deep voice.
Karin tilted her head.
"Umm… What?" Karin looked at me and back at the nurse.
"Bit… Is he bit?" The nurse slowly entered the room.
I checked myself.
"Umm, nope. I haven't been… Bit." I told her, still confused on what she is talking about.
She looked at the ground, closed her eyes and clenched her fists.
"There's nothing we can do…" She whispered.
Sakura widened her eyes.
"WHAT!?" She yelled.
The Nurse looked at us all.
"We… We're already infected."
We all looked at each other, starting to realise that something wasn't quite right. Then the next thing we knew, the Nurse started giggling.
She smiled at use.
"Did you guys see the new episode of The Stalking Dead last night?" She squeaked.
Oh… She was quoting a TV show. That explains everything.
Light scratched his head.
"No, we must have missed it." He chuckled.
"What!? Oh you totally missed out!" She smiled.
"It was CRAZY!" She laughed.
She looked at me.
"Anyway, let's take a look at you." She breathed, warn out from the excitement.
She raised the hair from my forehead and gently pressed against what felt like a bruise.
"Does this hurt?" She asked.
I took a moment to think.
"Nope. Is that good?" I looked at her.
"Very good. Yes, very good indeed." She smiled.
She looked into my eyes.
"I was concerned that you may have done some serious damage from your fall earlier. But my fears are at ease."
I sighed of relief.
"Now for your leg." She sat back.
I looked down.
"What actually happened anyway? I know I fell, but how did it affect my leg so much?" Now I asked, it did seem pretty strange.
"Well. From what I can see, this isn't serious either. A few days rest and you'll be as good as new. I didn't actually see the accident myself, but from the reports that your friends wrote, it seems that when you fell, your knee landed on the corner of a step, causing it to bend back out of place. You're very lucky it didn't break. But as I said, try not to put too much wait on it. You need plenty of rest. It should only take a few days and you'll be fine."
I took a deep breath of relief.
The Nurse leaned over to the table, grabbed a document and handed it to me.
"Now, as you can see from that form I've just given you, I have stated that you will be unable to attend school for the next week for recovery. But please, take this time off responsibly. It's not a holiday."
She leaned closer to me.
"But it's no reason not to have a little fun." She winked and giggled.
I smiled.
It's funny, you'd think the nurse would be the last person you'd want to see. But our school nurse. She's pretty cool.
"Have you got a way to get home? I know you usually walk, but that's not really the best thing to do. I could drive you if you like." She smiled.
I looked at Light and then back to her.
"Oh, umm. That's alright, Light's father is taking us." I felt a little awkward having to say that.
"Oh… Ok then, not to worry." She gave a short smile but looked a little disappointed.
"Well, thanks anyway."
She quickly stood up, picked up the crutches and placed them out for me.
When I was comfortable with them, I approached the door and turned around.
"Thank you." I smiled
She gathered the rest of her forms from the desk.
"Please, if there is anything else that I can help with, feel free to visit me. I'll be right here… As always." She giggled.
Light opened the door and we left.
When we finally reached the car park, Mr Yagami's car was the only one left. Other than the teacher's cars of course.
We approached the car and greeted Mr Yagami. He seemed quite friendly to be honest.
After a few minutes, we arrived at Sakura's "home". Her so called carer was stood outside by the door.
Sakura looked terrified. She took a deep breath.
"See you later guys." Her voice was shaking.
She slowly stepped out of the car, closed the door and began to walk towards the house.
Just as we drove past the house, Mr Yagami pulled over and opened the windows.
"Far too many times we've had to come down this house. You could say they are not very popular with the neighbours."
Light opened the door.
"I'm going to keep my eye out." He opened the door and left the car.
I called out.
"I'm coming with you."
Karin took off her seatbelt.
"So am I."
We stood out of the way from their sight, but close enough so we could hear them. Strangely enough, they weren't inside yet.
"You stupid little slut!" the woman shouted, smacking the back of Sakura's head.
"I'm sorry!" Sakura shouted, crying.
"What did you think you were doing at that boy's house!?"
"I was staying with a friend." The words barely came out of her mouth.
If this is what that woman is like out in public, what is she like in the house?
"A friend? What friend?"
"Karin. I met her at school…"
"Don't Lie To Me!"
"I'm not lying!"
"YES YOU ARE!"
"NO I'M NOT! I went to Karin's house to hang out and I stayed over!"
"Then who is the boy?"
"Her brother."
"Well then… How Fucking convenient. Is he cute? Did you all share a room together? How sweet."
"SHUT UP!"
"AH! You didn't answer the question! You slept with him, didn't you?"
Sakura started to cry out loud.
"No…. I didn't… I swear." She said, taking deep breathes between each word.
The woman grabbed Sakura's hair.
"Oh, I bet you did. I recon he teased you, played with you and made you sweat. He did it good, didn't he? He fucked you like the slut you are. Slow… And Hard. You filthy, little… Cunt!" The woman grunted.
My body was shaking in frustration.
"I've heard enough."
"As have I." said a voice from behind me.
It was Mr Yagami. He walked over to the garden.
"Let the girl go!" He shouted.
"Fuck off, Pig!" the woman shouted.
"I'll say it again. Let. The girl. Go."
The woman stared at him for a moment. His hand was hovering over his gun.
"Fine." She released her grip.
Sakura stepped away from the woman. Karin, Light and I revealed ourselves and stood beside Mr Yagami.
"Guys!" Sakura called out as she ran towards us.
Her eyes were blood red and she had bruises all over her.
"I don't want to go back in there…" she panted, still emotional.
Karin held her.
"Don't worry, you won't." Karin whispered, clinging on to her.
Mr Yagami stared at the woman and took a deep breath.
"You were on your final warning. You know what we said would happen if we caught you doing it again, don't you?"
She spat on the floor, towards him.
He looked at it and looked back at her.
"I'll take that as a yes."
He picked up his mobile and dialled the station's private line.
"I'm going to need a van."
He gave them an address and they were on their way.
He turned over to Sakura.
"Now then, clearly you won't be able to stay here anymore. So, we're going to need to sort somewhere for you to go. I understand that this must be all sudden for you."
She turned to Karin and me.
"I… I want to go with them."
He looked at us, then her again.
"I know they're your friends, but we need to think of someone who can care for you."
She looked at him.
"They can look after me. That one night I stayed with them, I felt more at home than I ever did. I trust them. They're like family to me now."
He looked at Karin and then me.
"So it was you that she stayed with. I saw the letter for her whereabouts. Did your father write it?"
I paused for a moment and then looked at him.
"No sir, I did. And with all due respect, we are more than capable to look after her. Give us this chance. Please."
He paused for a moment to think.
He walked away and just stood there.
Finally, after a little while, he returned.
"Fine." He confirmed.
He gave Sakura a piece of paper.
"If you have any problems, ring this number. Hopefully you won't need it."
She smiled.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Thank you." Her tears were all wiped away.
I held my crutches together in my left hand, placed the other on her head and messed up her hair.
"Hey!" She giggled.
We smiled. I turned towards the car.
"Come on you. Let's get you home."
After a little journey in the car, we finally got back home.
Light saw us to the door.
"Well, today was certainly interesting." He took a sigh of exhaustion.
I smiled.
"Yeah, we should hang out again sometime. Just, with less of the whole angry beast lady thing."
We laughed.
"Sure. I'll see you soon." He smiled.
After we all got back inside, I sat down as soon as I could on the sofa.
Sakura sat beside me.
I looked at her.
"Welcome home." I smiled.
She smiled back.
"Thank you. Thank you so, so much."
I looked at her bruises.
"Can you promise me something?" I asked.
She looked over at me.
"Sure, what is it?"
I took her hand.
"When you go back into school on Monday, I won't be there, as the Nurse said. But, I want you to go and see her and get her to check up on you. I want to know for sure that you are ok. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. And it won't… I won't let it."
She held my hand back and smiled.
"I promise." She whispered.
"Good, thank you." I sighed.
Karin walked into the room with a bowl of water and a flannel. She sat next to Sakura, soaked the flannel in water, folded it and placed it over Sakura's bruises.
"Here, hold on to this."
Sakura placed her hand on the flannel.
Karin placed the bowl on the floor.
"How you feeling?" She asked.
"Better now, thanks." Sakura leaned back as the water started dripping down her face.
"I'm glad, if the flannel gets to dry, just soak it into the water."
Sakura gave out a light sigh.
"Funny, I've not even lived here for a full day yet and already I'm being treated like a princess." She winked.
I leaned back.
"You're just going to have to get used to it, I'm afraid…"
Karin and Sakura slowly turned their heads round and stared at me. I looked at them and we were staring at each other in silence until we broke out laughing. Well, I guess what I said goes for me too. And I really could. Yeah, I could get used to this.
But first… Time to get rid of that woman…. For good.