After school, Akari dragged me from my locker. "Let's go! I'm hungry." I laughed casually and followed her outside.
The walk to the coffee shop was quick. We arrived, took our seats, and ordered. I had one regular coffee while Akari had two cinnamon rolls, three pastries, and two cups of coffee.
"Jeez, when you said you were hungry…" I glanced at her numerous plates. Shrugging carelessly, she devoured all her food in less than five minutes.
"So," she began after wiping her face with a napkin, "are you nervous about babysitting Light's little sister?"
I shrugged, tracing my finger around the lid of my coffee cup. "Not really. The girl's only in junior high; how hard can she be?"
Akari snorted. "That's not what I'm talking about." I give her a slightly confused look. "I mean, isn't Light, I don't know, attractive in some sort of way…?"
Rolling my eyes, I took a short sip of my hot drink. "Jeez, if you like him so much why not ask him out?" Under the table she kicked me in the shin. "Ouch! I'm just kidding!" I laughed as she scowled at me.
"He's attractive, but trust me, he's definitely not my type."
"What is your type?" I asked with a playfully raised eyebrow. "Charming? Intelligent? Strong but silent? Imaginary?" Another sharp kick.
"Shut up," she mumbled, gazing out the cafe window. "It'll never happen anyway. I guess I'm just not lovable…"
This time I kicked her. "Shut up, you are too. Who knows? You could fall in love with a killer!"
Akari smirked, rolling her eyes. "Oh yeah, Kira seems really trustworthy and caring. I'll make sure to give him a call." We laughed. Who knows who Kira is? Anyway, he's definitely not someone I'd want to date.
"Anyways, tomorrow is our last day of college until winter break!" I reminded my best friend. Akari cheered and we toasted our cups. "To freedom!"
We stayed and talked for a while, just a casual conversation. When I realized my job was in an hour, we parted ways. I went back home to find that my father wasn't at his usual spot.
"Dad?" I called nervously. Suddenly I heard a crash from the kitchen and bolted through the living room. When I got to where the crash came from, I found Dad.
On the floor he sat, slowly rocking back and forth in the corner of the counters. It was the wooden knife holder that had fallen, scattering our many sharp knives across the floor.
There Dad sat, rocking back and forth, with the biggest knife, a dark butcher knife, in his shaky hand. Now, here's where a normal person would call another adult or the police. Although he was highly dangerous, I didn't. Instead, I inched my way towards him although he was begging me to stay away. "I don't want to hurt you…" he whispered, eyes wide with fear.
My dad has a multiple personality disorder. When he was young, it wasn't hard to control. In fact, in never became a problem until his mid-life. I remember seeing photos of him, a happy and carefree child. His parents knew about the disorder, but they never gave him medicine for it because they thought it wouldn't be a problem.
Their mistake. In his teens it started surfacing. He'd act violent and mischievous at school, but be a total angel at home. He never meant to be mean, it's just one of his personalities.
Around his college age, his parents contemplated sending him away to a mental hospital, but then he met Mom. She saw him for his original personality. Deep down she could see who he really was and she was fine with having to bear his burden with him.
They got married and Mom had me. I was a considerably joyous child. My family and I had lots of fun times together. We were an actual family.
But then, his disorder got out of control. Mom loved him for who he was, but even she didn't see it coming. Six years ago, age 13, I came home to silence. It was scary because Mom was usually in the kitchen baking something.
I went downstairs and saw my dad kneeling over Mom's dead body, crying his eyes out. I ran to him and cried too. After that, Dad took her body somewhere, I don't know where. The only thing I know is that he made it looked like a mugging gone wrong. The police never questioned him.
Things were never the same after that. He tried to make me happy, but I still felt a little scared. I know Dad would never hurt me; I'm the only thing left in his life that he loves.
Dad is also, when in a specific personality, very sensitive. In some situations he'll act with haste and fear, not actually knowing the consequences until he returns to normal.
He closed his eyes and took a deep, extremely shaky breath. Seizing the moment, I took my chance and lunged to him, swiping the knife from him and sliding it, and others close to him, across the floor.
Wrapping my arms around him, I held Dad and comforted him, trying to stop his trembling with soothing whispers. "It's alright, I'm here. I'm right here."
Within fifteen minutes Dad calmed down and slowly went back to normal. We retreated to the living room and sat on the couch. I connected my laptop to the tv and turned on Netflix.
After turning on Doctor Who for Dad, I got us some hot chocolate and sat with him and watched it. Then, I kissed him lightly on the forehead and left for the Yagami's.
Arriving just in time, I rang the doorbell. The door immediately opened, revealing the face of the girl I presumed to be Sayu. "Hello!" she greeted cheerfully. "I'm Sayu! You must be the person who's gonna be watching me tonight, huh?"
I nodded and laughed slightly at her enthusiasm. "Yes, I'm Yuki. Can I come in?"
"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed with a blush, forgetting that it was the middle of December. "Come on in!"
I entered the warm house and took off my coat, hanging it on the coat rack near the door. "Sayu, is that the sitter?" asked a voice from the other room.
"Yeah Mom!" Sayu answered. An older woman, Mrs. Yagami, met me in the entryway.
Mrs. Yagami smiled welcomingly. "Oh, hello. If I remember correctly, you name is Yukimi, correct?"
"Um, yeah, but you can just call me Yuki," I replied, waving a dismissive hand. Sayu and her mom led me into the living room where I saw Light eating at the table.
"Light, this is Yuki." Sayu introduced me as Light stood up. "I think she's around your age, right? Older maybe?"
Light approached us and his eyes lingered on me for a bit longer than they should. "Yeah, but only by a year. I remember you. You were the one who painted those beautiful murals on the school walls, right?"
I blushed. "Uh, yeah. I didn't think you noticed."
"I really liked your paintings." I blushed even more. Sayu giggled, causing Light to lightly shove her, rolling his eyes and returning to the table.
Mrs. Yagami laughed at the three of us. "Well, my husband is at work," she told me. "I just finished supper. Light and Sayu are just finishing up, then Light will be leaving. Feel free to anything in the fridge if you haven't had supper yet."
"Thank you," I replied politely. Even though I haven't had a full meal, I didn't feel comfortable with eating from their fridge so I'd just eat later.
"My number is on the fridge in case of emergencies." Mrs. Yagami slipped on her light colored coat and grabbed her purse. "If you can't reach me, just call Light. Have fun," she said, ruffling Sayu's hair, "and be in bed by nine."
After Mrs. Yagami left, Sayu returned to the table with Light and continued eating. I waited patiently until they were done, then Light left leaving me alone with Sayu. It was actually easier than I expected. All the girl wanted to do was watch this Hideki Ryuga on tv until she got tired, which was exactly at 9:02 p.m.
I led her upstairs and tucked her in bed. "Night Sayu," I said.
"Yuki?" I looked at her over my shoulder. "Promise you'll come again? I like you."
Chuckling, I nodded. "Of course I'll come back. Good night." After turning off the light and shutting the door, I came face to face with Light. His hair was slightly messier than before and his coat was off.
"You know, she really likes you." His eyes glistened.
"Really? You think so?" I haven't had much experience with children. Probably because I'd matured at an early age.
Light nodded as we walked downstairs. "Whenever Mom and I are home, she always puts up a fight before going to bed." Since Light was home, I went to the coat rack and grabbed my coat. "What are you doing?"
"Going home," I said, slipping my arms inside the silky arm holes. "You're here so I'm not needed anymore."
He shrugged, looking at me in the eyes. "You don't have to go so early." I blushed, unsure of what to say. For a moment, I was quiet, just staring unusually at him.
"I'd love to stay, but my dad is expecting me home soon so…" Trailing off, I buttoned up my red overcoat. "Thanks though. Maybe next time." Opening the door, I began down the steps.
"Wait!" the boy called from behind me. I stopped and looked over my shoulder. "Don't you want your payment? You watched her for about four hours. You deserve the money."
Shrugging, I watched my breath evaporate into the air. "Um, it's fine. I've really got to get home. I'll just get it next time I come, if you ever want me back."
Light smirked, crossing his arms. "Of course we'll want you back." His face softened and his eyes gleamed in the moonlight.
I held back a gulp and plastered a fake, but very convincing, smile across my face. "Thanks. See you later." Whipping around, I paced down the walkway and onto the sidewalk, hurrying away.
Back at the house, Dad was sleeping on the couch. I turned off the tv and covered a fuzzy red blanket over him. Flipping off the downstairs lights, I went to my room and locked the door.
Leaning against it, I sighed. Thank goodness I was home. I needed to talk to Akari. There was something important I had to tell her.
On cue, my window was opened and she popped through. "Hey, you're home. How'd it go?" When she noticed my worried expression, she frowned. "What happened?"
Taking off my coat and shoes, I sat on the side of my bed. Akari sat on the edge of my rolling chair. "It's Light."
Her frown deeped. "What did he do?"
"It's not what he did. It's what I saw."
Tilting her head, Akari gave me a curious/confused look. "What do you mean?" Then, her eyes widened. "Oh, you mean your eyes. What did you see? Is he gonna die soon?"
Shaking my head, I gulped. "That's the thing: I can't see his lifespan."
"What does that mean?" Akari put on a thoughtful face. "Is he immortal? A ghost?"
Leaning forward, I grabbed my phone from the pocket of my coat on the floor. Taking it out, I dialed the number I'd gotten a while back ago. Akari moved from the chair to sit beside me.
"Hello, California State Prison, how can I help you?"
"Uh, hi. I'd like to speak to a prisoner. Can I do that?"
"Prisoner's name, please?"
Akari and I shared a look. "Beyond Birthday."
A moment of silence, then the woman's voice returned. "Prisoner Number 1313. I'm transferring you now."
Akari snorted. "I wonder how he was lucky enough to get that number."
After a short period of annoying waiting music, the killer's voice echoed from the other end. "Who the heck would call me?"
I let a smile crawl onto my face. "Good to hear from you too Beyond."
"Miss us?" Akari asked from beside me.
Beyond fumbled with the phone. "Y? A? You two are actually calling me? Huh, didn't think I had friends. Although I was hoping it was the police with a plea deal. Never mind, do you need something?"
"Why do you think we need something?" I wondered.
He snorted. "Because the last time we talked, I told you to only call if you needed me." Oh yeah.
A while back ago, Akari and I went on a trip to America. LA to be exact. That's where we met Beyond. It was a little… shocking to find out he was a killer, but we learned to deal with it. He called us from the prison on his first night there and told us to give him a call if we ever needed him.
Now I did.
"I need you to tell me something." I waited a moment. "What can you tell me about the eyes?" I knew he had them. We both knew each other had them, but we never actually talked about it.
"Um, what's there to tell? You can see a person's real name and lifespan. You know that."
"Beyond, what happens if you can't see a person's lifespan?"
Again, the phone fumbled. "Wait, are you being serious? Are you not able to see a person's lifespan?"
I nodded, even though he couldn't see. "Yes."
"Who?"
"Light Yagami. Is that bad?"
Suddenly, his voice got low and serious. "Y, please don't get close to him. Yes, it's bad if you can't see their lifespan."
"Why?" I urged. Akari leaned forward in suspense.
"...Now is not the time. I… I'll tell you soon enough. Just watch your back and don't trust him."
"What should she do?" Akari asked him.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine as long as she doesn't get too close to him." Gradually, Beyond's voice grew cocky and calm again. "Just don't leave her alone in a room with him. Things might get steamy."
Akari laughed along with Beyond. I shoved Akari to the ground. Unable to do anything to Beyond, I huffed. "Shut up."
"Hehhehhehheh, just kidding. But seriously, be careful. I'd better go now. Guards don't like me lingering."
"Bye!" Akari and I said in unison.
Before anyone hung up, Beyond snickered. "See you soon…" Then, the line went off.
Akari and I blinked. Did he just say what I think he said? "See you soon" doesn't mean "I'll call you later." No, it means "I'm coming and we will meet face to face." "He's coming back." Akari laughed bitterly with the realization. "Beyond is coming back."