Chapter 32
Welcome back to DNTOS everyone! I actually pulled this one off in the same day as CH 31 what a miracle… Hope you enjoyed the last chapter, we're gonna get right on into this one. Ready? GO!
April 7th (Continued)
Ryuzaki and Light take less time to change back into their clothes then they did to change out of them, so within a few minutes they return. Light leads us to a small coffee shop restaurant not too far from the school. The Shinigami is uncharacteristically quite the whole trip. Once inside the waitress greets Light like an old friend and leads us to his 'usual spot', according to her. It's a table in the back, a booth completely out of the way, a perfect place to study…or plan a murder.
. . .
I let Ryuzaki in the booth first and he steps up and walks across it before sitting in his usual position.
"This coffee shop is one of my favorites in the area, and if we sit back here there's no chance of anyone overhearing us."
Light's acting rather friendly…but it's different than before…it's like he has competing personalities and this version is nicer…what if it's a Dr. Jackal and Mr. Hyde scenario? What if the squishy, friendly, cinnamon roll Light we're seeing now is the real Light and that odd vibe I always get is Kira-Light trying to poke through?
"Thanks for showing me this place; I see why you like it." Ryuzaki's tone seems like he's lost some of the irritation from earlier.
Done pouting are we?
"Not to mention, we're so outta the way here, no one is gonna give you a hard time about the way you sit." Light smiles.
Ohh, so you did notice Light. I was wondering…
"I don't sit like this because I want to; I have to sit like this. You see, if I were to sit normally my deductive skills would immediately reduce by forty percent." A waitress appears and sets a coffee cup down in front of Light.
"And what can I get you two?" She has a smile that makes me feel like she's in on some joke that we're not.
"Coffee please, and bring a bowl of sugar." I glance at Ryuzaki.
Kinda rude dontcha think?
The waitress doesn't seem fazed and turns to me, asking me what I want with her eyes.
"Do you have Mt. Dew?" She nods, and then leaves. Light opens a pack of cream and adds it to his coffee. He picks up a stir stick, which the waitress brought, and stirs his coffee gently.
"Now, what was it you wanted to ask me, Light?" Ryuzaki shifts slightly and I shift toward the edge to make more room.
"Actually Ryuga, I had a few questions…" The waitress appears again with Ryuzaki's coffee and my Dew, which fun fact, is in a glass bottle. I smile as she sets it in front of me. She walks over to another table and picks up its sugar bowl then brings it to us, setting it in the middle. After that, she leaves. "Well anyway, I've been wondering who this girl is. She's been following us around, but you've never introduced her, or even addressed her by her name. Is she your girlfriend, Ryuga?" My bottle is to my lips and I'm taking a drink when he asks. My eyes nearly pop out of my head, I choke slightly on my drink, the fizz creeping its way into my nose, but I try to keep my coughing quiet.
"Now that you mention it, I guess I haven't introduced her…Light Yagami, meet Suzuki Matsui, my girlfriend." My mouth drops open slightly and I stare at Ryuzaki.
Your girlfriend? Ryuzaki…you told me to be quiet and roll with the flow around Light, but I can't tell if you're being serious or not…Is this real? Are you joking? Are you lying to Light or do you actually want me to be your girlfriend? I need to know…
"Well that's great I'm happy for you two." I return my bottle to the table and feel sickness well up inside me.
"Yes thank you Light." Ryuzaki moves his hand on top of mine, it sends chills through my body and my heart begins to pound. He slowly rubs his thumb on my hand, but I'm too distracted by my stomach to care. Light notices my distress.
"Ryuga, is she alright? She doesn't look so good…" I stand up quickly, holding my stomach
"Light where is the restroom?" I'm gonna throw up…
"Um, go straight back the way we came in, but take a right instead of a left." I nod and rush off with one hand on my stomach and the other over my mouth.
I barely make it into the stall before I'm forced to my knees by a heave that expels the contents of my guts.
Ugh! What the hell!
I heave and heave until my throat is on fire and my stomach aches. I sit back on my heels until I'm positive that it's over. I reach over and grab some toilet paper and wipe my mouth before tossing it into the toilet and flushing. I stand slowly and use the side of the stall to steady myself. I shakily push the door open and make my way to the sink so I can wash my face and rinse my mouth out a little.
Ugh…what the hell caused that? I thinkback to what I ate today. Watari made bacon and eggs for breakfast…lunch was a Caesar salad… and that lemonade…and then dew…oh…I see…bacon and lemonade and dew don't mix…
I lean down and splash water on my face, before running a wet hand through my bangs. I sigh and look up at the mirror.
"Hey there." My blood goes cold and I scream as I see the Shinigami's reflection. He's standing behind me, his hands in a peace sign. I spin around to make sure I'm not just seeing things, but he's still there. "So you can see me. I figured, but wasn't sure." I slowly sink to my knees. "Are you gonna pass out? I didn't mean to startle you." I sigh and run my hand through my hair again to try and compose myself. I reach up and grab the counter and use it to lift myself up. I face the Shinigami and lean my back against the counter.
"How'd you figure it out?" I look down at my boots until the world stops spinning then up to the Shinigami's yellow eyes.
"Well I didn't until just now. Something told me that you might be able to see me so I thought I'd run a little test to see." I nod slowly. "So how do you do it?"
I put my hand to my face, still recovering a bit from throwing up. "Do what?"
"How do you see me without touching a piece of the Death Note?" It points to its' satchel on its' hip which seems to be the home of a black notebook.
"I don't know how, I was able to see you from the beginning." My head feels cloudy…What is it even talking about? What's a Death Note? Some sort of Notebook of Death? It sounds fake…does Kira use one? Ugh my head is starting to pound.
"Wow that's actually really cool." The Shinigami smiles wide, showing its pointed teeth.
Yeah, it wasn't so cool when you jammed your face into the camera that first time…
"So kid, what's your name?" The Shinigami seems really interested in me.
"Um…Suzuki, Suzuki Matsui…" It erupts into laughter. What the fuck?! "Why is that so funny?" It stops and leans down to stare at me.
"Samantha, isn't that an English name?" My heart stops.
How! What the fuck?! No one over here knows my real name! Oh my god! Is the Shinigami Kira? Am I gonna die? Holy shit! I just realized it just said that in English! It knows! What do I do?
"H-how…" I start to step back but the counter is there. My hand twitches, desperately wanting to summon my weapon.
Goddamnit! Am I not in danger?! Why won't you come when I call you?! I used to be able to summon you for less than this!
"How do I know your true name?" It points to the space above my head. "It's written there along with your lifespan." It lets its' long arm fall to its side.
"M-my lifespan?" I stutter at the thought of this creature being able to see how long I've got left to live.
"Don't worry, it's a long one." I sigh in relief. "And before you go asking how long just know I'm not gonna tell you. I know that I literally have a big mouth, but even I wouldn't tell someone that."
"I'd rather not know anyway…So, Shinigami-"
"Ryuk."
"What?"
"My name, it's Ryuk." It's still speaking English, I fold my arms gently.
"Uh…okay, Ryuk…there are a few things I wanna know."
"Shoot."
"Um well…I'm curious…you are a dude Shinigami right?" I'm pretty sick of referring to it as an it.
"Yeah, of course. Why?" He seems confused.
"No reason. All right next que-"
"Just a minute. There's something you gotta know first."
"Um…okay."
"You gotta know that I'm not on L's side or Light's in this whole thing. That means that I ain't here to help either of 'em. That being said, I won't tell you anything about Light and I won't reveal your true names either."
Shit…there goes asking him about Light…but doesn't that mean Light really is Kira after all? Ryuk says he won't tell Light our true names …that's good…but concerning…can I trust him?
I sigh and look up at him. "So, you're just a spectating specter, eh?" I smile at my pun, trying to calm myself. Ryuk chuckles, finding it funny.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Alright, sounds like we'll have to just figure things out for ourselves…" Ryuk scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, I've said too much already."
"So why are you here?" I push off the counter and walk past him toward the door. They're probably worried by now.
"I was bored, and I came for the apples." I place my hand on the door then turn to look at him.
"Apples?"
"Yeah, they're much better here than in the Shinigami realm, I could go on and on, but you should really get back. We can chat a different day." I nod and push the door open and head toward the table.
Talk about a weird conversation…I wonder what he mean about being bored…I wish I had asked him more about that Death Note thing, but my head just hurts so much…I wonder what makes it so special and why people have to touch it in order to see a Shinigami. Is it something that can be duplicated? Are there more here in this world? Does Light have one? Does it even correlate to Kira? My headache pulses. I'm thinking too hard…
Ryuzaki notices me approaching and waves, I smile. At least Ryuk gave me his word that he wouldn't give anyone our true names…this still doesn't prove that Light is Kira but it makes me that much more sure that he is…I guess that Ryuk could be Kira, but he could have killed us at any time and he hasn't…I wonder if it's because he's a Shinigami or because of his eyes…well I guess either way it's not like he could pass the power of seeing names and lifespans to someone…good thing too, that would be a disaster.
"Are you alright Suzuki? You're pale, like you've just seen a ghost." Ryuzaki looks concerned and sad, which totally contradicts with the way he's been acting toward me. I smile uneasily and notice Light's frown.
Ghost no, Shinigami yes…I wonder what happened while I was gone…
"I'm alright, my stomach was just upset."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that…do you want some water?" Light's demeanor changes almost instantaneously.
"No, but thank you, Light." I sit down and slide a bit into the booth accidently tapping Ryuzaki, he looks at me confused.
'Is she your girlfriend Ryuga?'… 'Now that you mention it…this is Suzuki Matsui, my girlfriend.'
My face heats up at the memory and I move my eyes to the table where four notes are sitting.
What the hell? These are the suicide notes from the case…well three of them are, but that fourth one…I've never seen it before. Its secret message reads 'have red hands'…oh! Ryuzaki must have been testing Light, seeing if he's realize that that last one is a fake! If Light did know then it'd be like getting him to say something only Kira would know. An judging by that frown earlier I'd say that's exactly what happened. Way to go Ryuzaki.
"Anyway Light, your deductive skills are very impressive." Ryuzaki turns away from me almost as if he's hurt and looks back to Light.
"Yes, but the more impressive my answers, the more suspicious I become." I watch Light sip his coffee; Ryuk is standing behind him.
"Yes…it's about three percent now…however it's made me that much more determined to work with you. You see, even if you are Kira it would still be beneficial to have you work alongside us-"
"Us?" Light interrupts slightly confused. I wave quietly, signaling that I am the 'us'. "You're a detective too?" I nod.
"Do you know why I'd say such a thing, Light?" Light turns to Ryuzaki with the same frown as before and sips his cup.
"If I cooperate with you there's a chance that I can help the investigation move forward and if I'm Kira there is a chance that I might reveal myself." He sets the cup on the table with a 'clink'. "In other words, whether I'm Kira or not you stand to gain either way. It's a smart move on your part. However Ryuga, you might be getting the wrong idea…I do have an interest in the Kira Investigation and detective work is a hobby of mine, but I know that I'm not Kira, and I certainly don't wanna be killed by him. Besides, what proof has either of you given me that proves that you yourselves aren't Kira? It hardly seems fair that I'm the only one being investigated wouldn't you say? At this point none of us here can prove that we're not Kira, and of course I can't take her word on you being L because I don't know her. However there are other ways you can prove it to me…I think I'd be convinced if say…my father, or someone else from task force headquarters that I trust were able to confirm your identity in person…non-coerced of course…an if you can't do that then I'm afraid I just can't help you." Light finally pauses and stares at us.
Wow…he sure likes to hear himself talk…but it's odd that Ryuzaki would deny Light a chance to meet with a member of the task force…it's obvious that Light would have to get confirmation from someone he knows…
"I don't remember saying you couldn't meet anyone from task force headquarters to verify my identity. I knew from the start that Suzuki's word wouldn't be enough, even if she is a member of the task force…" Light seems surprised, as if he was certain that Ryuzaki wouldn't let him come back with us. "We're currently working alongside your father and several other detectives from the NPA. Now…if I understand correctly and we take you to task force headquarters, then you'll help with the investigation? Is that correct?" Ryuzaki pauses and I can see the wheels turning in Lights head.
I knew it was weird that Ryuzaki would say no…
Ryuzaki's phone starts ringing and I jump as it startles me. Light looks into his bag as another ringtone goes off.
"Hmm there goes mine too." Light pulls his phone from his bag. My pocket begins to vibrate.
What the hell? All three of us getting calls at the same time? Something's not right…I pull out my phone and check the caller ID. It's Matsuda…I hit the answer button. "Yeah?"
"Suzuki, it's the Chief!" Time seems to slow as we all receive the same information. My heart stops as Light's face turns ghostly white.
"My father…he had a heart attack…"
Oh my god I thought that chapter would never end. I really like this one but I'm so tired from typing it, I wandered away like 100 times…sometimes around the house sometimes to Tumblr jeesh…Well only a few people have gotten to read 31 in the time between me posting it and finishing this one so there are no new follows, favorites, or comments. I guess I'll go play ps4 or something. Final Fantasy XV is calling my name…Hope you enjoyed this one, tell me what you thought in the comments, I'm really looking forward to it! Peace out!