Nao has come to realize that her passiveness means that she'll never dig deeper if she likes the surface.
Anathème
deux.
| and let me peer inside |
.
.
There's the yellow tape, the flash of cameras, the quiet whispers and then the louder, more clinical ones, announcing to the world obvious details. People either rush past her or move at a glacial pace, faces either hardened by experience or twisted into stoic discomfort.
Nao is reminded of those TV shows, the one she watches with her father when she's a teen, the ones where there are crime scenes and officers who can map the minds of murderers just by looking at their victims (her mother doesn't find them that interesting, but she does watch a few episodes with them, a hand on her mouth to cover her surprise when they find the culprit and uncover their or his or her motive).
Nao's eyes start on the ground, the wood obviously old and with a few cracks, not that she expected anything else when she'd first glanced at the seedy motel, and then trail upwards until they reach what looks like toes.
But this, this is reality and these are toes that are attached to feet, dirty feet and bruised, a blue purple-ish wound spreading over the tender flesh.
She's never been to an actual crime scene before, not that she ever had a need to and while pictures can be just as gruesome and she's looked at some of the worst of them, there's something about being here and witnessing it that is – different.
Even as her eyes continue their ascent, Nao finds that she doesn't have a word to explain the thoughts running through her head. She does think it's a pity, mostly because there's a dead kid in front of her and anyone sane wouldn't really enjoy that, but there's something else, something she can't put into words even in the confines of her mind.
"Nao?" She hums in response, doesn't bother directing her gaze towards Light even as he calls out her name. "Are you okay? You haven't moved in over ten minutes…"
He doesn't tell her it's creepy. He doesn't have to and, besides, Light is hardly one to judge her – but Nao supposes that people actually have jobs to do and she's in their way.
"It's not right." She says in lieu of a response to his question. She shakes her head and points towards the body and, more precisely, to the noose dangling from the ceiling that holds the corpse.
"What is?" Light asks, the fabric of his shirt rustling as he cranes his neck to try and find some meaning in her cryptic words.
And then it hits her.
Nao's watched enough movies to know what people who hang themselves look like and this, this isn't it. She can pay attention to detail and this kid obviously didn't kill himself, no, he was killed and moved and whoever did do this to cover their crimes, no, they obviously recreated a scene from memory (the bruises on his feet means struggle and she's sure that if they undress him they'll find more).
"He didn't kill himself." Nao finally turns her eyes towards Light. "I think someone wanted to make it seem like he did, but they did it very poorly, almost like they wanted people to know he didn't."
Because, someone who can kidnap twenty-four children from all over the world and even break into Wammy's to steal one of the youngest residents has to be smart, they'd have to be.
This is not sloppy, this is fully intended and has a higher purpose and Nao has a feeling that more of the children will be turning up dead soon enough – that's probably why there hasn't been a ransom demand, no, this isn't about money or politics or whatever else, this is personal.
"How…" But then Light shakes his head. "I had a hunch and I know you're probably right. I'll just wait for the autopsy to confirm it before I announce it to the Chief and start mass hysteria in the department."
Nao beams at him, pleased that someone else can see it. She's not insane, she just notices little details that most people would overlook and it's satisfying to know that someone can see it too (there is also someone else who would have caught on, but he likes to remain and hotel rooms and send people to do his dirty work instead).
She lets her eyes roam about the room and notices how people are staring at them. There are no more camera flashes, but the yellow tape still keeps people from entering the room and she spots Matsuda by the door who looks a tad distraught, probably because of the dead child hanging in the air.
"How about we get some air?" She says aloud, not caring at all that people are staring. "Or maybe we could get breakfast? I'm starved." And she wants coffee, she desperately needs coffee.
It's still early enough for breakfast, anyways (she was already dressed by dawn and had driven her and Light all the way to Gunma on three hours of sleep and a thermos filled to the brim coffee that was barely enough for thirty minutes).
"Yes, we could." Light deadpans, also aware of attention of everyone in the room and not at all bothered by it. "Looking at dead bodies always boosts my appetite." And from anyone else, the sarcasm would merely raise a few eyebrows, but Light's tone is almost vicious and people seem to snap out of it and return to doing their jobs instead of studying them together.
On their way outside the room, Nao passes by Matsuda and stops to offer him a smile.
"Would you like to come with us, Matsuda-san?" He's always been nice to her and he looks a bit mortified and this isn't pity, no, this is just her being nice and helping out a decent man even if he doesn't look like he could stomach anything else than air.
"No, no, I'm fine, but thank you, Nao-chan." He smiles at her, but it comes out more like a grimace and she knows it isn't because it's a murder scene. It's because it's a child and that's how normal people would react.
"Okay. I'll make sure to bring you back some tea." Or maybe an entire bottle of alcohol, she isn't really sure.
"I'll see you back in Tokyo." Light nods his head at the man in politeness and Matsuda doesn't really nod back, merely lets out a grunt that sounds very pained.
"Yeah, see you later." But the oldest is distracted and shutting off again and Nao wonders what it says about her and Light, that they can think about eating even with all of this (she wonders what it says about her, especially since she's studied Chemistry and not much else), but doesn't dwell for an answer.
Light and her find a restaurant very easily, not that it surprises her. The Gunma Prefecture is known to attract tourism and it's only fair that there are restaurants everywhere to cater to the whims of the locals and foreigners alike. They settle for something family friendly that has a big picture of pancakes on the front.
It's only when she allows herself a sip of warm, too strong coffee and ordered their largest plate complete with all the side dishes that she allows a pleased sigh to escape her lips. Even Light seems more relaxed and he smiles at the sound, taking a sip of his own cup.
"You think it can wait or should I tell him now?" Light doesn't need to tell who he's talking about because she knows, she knows very well. If Nao's is L's connection to the world, Light is his connection to the NPA.
"I'll tell him later." She shakes her head and smiles in understanding. "I do have to go back to him at some point, don't worry about it." That reminds her, she has to pick up some sugar cubes and maybe more coffee.
"How's that working out by the way? Fancy hotels and butler service?" Light isn't impressed, but he knows all about the greatest detective who's ever lived.
Nao shakes her head, an amused smile on her lips.
"We are staying with my parents." She says the words slowly and they almost make her laugh. For a second, Light's face is surprise and disbelief, but then an amused smirk forms on his lips.
Nao matches it with her own before taking another sip of coffee.
"How did you manage to do that?" Light asks as if he really wants to know.
"I didn't. My mother convinced him and she really, really insisted. Even offered the guest room and all." Not that he's been using it. He always finds his way in her room at some point, usually after she's had a shower. "And my father is home for once."
Nao imagines most people her age would find this situation dreadful and awkward, but she enjoys the way the detective tries very hard to be polite with her mother and has weird, intense conversations with her father about literature. For someone who never socializes and even avoids it, he's bending over backwards to please her parents and not intrude on their kindness (and revenge is so sweet she doesn't need sugar in her coffee).
"I have to see this." Light says, just as their food arrives and the waitress asks if they'd like coffee refills. They both nod and she comes back a second later with the pot and tells them to enjoy before walking towards another table that flags her down.
"Come over for supper tomorrow." Nao suggests between bites of egg and fluffy pancakes. "And bring Misa, I'm sure she'd enjoy the show."
"I think I will." He flashes her smile, slowly drinking his Miso soup. There's a moment of content silence between the two and Nao munches on happily, washing food down with gulps of coffee. "So, then, you and L are a couple?"
Nao blinks and finishes chewing very slowly before she swallows.
"I mean…" Light continues on when she doesn't answer. "You brought him home to meet your parents and, before that, you went to stay with him for almost two years…"
"We don't really talk about that." Nao answers and she has no other, because anything else would be a lie and she doesn't see the point of lying, especially not to Light. "Being a couple." She adds as an afterthought.
"Well, he clearly likes you. He wasn't very subtle, even back then." And if Light says it, then it must be true and L may have a weird way of showing it, but he's also fond of Light in his own way. He came to Japan to catch a serial killer and instead made friends. He's still bitter about it. "And you like him, right?"
(She lets him kiss her until it bruises and sinks her nails into his back hard enough to leave trails of blood that remain until the next morning and sometimes he crawls into bed and places soft kisses on her forehead and she buries herself into his side. Mello never dares to intrude in L's bedroom and Nao sleeps, used to the faint sound of fingers ghosting over laptop keys. She wakes up in the morning and makes coffee just the way he likes and asks about his cases).
"Yeah, I mostly do." But Nao has come to realize that her passiveness means that she'll never dig deeper if she likes the surface. Whatever her and L have, she is content with it. It might not be what she pictured her life like and might not feel any real satisfaction from it, but she's not unhappy – and that just enough for her.
She expects Light to have something to say about that, but he merely nods his head as if he can understand her.
"I know what you mean." And he really looks like he does, like he won't try to reach for anything concrete and is ready to live his life with no meaningful connections because meaningful means understanding and understanding means digging and he doesn't want to.
Nao holds up her coffee cup and he mimics her. They share a toast, a solemn moment of understanding and then they forget about it and talk about Misa's shop.
.
.
"I'm home." She calls out from the door. It's so familiar that it makes her smile and she takes off her heels and drops the brown paper bag of groceries on the floor, taking a moment to enjoy the cold on her toes.
"Welcome home." There's three people that reply, voice very distinctive. Two from the kitchen and one from the living room. She passes in front of the latter and notices her father on the couch, a book in his lip.
"I missed this, you know." He tells her when she plops down on the couch next to him. She blinks at him. "You calling out that you're home." Nao smiles at her father.
"I missed you too." She says easily, because in some ways it's true. "It's nice to be home." He hums and pushes a hand on her knee.
"I always thought you'd be the type to grow old alone and have a bunch of cats and now here you are, working in England and bringing your boyfriend home. I'm pretty sure I should be proud I wasn't right." He's serious.
"Maybe it's not that nice to be home." She deadpans and knows fully well that her father means what he's just said. "And not cats. I would have a cat, not cats." She adds as if it's supposed to make it better.
"Yes, of course – a cat." Her father is amused. "But I think this one is better than a cat. He's helping your mother bake a cake and it seems to be going pretty well. No one lost an arm, yet."
"You like him." The realization happens so slowly it doesn't even surprise her. Her father's smile is indulgent.
"He's very weird and definitely has a back problem that should be checked over by a license professional because no one healthy sits that way, but yes." Her father nods. "He's obviously very fond of you." He adds.
"You're the second person to say that today." Nao doesn't know if people have been spreading the word. "Light said the exact same thing a few hours ago." Not exactly, but the sentiment is the same.
"Light has always been too smart for his own good." She thinks her father is also fond of Light and if both of them have the same opinion on the subject, then it must be true. "You can count on his opinion."
Nao doesn't have some witty reply for that or even an objection. She's spared, however, when her mother calls them over to the kitchen. Nao let's her father sit up first and then motions for him to help her up. He makes a joke about kitchen fires and she snorts under her breath.
She blinks as she comes into the kitchen. The patio doors are opened and there's the sweet smell of sugary baked goods, said baked good cooling on the counter. It's a very normal looking cake, one her mother has made plenty of times before. It's covered in white icing and there are strawberries on top.
The detective eyes shine as he eyes it (Nao isn't surprised, it was made just for him after all) and as her mother moves to slice four, thick pieces, she sees his tongue darting out to lick his lips.
"It looks delicious." Her father says, kissing her mother's cheek and then moving to sit, pulling at the chair directly in front of the detective.
"Thank you." Her mother seems happy as she motions for Nao to grab two of the four plates with her chin. Nao obeys and places the plates on the table. "Ryuzaki was a big help. He was very serious about it."
"I'm always serious about cake." He nods his head and eyes the slice. There's strawberries in the middle that are obviously glazed to add some sweetness and he aches to reach for his fork and tab it through.
"He is." Nao takes the seat next to the detective.
They all say the usual thanks and Nao digs her fork into the cake, her fork going in smoothly. She takes a bite and slowly tastes it and finds that when she swallows, she's enjoyed it enough for a second bite and a third. Next to her, the detective has a pleased grin on his face and his expression is proud – proud at having had a hand into the preparation and having it come out so perfectly.
"Oh, I forgot." She says on the third bite. "Light and Misa will be coming over for supper tomorrow, if you don't mind." Her mother's eyes shine and she's pleased, very much so. Her passive daughter has grown up and has brought a boy home and has friends over to visit.
"Of course, not." The woman answers, her bite of cake a bit too large. Her father nods his head because he doesn't actually care, Nao knows that.
Under the table, L's hand brushes her.
(Nao wonders if she'll feel the burn on her lips tomorrow or if she'll feel the ghost of his fingers in her hair for hours, even as she sleeps).
a/n : I admit, my muse abandoned for a while, but I never forgot Nao, never. If anyone is still interested in the sequel, here it finally is, slowly taking shape and with an actual plot. I'm also thinking of changing the title, so if anyone still reads this, watch out for this. Thanks to everyone who still loves Nao and want to read about her adventures. Thank your for your reviews and favourites and follows. I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading.