The Shinigami realm had not been so entertained by humans for a long time. They watched over the human world, both those who were being killed and being reincarnated.

One of them chuckled. "Where's Ryuk gone off to?"

"Clearly, he's gone to see what those angels are doing…" another said.

"Hey."

I jumped up. Light was at my door.

"Let's go to the mall," he said.

"Right now?" I asked, standing up.

"Yep," Light grinned. "Right now."

Welp, that caught me off guard. Light was always so busy.

"But…" I looked down. "Don't you have studying to do?"

"I'm already well ahead with my studying," Light told me. "And besides, we haven't got to hang out for ages."

Well, he wasn't wrong.

"I dunno…" I shrugged. "I mean, I got homework to do too…"

"I can help you with that, no problem," Light replied.

I shrugged. "That's great, but… I just, I'm not sure if I wanna go out right now…"

"What's this all of a sudden?" Light asked, raising his brow. "You always want to go out, and now you don't?"

"I…" I trailed off. My eyes were welling up already.

Light's expression softened. He came and sat next to me.

"Listen…" he sighed. "You think I haven't noticed how tired you've been? You deserve a break, Sayu."

I gazed up at him. His brow was knitted, the same concerned face Mom always gave me.

Guardian was eyeing him, their face twisted. They stared at some space next to him, as if there was something there.

I swallowed. My brother had a point. I hadn't been able to relax since… well, before that stupid Life Note.

"Well… okay then!" I grabbed his arm. "Let's go to the mall!"

And so, there we were, at the mall. We walked together, crowds of people passing by. So many bright shops… so many shops I would've loved to visit if I wasn't the Anti-Kira. Guardian floated beside me; as usual, they didn't seem very amused. They really needed to lighten up…

"Shut up," Light uttered, glaring at the ceiling.

"Huh?" I stared at him.

"Oh, sorry, Sayu," Light waved it off. "I was thinking about something else. Where did you want to go first?"

That wasn't the first time I'd caught him staring off into space. What was he thinking about?

"Um…" I looked around. "Shoes!"

I headed over to a shoe store, eyeing all the shoes on display. Guardian flew over my shoulder.

"Aren't they so cool?" I gushed, staring up at them.

"Whatever you say," Light muttered.

"I wasn't talking to…" I trailed off.

"Hmm?" Light asked.

"Ummmm," I began sweat-beading. "Lightie, guess what!"

"What?" Light asked.

"I've been saving up for these," I pointed at a pair of heels, right by the front, "and I'm finally gonna get them!"

Light came over, observing them. "Awfully expensive…"

"Well duh, that's why I've been saving up for so long!" I cheered.

Before I raced in, Light grabbed my shoulder.

"Hold on," he said. "Let me pay for them."

"Wait, what?" I asked. "Oh, Light, you don't have to! I've got the money!"

"No no," Light replied. "Save your money, Sayu."

"A… are you sure?" I asked.

"Of course," Light stepped ahead. "So, these were the ones you wanted?"

I headed inside, grabbing the shoes. Light looked over them. He walked over to the cash register to go and pay. I gazed up at Guardian.

"Why's he being so nice today…?" I wondered.

They didn't respond.

"Uh, hello?" I hissed. "Guardian?"

For some reason, they were staring at a guy in the corner of the store. He was wearing a dark jacket, his dark hair fanning his face. It was a bit hard to see since he was turned away, but I could tell he wasn't Japanese.

"Why are you staring at that guy?" I asked.

"Here you go."

Light handed me the shoebox. I gasped in surprise.

I had to wonder… did Light feel sorry for me? He tended to spoil me from time to time. I guessed he was trying to overcompensate on his big brother duties or something. Either way… I was lucky to have him.

"Thanks, Light," I grinned, hugging him. "You're the best!"

"I know," he smiled.

After that strange shopping experience, it was time for a snack break. Light trailed behind as I moved ahead, gazing at all the food options.

"Sayu," Guardian spoke.

"What's up?" I hissed, leaning away from my brother.

"That man in the shoe store…" Guardian paused. "He was following you."

My voice croaked. "What… ?"

"Sayu?" Light asked, his brow creased. "What's wrong?"

I looked down. "Uhhh, nothing! Let's just hurry up and get some food!"

After grabbing some boba - which my brother insisted on paying for - we sat down at a table. We kinda just sat there, in an awkward silence.

"Um…" I sipped my drink. "Lightie?"

"What is it?" he asked.

"I think…" I swallowed. "I think there's someone following us."

Light paused. A smirk stretched across his lips.

"So…" he said. "You noticed him too, did you?"

"You knew he was there?" I asked.

Well, I shouldn't have been surprised. He was Light-fucking-Yagami, high school mega genius.

"Of course," Light sipped his boba. "He's been following me for about a week."

"A week?!" I exclaimed, standing up.

"Sayu, sit down," Light snapped, grabbing my arm.

"Why's he following you?!" I demanded.

Light breathed out. "I believe it's because he suspects I'm Kira."

"WHAT?!" I shouted, standing up again.

"Sayu!" Light scolded. "You have to calm down! He'll know we saw him."

"Sorry - just…" I trailed off. "Why does he think YOU'RE Kira?! You're literally the last person on Earth that could be Kira!"

Light sighed. "Well, he does have some reason to be suspicious. I'm sure you've noticed, the guy is not Japanese. He's working with the FBI, which means he'll be caught up on police info… and the deaths of his fellow agents."

"He's an FBI agent?!" I asked.

Light nodded. "Somehow, Kira has managed to gather the police's intel about the case. Who could do that other than someone who had a connection to the police? And especially someone who wants to become a detective himself."

"That's true, but that doesn't mean you're Kira!" I argued. "They could be a master hacker or something."

"In addition, it's likely Kira is a student, judging from the times they were killing," Light told me. "But then their times changed, likely after they got police intel."

That did put Light in a pretty suspicious way.

"Well, it's not like you're the only student," I huffed. "It could be anyone!"

But not you, I thought. Not you, Lightie.

"Don't worry about him, Sayu," Light told me. "He'll give up in a few days."

"Why can't you just go over and tell him you're not Kira?" I asked.

Light sighed. "If only it was that simple. It'd make me look even more suspicious."

He was right. Of course.

"So… you're just gonna keep letting this American dude follow you?" I asked.

"As I said, he'll give up in a few days once he realises I'm not Kira," Light assured me. "Hopefully then he'll focus on finding the actual Kira."

Light was pretty calm about the whole situation. That was one thing about Light - he was always calm, always collected, no matter what. I don't know how he did it.

I tried to stare at Light's stalker, but Light moved in front of my field of view.

"Don't worry about him," he insisted.

His tone was calm, but his eyes were harsh.

"Okay…" I nodded.

We sat in silence for a few moments.

Light coughed. "So… how's your friend going?"

"Mei?" I asked. "She's good."

We fell into awkward silence again.

"You're not very chatty these days," Light noticed.

I looked away. "Yeah. Well. Life's weird right now."

Light's expression shifted, just a little. He reached over, squeezing my shoulder.

"You can talk to me about anything," he assured me. "I'm here for you, okay?"

I swallowed. I wasn't expecting all these sappy feelings.

"Uh, t-thanks," I stammered.

"I love you, Sayu," he told me. "Don't forget that."

He was smiling too. Something about his smile felt so sincere. I knew the guy was always giving fake smiles, so it was nice to see a real one.

"Why are you being so sappy, Light?" I tried not to giggle.

"Ahhh… you know," Light shrugged. "As you said, life is difficult right now. I just want you to feel better."

Guardian was eyeing Light, skeptical.

"I do not trust him," they declared. I glared at them.

"Well…" I turned back to Light. "I want you to feel better, too. Because you deserve to be happy! You're so busy all the time."

"That's really sweet of you to say, but don't worry about me," Light replied. "I can look after myself."

"Yeah, w-well, I can also look after myself!" I assured him.

"Of course you can," Light rolled his eyes.

I glared at him. "You're a butthead!"

"Back to normal," he teased. "Never change, Sayu."

This was a lot of fun, just like the old times. Why were my eyes watering?

"Lightie…" I croaked. "Can… can I have a hug?"

Light breathed out, slowly. He opened up his arms. I wrapped my arms around my brother, laying my head on his shoulder. Light returned the hug, combing his fingers through my hair, just like Mom always did.

I thought about the FBI agent following him. How stupid would you have to be to think someone as generous and amazing as Light was Kira? Clearly, that guy didn't know a thing.

A/N: Hey, so updates may be a bit slower from now on, I'm having some creative block...

Anyway, one thing I guess I want people to think about is the sincerity of Light's affection towards Sayu. Is he genuinely concerned for her or is he just manipulating her? Hmmm…