It has been an odd few days.
The odd feeling continues to gnaw at the back of Shinoska's mind, the young woman having been paying especially close attention to current news. While all of her peers weren't doing exactly that, enough of them were for the happenings of the past few days to not exactly go undiscussed.
Nearly 42 criminals had dropped dead over the last four days, just the same as the man in the daycare. What they all had in common was that they were completely without warning and the cause of death was always a heart attack.
Of course, since they were criminals, it is not as if people were particularly concerned or even angry. In fact, some rejoiced at the strange happening.
Shinoska is even willing to admit that, at first, she kind of did too. Well, rejoice is too strong a word, but she wasn't exactly upset about it.
But today it's getting to her and she cannot shake the feeling of unease that pokes and prods at every fiber of her mind.
Yet, she still finds the will to pay close attention to class for the day. It's remarkable given the state of her thoughts and the dreary weather. The clouds have gathered and settled in the dark sky since that morning, the rain having begun to pour only about an hour ago.
But she pays attention. Perhaps because it's all she can think to do.
The rest of the school day goes by achingly slow, but she is used to and comfortable with the slow drag of it all. She eats lunch with a few friends that beg to see her notes as they usually do, the young woman perfectly fine giving them up, though they accompany a small (but mostly encouraging) lecture that she always makes a point to give.
She thinks her friends can do and be better than rely on her notes so frequently, but at the same time, she can't bring herself to see them fail.
Light, on the other hand, isn't so forgiving.
"If they keep relying on you, they're not going to get very far," he says as he waits for Shinoska to slip on her outdoor shoes.
"I know and I always tell them that. They didn't need my notes at first, but now it's sometimes like they don't even believe in themselves enough to try getting by without them," Shinoska says with a sigh as she walks with him toward the exit of the school.
"You know, you could just stop giving your notes to them," he says, his expression completely serious.
"Well, I could, but I don't want to," she says simply before shrugging.
"Why? It's not like they deserve your help since they're not even trying to better themselves. Honestly, it almost seems like they're using you," Light asks bluntly, utterly confused.
"Because they're my friends, so I don't feel like they have to deserve my help for me to give it to them. I want to help, so I'm okay with it," Shinoska says genuinely before her smile turns up a bit more and a pleased look sparks in her eyes, "Besides, if we're all still close sometime in the future, then I'll get to see how they turned out with my help. That sounds kind of nice, don't you think?"
"I can't exactly say that," he says plainly.
Shinoska lets out a small laugh as she nods her head a bit in response.
"Yeah, that's about what I expected you to say," she says, a twinkle in her eyes as she looks at him fondly, "Though, I'm not entirely sure why it's something you don't understand. After all, you've helped me out before."
"That's different," he says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, "You're different from them. For one, you actually put forth the effort and don't expect anyone to help you nor do you whine when things get tough. In any case, rarely do you ever actually need my help and you almost never rely on it."
"And…that's what makes you want to help me? Because I don't beg for it?" She asks as she tilts her head with a touch of playful curiosity.
"Among other things," Light answers as he locks eyes with her.
The two are silent as a few moments pass. Shinoska can feel her veins hum as her heart thumps in her chest, the young woman is the first to break their intense stare down in an attempt to hide the blush on her cheeks.
She turns her head to look toward the umbrella stand nearby the exit and begins searching for her umbrella only to find that someone has taken it. In disbelief, she continues to look for the signature deep red, though her efforts are to no avail.
"I really liked that umbrella too…" Shinoska laments as she turns and watches the harsh rain pound and pool along the ground.
"...Despicable," he mutters.
Light's expression and voice fill with venom, though only for a quickly passing moment, so brief that Shinoska hardly caught it all.
"Come here," he says as he gestures for Shinoska to take her place by his side.
"Oh… Right, okay!" Shinoska says after a moment of pause, the thought of such an innocent, yet intimate thing stirring some feelings in her chest.
"There's no need to be nervous. We shared an umbrella all the time when we were kids," Light says as Shinoska looks up at him with a slight pout.
"Well, that istrue, but still. You know that's not the same thing," she replies. Light shrugs his shoulders in response.
"Didn't I also used to carry you on my back when it rained?" Light asks.
"That was only one time! I'm surprised you even remember," Shinoska says as a slightly embarrassed laugh escapes her lips, a fond smile gracing her features.
"Of course I remember. We were playing outside and you tripped and scratched your knee. You tried your best not to cry, but the look on your face made it pretty obvious that you wanted to," he says bluntly, a slight teasing tone to his voice.
"Well, maybe I was being a bit of a crybaby, but it really did hurt! In any case, I've changed a lot since then," Shinoska says, a bit of jokingly, yet somewhat serious pride clear in her expression.
"That you have," Light replies as he looks at her from the corner of his eye and discreetly admires who she has become. He then boldly offers out his arm as he opens his umbrella and steps outside.
"Shall we?"
After a beat of hesitation, Shinoska smiles as she steps forward and gently slips her arm around his.
Light's expression doesn't falter, her touch only fueling his internal ego as he relishes in the feeling of her by his side.
'Yes,thisisasitshould be…'
He's assured in his thoughts as Shinoska leans against him, the thumping of her heart a pleasant sensation against his body.
Light is many things, but he is far from being oblivious. The feelings between the two have gone largely unspoken, but they're presence isn't something that can at all be ignored.
It's practically been expected that they'd get together at some point, especially by their parents. They've made themselves perfectly clear with their meddling and intrusively teasing parental gazes whenever Light and Shinoska would hang out.
So, he's been content to merely let things play out as they should. All this time, he's figured that things will fall into place one way or another: they'll eventually date sometime during college when Shinoska is finally ready to admit her feelings, the woman will become a lawyer, Light will get some intellectually unstimulating but well-paying job, they'll move in together, get married, have a few kids, and then die after a relatively pleasantly lived life together.
The idea by itself isn't much, but it's at the very least honest and quaint. But with Shinoska, Light has always wondered for more.
In Light's mind, and (in his opinion) surely in the minds of others, they're the ideal couple. But those people don't understand just how much they could truly be if their potential wasn't suffocated by the immoral bindings of the world.
While they have their differences in how it can be explored, they both have a strong eye for justice. Not to mention that Shinoska is unnaturally perceptive when she wants to be and has the drive and dedication to match Light's. She may not be a natural born genius as he is, but the work she puts in to get to his level makes her a force to be reckoned with all the same.
Unhindered, he is certain that they truly could change the world, just as they promised to when they were children. Alas, criminals and the absolute sludge of society continue to pollute the world, making such a dream seemingly out of reach.
However, things are different now.
'Inthenewworld,wewillfinallybeabletoreachourfullestpotential,'he thinks to himself with a satisfied smile.
Now that Light is in possession of the Death Note, he is beginning to feel…greedy.
'In the next few weeks, as I begin to change the world, my plans with Shinoska can change… She's already reciprocating my affections and, when the world is shaken by my hand, she'll likelyseekoutcomfort.Oncethathappens,I'llbethereforherandthenproceedtoensureshe becomes the goddess by my side as I take my rightful place as the new god of this world.
Finally, I-!'
"What's with that look on your face?" Shinoska asks, snapping him from his thoughts.
"I have a look on my face?" Light questions, deflecting.
"Well, to me you do. I'm sure to other people you look as unphased as usual, but I can notice the little things. And right now you look awfullypleased about something," she says, curiosity clear in her tone.
"I suppose you could say I'm pleased about something," he answers vaguely.
"Fine, fine. You obviously don't want to tell me…yet," she says and Light merely smiles in response.
The rest of their walk home is comfortable, the two of them chatting idly about school and their plans for the future. Of course, Light doesn't reveal his true plans, instead content to watch Shinoska happily share her own.
He internally relishes in his luck to have her by his side but is quick to correct himself. It is not luck that landed her by his side. It is fate.
There is no one else in this world that deserves her but him.
And soon, she will see that with undeniable clarity.
•• ━━━━━ ••✾•• ━━━━━ •••• ━━━━━ ••✾••
The next day, Shinoska is relaxing at home as she moves around the house to clean now that she's taking a break from her studies.
Her parents are yet again not home. Part of her considers feeling lonely, but she's already all too used to the empty house to really care. For a moment she contemplates heading over toward the Yagami household for the evening, but she has too many chores and topics to study, so she elects to save her visit for another time.
Her notebooks and textbooks are set up in the living room for her to study, the TV quietly playing as she finally finishes cleaning the stovetop. She sighs in satisfaction as she runs her finger along the clean surface.
All her cleaning has made her a bit hungry, but she's not in any mood to make more of a mess. So, she grabs herself a simple onigiri from the fridge and gets a glass of water before taking her seat in front of her study materials once more.
She grabs her phone and scrolls through her internet browser and social media as she absentmindedly chews on her snack, the young woman coming across quite a few blogs and forums that are talking about this new "Kira" figure.
The number of criminals who suffered sudden death has since jumped to 52, the person responsible for doing it earning the title and some online fame in the process.
While she was skeptical of this happening being something more than just a strangely unnatural coincidence, it's become almost impossible to deny that this work is intentionally being done by someone.
Her own opinions on the figure are muddled. On the one hand, these people arecriminals. But, on the other hand, she finds it hard to make peace with someone passing judgment on these people without their due process.
Unless they're some kind of omnipotent being, who's to say all these people had not been potentially falsely accused? Or that there was no chance of them ever redeeming their character?
She quickly learns that plenty of other people online are not nearly as interested in second chances.
After a bit more scrolling, she decides she's read enough on Kira for the day. She places her phone down as she pops the last bite of onigiri into her mouth.
Just as she's about to get back into her studies, the show on her TV is suddenly interrupted by a broadcast.
"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a special worldwide broadcast from ICPO, Interpol," a frazzled reporter says as he shuffles through papers.
Shinoska's attention is absorbed by the screen as the scene before her unfolds.
A man named Lind L. Tailor introduces himself and makes threats against this Kira. As Shinoska wonders if such a public stunt is really going to be much help in the investigation, the man on screen suddenly convulses as his eyes bulge and his mouth hangs agape as he slumps against his chair; dead.
She's left in stunned silence as her breath catches in her throat. The screen switches to a simple white background with a detailed "L" displayed on the screen.
"This is unbelievable… I wanted to check just to be sure, but Kira, it appears you really can kill people without direct contact," a distorted voice says.
The voice explains that the man killed was truly not him, then demands that Kira try and kill him instead.
"Is he crazy?! Why would he ask to die?!" Shinoska shouts, her emotion getting the better of her as her hands slam down on her living room table.
A few moments pass and nothing seems to happen, Shinoska feeling her heart heavily beat against her chest as she feels confusion overwhelm her.
"It appears you cannot kill me," the voice says assuredly.
The rest of the broadcast passes smoothly, the voice identifying that the man killed in the hostage situation in Shinjuku was the first victim, as well as the fact that Kira must be based in the Kanto region of Japan. It then finishes off with a challenge of sorts, the screen then changing to generic static as Shinoska is left in a state of disbelief.
'Thatwas…incredible.IcouldbarelyfollowL'slevelofreasoningatall,buthededucedsomuch with so little information…'
Once Shinoska recovers from her shocked state, she feels a determination set itself aflame in her chest, her fists tightening as she strengthens her resolve.
'I will get to L's level! To be the best lawyer I can be! To give people the opportunity for a fair chance! And… to change the world!'