Death Note Fan Fiction ❯ Blue Smoke ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three.

 

It was the worst night of his life. Not only was Light forced to share his room (his bed) with a virtual stranger, but it had to be a stranger who failed to sleep for longer than half an hour at a time. During the periods when he was awake (which accounted for more than half the night) Lawliet tossed and turned fretfully, attempting to position himself comfortably on the mattress. Even the rare instances when he fell asleep were not peaceful, for Light could still hear him breathing erratically, whimpering and clawing at the bed sheets.

 

Light guessed Lawliet was plagued with nightmares; his parents were dead, after all - there were probably a multitude of horrible thoughts that invaded his dreams. But Light didn't once try to comfort him, even when he felt Lawliet wake with a small, pitifully choked sob. He didn't know what he could say to someone as strange as Lawliet, and he was too irritated about losing so much sleep because of Lawliet's restlessness to even bother trying to think of anything.

 

Instead, he would remain silent, keeping his back to the other boy and trying to will himself to sleep.

 

Lawliet was also a blanket hog.

 

Normally, Light ended up kicking the blankets off of himself during the course of the night. As soon as he discovered Lawliet's habit of cocooning himself in the spare comforter, however, he refused to lose even an inch of his half of the blanket - a resolution that served as the cause for several sleepy tug-of-wars between the two young boys.

 

It was a long night, and Light was certain that he could count the hours of sleep he'd gotten on only one hand. Still, even though he felt too exhausted to move come the following morning, he was the first to rise from the bed after hearing Sayu bang enthusiastically on the door and declare that he needed to get ready for school.

 

Lawliet stayed burrowed in the covers, his face barely visible from underneath the heap of stolen blankets. Light was surprised to see the scarf still loosely wound around the boy's neck. How had he not suffocated with that thing on all night?

 

“Light-kun is going to school today?”

 

Light tugged his long-sleeved pajama top off over his head, setting it on the back of his desk chair to fold afterwards. “Yes... and don't call me that!”

 

Lawliet sat up very slightly and apologized under his breath. Light glanced at him tiredly as he slid his arms into a fresh white button-up.

 

“It's okay, I guess...” he mumbled after a moment of silence. Lawliet didn't know any better, Light reminded himself, as he was not raised in Japan. In America, everyone called each other by their first names. “Just try to remember.”

 

Lawliet nodded. “I will try.”

 

Light removed a clean pair of dark blue pants from the closet, grabbing some boxer shorts out of the correct drawer as well. When he faced the bed again he found Lawliet still sitting there, staring. He frowned and cleared his throat, which sufficiently caught Lawliet's attention.

 

“Yagami-kun?”

 

Light made a whirling motion with his hand, wordlessly requesting that Lawliet turn around so that he could remove his pants. The action seemed lost on the other boy, though, and Light gave an exasperated sigh.

 

“Turn around, I'm changing... it's very rude to stare.”

 

“I apologize, Yagami-kun.”

 

Lawliet did as instructed, lowering himself back down on the mattress and closing his eyes so he couldn't peek at Light's undressing.

 

Light quickly replaced his pajama bottom with his school uniform pants, checking over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure Lawliet wasn't looking. Knowing his luck - and judging by how weird the boy already seemed - it would not have surprised Light to discover that Lawliet was some kind of pervert.

 

Thankfully, two small hands still concealed Lawliet's creepy, near-black eyes. Light adjusted the top buttons of his jacket, gazing into the mirror on the other side of his closet door and inspecting for anything irregular about his appearance. His jacket was neat and free of creases, his pants pressed; there was nothing out of place - he looked immaculate as usual.

 

“Yagami-kun looks very handsome,” Lawliet commented from his position on the bed.

 

Light whirled around, glaring as he found the other boy staring unabashed. “I didn't tell you to open your eyes yet,” he pointed out.

 

Lawliet shrugged, moving once again to sit up straight, pressing his back against the headboard. “I'm sorry... I just figured Yagami-kun would be finished.”

 

Light didn't say anything. Lawliet hadn't caught him in a state of undress, so it wasn't as if he could use that excuse to yell at him.

 

“Light, breakfast is on the table!” Light could hear Sayu yelling from downstairs.

 

“I'll be down in a minute!” he yelled back.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Light saw Lawliet shuffle out from underneath the blankets and lower himself to the floor. He figured he should stay in the room a little longer, until Lawliet was ready to go downstairs - Lawliet didn't really know his way around the house yet - but if he waited too long, he'd have to rush through his breakfast in order to leave for school on time.

 

The bottom drawer of the bureau slid open, a pale hand darting inside to retrieve a plain white shirt. Light made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat after taking a quick glance at the digital clock on his nightstand, straightened his jacket a final time, and exited the bedroom without another word.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I didn't know anything about him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Sayu was already at the table when he reached the kitchen, sitting in her usual chair on the left across from her mother. She smiled at her older brother in greeting, her brown eyes brighter than normal for this hour of the morning. Upon realizing that his sister's gaze was actually focused behind him and not on him directly, Light easily came to the conclusion that she was not actually happy to see him. The way she deflated slightly when no one else entered the kitchen behind Light only served as further evidence that she was waiting to see Lawliet.

 

Rolling his eyes, Light took his seat at the table, picking up his chopsticks silently.

 

Sachiko shifted her gaze from the doorway to her son. “Is Lawliet-kun still asleep?” she wondered.

 

Light shook his head. “No, he's getting dressed,” he replied softly before taking a bite of rice.

 

Sachiko nodded her head. She looked as if she wanted to ask more questions, but she didn't say anything else, only continued to eat her breakfast. Sayu began chattering excitedly about the small holiday recital her elementary school choir was putting together. She was going to be auditioning to sing solo, and couldn't stop talking about how nervous and excited she was.

 

Sachiko smiled warmly. “The auditions are today, aren't they?” When Sayu nodded enthusiastically, she turned to Light, suggesting that he participate in the middle school's recital. Light merely shrugged his shoulders - music was one thing he did not have a great interest in. “Well, even if you don't, would you please stay at school until your sister is finished with her auditions? I don't want her having to wait by herself for the bus.”

 

“Of course, Mom.”

 

“Good morning...”

 

All eyes went to the kitchen doorway where Lawliet stood, dressed in a plain white long-sleeved shirt, jean overalls, and his scarf. Sayu's smile returned full-force as she waved excitedly to him.

 

“Good morning, Lawliet-kun! Did you sleep well? My brother didn't bother you at all, did he?” she said, ignoring the glare Light sent her.

 

Lawliet's head inclined in a slight nod. “Yagami-kun was very friendly,” he assured her after a moment, his voice as toneless as it had been earlier that morning.

 

Sachiko stood from the table, offering the young boy her seat, which he took with a small-voiced “thanks”.

 

“Let me get you some breakfast.”

 

Lawliet's blank gray eyes stared down at the table. Light watched him for a minute or so, waiting to see if he would blink. He didn't, not even once. Light shivered, once again feeling unnerved by his presence.

 

“Here you are,” Sachiko announced, setting a bowl of miso soup and a cup of rice before Lawliet. “Would you like something to drink? Some tea, perhaps?”

 

Lawliet frowned, gazing into the bowl of soup. “Is there sugar?” he asked.

 

Sachiko blinked twice. “Sugar? Yes, of course.”

 

“Tea is fine, thank you.”

 

She nodded and walked over to the stove, setting a kettle on top of it after filling it with water. While waiting for the water to boil, she brought a container of sugar cubes to the table, eyes widening a fraction as Lawliet wasted no time in plucking up a cube, pushing his scarf to the side slightly, and popping it into his mouth. Sayu and Light also appeared shocked by the action - their mother never let them eat sugar from the jar.

 

Sayu licked her lips and leaned forward slightly, her bowl of miso long forgotten. “Mom, can I...?”

 

“Finish your breakfast,” Sachiko interrupted. She couldn't very well tell Lawliet not to eat the raw sugar; he wasn't her son to parent. But she could keep her own children from following the bad example.

 

Sayu pouted and crossed his arms over her chest, mumbling about how unfair her mother was. Across the table, she noticed another sugar cube disappear into Lawliet's hidden mouth. Halfheartedly she began to pick at her food again.

 

“You know,” Light said, “you shouldn't eat so much sugar, especially since it's raw.”

 

Lawliet raised his charcoal eyes a fraction in order to give Light a blank look. After a moment, he tilted his head to the side, frowning as he did so, and reached for another sugar cube.

 

Light's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. There was the possibility that Lawliet didn't understand what he was saying, but Light seriously doubted it. Lawliet comprehended perfectly well, even if he pretended otherwise. There was a challenging glint in Lawliet's chilling eyes - an unspoken rebuttal of what are you going to do about it?

 

What an annoyance. Light honestly didn't see what his mother thought was so special about the boy - or why she'd adopted him for the holidays in the first place. Maybe she just pitied him for being such a freak - he was really weird, probably really ugly, too, underneath that thick scarf.

 

That scarf... Not for the first time, Light contemplated what sort of monstrosity it could be hiding, He wondered if Lawliet was hideously deformed; it wouldn't surprise him, given how freakish the boy was to begin with. So perhaps he had a disgusting face to match his disgusting personality and his disgusting, scary, staring eyes.

 

He watched as Lawliet withdrew yet another sugar cube from the bowl and raised it to the rim of the scarf. With a slight shift of material, the cube disappeared from view.

 

Light finished the last of his breakfast and stood briskly from the table, having had his fill of Lawliet's presence for the morning. “Let's go, Sayu.”

 

Sayu tilted her head to the side. “What, already?” she complained. “The bus doesn't arrive for another twenty minutes!”

 

“And you take more than half of that time to reach the bus stop with your crutches,” Light countered. “Let's go, I don't want to be late.”

 

Sayu smiled. “My big brother is such a goody-goody,” she informed Lawliet, who said nothing in response.

 

Light flushed. “I am not - I just don't want a detention for being tardy. So come on.”

 

Sayu eventually nodded her consent. “Fine, fine.”

 

Light fetched her crutches, handing them to her as she slowly raised herself to her feet. “I'll get your backpack,” he offered, just as he did every morning, before disappearing into the hallway to find her book bag.

 

The beige bag was leaning against the bottom step of the stairwell. He picked it up with ease and then returned to the kitchen to drag Sayu away.

 

Sayu hobbled out of the kitchen on her crutches, casting glances over her shoulder every few seconds. As she reached the archway, she waved enthusiastically and bid both her mother and Lawliet farewell. “Bye, Mom! Bye, Lawliet - we can play later, when I get home - bye!”

 

Lawliet waved awkwardly to her before turning back to the sugar jar and the hot cup of tea that Sachiko had just finished pouring for him.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

All I knew was that I wanted him gone,

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

“Liiiiiight!”

 

Light grit his teeth at the shrill voice that pierced through the otherwise quiet air of the school courtyard. A pretty, blonde-haired girl waved at him from the doorway, a radiant smile painted on her face as she jogged over to where he sat, her pigtails bouncing up and down with each of her steps.

 

When she was right in front of him, she dropped to her knees and threw her arms around his neck. He grunted in response and, after several seconds passed by, he shoved her away.

 

“Hello, Misa-chan,” he said, knowing he would get no peace now that she had found him.

 

Amane Misa was a sweet girl. Cute, with a bubbly, optimistic personality and the ability to talk to just about anyone she came across. But Light was not overly fond of her. She was nice, yes, and she seemed to genuinely care about him - and sometimes she could even be pretty cool to hang out with, since her parents were extremely rich and always bought her the latest games and gadgets - but she was also extremely clingy, and Light was a boy who greatly valued personal space.

 

Needless to say, that precious space was almost always invaded whenever Misa was around - what with the way she always had to hug him, or clutch his arm, or sit with their legs just barely touching.

 

No matter how much this got on his nerves, though, Light could never bring himself to tell her to get lost. He wanted to - God, sometimes he just wanted to scream at her to get the hell away from him - but for whatever reason, he could never bring himself to be mean to a girl, even if she did seriously annoy him. Light supposed he was just too nice of a person - he had too big of a heart.

 

Situating herself comfortably beside him, Misa took the opportunity to study his face. Her lips twitched downwards a fraction. “Light-kun looks so upset... Did something happen?” she wondered aloud.

 

Light shrugged his shoulders in response. “Just a problem at home,” he replied, which confused Misa even more.

 

“Problem at home?” Misa repeated, “but Light-kun has always gotten along with his parents and his sister. How can there suddenly be a problem?”

 

“There's a boy,” Light told her.

 

“...A boy?”

 

Light nodded in affirmation. “He's an orphan, and my mother is letting him stay with us for the rest of the month. You know, those stupid `adopt an orphan for Christmas' programs.”

 

Misa wrinkled her nose in distaste. “She's letting a random stranger in your house? And he's an orphan... he must be so dirty and gross.”

 

“You don't even know,” Light said, picturing Lawliet's wild black hair and hollow eyes, and his long, badly-bitten fingers. “He gives me the creeps... he barely looks human. And I have to share my room with him.”

 

Misa appeared even more horrified by the idea than Light had been when his mother first suggested it to him. “My poor Light! Misa feels so sorry! But Misa knows that Light can put up with him, if he's only going to be there for a month.” She bit down on her lower lip thoughtfully as she noticed his skeptical look. “Or... is he really bad? Is he mean to Light-kun?”

 

Light shook his head. “He's just... weird. There must be something wrong with him, he's just so...” Light was going to say something along the lines of `dumb', but then he recalled his mother telling him that Lawliet was supposedly exceptionally intelligent. Light himself didn't know if it was true or not yet, so he didn't feel it was right of him to dismiss the possibility of Lawliet being a genius (even if he wanted to believe Lawliet was just as stupid as his blank-faced stare suggested).

 

“He's just weird,” Light settled on repeating. “I can't really explain it better than that.”

 

Misa pursed her lips. “Well... he's an orphan, you said, right? So... maybe he just doesn't know how to act normal? Maybe he's weird because he just doesn't know how to act around other people.”

 

“Could be,” Light agreed.

 

Hesitantly, as if unsure about her own idea, Misa suggested, “maybe Light-kun can try to make him more normal?” Upon receiving a questioning stare, she elaborated. “It might make staying with him bearable, if Light-kun was to teach him how to act... not so weird.”

 

“And how would I teach him that?” Light wanted to know, rolling his eyes at the outrageous proposal.

 

Misa's blue eyes fell to the ground, gazing pensively down at the snow-covered grass. “I don't know... maybe Light-kun can bring him to school? I'm sure the teachers wouldn't mind, as long as Light-kun filled out the form and stuff for him ahead of time. It might be a good way to get him to act normally, if he sees the way all the other kids at school act.”

 

It could work, but Light didn't want an embarrassment like Lawliet following him around all day. What would the other kids think, if he came to school with a freak like Lawliet? They'd probably make the mistake of believing that Light was friends with him - and then they'd think that Light was a freak as well! Light didn't want his perfect reputation being tarnished.

 

Besides, one day of being immersed in a normal school setting wouldn't be enough to change Lawliet. It would take a lot more time than that. The only thing that would be accomplished by bringing Lawliet to school would be giving the upperclassmen bullies a new target.

 

Light's amber eyes widened.

 

“Misa-chan,” he gasped, a grin forming on his face, “you're a genius.”

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

and that I had just the plan to get rid of him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -