A Year of Jubilee [The Death Note Fanfic]

Chapter 29

Then Misa's eyes appeared. They, too, glowed red. Reflected in them were more names and numbers. In one eye was the reflection of a man. He was leering, a gleam of unmistakable malevolence and gleeful victory in his eyes. Over his head floated the words, Light Yagami. There was no number under it.

In Misa's other eye was the reflection of another man. Above his head was the number, 7. In a moment it changed, like a countdown, to 6. And above that number, was a name.

L Lawliet.

And then the man was falling.

...

Jubilee sat bolt upright in her bed, gasping.

"Hellenos," she wheezed. "Hellenos!"

The angel was by her side in an instant. What is it?

"I—I—" Jubilee was shaking, but as she took deep breaths her eyes suddenly cleared of their panic, to be replaced by puzzlement. "I don't know," she stammered at last. "I had—a nightmare, I think. I can't remember—"

Hellenos leaned closer and peered into her eyes, as though evaluating something within. When he drew back, his tone was somber but cryptic. Increase in sight can be overwhelming for the human mind, was all he said.

"Ah," said Jubilee, feeling suddenly sleepy again. "I see." She looked at the clock beside her bed. It was 12:01 AM. She hadn't been asleep long. Yawning, she continued, "I admit I've been—" Yawn. "—Stressed, ever since seeing the line do the weird thing over—" Longer yawn. "—Misa's head." She reclined back into her pillows, her eyelids drooping. "I know people change, Hellenos," she slurred sleepily. "But I just hope...we can be friends, a little longer, until then. Me, and her, and everybody..." She drifted off as her eyes closed.

Beside her, the angel was silent as he bowed his head.

The following afternoon at work, Jubilee found herself increasingly anxious while awaiting Misa's return from her "job interview" with Yotsuba. As L had predicted, Yotsuba had taken the bait after being contacted by Aiber posing as Eraldo Coil. Now they were in the process of hiring Misa as their spokesperson.

"How long has it been?" Jubilee asked for about the third time, looking at the clock. "Shouldn't she be back by now? Do you think she's okay?"

"Relax, Julie," said Light. "It's only been a few hours since she's left. I'm sure she's fine. They're probably just about to wrap up and then Mogi will bring her back."

Jubilee stared at the clock again, doing some quick math. "I guess so," she mumbled.

L watched her quietly from where he crouched in his seat. "Why so anxious, Miss Amachi?"

"I don't know," said Jubilee. For a brief instant, the image of red eyes and a black shard flashed through her mind and she shivered. Then the thought dissipated, leaving her disoriented and confused. "I just...have a bad feeling I guess. It's probably nothing."

L only hmmed and said nothing more, but continued to eye her. Uncomfortable, Jubilee turned away. She couldn't see Hellenos at the moment, only barely registering a slight, shimmery haze beside her. Sighing, she tried to return her attention to her computer, where the video of the Yotsuba Group's last meeting replayed itself over and over again. The men had announced that they would not have another meeting until next week, so all she could do for now was try and discern as many clues as she could from this one video. But her current anxious state of mind hindered her from seeing much, if anything. She could make out the dark auras around each of the Yotsuba board members, she could see that the shades of darkness varied slightly from one to the other, and some even looked to have a different texture than others...but whenever Jubilee tried to squint and see more, it would all waver in and out of focus.