"I can't believe you're making me go on a double date with you, Takada. Why me of all people?"
"Well, you are one of the few girls that don't like Light, so of course picking, you would be my best bet. Besides, it was a last-minute decision. Why did his friend have to come along?"
"Alright, I'll be your wing-woman but you owe me big time for this."
"You're a real lifesaver, Lee. I'll meet you at the karaoke bar around the corner in twenty minutes."
"So the usual place then. Wait, the date is today? Right now...Damn it Kiyomi."
"Sorry, sorry, it's not for another hour but I figured you'd wanna get there early to find the best spot to hide-out in."
"...You know me too well, make it twenty-five minutes starting after we hang up."
"See you soon. Oh and dress up nicely."
Left with nothing but a dial tone and less than an hour to go, Lee quickly showered and got dressed. There was no way that the short female was going to get dressed up for this date, blind or otherwise. A quick glance at the clock let Lee know that it was time to leave, however, upon locking up something unexpected happened.
Where is she? It's already been over an hour since I called her. That girl better not have chickened out on me. "Kiyomi, are you okay? You seem a bit upset. Is it because our date was crashed and turned into a mixer? I am very sorry about that." Asked Light Yagami while looking into Takada's dark gray hues. A blush crept onto her fair cheeks, "I am alright, just a bit worried about my friend. She's late, and she is never la-", at that moment a girl came rushing in.
The only reason why the couple even noticed this was because they were the closest to the door. Music played, drinks were being ordered, the mixer was in full swing. Random people engaged in light-hearted conversations, except the awkward female that had just entered the scene, along with an equally awkward male that sat off alone in the corner.
Large and very dark pupils peered out from a deadly pale complexion, heavy bags adorned the bottom of his eyes. They slowly looked up from the menu that was being held by its corners, thumb, and index fingers only. A look of disappointment was clearly seen in that otherwise emotionless face, the menu held nothing that interested the young man. However, the new person did, if only for a moment. Seems she is getting chastised for being late, and with that thought, the unknown girl was dismissed from Ryuzaki's mind.
"I'm sorry I'm late. I ran into my ex, literally." Zia deadpanned and groaned, causing her friend to frown. "And? That's no reason to be late." A sigh could be heard coming from the tall brunet male. "That jerk poured hot coffee on me so I had to shower and change again..."
"Alright, you're forgiven." Looking around the shorter female frowns, "I thought this was a double date, not a mixer. You don't even need me here." Says the small ball of sass, "me too but things happen and you're still needed, come on, have a seat and enjoy yourself." Nodding, Zia tries to find a spot away from the crowd only to be pulled down into a seat by some random guy. Already Lee knew this was going to be a long boring night. Thirty minutes into the night and already Takada's friend had turned down two offers of dates and three shady-looking drinks.
Ryuzaki, on the other hand, was ignoring anyone that might have been trying to talk to him. The obsidian haired man was ready to go, the only reason he came along with Yagami was because they're friends. Light had been the first person to talk with him, actually, hold a decent conversation with the genius. They're complete opposites when it came down to looks but their intelligence and deductive skills were on par with each other. However, right now, Ryuzaki was wishing he was back at his hotel room feasting on cake, pies, fruit, sugary goodness of all kinds.
"Since you were late, I think you should start us off on this round of twenty-one questions." Exclaimed the well dressed, black-haired woman, her hair was swept to the right as always. Her lips were painted with just a bit of red, making Kiyomi's light complexion stand out even more. To say this woman was attractive would be an understatement. "Very well then, someone ask me a question but make it good." Says Lee while tucking a strand of hair behind her own ear, every once in a while the girl would squint or blink at nothing.
"Can you speak up, it's hard to hear you." Someone said, "sorry, I am just soft-spoken, so no, not without yelling." Explained Lee while waiting for the real question, Ryuzaki had turned his attention back to the trio from earlier, Takada, Light, and their friend Lee. Currently, he was reading her lips, so there was no need to try and strain his ears to hear the young woman. As the night went on more and more people started to open up. New games were played and more than one couple was made that night. At some point during the night, seats were changed, Lee and Ryuzaki were now facing each other, Kiyomi and Yagami were by their sides.
Ryuzaki had been zoned out, lost in thought, idly stacking random things in front of him, while sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest. The shoes he wore were old, they had seen better days, his attire was a plain long sleeve white shirt and baggy faded blue jeans. Before long the tall slim male got up, stuck his hands in his pockets and started heading towards the door, not even bothering to tell Light that he was leaving.
"Takada, I am leaving, I need food, and nothing on this menu is appealing. Everything has alcohol in it, even the tea. I'm craving something sweet right now."
"Sure you can go..." She says with a smile and as her friend was getting up the ivory complected woman adds in, "after you sing something. Everyone has to sing at least once, we are at a Karaoke bar." Knowing that her five-foot-one companion would rather die than sing in front of a bunch of strangers, Kiyomi was convinced that the girl would just sit down and shut up. Takada was wrong. The music changed, a lone figure stood at the mic, as the melody played for a moment a voice soon rang out, making a certain male stop to listen as he was halfway through the open door.
"Mata ya ga akereba owakare, yume wa tooki masboroshi ni, anata wo oikaketeita hikari no naka de, dakareru tabi atatakai kaze wo tayori. Haru wo tsuge, odoridasu sansai, natsu wo miru uji nohara karakusa kawaku wa aki no tsuki nobotta manmarusa oiwai fuyu wo sugi mata tsukihi wo kazore."
She swayed lightly to the beat, holding the mic closely as if it was an old lover returning to her side once more. The group was stunned, for they did not know the sassy lady could speak Japanese fluently, they had all been speaking English to make it easier for their foreign friends. On top of that Zia actually had a good singing voice. When the song was done there were some cheers, calls for an encore, and more attempts at getting the girl's number, all fruitless as she crept off.
As the song finished and everyone's attention was on Lee, Ryuzaki debated on staying, if only to hear her sing again but his stomach had other plans. It growled at him angrily in protest, he glanced at the girl getting a good look at her, etching her features into his mind then quietly left. At this time of night, there wouldn't be too many places left open, thought the messy-haired man while walking down the street. After a ten minute walk, he stumbled upon a little bakery that was about to close for the night. Seems luck is on my side, I'll call Watari and have him pick me up from the park. The night sky was clear, the moon full, and the stars could easily be used to guide one's way home, a slight breeze swept by.
Exiting the small bakery right as the closed sign is turned over, another figure stopped in its tracks. "Oh, dang, they're closed," a voice muttered before sighing, "oh well, guess I'll head home." Pale ears twitched, not that anyone could see them thanks to their owner's dark tresses. Turning his head Ryuzak was greeted by a familiar sight, the young lady from the mixer. "Yeah, you just missed them." Deep yet monotoned was the sound that caressed Zia's eardrums. Obsidian gems studied the girl before them, "would you like some?" Inquired the much taller man, one hand holding up the bag full of baked goods, while the other was pressed to his pale lip, before moving to his pearly whites to be bitten, the nail part anyway.
For a moment Zia said nothing, she simply bit into her bottom kisser, Ryuzaki's eyes, though emotionless, swept over her figure then settled. He's that guy from the bar, Light's friend, my blind date. "Yes, I would, my name is Zia Lee, what's yours?"
"You may call me Ryuzaki." I may call him Ryuzaki huh, hinting too that not being his real name, a nickname of sorts then. That's fine by me. "Tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"The pleasure is all mine." He says in return, "I was just about to head to the nearby park."
"Then I shall accompany you, Ryuzaki." A nod was given right before the pair walked off, the walk itself was semi-quiet, just the sound of footsteps and random cars passing by. Once at the park, they found a bench to sit at, the area was well lit with a security camera in view. It was clear to see that neither one of them wanted the other to think they were iffy. Settling down, the bag was placed in between them, Ryuzaki turned his body towards Zia then started to remove the cake he had gotten along with Castella and Dango.
"So, what made you come out tonight?" He asked while looking over the different items they were about to eat, his fingers immediately snatched up a piece of cake as smaller ones grabbed a Dango stick. "Kiyomi..." grunted out the female, this earned her a small smile. "She wanted me to be her wing-woman since a friend of Light's was invited to their date." Ryuzaki nods, Lee couldn't help but notice in the pale moonlight this man looked even paler. "Yes, it was odd for Light-san to ask me to join him. He said there would be cake...he lied." The way his tone went from empty to childish and annoyed amused his current companion.
L noticed the way her brown lips curled at the corners, they're full and soft looking, glossy, unlike my own. "They didn't need us at all, they really should just ask each other out, stop playing little games," Zia said before squinting. "I agree, tell me, Miss Lee," a hum was given, "do you wear contacts?" The brown complected individual nods and hums again. "Perhaps you should remove them, they seem to be giving you some trouble or pain."
"You're right, they do," murmured the female but made no attempts to remove them. They continued to sit there, snacking and chatting, enjoying brief moments of silence. Finally getting fed up with the contacts, Lee cleaned off her hands, pulled out the lens holder, and carefully removed each one from her eyes. This gave the other person more time to observe her, taking in those fiery locks, with its streaks of blonde, white, and black, the waviness, and how they rested just below her shoulder. The light gray sweater dress that covered her curvy figure, black stockings that stopped just above the knee, with light grey mary jane shoes.
When Lee did look up, she noticed that her newfound companion had moved closer, which did startle the mixed hues girl greatly. "Hmm, central heterochromia, made up of silver, gold, and...," he moved even closer, which made Zia question how that was even possible, "blue, no midnight blue." After a few awkward moments, Lawliet moved back, "correct, not many people know of this condition, they often stare like slack-jawed idiots or point. My favorite question is" she made air quotations with her fingers "where did you get your contacts?"
A ghost of a smile appeared on Ryuzaki's face, "I can relate to that." Zia chuckled softly, "it's the way you sit right, it looks uncomfortable but you make it look so easy at the same time."
"Yes, I don't sit like this because I want to, I have to sit like this. You see if I were to sit normally my deductive skills would immediately be reduced by roughly forty percent." A kind smile was given to the quirky man, colorful tresses swayed as the wind picked up a bit. "Meaning you want to be a detective or that you are one."
"Correct."
"I want to be a baker." This bit of information grabbed Lawliet's attention, "not a singer? But you have a very nice voice." One that I could listen to for hours. "Ah, thank you but that's just, a hobby, maybe, eh." She shrugged, Ryuzaki stared, looking beyond the female, his mind already working on placing his next move. "Since you shared your snacks with me, how about I sing something for you? A once and a lifetime offer, a private concert." With a smile and a nod, he agreed.
"Ki ni naru noni kikenai Oyogi tsukarete kimi made mukuchi ni naru. Aitai noni mienai nami ni osarete. Mata sukoshi tooku naru. Tokire nai you ni Keep it going, baby. Onaji kimochi janai nara tell me. Muri wa shinai shugi demo. Sukoshi nara shite mite mo ii yo."
And for the next few hours, Zia sang for her new friend.
*Ring...Ring...Ring...*
Both of their phones were ringing which interrupted the light and musical mood. "I better get this or Takada will kill me." She says while standing up to grab her phone. "Likewise, it would seem we both missed a lot of calls and text." L followed suit. Laughing before answering her own call, "I'm alright, yes, I'm at the park. No, it's fine, I'll be heading home soon, you can tell me all about your date later, alright, bye."
"Hello, Watari, I am at the park near the old bakery, yes that one, will you? Thank you very much, Watari, oh, I have a guest with me as well, yes, let me ask." Holding the phone up to his ear in his unique fashion he asks, "may I assist you home? My driver will be here shortly." Humming softly the ginger shakes her head no, "then you are walking home?"
"Mhm."
"I will accompany you this time then." As Lee was about to refuse some random drunkard came up behind the pair and knocked them into each other, causing the much taller man to catch the girl and accidentally touch her butt.
"The hell... he touched my butt..." Carefully moving away he spoke, "this is an outrage! Taking advantage of this situation is unforgivable." Ryuzaki circled his new friend, standing in front of her once more, with his hand up, index finger pointing at Lee, "I will find whoever is responsible for this." It made her laugh, and the raven tresses man rubbed the back of his head and smiled a bit. He seemed to be doing that a lot around this girl.
"Alright, alright, you win, you can walk me home." Grinning a bit creepily and chuckling with his finger up to his lip, he returns to his call. "Yes," was all he said before hanging up. Packing up their things, Zia took care of the trash while L looked onwards, sending a quick text to Watari to let him know to follow them at a safe distance and to park a few blocks away once they had stopped. "Shall we?"
"Yes, this way, I'm about thirty-five minutes away from here on foot."
"That's fine, we can play twenty-one questions in the meantime."
The walk took longer than expected, the pair started off fine but soon slowed down, enjoying each other's company. Making the trip take twice as long. In that small amount of time, they had learned a bit more about each other. Lawliet was the one that learned the most, of course. A twelve-story apartment building came into view, signaling that their time together was done.
"Tonight wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."
"I agree, even if Light still lied." L said causing the ginger to chuckle again, "will your ride know where to find you?"
"Yes, I will have him pick me up at the park."
"You can have him pick you up here, I don't mind."
"It's o-" she cut him off with a wave of her finger. "We wouldn't want someone randomly groping you this time around, right." Teased the smaller individual, "very well, can I use your bathroom then?"
"Of course," with that, the two went inside, leaving Watari outside waiting in the car and watching. His lightly wrinkled face seemed to glow, his grey lights showed happiness for his young ward. Ten minutes later he got a text saying to pull up front, Watari obliged but took his sweet time doing so. On the balcony, that overlooked the street, dark hues, and mixed ones looked out at the world. "There's my ride," humming softly, red, blonde, white, and black locks bounced. Heading back inside then towards the elevators, L soon appeared at the main entrance, a hand to his cheek.
A week has gone by since the mixer, Zia had turned down all Kiyomi's attempts to come out with her and a few of her friends. Seems the young redhead was a real hit. Takada had gone off to make a phone call once Yagami had shown up with his odd friend in tow. "I hope she's not upset." Said L to Light.
"I'm at the cafe this time, the one next to To-Oh. I promise it's not a mixer, I really need your help right no-" Takada glared at her phone and huffed before returning to the table. She hung up on me. "Everything alright Kiyomi Takada?" The boredom that laced the pale male's voice could not be denied. "Yes, why don't the THREE of us order?" Ryuzaki ignored the annoyed look on the ravenette's face. Two minutes later a bell chime and a lone girl entered the cafe. On autopilot, Lee moved to the back where she would normally sit and immediately saw her friend. "I'm here, what happ-" the brown-skin lady stopped the moment she noticed the two males.
"Takada, did you call me here for a double date....I thought you were in some kind of trouble." Groaning loudly, Zia facepalms then glares, ignoring both Ryuzaki and Light. Ah, so that's why she rushed off to the bathroom for. Thought Light while glancing between the two females "I'm going home..."
"But you just got here."
"Yes, and I am just leaving,"
"You haven't even greeted Light and Ryuzaki, we were just about to order too." Turning her attention to both males, Lee nods, "hello Yagami, bye Yagami." Those dark hues stared at the shorter female who hadn't spoken to their owner yet. "Ryuzaki, you're coming with me." This caught everyone off guard, "huh?" The couple said in unison. Instead of explaining, the ginger leaned down a bit and whispered something in Lawliet's ear before turning towards the door once more. "Ryu-"
"We'll work on that project another time, Light-san, Kiyomi Takada, take care." With that, the pair was left baffled. They looked at each other then at their friends, "do you know what's going on between those two?"
"Not a clue, Light."
Zia laughed while shaking her head, "I didn't think the promise of cake and a song would work but I am glad it did. What would you like to hear?" Ryuzaki thought for a moment while devouring a homemade lava crunch cake, it was strawberry and chocolate. "Sakura Drops, do you know it?"
Lee nods then started to sing while cutting a piece of brownie for herself, Lawliet had already finished his cake and was going for another piece when she started. The white and blue-clad man stops and sits back down, losing himself in the lyrics, in her voice. Noticing that Ryuzaki was done, the ginger grabbed him another slice of cake and placed a brownie next to it as well.
The rest of the day was spent like this, L eating random freshly baked goods and Zia singing softly, every once in awhile her curvy frame would sway, this didn't go unnoticed by the male. "I could fall for you," he says knowing she couldn't hear him as she was lost in the rhythm.
As more and more time passed it became clear that L and Lee were friends, some even rumored that they were lovers. Thanks to a certain male randomly throwing his arms around the much shorter female. Neither one of them would confirm or deny it when asked. "I wonder what gave them that idea." Exclaimed Lawliet while hugging the tiny ginger who was currently working on a new type of chocolate before his large hands started to rub at her sides and hips.
As he all but drooled at the chocolaty goodness that was being prepared. "Pfft, I wonder indeed. Now I need to stick these in the freezer for about six hours or until they're set. So you'll have to wait, for now, help yourself to anything else you'd like."
"Anything else, I'd like..." Moving a finger up to his lips then biting the nail, he soon started to stare at the varicolor-eyed woman. Taking her smaller hand into his, Ryuzaki leads her over to the couch, as they both sat down, Ryuzaki moved in close. Lee had already given up on there being personal space when the raven-haired gent was around. Slowly he leans in "I want this", pale lips touched her right cheek. "And this one too", again another kiss was placed, this time on the left cheek. Each time he moved in closer until his tiny lady friend was pushed up against the arm of the couch. "But what I want the most is for these to..." Smoothly Ryuzaki connected their lips together, letting them linger, mold, melt into each other before pulling away. "
"Sing For Me."
3729 words. I got inspired to make this from a dream I had. I think it came out nicely. Here are the videos for each song, the first is Shiki No Uta.
The second is Utada Hikaru - Final Distance
And the last song is Sakura Drops.