♚ : 03
— Reunited —
My conversations with Lawliet were probably something that helped me get into pretty much any good university, even though I was already performing exceptionally well during core lessons. This was part of the reason I'd been able to attend school at the Wammy's Orphanage. My mom had really been struggling to keep things together, and so the administrators were kind and generous enough to take me in.
The warm summer days had flown by as I applied for every college I could get into in the country of Japan. Application deadlines needed to be met soon. I felt I was able to get into most of the universities I’d applied for. Learning a sufficient amount of the Japanese language in the span of three months wasn’t as bad as most would think. Maybe it was because of the fact that I really worked my tail off, and did so with enthusiasm. I sure hope that it’ll do me good during my stay in that country.
I gave my mom one final embrace before heading onto my flight. "Don’t be sad, mom. It’s not like this is the last time we’ll see each other, okay? I'll chat with you whenever I can.”
“I know, I know,” she smiled sadly. "I just don't know where the time has gone."
“Trust me, I’m still as clumsy and immature as ever!” I giggled. Then I realized that it probably caused her a bit of discomfort. Great, I bet she thought I’d run into even more accidents in Japan than I do here. “But I’ll be careful!” I laughed nervously.
“Flight nine. Your flight has arrived and will now begin to load its passengers. Flight nine.”
“Be safe, Kyou.”
“I will, mom,” I smiled.
* * *
I nearly tripped on my way out of the Asahikawa Airport in Hokkaido. So much for what I'd said earlier.
“Arigatou gozaimasu,” I beamed at the man who drove me to Hotel Shizuki, bowing to show my gratitude.
“Dou itashi mashite, Hayashi-san,” he replied kindly.
The accommodations weren’t too great, but the view of the city at night was so nice that it made everything nearly perfect. I looked out at the view of the streets and the lights that lit them this late at night. I wondered if all of this effort was going to be worth it.
I woke up the next morning and spread out all of the admittance packages of the colleges I’d applied for and had gotten into. I thought about what Lawliet would have said if he was sitting right across from me at that moment.
“What do you recommend?” I asked.
“Hm,” he said, pressing his thumb to his lips, “I’d go with these universities over here.”
“And why is that?”
"They're the best ones. You're smart enough to succeed. If your interviews go well, that is."
I laughed nervously. "I'll do my best."
“But make a wise choice; you’ll be spending at least four years wherever you go, unless of course you decide to transfer.”
“Thanks, Ryuzaki,” I smiled. "Not sure how I'd get by without your words of wisdom, hah."
“You’ve managed,” he muttered, staring blankly at the container of sugar cubes on my table, and then disappearing from my view.
I put the advice he'd given me about schooling in the past into much consideration; he’s helped me quite a bit with every nit-picky concept I couldn’t understand.
I yawned, got dressed, and got ready for the college interviews I had scheduled for that day. Surprisingly, I wasn’t as stressed out as I thought I would be. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I couldn’t shake that strange feeling that Lawliet could quite possibly be right around the corner.
The following night, I slipped my robe on over my pajamas, feeling great to be freshly showered, having my teeth brushed, and that yucky, greasy-feeling makeup (which I didn’t wear often) removed. I still did keep the necklace that Lawliet had given me around my neck, though. I ran to my balcony once more to see the city skyline. It was gorgeous. The lively lights coming from the bustling city illuminated the dark streets, and shed light on every dark alley, ensuring some sort of safety everywhere.
“Maybe you're out there somewhere,” I whispered more to myself than as an open statement.
I looked straight down and was shocked at what I caught sight of. A strange man was staring back at me. Oddly enough, I found him slightly appealing despite the dark bags under his eyes, his uncontrollably messy black hair, and his terrible posture. He wore a white long-sleeve and some loose jeans.
He gazed blankly into my eyes, then at my necklace, and then at my eyes again. He pressed his thumb to his lips, just as a certain someone did.
“Hey! You!” I shouted in surprise.
He looked a little startled, and nibbled at his thumb. He then began to walk off.
“I’m talking to you, sir!” I shouted in his direction. He only continued to walk away.
I furrowed my brow. If that man was L Lawliet and I just let him walk away like that right in front of my eyes, I sure as heck just threw away all of my efforts put towards seeing him again. So I ran like the wind into the lobby and rushed out the automatic door. I heavily breathed, searching frantically for the strange man. There he was, becoming smaller and smaller as he walked away. I dashed after him, and had an even harder time breathing once I’d reached him.
“S-sir,” I stammered, giving him a tap on his left shoulder.
He turned around. I now saw him up close, and I was almost certain that it was him.
“Can I help you?” he asked in a soft but awkward way as he stared blankly at me.
“I was just wondering...” I gulped, nervous about how he would take this, “By any chance, by any small chance, would your name happen to be Ryuzaki?”
I only got a blank stare in return, and he began to turn away, but not before I grabbed onto his wrist. He gave me the same unmoved expression as he turned back around to face me.
I opened my mouth slowly and looked straight into his eyes. "Are you... are you Law—"
He then covered his mouth with his hand, and his eyes widened. “How on earth do you... ah, I see,”
I smiled so happily that my mouth was probably open. “Are you really...?”
“You’re in association with Kira, aren’t you,” he said.
After a few seconds of silence, I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Come again?” I asked.
Ignoring my desire for an explanation, he pressed a single button on his phone, and, just like that, I was under arrest. Everything went black; I’d been sedated.
I woke up in a jail cell with my hands cuffed in front of me. Everything was hazy at first, which is natural when you woke up, but I felt as if I were in a highly realistic dream. But I soon became aware of the fact that I wasn’t, because the loud noise of a microphone screeching had awoken my senses.
“Can you hear me?” a synthetic voice spoke through the intercom.
A security camera was pointing straight in my direction.
“What the... what’s going on?” I asked nervously.
The synthetic voice sighed. “No need for acting,”
“I’m serious! Why am I here? What the heck are you talking about?”
“If you truly are in need of an explanation, then you’re here because you’re under suspicion of being in association with Kira. I have no idea about how you've obtained information about my name, but I now know that somehow a different Kira is able to kill a individual simply by looking at them. They are able to find out what their name is by doing so. So, I’ve concluded that you, young lady, have the ability to do so.”
“Who’s Kira?”
He gave me a peculiar look. “No need to pretend, ma'am,”
“No, I don’t know!” I scowled.
He paused, and I could just picture him furrowing his brow, coming into some inkling of realization.
“That necklace you’re wearing...” he began.
I stared straight down at it. “What about it?”
“Where did you get that?”
“Well, if your name happens to...” I stated cautiously this time, “begin with an ‘L’, then I got this from you.”
There was another long pause.
“Moron,” I muttered. My heart felt as if it dropped into my stomach.
Yet another long pause took place, and I wondered if he was even there anymore. He was, and I realized that when he sighed. “Please move her to one of the hotel rooms.”
“Right away, sir,” I could hear the voice of a courteous old man in the background. It wasn't too long before I realized that it was Watari. It was Lawliet... it really was him.
The door to my cell slid open, and two FBI agents had taken me into the hallway. I saw Lawliet in person once more, and this time he was staring at me as if he were in a trance, or a series of flashbacks. Still nothing. I looked down in disappointment. I couldn’t believe that my efforts had amounted to this. They were just about the escort me to my room, but he stopped them.
“Wait a second there,” he said.
The agents turned me around swiftly.
“Please untie her hands, just for a bit,”
The agents obeyed his orders, and my hands were set free. Lawliet smiled in realization.
“Nice to see you again,” he said, walking towards me.
“So you haven't...?” I said, gulping down the lump in my throat.
“I haven't forgotten,” he replied.
I walked towards him as well, and my speed towards him gradually increased until I broke into a run. I plunged into him, and we held onto each other. The warmth and familiarity of his arms nearly brought me to tears. It was overwhelming; the fact that we stood here, in this stance, after years of not even hearing from each other. Now he was here. I felt more at home than I had in a while.
“Dummy,” I stammered, choking on my words.
He chuckled. “I’ve missed you, too, Kyou,” Lawliet murmured.