The cool morning breeze softened to a warmer, more welcoming early afternoon. Ori quickly grew hot in her black hoodie, and pulled it over her head so she could wrap it around her waist. It was unusually warm for winter, but Ori wasn't really complaining. Unless it meant that climate change was about to happen and they were all screwed.
"Strange for it to be this warm in the winter," Ryuga said quietly.
"Well, it's still December, so winter just started. January's gonna get cold though." Ori stared at the blue sky with the clouds that were so light that you could barely see the gray in them. The warm sun peeked from behind the clouds, causing rays of light here and there.
"Yes, that's true. I take it that you don't like winter." He gave her a side-eyed glance.
"I don't mind winter, it's the snow it brings I'm not a fan of."
"So if winter didn't have snow, you'd be ok with it?"
"It would be nicer, but not very good for the Earth, so I'll deal with it." Ori ran a hand through her wind-blown curls, already getting her fingers tangled. Coincidentally, it was the same hand Ori had been gnawing on earlier. She winced when a tendril of hair got wrapped around her thumb, cutting off some circulation. She used her other hand to pull her fingers free and inspected her thumb. There was an outline of her teeth on the pad, with a small amount of blood dripping down the side. She stuck her thumb in her mouth, partially hoping that no one would notice. Ryuga noticed, however, and smirked when he saw her. She caught him smirking, but said nothing. They were almost to the front doors, just a few yards away, when Ori said.
"Who do you think the student rep is? Other than Raito Yagami."
"It could be anyone," Ryuga said.
"Yeah, that's true." Ori chuckled. The two of them stood out against the crowd. Everyone was dressed formally, while Ori and Ryuga were dressed far more in casual attire.
"I'm glad I left the house before my mom woke up," Ori said, looking around them at the other students. "She would've tried to force me into the stiff-back and toe-killers." She was more talking to herself, but Ryuga heard her all the same.
"What are those?"
"A dress and heels." She replied instantly.
"Those are interesting ways to view clothes."
"It's an accurate representation" She was only half paying attention to Ryuga. Her brain was wandering to other places that held no real significance. The sky, people, the cherry blossoms, how Vivian would freak out when she got home about wearing jeans and a t-shirt. They filed into the auditorium for the ceremony. It was a huge room, with a big stage and a podium set up in front of three rows of chairs. Ryuga and Ori made their way to the front row. Ori could see Raito sitting in the front row too, looking serious and formal in his brown suit. Ryuga sat down next to Raito while Ori sat a few chairs down. A man in a dark suit and tie walked up to the podium, cleared his throat, and then began to speak.
"Before the ceremony begins, will the two students with the highest scores please come forward for the opening speech?" Raito rose to his feet, keeping his back straight and shoulders back. Ryuga rose along with him.
'So he's the other student with the perfect score? Cool!' Ori thought. With his ragged and unkempt appearance, he looked like a mad genius. The other students around her shared her opinion.
"They look completely different: the one on the right looks like he was bred for success."
"Yeah, the other one looks like a mad genius."
'That's what I just thought. I wonder if I'm psychic or something.' Ori kept her face neutral, but her thoughts were a wid storm of confusion.
'Wait, he knew, so why would he say that it could be anyone while we were at the front? It doesn't make any sense.' Ori put her index finger under her bottom lip. 'Was he trying to trick me? If so, then why? Or was he just trying to be funny? Whatever he's a dork.'
They read their speeches out loud, Ryuga going after Raito. Raito held is paper with firm hands, while Ryuga held his between his thumb and forefingers at the corners. Ori had to fight back a laugh. Ryuga's monotonous voice sounded even more like a robot that before. When they were both done, the walked off the podium. Ryuga's hands were jammed inside his pockets and Raito's were still at his sides. They sat down next to each other and began speaking to one another. Ori couldn't hear what they were saying, but based off of Raito's expression, it seemed serious.
After the ceremony, the students were ushered out of the auditorium and into the courtyard, where they could look around and basically do whatever they wanted. Ori stayed behind to meet her professors and after that, she walked out to the courtyard where she saw Ryuga and Raito talking. She sped up her pace to get closer.
"Hey, Ryuuga! Hey, Im-a-gay!" Raito turned to her with an annoyed expression.
"When will you stop?" Raito asked.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'll stop when you get a girlfriend and prove to me that you're not, in fact, gay."
"I'm not gay!"
"First off, your name suggests otherwise, and second, don't sound so insulted; there's nothing wrong with being gay."
"Yes, Light. I, myself, am partial to the opposite sex, but if you are leaning towards the male anatomy, that's fine as well." Ori had turn whip around and hold her fist to her mouth to keep herself from laughing. She clasped an arm over her stomach as she choked back a roar of laughter.
"W-what he said, Raito." She said once she was able to settle down a little. He glared at her, but said nothing. She wasn't put off by his glare, however, and she just waved him off.
"Whatever, let's just go get some food."
"And I'm guessing that you want me to pay for it?" He asked.
"Well, I was going to offer to pay this time, but since you so graciously offered, I'm ok with it." He huffed in annoyance.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to come as well. I've been craving some cake for a while." Ryuga pointed out.
"Oh, I want some ice cream."
"Hey, wait for a second, Ryuga. Didn't you say you wanted to have a tennis match?" Raito asked.
"Oh. Yes, that's correct. I guess we can go to a café later."
"All right. I'll just head to the locker room and change real quick." Raito walked off back to the school. He seemed a little irritated. When she called him by his nickname, his huff of annoyance was a little more dramatic than usual, and he was avoiding eye contact with Ryuga.
"Do you two know each other?" She asked.
"No, not aside from today. Why do you ask?" Ryuga had taken refuge on a nearby bench, curling in on himself.
"He seems a little uncomfortable with you. Which is odd, seeing as he was the one who reminded you of the tennis match."
"I'm sure he has a good reason," Ryuga said. He was holding a small book in one hand, and pressing the thumb of the other against his lip. Ori flopped down on the bench next to him, stretching her legs out as far as they would go, which, admittedly, wasn't all that far.
"Man, you and Raito are so lucky." She said with the hint of a whine creeping into her voice.
"How so?"
"You've both got long legs, so it's easy for you to get places quickly. While I'm over here jogging to keep up with both of you like a leprechaun."
"That sounds like quite the bothersome situation." It was hard to tell if he was being sincere, or if he was making fun of her.
"And then you two have your long arms that can reach tall stuff and you don't have to use a step latter."
"It sounds to me like you have an inferiority complex." He said.
"It's actually a height and tall people complex."
"So you hate tall people?"
"I don't hate them, but let's just say I wouldn't help them if they were being hanged."
"That sounds rather malicious, but I'm guessing it's because in your mind they'd be able to touch the ground."
"It's like you can read my mind!" She laughed. He didn't laugh; just made a low and short hum in the back of his throat. Ori slouched down on the bench, stretching her legs out even more. It wasn't quiet by any means, with the students walking and talking, but there was a type of peace to it, an innocence that Ori very much missed in herself.
"It's strange that so many people can relax. I mean--I know that Kira only targets criminals, but who knows what these people do when there's no one else around."
"Yes, I suspect a great deal of them are on edge, questioning themselves and their actions."
"I know I would."
"Hey, guys. Sorry to keep you waiting." Raito came back, wearing a blue and white sweatshirt and matching shorts. Ori immediately zeroed in on his bare legs.
"R-Raito," she began, fighting off her laughter. Her war was in vain, however, and she started to howl in laughter.
"You have legs! Th-this is amaz-amazing." Tears pricked at her eyes while she laughed. She fumbled for her bag, trying to find her phone. Once she had it in her hands, she snapped multiple pictures of Raito in his outfit.
"I will cherish this forever. This will be a story I tell your children." Then she looked up at him and smirked. "They'll have to be adopted, of course."
"Will you just drop it?" He asked.
"You already know my answer to that." Ryuga closed his book with a light snap and unfolded his long limbs as he rose to his feet. He handed the book over to Ori.
"Would you kind holding onto this until our little match is over?" He asked, but he was already putting the book in her hands, not even bothering to hear an answer. Ori let out a small noise of annoyance as she shoved the book into her back pocket and her phone back into her bag. The two males were already ahead of her thanks to their long legs.
'I hope the two of you get hanged.' She thought in annoyance. Damned tall people.
They were already in formation and ready to start the match when Ori finally made her way to the tennis court. She sat down at the bleachers, pulling out Ryuga's book to see what he was reading. It was Silence of the Lambs. The book was faded from the years of reading, and inside the text was slightly blurred around the edged. The paper smelled like dust and Ori sneezed. The breeze had flung the dust right up into Ori's nostrils. How had Ryuga been reading this earlier and not sneeze? She held the small book in her hands, flipping through the warm pages. She had read the book a couple of years ago. It was good, not her favorite story by any means, but still good. Her eyes flicked up to see Ryuga and Raito going back and forth. Ori didn't see the appeal of sports; they were so boring, but it wasn't like she could leave... Raito was her meal ticket.
'I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea.' Ori thought, amused. Fyodor Dostoevsky understood her better than anyone else. Ori gave up to deny that she was selfish a long time ago. Ori did things because they were funny, entertaining, or interesting. She was hunting Kira because of the curiosity of who they could be, and how they killed. And what's more, if she found out who Kira was, she'd probably be able to be found by L, and he could help her become a great detective. Everything Ori was doing, was for her own selfish desires. Getting Vivian to stop worrying was just another stepping stone. Ori loved her mother, she would never deny that, but if she could get her to stop worrying, then it would open the door to the number of things she could do by herself. Ori was almost nineteen, and with her age, came new desires and wants. None of them were sexual or romantic at all. It was money, power, influence, connections. She needed all of it, and as soon as possible.
".ri... Ori... Orien!" A hand waving in front of Ori's face made her eyes snap up to meet Raito's. Ryuga had taken his book back and was pushing it into his back pocket.
"Did you guys already finish? Who won?"
"Light won. It was quite impressive." Ryuga cut in. Ori stood up from her seat, the bleachers making her almost as tall as Raito.
"Nice, so let's go get treats." She hopped to the ground and pointed in the direction of the café she and Raito had gone to after the exams.
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Ori bit down on her coconut ice cream, savoring the taste with a smile.
'It's honestly hard to believe that she's about to be a college student. She acts so much like a little kid.' Light thought to himself. He was sitting next to Ori with Ryuga curled up across from him.
"I chose a spot away from everyone, so people won't look at you weird for the way you sit." Light said, trying to make conversation. Ori smacked his arm harshly.
"Dude, that's so rude." She hissed loudly, but Ryuga didn't seem offended.
"I don't sit this way because I want to; I have to." Ori's attention was instantly ripped away from scolding Light and now on Ryuga. Interest and curiosity sparkled in her eyes.
"Really? That sounds so secretive! What is it?" Ryuga looked surprised by her questions, but he answered nonetheless.
"If I don't sit like this, my deductive reasoning goes down by about forty percent."
"That's so cool!"
"You should probably tone it down a little bit, Ori; you're attracting a lot of attention." Light said.
'Don't make people look over here, you moron!'
"But why do you need deductive reasoning? Are you an undercover detective or something? I knew you seemed a little too old to be applying for college with how smart you are."
"So you assumed that I was a detective?" Ryuga asked.
"It was either that or a perverted creeper. I was trying to be optimistic." Ori shrugged as she took another bite of her ice cream.
Ryuga played with the cake on his plate. "I can assure you I'm not a perverted creeper. I am a detective. I'm L."
'What is he doing?! Ori's too smart to not realize what he's actually doing here? He's going to blow my cover!!' Light fought to keep his face straight despite his raging thoughts. Behind him, Ryuk cackled joyfully. Light looked over to see Ori's expression. Her face was slack, but the formation of a large smile was beginning to appear. She took in a large breath and Light had to smack his hand over her mouth to keep her from making too much noise.
'These two are going to get us kicked out.' When Light was sure Ori wouldn't cause a disturbance, he removed his hand. Instantly, Ori flew into a series of questions too fast for anyone to answer?
"Are you here for the Kira case? Do you have any leads? How about suspects? Do you have any suspects? How come you chose Japan on the news? America has a lot more people-." Light cut her off by putting his hand over her mouth once again. Luckily, she didn't lick his hand like the first time he did this. She did, however, pinch the back of his hand roughly. He snatched his hand back.
"Would you stop doing that?" She asked. She looked up at him with her blue-green and gold eyes dark with irritation.
"I like her;" Ryuk laughed. "She's fun." Light ignored him. He opened his mouth, but Ori was already talking to Ryuga again. It wasn't like before. There was a new air of seriousness and calm around her. All amusement she had shown before was gone. Light still had to get used to Ori's sudden changed in mood.
"Seriously, you said that you chose Japan because of its large population, but America's population is even larger, almost two times and large. What made you chose Japan? And the Kanto region, too. That's quite specific." Ryuga pushed the strawberry on the top of his cake off onto his plate.
"Let's just say I had a gut feeling." He said at last.
"That's kind of a half-assed answer," Ori said, now chewing on her ice cream cone.
"I suppose it is."
No one said anything for a while. Ori focused on her ice cream, and Ryuk was staring at her in interest. Every now and then he would laugh like he had just heard a joke. His long claw danced around the Death Note strapped at his side.
"Whelp, I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick. Be back in a bit." Ori pushed back her chair and walked off to the restroom. At the same time, Ryuk had disappeared.
<> <> <>
Ori stuck her hands underneath the hot water, applying soap and scrubbing. She had her head bowed, focused on what she was doing, so she didn't see what had dropped the notebook next to her. All she heard was the sound of the cover smacking against the tiled floor. She looked over to see a black notebook upside down on the ground. She dried off her hands real quick and picked it up.
"You humans are all the same." A raspy male voice said behind her. "You're all so curious." Ori whipped around to come face-to-face with a being that looked strangely human. He was tall, with spikey dark hair, stretched out black lips, and had skin so pale it was bordering on blue. His clothes are black and gothic, with emo jewelry dangling from his waist and left ear. He towered over her, his red and yellow eyes boring into her. Ori was frozen in astonishment; she'd never seen anything like this before.
"Are you a male?" She asked, then mentally slapped herself. What that seriously the only question she would ask this being.
"Yes."
"Then why are you in the girl's bathroom. Are you a pervert or something?" What was wrong with her?
"Well, little human--"
"Don't call me little." Somebody just kill her now. Here she was with something that looked like they could eat her in one bite, and she was telling them what to do. But she couldn't just go off of looks, could she?
"I find you rather interesting. I thought adding you into the mixing pot would liven things up a bit. You see, my possessor--though I can't tell you who they are--are rather boring and a pretty sucky roommate. They barely even give me any apples."
"Apples?" She repeated. And he nodded.
"I'm pretty sure they give me apples just to shut me up, which isn't very nice."
"Right... well, I have to get back to my friends, so we can talk later or something." This was all too weird. Ori felt like her brain was going to explode.
"Agreed. You go first." He instructed. Ori nodded numbly and pushed the door open with her shoulder. As she walked back to their table, she felt like she was floating. She barely processed her feet touching the floor. She took her seat next to Raito once more, staring off into space. What was going on? This was all too weird.
"Are you ok, Ori?" Raito asked. She turned to him slowly. She had to blink a couple times to filter his question in her brain.
"I--... I don't really know. I think everything I knew before what just thrown completely out the window."
"You were in the bathroom." L said. "What could you have possibly seen that was so bad?"
"I don't really think I can talk... talk about it right now. I'm kind of at a loss for words."
"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you like this before," Raito smirked. "It's kind of funny." That snapped Ori out of her stupor and she punched him in the shoulder.
"Yeah? You know what's even better, Im-a-gay?" She asked, adding extra pronunciation on his nickname.
"What?" His tone suggested that he was starting to regret teasing her.
"The fact that you still don't have a girlfriend with your looks, personality, and brains, and you expect me to believe you're not gay."
The sound of two phones going off broke through the air. They belonged to L and Raito. They took them both out and held them to their ears, L holding his between his thumb and forefinger. After two moments, they put their phones away.
"Light, it's your father." L started.
"He's just had a heart attack."