Chapter Text
She knew it was love the first time she saw him. She felt it so deeply, it stuck in her chest and dug into her head. That was her savior, the man who had given her justice for her parents was the man who she knew, deeply within her, was her soul mate.
She hadn't felt much since their deaths, but here, watching him from her table in the busy cafe, she knew what she felt was love. Something more even, something akin to worship. A devotion so instinctual she swore it was fate that they were brought together.
She discards the wig in a pile under her bed once she gets home. She scours the internet for anything and everything she can find about him. His scholastic achievements, his tennis championship, any bit of information she can digest.
Rem watches in silence as she picks out her favorite dress to meet him in.
Finding his home address was easy, swallowing her indignation when he tells her they can't be together is hard.
"I don't want you to have another girlfriend!" She cries. How can he not want this like she does? How does he not feel the same?
His lips are soft as he kisses her and she feels that warmth in her chest again. She feels as though it was a mistake to doubt him then.
He's right, it's for the best they aren't seen together. It would be suspicious, it could put her in danger. Of course her savior would be so cautious, would look after her like this.
She smiles and nods, dreamily clutching her purse as she walks home. She'll do as he says, wait on his call, if it means she'll see him again.
She doesn't follow him home the next night, no matter how much she wants to see him. It's difficult, but she feels his hands on her shoulders, his lips on hers, and she endeavors to be a good girlfriend for him.
With effort, Misa stops herself from visiting his campus, even though her shoot is just down the street.
She waits on a call that hasn't come.
She's late to her shoot anyways.
Her hands find a box instead, lingering there as she reads the promotional posters plastered behind the display.
One Wish Willow, it proclaims.
The small shop is filled with crystal necklaces and candles advertising their ability to calm one's spirit, but she's drawn to the stark cherry red of the display sitting in the back.
"We don't have time for this." She's already late by at least a half hour, they had only stopped in here so that Misa could use the restroom.The crew will just have to wait on her, it is her shoot after all.
Amaze your friends! You only get one wish!
"Don't tell me you're going to buy one of those? Don't be childish." Yoshi, her manager, is tapping her heel now. Her distaste covers her, from the way her arms cross over her chest to the way her face tenses at the box in Misa's hand. "What would you even wish for?"
She thinks for a moment and is surprised by the rush of thoughts.
For her parents back.
For her life before the notebook.
For a call from Light.
Anything from Light.
Everything from Light.
An airy giggle escapes from her.
"Lighten up! I'll buy you one too!" Her hand clutches the box tighter, her bright red nails matching the packaging. She pulls a second one from the display, waving it teasingly in front of the older woman. Yoshi snaps her fingers and points to the entrance.
"Okay! Okay! Geez, it's my shoot, not yours."
"And it's my job to make sure you show up!"
They checkout quickly, disregarding the young clerk who smiles and makes a flippant comment about not accepting returns. Yoshi groans as she accepts the gift, tossing it into her bag and heading for the door. Misa slides the box into her purse, promising to be more punctual in the future.
"Cut!"
Her hand finds her phone, it's the first thing she reaches for after every shoot. When she wakes in the morning. Before she goes to bed. She flips through her messages, clicking her foot against the ground when there are no new calls.
She was hoping he would call her, its been almost three days. She knows he said it isn't safe for them to be in contact but she can't stop thinking of him.
It's still unbelievable that her knight in shining armor is real, that she can finally repay him for what he has done.
She thinks of the display again.
Make your dreams come true!
She's dreamt of him every night since they met. No, even earlier than that. She's dreamt of him every day since Kira killed her parent's murderer. Only now that he has a face does she yearn for him to be with her. By her side, in her bed, in her heart.
She's thumbing at the box in her purse without thinking. She pulls her hand from her purse, empty, and looks back to her phone.
She wishes he'd call.
Two weeks have passed and they meet like he said they would.
It's everything she's dreamed of.
She wears her wig again, just like he wanted. He's being followed, he says, she'll need to change her appearance every time they meet.
She nods dreamily, his eyes are beautiful and she can't stop staring into them.
She'll do anything for him, dress however he wants. She tried to find out what his type of woman is, but none of his previous girlfriends are similar to one another.
She asks him, as they sit on a park bench and talk quietly as the May sun shines through the trees. He says it doesn't matter. It matters to her.
She wishes it mattered to him.
The next time they meet is on campus, he's worried about L finding out who she is. He says they can't see each other again, that it's only a matter of time until she's linked with the tapes.
She protests, the thought of being without him making her erratic. How can she lose him when she's only just got him? Why isn't he as upset as she is? Doesn't he love her?
"I love you, can't you see that?" She's starting to cry and she can see the sneer on his face as her eyes water. "I don't want to be separated from you again!"
"I need you to stop being unreasonable, you should realize your life is on the line."
"I don't care! Don't you love me?"
His lips are a thin line as he watches her cry. Rage fills her as silence overtakes them. She thinks of the box sitting in her purse, her eyes dart to where she has it on her lap.
Light grabs her then, his hands on her cheeks. Moving her gaze to him, his eyes are soft and he smiles. The same one he gave her the first night they met.
"I want this to work, Misa, I really do. I promise I'll find a way for us to see each other again. You trust me, don't you?"
His voice is syrup, she feels her anger drain as warmth fills her chest.
"Of course I do, Light."
He smiles a bit wider, his hands trail down to her shoulders.
"I know you do, just let me take care of things. I'll call you when we can meet again."
She forgets about the box, she forgets that he doesn't answer her question. She wishes that he would be able to see her again soon.
She's growing impatient. It's been a month since they met. He's told her to be more selective in her killing, to follow his orders. To be careful who she talks to. That she may be followed as well. She does what he says.
It gnaws at her though. Eats her that he's so close yet so far from her.
She finds him on campus.
He's not alone.
Kiyomi Takada
The name floats above her head as she stares up at Light with the same adoration Misa does.
He's got his hands on her shoulders. He's wearing the smile that should only belong to her.
She wants to scream. She wants to thrash, and hiss, and bite.
She doesn't.
She leaves.
Rem is speaking to her but she doesn't listen.
Once in her apartment she screams. Rem is droning behind her, trying to console her, but she's lost to her anger. She thinks of her notebook.
She rips her wig off, her purse is thrown against the bed. It spills open onto the floor, contents cascading against the carpet and onto her feet.
The red and cream box stares up at her.
Everything quiets around her.
She crawls onto the bed, nails digging into the cardboard.
She opens the box slowly, she barely hears the jingle as the branch slides into her hands.
She grips both ends and she pulls.
"I wish Light Yagami loved me more than anything else in the world."
She sits in silence for a long while, staring numbly at her hands. The plastic branch split on her sheets, she calms.
“Rem, I'm going out again. I think I need-” She's cut off by a knock at her door. They both still and Misa tenses.
Light was right, wasn't he? They linked her to the tapes after all.
She's shaking as she walks to the front door. The sun has set and the apartment is dark, a streetlight illuminates the space through the window beside the door. She opens it, bracing herself.
It's Light.
He's shrouded in shadows, his hands are folded together, as if nervous. In the dark she can make out the smile that finds his lips when she meets his eyes. Her heart skips a beat.
“I needed to see you.” He says, almost bashful. “I'm sorry, I should have called, shouldn't I?”
Elation fills her.
“No! I'm so happy to see you, Light!” She stops for a moment.
“How did you find my apartment?”
A look of confusion crosses his face, as though he doesn't know the answer. Finally he speaks, softly, stilted.
“I looked through your records, this was your most recently listed address. I just needed to see you.”
Her heart swells. Of course he would track her down the same way she did him. They're kindred spirits after all.
“Are you being followed?” Her voice lowers as she says it, her eyes looking past him to the street below.
“Ye-es…I am.” The words rush out of him, his head snapping back toward the street. “I shouldn't be here.” He looks startled for a moment, frowning as he looks into the distance. Just as soon as the worry crosses his face, it disappears, his frown morphing into a smile as he returns his gaze to her.
“But it doesn't matter. I'm just here to see my girlfriend after all.”
She can't help the squeal of joy that leaves her, she rushes forward, flinging herself onto him. He embraces her as she wraps her hands around his neck.
She pulls him into the apartment, covers them both in darkness as she leads him into her room. He embraces her and they fall into bed. Willow branch tumbling to the floor, she forgets about the anger that's been festering inside her.
She's never been happier.
Misa doesn't know what wakes her as she looks around the room. At first she doesn't see anything at all. Her bed is pushed against the corner and the room's only window, giving her a view of the entire room in the daylight. But it's past midnight, probably around three am if her estimation is correct. It's pitch black and the only noise is the hum of electricity.
She's alone, she realizes. She had fallen asleep pressed against Light, his arms around her. The bed is cold where he had been laying. Even as her eyes adjust to the darkness she can't make anything out.
Sitting up, she pulls the covers over her chest. She looks for Rem, who usually watches her sleep. Misa finds it sweet, if not unnerving at times. With how popular she's been becoming, it's nice to have someone watching over her.
She looks to the corner where her TV sits, where Rem usually perches. The eyes staring back at her are human.
She startles, gasping as her body tenses, adrenalin flooding her chest.
"Go back to sleep."
His voice is low, almost a whisper. She strains her eyes to make out his figure in the dark.
He's standing behind the TV, mixed with her decorative trees, dolls, and other knick knacks.
She struggles to make him out, the only part of him she can see is the shine of his eyes in the darkness.
"Light, why are you standing there?"
"Go back to sleep." He repeats, almost like a recording replaying itself.
"You're scaring me, Light." He's not moving, she can't tell if he's even breathing. He looks like a mannequin among the decorations.
"I'm watching you sleep, go back to sleep."
Her skin is covered in a sheen of sweat, her hands shake as she moves to crawl towards the end of the bed.
"GO BACK TO SLEEP."
She recoils, falling back against the headboard. She feels her eyes sting with tears. She's never heard him scream before, it fills her with animal terror, like a rabbit hearing the bark of a hunting dog.
"O-okay, okay, I will!" She rolls onto her side and squeezes her eyes closed. She tries to breathe in deeply, counting down until she exhales. It's not helping.
She listens for movement, for breathing, for Rem, anything. The room is still again. She hears Ryuk's faint laughter in the background.
She falls into an uneasy sleep.