☆WRITTEN IN JULY OF 2018☆

You start off in this (hopefully) relatively short one-shot as a foreign exchange student. You end up staying in Japan post-graduation to help stop the sole person who could bring on the end the world as we know it*, your homeland understandably included therein. You never thought you'd end up living with that very man, or boy, really. The Yagami's were such NICE people, so traditional, and so was their son. You hated knowing you were way off the mark when it came to identifying who Kira truly was all along. You thought he would eventually be a friend, at least, but he was always so busy....

After feeling guilty for far longer than you thought warranted after his role in Light Yagami's death, you find a way to cheer up a friend you DID manage to make and keep, one who USED to be everyone's go-to-underdog. He was the one cutting himself down now.

Though, your attempts at comforting Touta Matsuda become momentarily sidelined when you find out about some evidence from a far longer time ago then when this story takes place, and it doesn't concern Kira, at least, not directly.

It concerns you.

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(The edit at the top I made a little while ago, because I was bored and HE'S A SAINT. It might not really go with the story, as they/you two don't end up in a setting with a bunch of stained glass (well maybe eventualllyy....) But eh, it's pretty.)

{The song at the top is one I've ALWAYS adored, and finally felt inspired to put its vibes into an anime thing. (They're at the very end) Typically it just reminds me of like, angels and demons and all that...the book and the generalised legends...which are like 78.8172% of what I care about. (The generalised legends I mean...) okay! Well, that's enough of that! You guys know how I b about religion by now. Lol.}

I hope you enjoy this! Lemme know if there's anyone else you want me to include and I will, from any anime!

(As per usual, lines indicate time skips.)

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"No! I'm okay." You sighed, finally able to breathe steadily after THE most stressful flight of your life. You liked travelling, but it was a long trip. You were happy your family cared, but you wished your (Mother/Father) would've waited a little longer to call you to make sure you arrived safely.

"You sure?" You fought back a groan. "You sound stressed."

"The flight was stressful! It was-"

"I understand, hon. You get some rest before jet lag sets in too hard, alright?"

You laughed and agreed. "Sure. I love you. (Mom/Dad.)"

"Always! We'll come visit soon!"

You smiled as you looked up to addresss the member of the family who'd agreed to host you for your time in Japan. While it was meant to be an exchange process, neither of the Yagami children seemed to want to trade places with you. Maybe it was where you came from, or maybe they simply had other priorities.

"Hey! {F/N, L/N}!" A girl smiled, speaking, befittingly, in Japanese to you. Thankfully you understood. You'd been practicing.

You two shook hands and she offered to help carry some of your luggage. "I'm Sayu! Come this way!" You grinned and exhaled, thanking her, enthralled by the opportunity to set your bags down and the chance to finally relax.

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You'd been living with the Yagami family for about six months. You sensed SOME stress ever since one night, when the events of the case you'd come to help solve started to heat up.

You finally convinced the task force to let you shadow their chief's son.

HE wasn't happy about it, and neither was this one other detective, one you liked enough, even though he wasn't as smart as you.

"Hey, Y/N."

"What?"

"Are you going with him or not?"

"Yes. It's the job I wanted. It's why I came, Mastuda."

"Just...be careful. I'm not worried about Light, but if he's as into catching the guy as you are, you'd both do anything..."

"Yeah?" You stood, knocking over a stack of papers. You swore, not in Japanese.

"I heard that."

"Oh, shut up!" You swirled around. "Ryuzaki! Just, lay off me."

"You're smarter than you give yourself credit for." You huffed, crossing your arms at his response.

"Go stuff your face, dude."

"Sure." He seemed content to do so, in spite of your clearly present sarcasm.

"So." You looked up. "Matsuda. Why exactly are you always so concerned with my wellfare?"

His face went red.

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It turns out, he was right to worry, but wrong about who the cause of such concerns would be.

"I told you, I'm staying." You sighed, walking in circles. "My parents already said it was okay." You held out a hand. The man you'd been trying fruitlessly to console flinched away. "Look, you can stop beating yourself up for killing him. It was indirect, after all. Remember that? He ran away. We don't know what exactly happened. He could've just bled out or something." Your closing remark didn't exactly help your case.

"I can't. Ever." His whole frame shook along with his voice. It didn't matter. He considered himself fully culpable. "His family...his little sister..."

"He was Kira, Matsuda!" You nearly yelled. "He deserved to die! You know what?" You laughed, but there was no joy behind it. "May our God rot in Hell."

"Nobody deserves that." He whispered back to you. "We all deserve to be forgiven."

"You're too kind." You shook your head. "For a cop." You sat beside him. "Matsuda..."

You placed your hand over his. He finally let you touch him. It'd been a while since you'd last done that. "{Y/N}." You reached out and stroked his face.

"You can't keep crying yourself to sleep over the downfall of a terrorist."

He laughed. It was light, almost nothing, but his smile melted all your prior annoyance away. "You'd d remiss to call him a freedom fighter, wouldn't you?"

You scoffed. "Uh, yeah." You lowered your arm, but he caught your wrist.

"Don't leave. I don't want to stay here alone."

"My family's going to be here..."

"Stay." He looked mournful again. "Please, I'm not sure I can make it though another night alone." He pleaded. "You just said you would."

"Okay." You relented. "I'll tell them I'm working on a case."

"We can seal up the one we're on. There's still evidence that needs to be disposed of properly."

"Oh?" You smiled, albeit faintly. "What kind? Hopefully not your smoking gun."

"No." His smile fell. It lasted longer than you thought, at least. "I got rid of that a long time ago." He got to his feet. "Come on. It's just video surveillance no one wanted to deal with."

"You do things by the book don't you?"

He held out his hand. "Of course." You placed yours in his.

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"It's from where?!?" You held a palm over your mouth, chagrin turning your whole form a deep shade of red. "From...when..."

"I swear. I promise you...I did not know that was going to be on..." he backed up; nearly knocking over the whole desk behind which the two of you were sitting. "It's not like I..."

"Someone watched it!" Your breath caught. "Why? Was this L's idea?"

"Probably. I always thought he'd be somewhat creepy."

"Thought?" You huffed. "This is proof." You slammed your fist down. "If he wasn't already dead I'd kill him!"

"Ahhh!" You both yelped, startled as a nearby light cracked off. Electricity pulsated, as a low-hanging bulb buzzed.

"God!"

"Don't expect a reply. Though, "Matsuda moved closer to you. "We seem to believe in hauntings here more than in your country."

"Well, duh. This case proves it." You looked back at the monitor, and what was on it.

"Do you think that thing was in the room when I was?"

"I told you not to shadow Light."

You shook your head, incredulous as you looked at what the surveillance camera revelled during your time living at the home of one of the world's most infamous criminals.

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It all seemed normal, a private moment. You lay in a bath, clear ripples frothing, bubbling, turning pink and turquoise, as you stood up, humming a pop song from a famous South Korean band. Your body glistened in the sunlight streaming in from a nearby window.

As the water started to drain, you pursed your lips, muttering to yourself.

"Should I do it?" You rose, and your hair dripped down your back, soap covering a minimal part of you. "No one's here." You shook your head, glancing down. "Nah."

You sloppily returned to the water. "It's not a sin." You muttered, almost as though it was a defence, a response to someone else.

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"Let me explain." You turned to face the confused man beside you. "It wasn't anything...bad...I was considering."

"You talk to yourself?" He switched angles.

"The Shinigami?" You smiled, sheepishly hoping a crazier excuse could expunge the truth of your less crazy, less becoming one.

"No." He moved in front of you and scrolled down. "L kept this for a reason."

"Yeah!" You butted in front of him, slapping his arm away. "To watch me consider touching mysellllll...." you trailed off. "Shit." You cursed in your own tongue again. This time, no one could translate.

"Woah!" He yelled. "That's what you meant?!?!"

"Yeah!" You defended yourself. "I've been here for over a year now! I've got to do something, if I'm going to wait for..."

"Wait, wait, wait." He shook his head. "Wait?"

"Which wait are you getting at? Are you finished being perplexed or are you actually asking what I mean?"

"I'm far more than perplexed." He glanced down, swiftly crossing his leg. "Go on."

You blushed; the next words were hard to properly articulate. "I'm Catholic." You shrugged. "I'm a virgin." You closed your eyes.

You opened them as he placed a hand on your shoulder. You looked up. You didn't realise the position you'd ended up in.

"Why am I on the floor?"

"You really can be unobservant." You shrugged him off.

"And melodramatic." You stayed where you were. "Matsuda. I like you." You moved forward. "Move your hand."

"Why?" He leaned forward, and you kneeled up more. "What do you want?"

"I..." he switched off the monitor. You inhaled. "I want..." It was hard to breathe. "You.."

"You're waiting until you're married?"

"I want to." Your voice came out higher than you wanted. "I wanted to..."

You groaned as he pulled back, looking impressed, if not somewhat shocked. "So stick to it." He kicked your seat back towards you. "Sit up, detective. We've got an actual job to do."

"I can think of a job I'd rather be doing." you grumbled.

"I can hear you, you know." He smiled, and laughed, this time both lasted a while. "I didn't say I wouldn't want to do, well, if I think I get what you were offering, that sort of thing with you. Just, wait. You've waited this long, right?"

"Fine." You muttered in reply. "I'll be glad to get rid of this tape anyway."

"As will I." He looked almost envious.

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You glanced up at the sky. Soft white petals filtered down trough an amber light. The streets were largely deserted. A few nearby couples were still out, but it was almost midnight. Most had gone home.

"Hey." You turned around as a hand brushed your lower back. "Sorry I'm late."

"Late?" You checked your watch. "You're..." you sighed. "How was your flight?"

"You tell me." He smiled, and his hair fell over his face. "It was your idea to travel on Christmas."

"I thought air traffic would've been slower outside of Tokyo."

"It's Christmas. Italy is the last place you'd see less tourists."

"Well, we're alone now."

"Is that snow?" He glanced up.

"No." You laughed. "It's too hot here. They're flowers." You held out your palm. "See?"

"Pretty." He noted. "Still, it's also pretty traditional for it to snow on Christmas."

"I told you England would have been..."

"No." He smiled. "Let's go see this grandiose church of yours."

"It's so NOT mine." You retorted, taking his joke seriously. "Still, what'd you want to ask me?"

"Hypothetically speaking, is it against the Cashiskisim to propose on holy ground?"

"It's Catechism." You corrected him. "And no." You walked forward. "But also, hypothetically speaking, it is most definitely tradition to go get fancy tea and scones in London after a Catholic wedding."

"Aren't the British Anglican?"

"The Irish aren't." He followed you. You didn't turn around as you took his hand. "So, you want to marry me?" He stopped. "Hey!" You spun around. "What?" You tugged at his arm.

"We're like twelve kilometres away from St. Peter's. Why'd you ruin it?"

"Me?" You smirked. "Your hypothetical was the giveaway!"

"You could've just played along." He frowned, but you could see it. He was mirroring your expression.

"Never." You stepped closer to him. More flowers swirled around in the gentle breezes blowing around through the Roman skies that warm midwinter's night. A few fell into his hair; ivory leaves seemed to glow as they settled into black waves.

"Ugh." He muttered, wiping them away.

"Matsuda!" You groaned. "You looked cute that way!"

"What with plants in my hair?" He shook his head. "I look dumb."

"You look perfect." You hugged him. "Hypothetically, if I said yes, would that answer whatever question you might ask, satisfactorily, you know, hypothetically, in the hypothetical sense?"

"And my hints were terrible?"

"Yes. Mine being less than cryptic don't mean yours are any more clandestine."

"Yes. It would. Hypothetically." He answered your prior question.

"I love you." You turned your face towards his. "I always have."

"Now I know that's a lie." He leaned down. "But hey," After what felt like glimpse of heaven cut short, he went on, "as I shot your intended target..."

You broke away. "That's not..." you started. "I never liked him."

"You chose to follow him."

"Follow him around." Your attention to semantics was suddenly acute. "And it was because he was the Chief's son! I lived with him! I'd never ever follow what he believed in. You know that!"

"You didn't like him?"

"No!" You growled. "I hated him. I still hate him." You sighed, calming down as the far away sound of bells clanged the half hour. "I also hate L after I found that tape."

You winced, as the light behind you snapped off. A spark nearly called the attention of the only other two people around.

"Damn. It's like he can hear us."

"{Y/N}." He reached out a hand, lifting a few of the same silvery petals off your hair. "You're the one who's always seemed devine to me."

"Nope." You laughed. "I'm as hubristic as Light was."

"Hardly." He rolled his eyes. "You're not trying to be God." He stepped closer. "But you do remind me of an angel."

"Which one?" You raised an eyebrow.

"They have names?" He did the same.

You laughed, stepping into his embrace. "Yes. And don't ever ever tell anyone I said something this sappy, but I think one of them could be yours."

"An angel named Touta Matsuda?" He looked at you in a way you'd never forget. "I thought they'd be...white?" He ended an intended statement as an inquiry.

"Damn it!" You swore.

"Hey!" He pulled back. "That was in Japanese!"

"Yeah." You moved up. "Don't ruin another moment by being stupid about the West."

"That'd be the whole world's sin, {Y/N}." He leaned down. "But, in my defence, they do at least wear white. And hypothetically, you'll look beautiful in it."

"If you're talking about the plausible and not the inevitable, you'd have said, well, you'd."

"English isn't my-"

"I know it's not chance, Matsuda. I know you're going to ask me. I love you. I already told you that. And yes, I will. I'll marry you and whatever else that entails." You grinned.

"Fine." He smiled. "But I'm doing what I planned on beforehand anyway." He pointed. "And, we're walking there."

"At midnight?"

"I've been reading up on the holiest times to be awake, and by the hour we get there, it'll be three in the morning. Naturally, it's the safest place for us."

"Reading?" You kissed him. "Not watching scary movies?"

"That Exorcism one had a trial in it."

"The Exorcism of Emily Rose you mean?"

"Yep." He replied, kissing you back. "That'd be the one."

"Wanna watch it when we get to the hotel?"

"I hope you're not mad..." he pulled away, and started to walk towards the heart of Vatican City. "But I got us a room with Lucy and Ricky beds."

"Wait Lucy and Ricky...two beds?"

"You're the religious one!" He ran forward.

"Wait! Wait! WAIT!" He ran faster. You hated running. "Matsuda! Wait for me!"

"Not for much longer!" He turned back around and was able to move faster, even backwards. "Right? When's the ideal day for you, you know, to tie the knot?"

You found it hard to breathe, not wanting to sprint, walking as fast as you could instead. Though it was for a different reason than in the past, you were just as excited, anxious and well, one more feeling, one a little less appropriate for where you were heading than the others.

It was better left unsaid. Instead, you repeated yourself.

"Please, Wait." He turned around and you had no choice but to run, too. You ran through the streets below the moon, over the bridges crossing the slowly winding waters of the Tiber river, leading you to exactly what you were hoping to find all along by coming to Japan.

Here it was, miles away from where you first found it. You were hopeful again. You felt brave, free and happy after the darkness of the new world seemed endless. You remembered a quote inspired by one of your favourite writers as you raced along. You mulled over the words of Sam Gamgee, knowing you'd both appreciate them at one point or another. He too was an underrated hero, boldly standing next to the lead in the films inspired J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpieces, and you felt in that moment exactly how you felt the first day you decided to become a detective. You hated running a little less as you looked around you, the beauty of the night air and timeless cityscape reflecting all that you believed in, your maxim, what justice meant to the two of you.

"There's some good in this world...and it's worth fighting for."

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Ayyyy cute, right?
Lmao I feel like I'm starting to put the same stuff in every story.
It was slightly longer than I hoped for, but eh, it's aight.

{Footnotes*}

I. The reason I stuck a random "we" in what was otherwise a "you"/second person sentence is because I was AGAIN referencing a song.

Anyone know it?

Haha. It's by R.E.M.
Sooooooo

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh?

Lmao. I thought it fit.

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it!

Best wishes, always!
~ Britt (๑>◡<๑)
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