Chapter 5

Quick Author's note before the story:

So I saw one of my reviews from Starhammer, talking about how rare and interesting it was to have a psychopathic OC.

And me seeing this is all like: YASSSSS SOMEONE GETSSSS MEEEEE. really, I agree with the fact that psychopathic characters are the most interesting to watch and learn from.

Now, enjoy the story of two fucked up psychos. *cackles in the background.*

Chapter 5

School was...undeniably surprising.

Was it because I was used to being crammed with assignments and tests from university? Or was it because the year was 2003 and they had not yet advanced into the technology era that usurped the pace of learning? I heard the teacher turn the page on the topic of Oda Nobunaga for the hundredth time, going backwards and forwards to ensure our understanding of his achievements.

For once, I missed how my professors would teach a whole unit in half a class.

My heavy-lidded eyes peered outside the five-foot-long window and landed on the stone plate name just in front of the school.

Eishu Junior High School.

Sayu Yagami, 14 years old.

Daughter of the Chief of the NPA.

Fairly social but cheeky most of the time. Mischievous but never breaks the classroom rules. The two goody shoes in front of the staff.

I contemplated whether or not I should rejoice or wail out in agony. It took another split second to make my decision. Her being young was...good. It gave me the benefit of the doubt, space to slide in some of my future pawns and was much easier to plan underneath the eyes of people. In one word, Sayu's position was completely perfect to use to maneuver the directions of the game.

My father was the chief, so I could use that as an excuse for infiltrating the police station. I was a teenage social butterfly, so I could manipulate that fact to create alibis. I never broke the classroom rules so the teachers would be more biased around me. And I wore two goody shoes so it made me seem trustworthy.

I heard a couple of snickers behind me before a boy tapped me on the shoulder. I leaned back in my seat, dropping my head back closer to the male as he slipped a folded sheet of paper past my shoulder.

Passing notes, are we?

My eyes glinted as I unwrapped the layered rectangle, amused at how tightly packed this thing was folded. Leave it to the Japanese, they really do everything to the point of neatness and detail.

Sayu Yagami, will you go to the school cultural festival with me? (Tadashi Kyotani)

I quirked my eyebrows up and directed my curious gaze to the jet hair coloured boy. He smirked and mouthed a sentence that was barely readable and pointed to the paper. My eyes gazed over his overall posture, taking in the male. His white shirt was neatly folded surprisingly without creases in the front. There was no stain nor discolouration on his pants and uniform. He looked relatively neat, yet plain at the same time.

No striking features or any charms that would stick in my mind. Unconsciously, I rated him a 6/10.

Sticking out my tongue at the boy, my lips curled upwards playfully before I shot up my hand and ratted out the male.

"Teacher Hoshino! Tadashi's passing love notes in class!"

A real-life tomato face spewed up in class today.

The bell chimed twice before the teacher cleared his throat for goodbye and all students started to leave the building. I stood up quietly, grabbing my dark brown school bag as I heard a group of girls called out to me at the doorway. Turning my head, I giggled childishly before waving my hand to dismiss them.

"I have to ask the teacher something, Aoiko. You guys go first, this will take all the battle power in my soul to gain my purpose in life!" I said.

"Ayeeee! Someone's playing Battle Spirits recently!" Another girl snapped her hands and waved back to me. "Well, see you later haterz!"

The group snickered after exchanging their last goodbyes and disappeared from the classroom. I turned my round eyes towards the empty room, walking towards the door and setting my aims on the staff room.

"Excuse me," I knocked a few times before sliding the door wide open. "Is teacher Hoshino here?"

The staff room was organized into rows of tables forming 4 columns. On top of the columns were one straight row of textbooks, their spines facing the ceiling as they lined up evenly before a taller textbook broke the symmetry and drew an invisible line of space.

"Ah, Sayu! He's over there at the back!" An older woman with a black bun on top of her head gestured to the direction where my teacher glanced up from his coffee, placing it subtly on his desk before I reached his table.

"How can I help you, Sayu?" He placed a small smile on his wrinkled face before pushing up his thin black glasses on his nose. I nodded in greetings politely before blinking my doe eyes at the man.

"Actually, I was planning to study more in the language and essay part," I started quickly before fiddling my fingers together and avoiding meeting his eyes. "Since I aim to become a lawyer in the future..."

I trailed off deliberately.

"I'm not saying I need any extra marks or anything, that would be extremely unfair to the rest of the students, but I was wondering if I could do a research essay on my dad's workplace and write it in English?" I glanced up anxiously, biting my lower lip.

"Would you please look over my papers if I did do it?"

Behind my hopeful expression, I watched him impassively as his smile turned into a cheerful chuckle as his shoulders shook in joy.

"Of course! I am actually delighted you brought that up!" He said as I felt my shoulders relax a bit before I toned in his explanation. "You see, I was actually thinking of assigning some sort of English homework yet I was pondering what I should do."

"You wanted to do a research essay on your father's workplace?" He asked. I nodded before adding on.

"Yes, if the whole class does it, not only is it beneficial to the relationships between the family members, they can also experience an adult's workplace. Maybe some of them would also be inspired to take after their mother or father's footsteps." I shrugged lightly before beaming, intentionally discarding my 'shy and nervous' persona.

"We are at the age where we can learn more about what we want to do in the future," I added on quickly.

My classroom teacher nodded along with my words, satisfied with the benefits I placed in front of him.

"Alright, I'll announce the assignment and word count tomorrow in class. Is there anything else you want to add?" Hoshino's gray eyes wandered my face casually, lingering like a child's curiosity.

"Yes, in fact," I started. "Instead of just doing this as an essay, I was thinking that we could escalate this into a project."

"A project?"

I nodded as confirmation.

"A seven-day project. Each day they have to spend at least 2 hours at the workplace. Only observing for one day wouldn't be helpful enough. Some students may just sit there and stare. Instead of a single day, maybe have the students work in the place. For example, cleaning the tables in the restaurant." My voice elaborated the plan quickly. Hoshino's eyebrows furrowed at my explanation.

"If you worry about the time frame, instead of doing it on weekdays, the seven days could be placed on the weekends," I added quickly. "The span of the project would last barely over two months. Of course, you can also leave the chosen 7 days to the students too. If their parents allowed them to be at the place on weekdays, of course."

The teacher paused at my explanation, nodding slowly.

"That does work." He said before grinning up at me. "Seems like I'll have to send a notice of the assignment to the parents, huh?"

I beamed at his decision.

"Thank you for listening, teacher Hosino! Originally I had only planned this for myself so that it would not be a burden..." I trailed off, laughing foolishly at my own comment before shifting my weight to my other leg. The rest of the conversation went by smoothly before I skipped out of the staff room, pleased at how successful it went.

Yes, the best defence is the best offence.

The sooner I rubbed my influence on my dad's workplace, the sooner I'll be notified of the startings of Death Note.

Of course I could just keep an eye on the news, but that information is always delayed by a couple of days, or hours. No doubt there would be whisperings of the strange case of heart attacks even if I got a job of cleaning the toilets at the police station.

Better something than nothing.

"A report on your guardian's workplace?" Dad raised his eyebrows as he settled down into his seat at dinnertime. The smell of roasted chicken made me drool as I eyed the leg, fluttering my fingers at the roast before my mom coughed intentionally, staring at me with both hands on her hips. My face drooped sadly, resembling a puppy face.

"That's interesting." Dad lifted off his eyes on the permission form, thinking to himself for a moment before nodding his head. "Very well, when is a good time for you?"

Wowza, the power of the chief indeed! No need to even ask the higher-ups, he just agrees to it. Was he so sure the higher-ups would agree? Or did he have the power to allow volunteers? I really don't know if that is confidence right there or skill.

"I can do 2 pm all this week!" I chirped, skipping next to dad and planting a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for agreeing!"

"Don't you have school all the way until 4?" Dad raised his eyebrows, shooting me a look of warning. "Don't you dare skip school to come to my workplace."

"I'm not!" I giggled lightly, skipping back into my seat. "The last three hours are my English and maths. This morning I handed in a week of finished assignments to my teacher! He gave me special permission!"

"So that's why you were rushing through 300 pages of exercise yesterday." Light's voice rang out from the corridor as I snapped my head towards the doorway, watching his long graceful strides pace slowly towards the table. His arms trailed beside his body, greeting his parents casually before captivating my attention with the shimmering delight as he locked our gazes together.

"300?" My mom's eyes widened as she lay down the last stir-fried vegetables on the desk.

"Yep!" I grinned smugly, tearing my eyes off of Light. "Not one question less. I even have dark circles to prove my hard work!"

I jabbed my cheeks, earning a muffled chuckle from my brother and a penetrating look from my dad. He narrowed his eyes, laying down the piece of paper before leaning forwards and intertwining his hands.

"How do I know you're not making an excuse to skip class?"

"Well, my dear father," I copied his posture and hardened my own gaze with a slight smirk. "It turns out that your sweet daughter had already predicted this interrogation and asked teacher Hoshino to sign an agreement contract with his name in pen. You can also call the number at the bottom if you think the signature was illegitimate."

I took out a folded piece of paper from my skirt pockets and slid him the note carefully as if we were doing some shady transaction. Soichiro blinked, picking up the paper and glancing over the unfolded permission slip stating that I could legally 'skip' class for a week.

"Well played, little sis." Light whispered near my ear and smiled mischievously, sending jolts of electricity down my spine. I flashed him a beaming smile, ignoring his previous attempt to make me yelp. Well, two can play the game, brobro. I fluttered my arms around his neck, slightly grazing my fingertips on his pale skin.

"Merci beaucoup." I whispered back hotly, slanting my eyes to create a misty and sensual look. "Ne me défiez pas, mon frère."

I leaned back and grinned, mentally doing a victory fist pump at the frozen male.

Mission accomplished, creeping the brother out by flirting with him: S rank achieved!

"Any more questions, daddy?" I innocently flickered my gaze to the two adults, checking to see if they wanted to add any remarks on my previous play. Both parents had their eyes glued to the slip before leaning back into their seats from my interruption.

"Are you sure you'll be able to get high marks for your rushed work?" Mom pronounced her words carefully, slipping the paper out of dad's hands while her gaze lingered on my face for my answer. Honestly, at this point there's no other thing I can say except for a 'yes.' I felt Light's eyes bore into my skull as I ignored his gaze.

"Oui! If I do not get a 86% on all assignments, I will do all the dishes and help out with the cooking, mom!"

Dad's face scrunched up from my comment.

"Annnd, I will give 15-minute massages for a week to you, dad!" I sang out, clapping my hands together. "Now, are we in a unanimous agreement? Or will the government veto power it?"

"Permitted." Dad cleared his throat after my offer, satisfied with my offer. What. A. Softie. For. His. Daughter.

"Shall we form a written contract on your side?" He asked.

"Non," I replied almost too quickly. "Verbally heard and seen by three witnesses shall be enough."

Dad chuckled at my words, nodding before pausing ever so slightly, recalling something in our conversation.

"What language is that?"

I blinked at his question, tilting my head.

"Which one?" I asked.

"The 'oui' and 'non' one." Light mimicked my previous accent although failing to replicate it the same way. I blinked at Light, completely baffled for a minute before recognizing the reason for their question. Dad nodded at Light's comment before mom sighed at our conversation, picking up dad's plate and scooping some of the vegetables onto his rice.

"The food is getting cold," Mom rolled her eyes as dad coughed bashfully, laughing at her scrunched-up face. We started to pick up our chopsticks obediently as I shoved a slice of chicken into my mouth.

"It's French," I said simply, ignoring all of their curious looks. "I was reading an article about French cuisine and stumbled across a couple of words."

The lie scaled hot on my tongue while I chewed the meat, dread creeping up my spine before I could stop it. I had forgotten. This was not the 21st century, nor my previous country. The information about other countries in Japan was close to none since they had, apparently, isolated themselves for a dozen of centuries before opening their borders. They would not have been so knowledgeable about the languages in the world or anything related outside of Japan.

"Your accent is quite practiced from just reading an article." Light pointed out casually, not letting the conversation go. I bit my inner cheek, distastefulness swelling in the pits of my stomach for the male.

"Well, for my case I've realized that I tend to go all out in things I'm interested in. By the way, there's something called a website that I used for pronunciation." I forced a smile onto my face before turning to my mom.

"Mom, I found a recipe that I really wanted to try from the French article! It's called Ratatouille, apparently, it's a really popular french homemade dish!"

Dinner continued like that, Light being overall nosy and annoyingly curious for the most part. He asked questions, and I answered them without batting an eyelash. Mom had commented on how fortunate it was, when I started to show a sliver of talent in my studies. Woman, I've done grade 8 once, and even if I sucked at school, doing it twice would be similar to me holding a cheat sheet. I smiled a smile that did not reach my eyes before blaming my talent on the recent incident that knocked some sense into me.

Light nonchalantly excused himself after messing up my ponytail, grinning maliciously as I yelped at his actions, causing him to scamper away fast as a cougar up the stairs.

"Sayu?" My mom called out from the kitchen. "Make sure you behave tomorrow at your father's workplace. They do series business over there. Listen to your father and his coworkers at all times!"

"Okaaay!" I replied lazily, dragging out the syllable as my eyes stayed glued onto the TV screen. It was scary how quickly I had gotten used to with this family. It really seemed like the normal, overbearing family that most people had in the 20th century or so. It was even eerier that I deliberately chose not to act that much as the daughter before, and somehow the family did not even comment a bit on the different habits and preferences.

Granted, I never had any habits that I did not deliberately control in my past life. I was perfectly aware of each thing I was doing. But even the change in preferences, like colour, food, would be mildly suspicious, right? Was it because the Sayu before did not show any recognizing quirks?

Or had the family not cared for her before the accident?

The latter was surprisingly possible. Sayu was born in a family that held knowledge and success as high as the next Asian family, or even more. Being born under the same roof as a genius would have burdened the potential of Sayu, always being compared to her brother and stuff. Her brother was similar to shackles, tying her up and over performing in every subject that Sayu would have touched.

Her father must have favoured his son more, her mother must have repeated Light's name so much that Sayu wanted to bawl out in tears. They didn't care for her, even when she was the younger one.

Sayu must have felt envious of her brother. Hatred and disgust for herself. Although I had snippets of memories from the girl, her feelings and thoughts were completely missing, as if I was watching videos of her life, not actually being in her spot. I was like the third person in her life, observing her with indifference.

I was similar to Sayu in a way, my previous life was made up of so much self-hatred and social standards that I completely broke. The only difference was the apathetic attachments that I felt to this world.

Did I care for the family's deaths? No.

Did I have a goal in life aside from seeing the death of my enemies? No.

What was I here for?

I wanted something. Something desperately, yet I could not place my finger on it.

What did I want?

Success? Well, in a way yes.

Amusement? Yes, of course. I rolled my eyes.

Useless. I was always useless in their eyes.

I blinked as the words echoed into my mind, swirling around near my ears.

I want to do something. To prove that I am alive. To prove that I was here.

I want...

I want power. Power to get rid of anyone who gets in my way. Power to hold someone's life in my hands. I want them at my mercy...

I scoffed at the voice, sneering to myself for a quick minute.

In the first place, I wanted to survive to the end of the anime, to see L and Light's death with my own existence. That was my definition of becoming King. So that no one would be able to threaten my life anymore. That was basic human instinct, wanting to survive.

But what for? Just for show?

No.

I wanted to rule.

To have the Death Note in my hands so that no one could stand in my way.

A shiver crawled up my spine as my body shuddered with anticipation.

Yes.

I will use Light to corner Near off, then kill my brother for the sake of his Death Note. Have it be murder or betrayal, I will do all of it.

The Death Note was not a tool for death.

It was a tool for manipulation.