the world is not enough ➔ DEATH NOTE X READER

4. the scorpion and the frog

December 19, 2003

From then on Light was adamant about showing just how right she was to place her wellbeing, and innocence, in his hands. If (Y/n) thought his previous behavior was overbearing, his new actions were downright suffocating. Sure, they were close before: nearly inseparable since they both met. This was something entirely different.

People had begun to notice. Those dirty looks she got from Light's many admirers had multiplied nearly tenfold.

Then they began to talk. Most of it was snide side comments whispered to others when she passed– both with and without Light in attendance. They got progressively louder and much more nasty as time went on. Until, eventually, even her friends were talking about it.

Some were inquisitive; questions of "are you two actually dating" or "when did you start going out". Others seemed to view their rumored involvement as endearing or inspirational– many passing words of "you guys are so cute together" and "I wish me and my boyfriend were like that" were sent her way. And then there were those comments, the ones of "what does he even see in you" spoken right to her face. A pointblank verbal flashbang. It was hard to maintain her keep-sweet personality at moments like that.

Truthfully the harsh words did stick with her. Just not in the way those girls had hoped. At quiet moments spent in solitude, (Y/n) couldn't help but to listen to it echo around her mind. What did he see in her?

As far as Light knew she was perfectly average. Decent grades, friendly but not overbearingly outgoing, and semi-popular solely for her position in the student council. A polar opposite to Light, who did everything he could to ensure his existence wouldn't quietly slip away into the night once all was said and done.

(Y/n) huffed and did her best to shake off the thought for the time being. It was no use to dwell on it, especially not now.

She spared herself one last glance at her monochrome reflection stretched across the darkened display of her phone before flipping it closed and turning her gaze elsewhere.

"I thought you'd forgotten about me!" She called out. Her smile beamed at her approaching escort.

Light gave her one in return. "I wouldn't leave you out here all alone," he replied. He drew closer for a moment before scooping her hand in his own and tugging her along. "Come on, I told my mom we'd be home in time for dinner." She faltered in her steps, nearly stumbling out of her shoes at the pace Light set for them. She took a quick second to glance behind, making sure her cell phone hadn't fallen from the pocket of her uniform skirt, just in time to see a man round the corner.

(Y/n)'s eyes shot back up forward. From her peripheral she could make out the movement of Light's lips, a whisper on the breeze. "Did you notice?"

"Creepy isn't it?" Ryuk popped his head between the two. Close enough that the volume of his voice stung her ears– though neither flinched. Both people seemed too accustomed to the strange occurrences of the creature whose personality was, at best, akin to a rabid, wild animal. "He's been there for a few days now." Ryuk craned his neck back to watch the lurking figure.

Light was silent for the rest of the walk home. His hand stayed tightly folded around her's even as they passed the threshold into the Yagami house. He briefly pulled away in order to toe out of his shoes, allowing (Y/n) space to breathe while she did the same.

His mother, having heard the sound of the front door opening and closing, popped her head in. She brightened at the sight of them, her voice sugary when she greeted them. "(Y/n), dear, are you staying for dinner?"

"Yes, please, if you'll have me."

Light cleared his throat, "we'll be down soon. I'm helping (Y/n) with a project for the student council." His hand, previously glued to her own, now gently pressed to the small of her back in an attempt to steer her towards the stairs. He nudged her into his room first before he stepped in and closed the door behind him.

"How long has that been going on?" (Y/n) narrowed her eyes at him, her frown only creasing further when he walked past her. He sat at his desk with a sigh, his shoulders raising in a slight shrug, as he dug into the first drawer.

"Since Wednesday."

"Since Wednesday?!" She repeated in a hiss. Her teeth cinched down at the inside of her lip and she inhaled. (Y/n) lowered her voice to a soft hush, took a few steps forward, and spoke, "Light, what happened?"

He exhaled sharply through his nose. He paused in his rifling and instead turned to her, propping his elbow onto his desktop and his head onto his hand. "L realized that there was an information leak in the investigation. My best guess is he's having the families involved followed to watch for any suspicious behavior." She blinked.

"You mean..." she trailed off to a complete stop. Her head turned to the closed door, almost as if her words would conjure the man himself. Her voice lowered even further. "That's the case your dad's on?"

Light said nothing. He merely brushed it off with a sly grin before returning to his previous mission of fishing out the notebook from his desk. "I just have to find the name of the man following me. And I've already got it all figured out." He taps the cover of the leather bound book with a single finger and offers it to (Y/n).

She took it, almost greedily, and flipped through the pages with a breakneck speed. Her eyes running across lists of names, she soon came to longer passages. First a sentence or two and then full on instructions, ultimately leading up to what could almost be described as a full stage play.

"All that's left is you."

She lifted her head up, abandoning the script just before it detailed the cause of death. "Me?"

"I can't do this all by myself." He shook his head with a smile, more genuine than the last. Light rose from his seat and took the last few steps to bridge the slight gap between them. His hand rose up to engulf her own, splayed out in the cover of the death note. "(Y/n), will you go out with me?"

❝𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞❞
↳ 𝐎𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 - 𝐅𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞

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(from wikipedia: "the scorpion and the frog is a...fable which teaches that vicious people cannot resist hurting others even when it is not in their own interests." I can't remember why I named this chapter that, aside from the obvious that y/n is eager to sabotage light to no extent....but you probably knew that)