the world is not enough ➔ DEATH NOTE X READER

7. peitho

January 17, 2004

There she was, number 163, (Y/n) (L/n).

It was strange: witnessing her existence without the disguise of a screen– to gaze upon her form without the glare of fluorescent light on glass or the fuzzy haze of a photograph attempting to mimic real life. It felt surreal. Almost like meeting a celebrity, minus the immediate downfall of serotonin that immediately followed upon realizing they aren't who they are on tv.

She was less done-up than the surveillance tape, and far more dressed for that matter. Her hair tucked behind one ear, hands engulfed in an oversized sweater, smelling sweetly of citrus fruit and jasmine. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as she would purse her lips at particularly difficult questions, or curl them upwards just the slightest whenever she came upon an easy one. She didn't appear as tall in real life.

But she wasn't the real reason he was here.

What is his problem?

(Y/n)'s eyes drifted up from her test as she, yet again, felt the gaze of another on her. Irises flickered beneath eyelashes, a motion small enough to hide behind the curtain of hair cascading over her shoulder, to land upon the student on her left. It was hard to limit it to just a brief look given his state: clothes rumpled, hair disheveled, feet bare and propped at the edge of the table. He was shameless.

His head turned towards her whilst he openly gawked. Was there something on her face? On her clothes? She couldn't help but wonder what would make someone like that so fixated on her.

And then, all of a sudden, his gaze was gone.

(Y/n) chose not to dwell on it. Better them than her, right?

"You there...number 162," the voice of the test moderator rang out through the silent auditorium. It buzzed in her ears as he drew closer. Now they notice him? She thought bitterly. "Sit properly."

The man beside her froze. His head poised stationarily upright with eyes trained forward. She attempted to follow his line of sight, finding nothing other than Light– turned back to look at the commotion. Ultimately, the strange man relented to the moderator's demands. He withdrew both feet and legs from the table, setting them on the floor besides where he had earlier abandoned his shoes.

April 5, 2004

After two-and-a-half months and– near –endless tests, the day of the To-Oh entrance ceremony had finally come.

(Y/n) sat near the front row, gracefully balanced atop one of numerous metal folding chairs set up in the school's gymnasium. She clapped along with the others as the college chancellor concluded his speech and queued up his next card.

"Next, we have the freshman address," he spoke into the microphone. She watched as the distant, suited figure of Light rose from his chair and stepped toward the front...along with an all-too familiar stranger. "Our freshman representative, Light Yagami, and our other freshman representative, Hideki Ryuga."

The crowd of students behind her devolved into whispers as the two rose to the stage.

"Huh? There's two this year?"

"Did he say "Hideki Ryuga"? Like, the pop idol?"

The turmoil only increased as they began the speech. However, this time the focus had shifted away from the familiar name and instead toward both representative's scores.

"I heard those two both scored a hundred percent in every subject."

"You mean people like that actually exist...?"

And then evolved into something more vain, and perhaps befitting of people their age.

"The guy on the right is so cute.."

"Talk about polar opposites...The left guy looks like your typical elite private-school type, pampered and brilliant. The other guy looks...kinda wild. Well, pretty bizarre, anyway."

"Maybe he's some kind of crazy genius?"

"Coming to the To-Oh entrance ceremony dressed like that to give an address, too...either he's dissing everyone or he's stupid."

"If he was stupid, he wouldn't get into To-Oh with a hundred percent score."

"I noticed when he was going up there...the guy isn't even wearing socks."

"Well, you never know. Maybe he's just poor."

(Y/n) loudly cleared her throat, tossing her gaze over her shoulder to glare at the three boys behind her. Their conversation faltered– eventually dying down right as the freshman address ended. Light and "Ryuga" descended the stage. The two stopped to speak to one another and shake hands before taking a seat. (Y/n) lifted her hand to wave towards Light in an attempt to get his attention. Though distracted from the speech, he never bothered to look over in her general direction– too occupied in maintaining his rigid, formal posture.

He's trying too hard.

After about a handful more speeches and other formalities from the staff, the new freshman class was dismissed. The campus grounds were flooded with excited students eager to chat to new peers and happy families, proudly congratulating their children of their accomplishments.

(Y/n) weaved through the crowds. Her eyes flickered down to her cell phone screen whenever she passed through a thin throng of people, hoping to find a message from Light. He seemed upset– unwilling to even face her.

"There she is! My little girl," a voice boomed in her ear. Her eyes suddenly assaulted by a bright, white flashing light. (Y/n) instinctively shielded her face.

"Dad," she grumbled. "Can you tone it down a little? Please?"

Her father, conveniently, chose not to pay attention. He clapped a hand over her shoulder, squeezing in a vice-like grip, and spoke, "I'm so proud of you. You know your mom would be, too." He seemed to tear up at his own mention of (Y/n)'s mother– sniffling and dabbing at his eyes. It would almost be comical, seeing a man as imposing as her father sob in public, were she not related to him. "You look more and more like her every day."

He patted her shoulder once more for good measure before withdrawing. Instead, his focus fell down to the digital camera in his other palm. "Hey, what do you say we take a picture together? Something for me to keep in the office."

"Shouldn't you be at work?"

He still didn't listen.

"Hey glasses!" Mr. (L/n) called out to a young man near him. The boy spun around, pointing a finger at himself in confusion. "Take a picture of me with my daughter." He tossed the camera to the boy with little care before closing in on her side. "Say cheese!"

(Y/n) sighed. Her gaze drifted past the nervous guy fiddling with the expensive camera and into the crowd, where it eventually landed on a pair of familiar, black feathered wings. If Ryuk was still here, so was Light.

She jerked away from her father's grasp just as the camera flashed. She darted past others– upsetting quite a few families and ruining several other photographs, before she arrived at her destination. But by the time she made it, they were gone.

❝𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥❞
↳ 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮 - 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝

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(peitho is the greek goddess of seduction and persuasion-- both sexual and political. i was grasping for straws here guys.)