Light looked up from the notes he was taking and glanced over at Takada, whose head was buried in her notebook, her pen scratching away quickly. Thinking about it, Light supposed that they never really acted as a couple; they didn’t hold hands or hug each other, and they hadn’t been on a date ever. They only ever hung out on campus during school time. Considering it, Light thought it must be suspicious to anyone who talked about their relationship – and many people did, seeing as she was Miss To-Oh, and he was one of the guys who got a perfect score on their entrance exams. He and Takada were together plenty, that was for sure, but it was only that they were together.
Light tore a scrap of paper out of his college notebook and scribbled down a quick note. ‘If you’re not doing anything on Sunday, would you like to come to the art gallery around the corner with me? You can come over to my house for dinner afterwards, too, if you’d like.’ He folded the note and printed Takada’s name on it, before thrusting the note across the table at her. She seemed to snap out of a daze, and she blinked heavily a few times before unfolding the note. Her eyes skittered across the page, blurring as she read, and then she looked up at Light with the penetrating look that charmed most of the men at the college. She nodded quickly, and turned back to her notes. Light breathed a sigh of relief; their relationship was about to look normal to outsiders.
Then Light realised something; he would have to tell Misa he was going on a date with another woman. She was not going to be happy. Also, wouldn’t one date lead to another…and another…? He hadn’t thought this through; it was so unlike him. But he would think it through later. Right now, he should be paying attention in his class. Instead, he focused on the intricate doodle on the back page of his notebook. It looked vaguely like Ryuk, actually. Weird.
“But Light-kun! I want you to spend all of Sunday with me! I booked a day off work and everything, so we could spend loads of time doing couple stuff! I thought maybe we could watch a film, or something…else. Something more fun.” Light looked up from the book he was reading, and snapped it shut with a sigh. He waited until he had placed it on the table next to his bed, carefully laying it at a perfect right angle, and opened his mouth to speak, arranging his words as carefully as his room. “Misa, you know why I’m doing this. I have to throw suspicion off of you and I. If anyone suspected that we were together, L would investigate and then we wouldn’t be able to be together! Especially not if L manages to find something out because of us, and he discovers that you or me have the Death Note – he’ll kill us. I couldn’t let that happen to you.” He paused here, portraying the right emotions perfectly, and took her hands gently.
Light stood up, still gripping Misa’s hands, and whispered in her ear. “I love you, Misa. I am prepared to do everything I can for us to be together, and if one date with a girl I don’t like will help, then I’ll do it. For you and me, Misa. I’ll do it…for us.” And with that, he leant in and kissed her on the lips, a more passionate kiss than either of them had ever shared with anyone before. When Light pulled away, Misa’s eyes remained closed as she breathed heavily, swaying slightly. When her eyelids eventually fluttered open, her eyes had a far off gaze in them, and the lights made them sparkle like stars. “Okay,” she whispered, but Light was absorbed in his book again – he knew she would agree after that.
That Sunday, Light dressed carefully and left the house, managing to avoid his mother and Sayu; his father had stayed overnight to work on the Kira case, as per usual these days. He would come home sometime, if only for the whiskey stashed in his writing desk. Light arrived at the bus station five minutes early, and scanned the crowd expertly for Takada. When he spotted her silky hair amongst the other people, he threaded his way through the large swarm of strangers until he was standing next to her. To attract her attention, he put his hand on her shoulder. She turned around, shocked, but relaxed when she recognized Light. “Hi,” she breathed. He took her by the hand and led her onto their bus, where they sat near the back in a double seater.
Light finally looked at Takada properly. Her hair had been curled, and hung loosely around her face. The darkness of her ringlets contrasted brilliantly with her pale face, and her green eyes stood out, electric and yet calming at the same time. She wore a lacy top with a short, fitted cardigan draped over her shoulders, and a skirt cut just above the knee. “You look nice,” Light stammered, cursing himself for the way his voice portrayed his sudden, unexplained nervousness. Takada blushed, gripping her bag tightly, and mumbled her thanks. The pair of them spent the journey in complete silence.
At the gallery, Light paid for both Takada and himself and they wandered around the empty spaces, pretending to gaze intently at the artwork they passed. Light was restless, and yet at the same time he felt a warm content at being able to stand this close to Takada. But the feeling was pushed away when he heard a shrilly voice calling his name from the end of the room. “Light! Light, over here! It’s me! I didn’t know you were coming here today!” Light managed to avoid swearing, and turned around, forgetting Takada.
Light raised an eyebrow warningly, but Misa took no notice and came running at him, still squealing about how happy and surprised she was to see him. Takada was still quite shy around Light, and so she tugged at his hand to get his attention. “Light, do you – do you know Misa Misa?” Light nodded, “Yeah, we met in a shop somewhere and started talking. Misa, this is my girlfriend, Kiyomi Takada.” Misa beamed. “He’s never mentioned you before!” Takada blushed violently, and shrank back even more. Light was fuming. How dare Misa go against him?
“Well, we’d better get on, Misa,” Light growled. “Sorry to have to leave, but we need to get home soon for dinner. So, we’ll talk later, yeah?” And with that, he strode off, towing Takada behind him. He didn’t speak to her until they were in his room, when he turned to Takada and said, “So what do you want to do until dinner’s ready then?” Takada smiled. “I don’t mind. I’ll do whatever you want to, Light.” Light still couldn’t get rid of his anger at Misa, and it didn’t help that when he looked out of the window he saw Misa watching from the street. She saw him looking at her, and waved wildly, but Light didn’t react. He turned to Takada and beckoned her over. Puzzled, Takada wove around his room until she was stood with him, and he put his hands on her waist as he kissed her. The whole time, he had one eye on Misa in the street, and saw her jumping up and down in rage. He smirked. Desired effect: achieved.
Light and Takada went back up to Light’s room after dinner to pick up where they left off. But first, Light went over to the window, pretended to adjust the blinds, but could see that Misa was still watching him. Good. He turned to Takada, and took off her cardigan. As they melted into one another, Light made sure they stayed within Misa’s view the whole time. When it was getting dark, Light’s mother called up the stairs, telling him to walk Takada home. He pulled his shirt up off the floor and put it on, watching as Takada slipped back into her own clothes.
Light and Takada walked home comfortably, their fingers knitted together, and the silence was no longer uncomfortable. But Takada never noticed that Light was just acting, no matter how well. The whole day had been a lie, just a cover up to Light, as well as a small bit of revenge. It was a good thing that Takada fell into Light’s trap, or else his first careless action could have led to his downfall faster and more publically in the future…From that day on, Light never did one more careless thing. Everything was planned immaculately, down to the last tiny detail.
