Just as You Are || Death Note || L

Chapter 33: With Friends Like These

Everything is going exactly as planned. Light couldn't chance the second Kira's Shinigami giving him away and this crowd of his peers acts as the perfect decoy. This way, his Shinigami will never know who Ryuk is following. With his classmates chatting around him, he pulls on a fake smile.

I'm just a normal teenager out with friends. Nothing else.

He strides confidently toward the agreed upon meeting spot, when something catches his eye. Squinting to make out the figure in the distance, he's surprised to see it isn't Matsui, as he was expecting, but Kate. He watches as she shifts from one leg to the other, occasionally scanning the faces around her in an attempt to find his. He doesn't know if he should be mildly annoyed or pleased, as she certainly couldn't be as skilled of a detective as Matsui is. Maybe Light does have the favor of a god after all, so he decides to welcome the blessing. However, that won't stop him questioning the change, assuming Ryuzaki is behind it.

"Looky there. It's your new friend." Ryuk chuckles behind him.

Light suppresses the urge the roll his eyes as they stay trained on the woman. Out of everyone at task force headquarters, she seems closest to Ryuzaki. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage, as a means of prying information from her.

As he grows closer, her sparkling eyes lock with his. Her once slouched shoulders straighten back as she hesitantly waves him over. Okay, so getting information from her definitely won't be easy, since she's so closed off. Could Light even pull that off? Would she even have information to let slip? What's he thinking? Of course Ryuzaki wouldn't tell her anything different than what he tells the others. He takes a steady breath before his plastered smile returns.

This is just a normal day for friends to hang out.

"Hey! There you are." Light says as he approaches with his classmates. "Everyone, this is my cousin Kate. She's in town for the week and asked if I could show her around."

A small smile easily forms across her features as she waves to the group. "Hi! Nice to meet you all." Everyone begins introducing themselves, some enthusiastically so, making the girl laugh nervously.

"Go easy on her, she's a bit shy. But, she did say she was looking for a boyfriend." Katelyn's head whips up to Lights with a bright dusting of pink lighting her cheeks as the others giggle and tease.

"Light!" She whispers with widen eyes, "what the hell?" But he only chuckles at her flustered reaction.

The group pulls her attention back, some of them pulling her along the road as they continue up the street. "Well I definitely can introduce you to a few people Kate." She glances back to Light, her eyes pleading for help, to which he offers none. The bastard.

"You'll have a boyfriend by the end of the week!" Another girl says.

"I appreciate it, but Light was only teasing. I'm not really looking for a boyfriend." She says, her teeth nearly clenched as she glares at the teen.

"Uh oh. Seems like you've made her upset." Ryuk says behind Light.

That's the point. What better way to distract her than by playing on her closed off nature? The less he has to worry about her, the more he can focus on this imposter.

Everyone leisurely walks down the street, discussing which ever topic Light isn't paying mind to. His eyes scan the crowds, looking at the possible shops the second Kira could be at. But as they group moves down, no one stands out to him. Was the second Kira serious about the Tokyo Dome? Surely he isn't that much of a moron.