Another Chance | Lawlight

Chapter 5

Day 1 

Light felt so conflicted; his home was covered with cameras and wiretaps. Ryuk and Rem had spent hours searching the whole house before listing the location of each camera in detail. Light felt sick to his stomach because there was only one person who would do this, who would be so thorough in this invasion of privacy - L. L would go to great lengths to get the evidence he needed for a conviction. Something must've happened when Raye Penber and Bess Skelletd died, which made L decide to look closer at the families Penber and Skelletd were assigned to follow, which was bad news for Light. Not only because he's Zero, but he's hiding critical information about Kira, which he couldn't tell L. If L gets suspicious of anything Light does, that could bring unwanted attention to Light and his whole Zero operation.

Maybe he shouldn't be hiding; Light should trust L about who he really is; they're... friends. Friends don't lie to each other like this, but can he? Can Light drop his barriers to let someone in, he's strived for the last two years to protect not only himself but Sayu, too. If someone found out he was Zero, he would be putting his sister's life in danger, and no matter what he wants, Light can't risk his sister; he would never recover if something happened to her because of him.

He can't think about this right now. Light had snuck out of his house early in the morning while his mother was still asleep. He needed space to think and didn't need her breathing down the back of his neck. Pushing open the cafe door, Light headed to the counter and ordered himself a coffee. He was in desperate need of one.

"Is that all?" The barista said. Light went to respond when he noticed a single slice of Strawberry Cheesecake. Ryuaga instantly appeared in his mind, and his heart fluttered in his chest.

"Can I get a slice of Strawberry Cheesecake, please?" Light said before paying. He wasn't in any rush to get home and wanted to stay out as long as he could without his mother coming after him; it wouldn't be the first time. He looked around the cafe; it was quiet, with most tables still empty. The barista handed him his coffee and cake before turning to serve the next customer. Light headed towards the back of the cafe, wanting some quiet whilst keeping himself out of sight in case his mother did come after him.

"Good morning, Light," a voice said. Hidden away in the corner was Ryuga sitting in a weird position—a type of squat with his legs resting against his chest. It didn't look comfortable.

"Good morning, Ryuga," Light said, walking over to him. It seems like no matter where I go, I run into you."

"I could say the same thing about you, Light. Are you stalking me?" Ryuga said, and Light laughed, "You are welcome to join me if you would like."

"Thank you, Ryuga," Light said, putting his coffee and cake on the table before sliding into the booth opposite Ryuga. A slight smirk appeared on Ryuga's face when he caught sight of Light's cheesecake. Ryuga himself had a cup of tea and three empty plates to the side of his laptop.

"I see my passionate speech the other day swayed you to the side of Strawberry Cheesecake," Ryuga said, closing his laptop, his legs dropped to the floor.

"I wouldn't say you've swayed me, but it would be improper of me not to try the cheesecake after listening to your speech," Light said. Light still found it weird how relaxed he felt speaking to Ryuga, a random stranger who somehow kept falling into Light's life like he was meant to be there. Light didn't want to stop seeing him because his usually active mind was quiet when he was around Ryuga. He felt at peace in his presence.

"Well, I wouldn't want to stop you from your social experiment," Ryuga said. Light smiled because he couldn't help himself when he was with Ryuga and took a bite of the cheesecake. The taste of strawberries hit him first, followed by the crumbly texture of the crust. Light took another bite. It was sweet but not overwhelmingly so.