Failure (A Death Note/L Love Story)

Chapter 41

About a month later, I entered Misa and I's floor and called, "Misa! There was nothing new, so I got sent back." Surprisingly, Misa wasn't as annoying after spending so much time together, and we were actually pretty good friends by then. It wasn't something I anticipated, but L didn't see it as harmful, and neither did I. Plus, considering how little progress we were making in the investigation, it was nice to have someone so happy around.

"I'm in here, Hikari," Misa yelled from the living room. I walked in and saw she was reading a fashion magazine and had already locked the cuff on. I grabbed the other off the table and placed it around my wrist.

As I was snapping it into place, I wondered, "You said you don't have any work scheduled for today, right? The photo shoot got moved to tomorrow instead?"

"Yep!" she grinned. "And it's a good thing, too. I'm still tired from yesterday's job. Modeling is hard work."

I laughed a little, "Yeah, I'm sure it is. And do you like baking, by any chance?"

She shrugged, "I guess. I don't cook much. Why?"

"Well, I need to bake this thing for tomorrow, and I can't unchain us just for that. So, I was wondering if you'd like to help? Even if you say no, I'd appreciate it if you just stayed in the kitchen so I could make it. Please?" I asked.

"That doesn't sound too bad. I'll help," she agreed, standing up. I thanked her before we went off to the kitchen. She sat at the island in the middle of the area as I started pulling out the ingredients. She asked, "So, what are you making? And what's so special about tomorrow?" I cringed. I was really hoping I could somehow get away with not telling her, even though the odds weren't in my favor.

I hesitated, "Oh, tomorrow? Well, um... it's my birthday. I'll be twenty-two."

She gasped, "Really? I had no idea! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

I sighed, "I don't like making a big deal out of it. You, Ryuzaki, and Watari are the only ones who know, so please don't tell anyone else."

"Yeah, of course! So, are you making a cake?" Misa wondered.

I shook my head, "No, I don't like doing that. We're always eating cake, so I make brownies whenever it's one of our birthdays or if Ryuzaki solves a case."

"Wait. Why are these in bags?"

I grabbed the last ingredient and answered, "Well, I have this special recipe for them that Ryuzaki is obsessed with," I took the index card out of my pocket and showed her, "but I refuse to let him know what it is. I have to put the ingredients in unmarked bags so he won't know, but I do. I've made it enough times by now."

"Oh, is it your mother's recipe or something?"

"No, but she was like a mother. My parents died in a car crash when I was a baby. I've been an orphan since then." When I saw how sad she looked for me, obviously feeling empathy because she lost her parents, I rushed, "Oh, it's okay! I don't really miss them because I never knew them, as bad as it sounds. Plus, if that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have met Ryuzaki and started working with him. I'm not sad about it at all."

"That's a nice way of looking at it, but I don't know. He looks like a handful to me," Misa joked.

"Yeah...." I trailed off, a thought making me distracted as I finished getting out all the other supplies I needed. I put my hair up in a ponytail and washed my hands.

"What's wrong? It was only a joke," she assured me.

I looked over my shoulder at her as I dried my hands, "Oh, I know! It was just that... you reminded me of a friend I used to have. I'm sorry, it's silly." I started measuring out the flour.

"Friend? I thought you guys were, like, isolated from the world. Almost no one knows you exist."

"Thanks for the reminder."

"You know what I meant. I just thought you weren't supposed to make friends or something."

I told her, "I don't think I should be talking about this. Ryuzaki doesn't even know, and you're still under suspicion."

Misa gaped, "He doesn't? But you guys are so close!"

I refused to meet her eyes as I kept working, "I-I was going to tell him. Really, I was. I've thought about it a few times, and I know that I need to. I just haven't been able to get the words out. I always stop myself or something."

"Then. just tell me as practice for when you do. Maybe it'll make it easier," she suggested. I could tell she just really wanted to know.

"I don't know. It's a long story," I excused.

She held up the wrist with the handcuff on it and asked, "Where am I supposed to go, anyway? We might as well make this interesting."

I sighed once more, stopping to think it over. I glanced up at the camera on us for a second. The green light was off, which meant they weren't listening in. Whenever I was with Misa, I knew they muted the sound and didn't pay much attention. I wasn't even sure if they had switched the view to the kitchen. Plus, what if it did help me? I knew Misa wasn't going to tell Ryuzaki about it. She barely saw me, anyway. Maybe it wasn't such a terrible idea.

So, I omitted the information that would leave clues to the orphanage or where I used to live, and I told her the secret of how I became what I was as I baked.