Cloak and Dagger

Chapter 31

Judging by Rem's reaction, whatever Kayo just said was a pretty dirty word in the Shinigami realm. But when Misa's chugging a two-litre bottle of grape juice, I really can't blame him for that reaction.

Misa yelps, spilling a little of the dark purple drink on her lazy-day sweater (read: one of my sweaters).

"Is something wrong?" I ask.

"Come, come feel!" Misa exclaims, beckoning me with a frantic hand. "The little one's kicking!"

"Really?" I ask, eyes wide. As thin as Misa is, her belly is small for someone approaching eighteen weeks. I see a small hand beat against the skin and give a yelp of my own.

"Whoa! You have a little karate champion in there!" I laugh. I place my hands on Misa's abdomen and feel the baby kick.

"Hey, sweetie." I say. "Aren't you a little bundle of energy today? Grape juice is just that good, right?"

"Hey, Ellen-chan?"

"What is it, Misa-nee?"

"You'll be the godmother, right?"

My eyes become extremely wide at this. Of course I want to. Misa is incredibly important to me, and her baby is already a large part of my life outside of the work on the Kira case. But...

"Misa-nee, you know I'm going to England after the case, right?" I ask. "I'm going to work at Wammy's House Orphanage. I don't know if we'll be in contact anymore."

"Then I'll come with you."

"I can't ask you to leave your life behind, Misa-nee. You're famous."

"But you're my very good friend, and I don't mind leaving my fame behind so my baby gets a good start that doesn't involve the limelight. Not to mention, meeting all different kids from around the world would be good for my little one, don't you agree?"

I might not even exist after this case, Misa-nee. I'm not from this world, this timeline, whatever you want to call it. And I don't know exactly how long I have.

Of course, I don't say it aloud. That's just madness, isn't it?

"Misa-nee, if you do end up going to England... Please do it for yourself and your baby. Don't feel obliged to follow me."

"But... I know that, right now, the best place for me to be is at the side of my clever and caring little sister! Ellen-chan is more than capable of helping me look after my baby and settle into motherhood!"

I clasp Misa's hand, smiling slightly at her. I squeeze her hand in my own.

"Ellen-chan? Is everything alright?"

I realize that tears are tracing their way down my face. I raise a hand and brush them away.

"I'm fine. It's just... I need a minute. I need to take some time to..."

I back away. Before Misa can follow me, I dart through her suite to the elevator. I jam my fingers into the buttons for the main floor before realizing: 'Fuck, that was stupid, they're all gonna see me crying'.

Touta's the only one in the main computer room. This is good, because I can sneak past and maybe find Watari and be able to talk about this. I swallow my sobs and quietly try to move through the back of the room without being noticed.

"Oh? Ellen-chan, is that you?"

How did he notice me?! I'm at least six metres away!

"Ellen-chan?"

I bolt. Of course, I didn't take into account just how quick Touta actually is. He wraps his arms around my shoulders to halt me, then turns me around to face him. His face is full of concern and even a level of affection that, I guess, I should have expected from him.