The Hardest Puzzle || Death Note

17-Feel Again

Chapter Seventeen * Feel Again -
With the first snow of a predicted cold and white winter came a sense of cleanliness to you.
It was early December, about a week after the embryo had been removed from you.
Your depression had improved considerably by then, though you still experienced slight insomnia and nightmares that slowly but surely seemed to be becoming few and far between. And while you weren't depressed, you were now...restless. You were mostly ignored by the members of Near's team, and were actually missing school, no matter how much it was believed to be impossible.
As you watched listlessly from your small bedroom's surprisingly large window, you saw a small white flake drift down from high and grayish-white clouds.
You immediately jumped up and off of your bed, and plastered yourself to the cold glass of the full-length window. Your warm breath made fog appear on the cool glass.
"Whoa," you breathed, absolutely astounded.
The area where you lived hadn't seen much snow since about three or so winters prior to this one. But the weatherman had promised this one to be a cold and white one, and it seemed that he was going to be right for once.
Even though you weren't really smiling, your eyes were bright and sparkling, and you adopted a somewhat childish aura.
Your wide, bright eyes stared excitedly as more and more soft flakes drifted down.
Eventually there was a soft, fluffy layer of powdery white snow, and more continued to fall down.
Impatient and not in the mood for waiting, you tore yourself away from your position against the body-length mirror.
You threw open your door, hurried out of your room, and raced past Hal, who was in her adjacent bedroom, readying herself for dinner.
Hal allowed herself a small smile, as she had an idea about what had made you so excited. Maybe today would be the day you finally smiled, she thought, but kept all of her comments to herself, and she continued brushing her hair.
You quickly headed past the kitchen, past the computer room, past the male and female bathrooms, and into the room that you knew Near was almost always inside.
You stood quite awkwardly in the doorway before you walked briskly inside, thanks to a quick burst of courage.
Suddenly sober and down-to-earth, you cautiously approached the young, white-haired genius. You, as you had been when you first met him about a month ago, had no idea how to catch his attention, keep it, or engage in conversation with the guy.
Near, sensing your presence but not even bothering to look up from his dice city, placed a die at the top of what looked suspiciously like the Empire State Building before speaking.
"Yes, ______?" he asked in a slightly less empty voice than usual.
You swallowed.
Now, how exactly were you going to say this?
"I, uh, I-Iwanttogooutinthesnow," you mumbled quickly.
"Come again?"
"I..." You paused, taking care to speak much, much more slowly than before. "I...would like to go outside in the snow. If possi-if it's at all possible, that is," you said more loudly and slowly.
Near paused before putting another die on the Empire State Building.
Then, after a few incredibly long moments, he gave you his verdict.
"No."
Had it not been for your ordeal and your personality you might have pouted. But you hadn't even done as such as a young child, and you most certainly didn't now.
You also resisted the urge to roll your eyes or sigh loudly and exasperatedly at him, though it was hard to not do so.
You did, however, become visibly disappointed.
"...Okay," you murmured softly, and you slowly turned to leave. You quietly and unhurriedly started to trudge off, not even bothering to say goodbye to Near.
"After all," Near continued, oblivious to the fact that you were leaving. "Dinner is coming up soon. There also isn't much of a layer of snow yet, and playing now would ruin it for later. I also would like to play in the snow, too."
You paused and whirled back around, stunned at his words and even more stunned at his casual use of the word "play."
Flabbergasted, you stared at Near.
"So," Near amended, "after dinner."
"Ooh!" a guy named Matsuda exclaimed, peering up excitedly from his computer monitor. "Does that mean we can go out, too?"
The man next to him (the one with the half-afro) sighed, exasperated and not afraid to show it.
"No," Near half-snapped, half said in a monotone. "Get back to work, Matsuda."
The bumbling (and vaguely handsome) Japanese man was visibly deflated, but nodded slowly and turned back to his computer screen.
"After dinner," Near repeated.
You felt as though your spirits had been lifted again. And to think that it had been done by an antisocial, slightly older, and white-haired young genius...
You didn't quite feel the urge to shudder. Yet.
And little did you know, you never really would.
.........
After a rushed dinner in which everyone stared at you like you were mad, you raced out of the kitchen with as much pride and such as possible. You waited until you were sure no one could see you, and then you started to run madly for your room.
What you didn't know, though, was that both Hal and Near were watching you.
Hal was grinning. She leaned over to the younger, white-haired boy next to her and said, "Today might be the day, eh?"
Near, however, didn't respond. He apathetic save an odd feeling he was nursing. He vaguely wondered what it was, mildly horrified because he, the great Near, didn't know what it was.
A few minutes after your frenzied sprint back to your room, though, you came slowly trudging back, dejected.
"I have nothing to wear in the snow," you announced sadly to Near and Hal.
And it was true; you were wearing a jacket, a long-sleeved shirt with a camisole underneath, jeans with leggings under them, and a double layer of bright socks that completely clashed with both your outfit and your personality...but no coat, no gloves, no boots, no hat, no scarf, and no snow pants (if you really needed any).
Hal glanced at your face and hurried to her room.
"I have some boots, gloves, a hat, and a coat in my room. I doubt they'll fit, but they should do. C'mon."
Near, now alone, watched for a second time as you excitedly and hopefully left down the hallway.
Near suddenly wondered vaguely if he had anything to wear for playing in the snow himself before wandering off to his own room to change.
He munched on another chocolate bar.