Chapter Text
Saiki Kusuo alone had known Kira’s true identity for at least 24 hours, which was more than a huge relief for Light. Knowing that the guy was telling the truth yesterday was just that little foot in the door that Light needed to get the psychic on his side. It proved that Saiki was at least partially telling the truth about not wanting to talk to the police. However, that didn’t mean Saiki wouldn’t reveal Light’s secret to other people, meaning he had to talk to him as soon as possible.
Besides the fact that Light debated writing Saiki’s name in the death note several times over night, the psychic didn’t have any reason to distrust Light, anyway. As far as Light knew, Saiki wasn’t a criminal—although him calling the police “troublesome” was a little strange. But, strange was probably all it was, and once Light dealt with his own distrust of Saiki’s motivations, then the psychic would no longer be an obstacle in his way. Hopefully.
If his plan didn’t work, he could always kill Saiki and be done with it. He just... Light couldn’t waste this never-in-a-lifetime opportunity, just like he couldn’t waste using the power of the death note for the good of the world. If things went well, perhaps Saiki could help him with his L problem...
It was the first class of the day and Saiki was here as usual. Telepathy, huh? Light wondered if it worked all the time, or if he could control it at will. He might be able to hear Light’s thoughts right now.
That... he couldn’t deny that it made his skin crawl. The idea that someone could reach into his head and understand everything he thought about—it was a complete invasion of privacy. He couldn’t keep any secrets from this guy.
On television was a man pretending to be L, holding his chest as the death note’s power rippled through him.
Light gripped his pencil tighter. He didn’t want to think about that moment. He’d like to keep some things to himself—anything.
For some reason, sweat trickled down the back of his neck. Oh. He was gripping his pencil too hard.
He knows your Kira.
And now he was clenching his teeth. He could control his posture, his voice, his expressions—he had trouble controlling his own thoughts.What if he told someone other than the police? What if he knew L?
Did... Did Saiki roll his eyes just now? A voice echoed in Light’s head. A sigh, then: ‘I don’t have a reason to tell anyone about you.’
Instinctively, he looked across to Saiki, who showed no visible reaction. Well, if there was a perfectly discreet chance to talk to the psychic, it would be right now.
I need to know that I can trust you , Light thought. Your powers can be dangerous to my plan.
‘I don’t care about your plan.’ The voice was perfectly monotone. Almost like he was bored. ‘And I would like to keep my life. Your magic book probably doesn’t work on me anyway.’
Light had to keep from sputtering. What did he just call it?
‘Some of my powers don’t have an effect on you, either. I think both of our powers cancel each other out. It explains why you can notice me while everyone else doesn’t.’ The psychic’s voice droned on. He was currently writing down notes from the teacher.
Light didn’t understand why Saiki was outing himself like this. Perhaps he thought he was safe enough, if his theory was right and the death note didn’t work on him. But, that theory wasn’t proven.
‘Please don’t test it. Dying sounds troublesome.’
Troublesome? Saiki was... definitely a strange guy.
So you can use telepathy, teleport, and change people’s perception of you. What else can you do? Were you born with these powers?
‘I was born psychic and I don’t feel like naming all of my abilities. I’m only going to ask this out of curiousity: were you born with your magic book or did you obtain it somehow?’ Saiki didn’t sound very curious.It didn’t matter if Light lied to him or not, because his intrusive thoughts would give him away. It’s called the death note, and I was chosen to have it. Light couldn’t keep from rolling his eyes at Saiki’s ignorant choice of words. It wasn’t some “magic book.”Suddenly, Ryuk butt into their silent conversation. “Woah, are you guys talking right now? It must be interesting, huh? Wish I could hear it...”Shut up, Ryuk.‘Who’s Ryuk?’ Saiki’s voice echoed.Dammit. He really didn’t feel like explaining Ryuk to this guy. He felt like he was giving his entire life away to what was pretty much a stranger. And a dangerous one, at that.
‘Have you ever tried coffee jelly?’ Saiki asked. The question made Light visibly confused. ‘It’s delicious. You should try it.’
Why are you telling me this?
‘You won’t leave me alone unless you trust me. And you’re very annoying about that notebook, so I guess I have to prove it to you now. If I buy you some coffee jelly, will you stop bothering me?’
There was definitely some miscommunication going on here. But, Saiki was actually initiating something and Light couldn’t pass that up. He considered briefly that it could be a trap, but it didn’t seem likely. Saiki didn’t have to drag Light to some cafe in order to trap him. He didn’t have to trap him at all. Saiki had no real proof that Light was Kira besides Light’s own thoughts, and they were only going to a cafe.
‘Don’t think too hard about it. I just want you to show me any places that sell coffee jelly. I’ve been forced to buy it in stores and it’s not nearly as good that way.’
Light didn’t know if Saiki was more interested in gaining his trust or getting to eat coffee jelly. Sure, we’ll go to a cafe after school and talk, as long as you don’t tell anyone about it. And act like we’re just hanging out.
‘Good. If you’re going to kill me, I’d rather die eating my favourite food.’
Was... that supposed to be a joke?
The walk to the cafe was perfectly silent. Light tried to make conversation—it was best to be as natural as possible, especially when he was being watched by a stalker—but Saiki seemed to be ignoring him. It was unfortunate because Saiki probably knew all about the stalker at this point—if only he could get that information out of him.All throughout the walk, Ryuk kept asking questions like, “Where are we going? Are ya guys talking right now? What juicy things are ya sayin’ to each other?” Light didn’t bother to entertain the shinigami.
Well, he was at least glad Saiki couldn’t read Ryuk’s mind—nobody wanted to know what messed up thoughts lay behind those eyes.
Saiki remained as “talkative” as usual when they sat down in a booth at the back of the cafe. The psychic only broke his silence to order two coffee jellies for the both of them, although it was equally as possible that Saiki ordered two for himself alone. Light honestly didn’t mind if the latter was true—he wasn’t a coffee drinker, and he probably wouldn’t like whatever food Saiki was caffeine-addicted to.
When the coffee jellies were put on the table, Saiki immediately grabbed one and began eating. Light couldn’t help but grimace at his as he slowly pulled the other one towards him.
It... was definitely jelly-like.
Picking up a spoon, he slowly dug into the coffee jelly and scooped up a small chunk. He didn’t even know why he was doing this, but a small part of him was mildly curious what it tasted like. So, he put the spoon in his mouth.
“Oh.” Light didn’t really know what to say.
“It’s delicious, right?” Saiki said with his telepathy.
“It’s... good.”
“You’re lying. You’re also wrong.”
Shit, right. The mind-reading. “This is a waste of time, anyway,” Light said. “There’s something I have to talk to you about.” Light paused, waiting for a response that never came. Saiki only blinked at him. “Does anyone besides me know about what you can do?” Light asked.
“Will telling you help you trust me?”
“It’ll do something. Go on, I’m curious.” Light took another bite of the coffee jelly, ignoring his dislike of everything about it. Then he realized there was no point to his acting, because Saiki already knew it was a facade, and dropped his spoon carelessly onto the table with a sigh. It was almost freeing to quit the act for once.
“Only my parents know.” Saiki said simply before turning his attention back to his dessert. “I’d prefer if nobody knew I was a psychic. It’ll only draw more attention to me.”
“I can say the same thing, but you probably already know that.” Light said, instinctively cracking a smile. Saiki hummed strangely, closing his mouth around another spoonful. Light wondered what that was about as the psychic swallowed down another bite.
“You don’t have to lie.” He said.
Light’s smile dropped. “What am I lying about?”
Saiki was too absorbed in his dessert to respond. This guy was starting to be just as annoying as Ryuk. And speaking of which, the shinigami was currently roaming the cafe, desperately looking for an apple. Light decided that he was going to pretend he didn’t have some in his bag today.
“Do you trust me now?” Saiki droned. His cup was completely empty. Light’s eyes narrowed. Did Saiki really think buying him a coffee jelly would gain his trust, or was he just that blind to the gravity of the situation?
“Your stalker is an FBI agent from America.” The words came out of the psychic’s mouth so nonchalantly, that Light felt like he got whiplash. “He’s following you because you’re a suspect in the Kira investigation. But, he’s starting to think you might be innocent. Is that good enough for you?”
Light was sure time had just frozen. Or maybe he was in a dream and he would wake up any second now.
“Please stop staring at me like that.” Saiki said.
“H-how did you...”
“You should know how already.” He got out of his seat. “I’m going now. Goodbye.” He was just about to walk away when Light got up and stood in front of him.
“H-hold on.” He said. If Saiki left now, then Light couldn’t be sure what would happen. The guy seemed genuinely disinterested, but there had to be something on the line so Light could be sure he was safe. He needed leverage somehow. “Before you go,” Light started, with no idea how he would end it. “W-we should keep talking after this.”
“Why?”
“So I know that—because I don’t…” He was usually good at coming up with lies on the spot, but in his panic no words were coming to him.
“Too bad I can’t erase your memory. This would be a lot easier otherwise.”
Ignoring Kusuo’s random lore drop, him leaving now means Light was risking his life on the fact that he trusts Kusuo to keep his secret. And Kusuo doesn’t care for anything—besides coffee jelly—so there’s nothing he wants from Light.
Light sees a possibility. Maybe they can work together, but he needs to trust this guy completely, which seems impossible. And deception won’t work on him, so it has to be real, genuine trust on both sides. Which also seems impossible. He needs to stay close to this guy, for the minuscule possibility that, in the future, Light can use those powers for his benefit. And Light thinking this right now means Kusuo already knows his intentions.
Is there any chance that this friendship can work out? If so, it has to be a relationship independent of Light’s death note and Kusuo’s psychic ability. Their friendship has to become more important than Light’s selfish desire to use Kusuo’s powers. And from what he knows about Kusuo, he doesn’t like having friends. Therefore, Light has to get to the one thing Kusuo cares about.
“Because if we keep meeting each other, I’ll buy you a coffee jelly every day. Promise.”
Kusuo is often unreadable. But now, Light can see a small smile brighten his face. “Okay. But I feel like I’ll be the only one benefiting from this deal.” Light’s new friend turned and left.
Light sat back down, relief running through his body. He’s finally safe. Ryuk takes Kusuo’s empty seat.
“He must be lying about this coffee jelly. It can’t possibly be better than a red, juicy apple.”
“You’re right,” he says quietly. “I’d pick an apple over this crap any day.”