It's More About Looks Than Skill | Ryuk

Chapter V

(Y/N) held her arms close to her chest in an anxious search for two familiar figures in the crowd. You'd figure they would stand out, a boy with an 8 feet tall God of death hovering behind him between the regular students going about their day. But no, there was no comfort she could latch onto at this moment. And if she were to spot them, she would probably do everything in her power to avoid them anyway.

Her summer had been quite eventful, to say the least. It hadn't really felt like a true vacation to her, juggling constantly between the stress of Light's secret 'hobby' when the news broadcasted, the inevitable start of her college life and not-all-that-great-friends crying over the phone about how everything was going to change and how they wouldn't see each other as much anymore. Right, because that's a first world problem she needed to hear.

This summer had been one of the loneliest in her life, and not because of her lack of trying. Light had cut off nearly all forms of contact with her, ignored her when she called out to him across the street and didn't even bat an eye when she had accidentally dropped her bag of groceries after tripping over a loose tile on the sidewalk.

And it wasn't just Light that upset her so much. It was Ryuk as well. He'd turn his head at her when she wasn't looking. She'd caught him enough times doing it. But the worst thing was that he'd just quickly look away again and mutter something in Light's ear. She didn't know if it was gossip, some hateful curses or about a completely different subject. She just wanted to know why. Why they were suddenly acting this way, what she had done to deserve this.

It was right after she had dropped her groceries on the sidewalk and noticed Ryuk quickly glance away from the scene she had caused when she had her first panic attack. Her breaths became shallow, her heart started pumping adrenaline through her veins, she felt like she was going to throw up and all she could think of was how she wanted to run and get away as fast as she could. And so she did.

She ran all the way home, thanked God that her parents were on a trip and broke down crying in the middle of the hallway.

She didn't know if it had been because she wasn't eating properly, if it was the stress or just the utter loneliness and feeling of abandonment that had caused the panic attack, but she knew she needed help. So she called up her parents and asked if they could make an appointment with a therapist for her. And they agreed, knowing how hard of a time she'd been having.

On the other side of the school's courtyard stood two figures shadowed by the blossom trees, staring at the girl they had avoided all summer.

"You're a college student now, that's kind of exciting! I'm filled with joy," Ryuk commented.

"You don't have to be so sarcastic, Ryuk. I already know you're mad at me," Light replied plainly. His eyes flickered over your features, noting how your pale complexion and the bags under your eyes almost made you look sickly.

"Now for the freshman address, freshman representative Light Yagami..."

"Yes," Light announced his presence and stood from his seat, feeling the eyes of the entire room on him.

"Ooh, wow," Ryuk chirped.

Being a freshman representative wasn't something Light had wanted to be, yet it was an obligation for someone who was top of their class. Schools wanted to show off their best students- Especially this year, because they did not only have one, but two people with perfect scores.

"...freshman representative (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N)..."

"Yes!" A shaky voice answered, along with the soft screech of a chair sliding back as she stood.

"...and freshman representative Hideki Ryuuga."

Or three people?

"Oh, uh- here," a voice nonchalantly called out, and a chorus of gasps and muttering erupted under the array of students. Even (Y/N) reacted a bit surprised, until she noticed it wasn't the Hideki Ryuuga, the famous pop idol, but someone she vaguely recognized as the guy who had been staring at her so intently at the final exams. Only this time, he was wearing shoes.

'I knew I'd be giving the address with another student apart from (Y/N)... but I never expected this', Light thought. 'I remember him from the exam center, he got into trouble for sitting oddly in his desk... It seemed like he was off in his own world. Until he started staring at (Y/N)...'

(Y/N) was the first to begin with her speech, and she was kind of grateful for it. It meant this would be over sooner and she could go back to her seat and blend in with the other students. Usually, she was quite confident, but when it came to speaking in front of a massive crowd like this, in front of people who were more experienced and most likely far smarter then her, she couldn't help but get stage fright.

"The student who scores highest on the test is supposed to give the speech, right?" someone in the crowd muttered to his friend.

"I guess all three of them must've had the highest scores this year..." the other replied. "I heard they all had perfect scores in all subjects."

"Seriously?! It's hard to believe there are actually people like that!"

A few seats back, a girl was blushing profusely in her seat, a sort of look of shock spread across her face. "I think I like the little one on the right..." The girl sitting next to her turned to her with a frown, "What?! You're so weird Kyoko. Look at how he's dressed!"

As your speech came to an end, the crowd gave an applause to her great relief. And so, Light started with his. In the middle row of the room, two senior students commented remarkably about the trio.

"Man, these three are total opposites."

"Yeah..."

"This one looks like a sheltered genius groomed for success his whole life, but the other one, there's something not right about him... he's just freaking weird!"

"This guy must be what they call a 'mad genius'."

"And the girl... just seems too normal to be standing up there, right? She looks like she can't deal with the stress up there yet she somehow dealt with getting perfect scores."

"Maybe she's secretly a sociopath."

"One thing I do know for a fact... she's a lot smarter than you."

Eventually, the strange figure apparently known as Hideki Ryuuga – not the pop idol – finished his speech and the crowd gave yet another polite applause. (Y/N) sighed in relief, nearly skipping down the steps of the stage towards her seat. She was shaking a little with the adrenaline coursing through her, yet her nerves had not ceased for as she quickly sat down she faced the fact that Light would have to sit next to her.

That is until Hideki Ryuuga buzzed past Light and took the seat next to her, forcing the boy in question to take the seat next to that. She could almost feel the irritation radiating off of him, and it made her smirk a little. Before either of them could start a conversation with you, however, she slipped her earbuds in which she had hid underneath her shirt earlier, knowing the rest of the chit chat on stage would merely be pep talk and other gibberish. She felt Hideki's owlish stare on her for a little while, before he started up an actual conversation with Light.

When the room burst into a final applause, she got up and was one of the first to leave. "(Y/N)!" she heard through the hum of students. "(Y/N)!?"

She kept on walking, passed Ryuk in the hallway and didn't even glance back once, though she felt the burning gazes of multiple figures on her back.