"I knew it! A younger sister... a real younger sister. You two chat, I'll get out of the way."
Mei, who had charged in ready for a fight, slunk away without another word.
Kai was about to call her back and demand to know what that was all about, but then he saw Rin's eyes sparkling.
"So it's Rika." She took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was steady, like she'd made a decision. "This scarf is a gift for you, Kai."
"Kai?" He touched his cheek. A tingle ran through his body like an electric shock. "Why are you suddenly calling me by my... wait!"
"Am I really that awful?" He pointed at himself, baffled.
"Don't worry about the details." Rin took Kai's hand and led him to the bench at a nearby bus stop.
"You literally just said this scarf was for someone unbelievable..." Kai wouldn't drop it, but Rin's palm, cool as cold jade against his skin, sent his thoughts scattering in every direction.
Cold and warm. Two opposing sensations blurring together, and Kai couldn't think straight.
But the moment they sat down, Rin pulled her hand away.
She went back to knitting.
Kai feigned calm, stretched his hand out in front of him, and squeezed it twice, trying to hold on to the lingering feeling.
Snow drifted softly into the bus stop, landing on Kai's shoulders.
He didn't move. He just sat there, quietly matching his breathing to hers, not even asking what she wanted to say.
"All done."
Rin tucked in the loose threads and looked at the finished scarf with satisfaction.
She stood up, walked over to Kai, bent down, removed Rika's purple scarf, and wrapped her grey one around his neck instead.
The stitches were even, the lines neat, and the tight gaps held the full weight of how she felt.
The wool pressed against his skin, soft and smooth.
Kai lifted a corner and noticed a small flower knitted into the edge.
There was no comparison. Rika's scarf didn't even come close.
"Does it fit?"
Rin's mouth was close to his ear when she asked.
Kai didn't dare move. Even through winter layers, he could faintly feel the warmth of her.
"Perfectly." He coughed twice.
"This is my return gift." Rin stood up straight and touched her earlobes, gesturing. "You'd better take good care of it."
Kai felt something sink in his chest and nodded.
"Then I'll... be going now."
Rin rose onto her toes, and like something out of a dream, skipped lightly away and disappeared into the falling snow.
Kai touched his face and felt the curve of his own smile.
'I'm smiling,' he thought.
He sat there savoring it for a long time before standing up. Then he put Rika's scarf back on too.
Wearing two scarves, he looked ridiculous. People in the supermarket kept turning to stare, but Kai walked through like nobody else existed, even humming a little tune.
"She's just my sister. And my sister says purple has charm."
...
When Kai got home, Rika took one look at him.
"Is my scarf really that thick? You look so weird."
"Hmph, hmph." Kai wagged his finger. He took off Rika's scarf, hung it on the coat rack by the door, and headed for the bathroom mirror.
"Oh! There's another scarf underneath!" Rika's eyes went wide. She followed him to the bathroom door.
The door was open. She saw her brother admiring himself in the grey scarf, turning this way and that, checking every angle.
"So mean." Rika pouted. "You asked me to knit you a scarf, and then you went and got another one."
"This one was a gift too," Kai said, turning around.
"That doesn't mean you have to wear both at the same time."
"It's snowing outside." Kai blinked. "I need to protect one of them."
"Oh." Rika nodded, understanding. "So which one is the one being protected?"
She thought back to how Kai had looked when he walked through the door. She scratched her head and paced in a small circle.
Five minutes later, she touched the slightly damp purple scarf hanging on the rack and erupted.
"Kai! You really are the worst!"
...
It was New Year's, but some people still had to work.
A third of Studio Pierrot's staff were on duty, and most of them were part of the Death Note production team.
The office was gloomy. The employees' faces were gaunt, their eye sockets sunken. It looked like a gathering of the undead.
Head drooping, Hasegawa was running on fumes.
For months, he'd been operating like a drawing machine at full speed. By now, he couldn't even feel his hands. His brain had stopped giving orders. His hands just moved on their own.
"I heard Kanzaki-sensei is coming today."
"Yeah, the first episode is done. They're holding a screening."
Two colleagues were chatting, and Hasegawa's head snapped up.
'Kai is coming.'
He didn't know what face to wear when he saw his old friend.
Would Kai laugh at him?
"Jump's on break this week for New Year's. I really want to know what happens next in Death Note."
"Same."
The new Kira was not Light Yagami. She was a girl, cute and bubbly, and a devoted admirer of Light.
Light wanted to use her to take down L, only to discover she was an idiot.
She'd carelessly revealed the existence of the Shinigami Eyes and the Shinigami themselves to the police.
Light had to stop her from leaking anything more. To do that, he had to contact her as Kira, right under L's nose, and coordinate her next move before she could do any more damage.
"It's like walking a tightrope. Light can't let his guard down for a second."
"If you want to become a god, this is the price."
The two of them sighed.
"I wonder if Kanzaki-sensei is nice. I want to ask him where the plot's heading."
"Idiot, why would you want spoilers? The whole point is finding out from the manga."
"You're right. Haha. Got too impatient."
Hasegawa stood up.
"Kanzaki-sensei... is a really good person."
He walked to the window and looked down at the street.
In the dead of winter, Watanabe was waiting downstairs. Kai had to be arriving soon.
"Hasegawa, how would you know?" his colleague asked, puzzled. "Are you a Kanzaki-sensei fan?"
Hasegawa turned back. "You could say that."
He was the second fan of Kai Fujin, right after Yuta.
He looked down again. Two cars pulled into the parking lot, and seven or eight people climbed out.
The one in the center, wearing a grey scarf and a white down jacket, looked as relaxed as a tourist visiting an animation studio for fun.
That was Kai.
"Long time no see," Hasegawa said softly. "Kai."
______________________
Bonus chapter at 500 Power stones
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