Death Note: The Next Kira

Chapter Fifty-Four: Valentine's Day, No Way!

FEBRUARY 14, 2006 (VALENTINE'S DAY)

MID-MORNING

TOKYO, JAPAN 

                                                                             MARIE

I folded up a long-sleeved black shirt and placed it on the pile of the other long-sleeved black shirts. I've heard from Sharla that it would be a busy day for us since Valentine's Day was the day that the store made the most business besides the Halloween season. "How long has this store been around?" I asked. "What?" I heard Emery ask. I looked up at Emery to find a confused look printed all over her face. "Are you asking me that?" she asked. "Oh," I let out. "No, I was just hoping that Sharla would hear me." "Oh," Emery let out. I spun around slowly and watched as she went up to Sharla who was listening to music on her phone. "Hey," Emery said as she softly nudged at Sharla's feet which were up on the desk. I watched as Sharla placed her legs down and ripped her earbuds out from her ears. "Yeah?" she asked. "How long has this store been around?" I asked. Sharla shrugged. "I don't know," she answered. "It's been around for as long as I can remember. I can remember this certain store being opened ever since I was three back in 1990."

"Okay," I told her. "Anyway, where's Blair?" I watched as Sharla shook her head. "Not here," she answered. "Every Valentine's Day, she brings out Regan and I told her many times not to bring her out. I'm getting that she got the message since she's not coming today. That Blair is really hard to work with." I turned around and watched as many people came into the store with happy looks on their faces. (I'm guessing they were just happy that neither Regan nor Blair were there.) 

AT 12:00 PM 

                                                                                MARIE 

I was sitting in a McDonald's having lunch with Vincent, Kyrie, and Daeshim. "Was work too much of a hassle today?" Vincent asked. "A little bit," I answered. "I'm just happy that it's over for today." "Anyway," Kyrie said as she clapped her hands together. "I'm so excited for tonight." "Me too," Daeshim agreed. I made a confused look on my face. "I'm sorry," I began. "But what's going on tonight? Are you two going out on a date?" "Oh, you didn't hear?" Kyrie asked as she and Daeshim looked at me. "There's a dance at the same place they were going to have Commander Aizawa's anniversary party." "Where is that?" I asked. "It's at the Zouk Tokyo," Kyrie answered. "It's going to be so romantic. I've got a beautiful pink dress and it's so pretty." "I haven't seen it, but I'm really excited too," Daeshim told me. "And also, Deku's taking Chalita to the dance too." "That's nice," I told them. "I think I'll skip out on this dance for this year." 

Kyrie made a glum look on her face. "What? Why?" she asked. "I know that you don't wanna get into a relationship so quickly due to what happened to John, but I think you should go. It'll be fun. There will be food, drinks, music, and get this. Chief Matsuda's gonna be the DJ he was going to be the DJ at Commander Aizawa's party since the DJ he picked out was really busy for the night." "They'll also have a tribute to Mei and Jirou too," Daeshim added. "Some people are still scared to take a dip in an onsen due to what happened to Mei and Jirou. I've yet to hear from someone who would brave it out and take a dip in an onsen." He sighed after he said that. "I never thought that there would be a day in Japan where hardly anyone wouldn't want to go to a mixed onsen due to a freak accident. To be honest, I know that you've probably heard this more than once, but what happened to Mei and Jirou is something straight out of a Final Destination movie."

"We're aware," I told Daeshim in a polite tone. "Just the way the onsen boiled out of control with Mei and Jirou in it. It's disgusting, it's weird, it's uncommon. It's like Final Destination manifested its way in reality." "The only thing weird about it is that the onsen just boiled out of control when there was no active volcanic activity in the area," Vincent added. "If it was a Sento malfunction, it would make more sense, but since it was an onsen, it just makes you both scared and confused. The police have investigated it, but there hasn't seemed to be anything weird about it yet." Kyrie sighed. "Okay, baby," she said out loud. "Change the subject back to the Valentine's Day dance." "Just to be fair," Vincent began. "I have plans so I won't be going to the dance." "Really?" Kyrie asked. "Like what?" "Like setting up fake tombstones with Luna's name on them so that I can pretend that I'm sleeping right beside her grave."