Fragmented

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Are you sure this will work?"

"Yes, just hold still, okay? I'm almost done."

Light grumbled quietly to himself. After much whining from Professor Red, the four humans had reluctantly devised a plan to take them to the local marketplace. Er, mall. Yeah, that's what they called it. Unfortunately for the Steves, they had to disguise themselves when in public, which, according to Alyssa, meant that they had to have some sort of beauty powder applied to their skin to appear more humanlike. Except for Time, because of course he had a believable skin tone. He did have to leave his mask behind though, likely slightly miffing him.

It wasn't Alyssa's fault, though. In fact, she had been the most patient with them and helped with their disguises the most. Even though the brush mildly irritated his skin and he would have to take extra care to not accidentally wash or brush the powder off, he appreciated that she was taking the time to help.

She dabbed a bit more powder onto his forehead and stepped back to admire her work. "Alright, I'm done. Let me know if you need anything else."

Light stood, his legs tingling from the amount of time he had spent sitting down. Alyssa handed him a hand mirror and he examined himself in it. He didn't look half bad.

"Thanks," he said to her. "And thanks for helping out the others. Let's hope that the Professor doesn't do anything too strange."

"Yeah, of course. Not a problem. I mean, the Professor can be sometimes, I meant the other thing you said, y'know?" She brushed a strand of hair out of her face anxiously. Her awkwardness made her charming in Light's eyes, and reawakened old memories buried deep within his consciousness. She reminded him of who he used to be before his transformation. Before he was stripped of his identity and forced out onto the front lines to fight for his people, a people he was no longer entirely connected to.

"I understand your point. If you're done here, I can help with putting these," he gestured toward the assortment of powders and brushes uncertainly, searching for the right word, "supplies away."

"That would be helpful, thank you."

The two of them worked together to bundle the brushes back up and stash the tins back into the cabinet where they had come from. As he lifted the box of powders back up onto the highest shelf, he couldn't help but glance down at Alyssa. She was watching him, ready to steady him if the stepstool began shaking. There was indeed something special about her. Something was linked to her reserved demeanor and constant nervousness, but it didn't bother him too much. He didn't want to invade her privacy and pry into her life.

After all, he had his own secrets to keep, and asking about hers was certain to backfire on him, considering his unreliable streak of luck.

"Are you coming with us?" he asked her.

"No. I'm sorry, but I just feel like there's too much danger." He clearly wasn't convinced, so she hastened to add on to her explanation. "Even if I do go, it might look suspicious if I come along. Having only one woman around a group of, what, six, seven men? Unlikely."

"On the contrary," spoke a familiar voice from behind them. It was Sabre, found leaning against the doorway. "If you come along, it would one, make it easier to ambush the First Curse if he tries to ambush us first, and two, it would keep you out of a possible situation if any police officers come back to the house to check if anyone's still here."

"But what about looking natural?"

"That comes second to your, and our, safety. If you don't want to come along, you don't have to, but I highly encourage it. After all," he winked at her, a smirk emerging along with it, "who wouldn't want to gawk at us? We're not exactly the most subtle with appearances."