Carols and Bells

AN: This is my first Death Note story, please be gentle, and enjoy!

It had been a year.

Wait, no, not a year. Almost a year. (But Misa didn't like to keep track.) It had been almost a year since Light Yagami (Kira, they reminded her) had died. Shot several times and then died of a sudden heart attack. And yet, Misa still couldn't believe it. There were so many things he promised, so many things they were going to do! And yet, none of it really mattered, Misa reminded herself.

He was going to kill her, once he had defeated the police force. It had taken some convincing, but…that couldn't have been foraged. No one could write like Light. (And even if they could, why would they? Matsuda was too nice, and Takada could care less.) Part of Misa never wanted to know. Never wanted to ask, told herself she should have said, "No, I prefer being ignorant." But she asked, said yes, and was hit with the cold hard truth.

But none of that matters, because it's been almost a year and it's Christmas, Misa's birthday. And part of her ached with anger and sadness. There would be no one to celebrate with, and there was no Christmas tree all aglow. (At least, Misa contemplated, Ryuzaki would have brought candy canes. But he was dead, too. And her parents? Misa didn't dwell on that.) But for some reason, some impulse she couldn't control, Misa decided to go to town. (Well, not so much town as Shibuya. Merely a term of phrase.)

Misa went down the stairs of the bus and leaped off, hoping she wouldn't fall on her butt. There was, even though most people were at home (in this country or another) with family, a great amount of people crowded within the streets. Misa soon heard why.

There was a band (one could say) on the sidewalk, strumming guitars and playing keyboards and ringing bells and singing Christmas songs, some in languages Misa couldn't understand all too well. Still, it was music, and if music couldn't lift your spirits, nothing could. Or at least, that what she had been told.

Misa lightly pushed through the crowd, wanting to get closer to the source of the music, her bell earrings jingling all the way. As she made her way through the crowd, someone had lifted their arm for some reason and completely knocked Misa's (favorite!) red hat off her head.

"Eek!" Misa squealed, and she desperately looked through the crowd to find her hat, lightly crouching down. "Oh, no, Misa has to find that hat…If I don't, I'll never be able to live with myself," Misa mumbled, mainly to herself. Misa had not looked up, when someone had tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, miss, is this yours?" Misa looked up, and saw…him. Misa knew very little about him that wasn't revealing during the Kira trial. His name was Teru Mikami, and he had been an accomplice to Kira. After Light died, the police went looking for someone to lay the blame on. And, so disgusted with himself and what he had done, Mikami had taken the blame.

The trial was fairly short. Things were decided indefinitely, proof was presented, and in little less than a month, the trial was over. Mikami was declared 'not guilty', under the insanity plea. He had been sent to an asylum, and, if Misa had heard correctly (from Takada, of whom Misa was on slightly better terms with) Mikami had gotten out a little over a month ago.

Needless to say, declared legally sane or not, Misa was very uncomfortable with the current situation. However, he had her hat. Misa straightened up and nodded, then preceding to take her hat back.

"Yes, thank you. It had dropped, and I was worried." Misa tried to disguise the anxiety she hoped wasn't showing through in her voice. Mikami merely bowed politely.

"You shouldn't crouch so close to the ground," Mikami said. (Misa half-expected him to go on some tangent about germs.) "You're very small, and you could get crushed." Misa blushed. Not the answer she expected.

The two stood there for a while, awkwardly silent. Well, not quite so silent, and it wasn't very long. The band started up another song, after finishing 'Rudolph the Red Nose-Reindeer.'

The guitarist began to strum a few notes from the beginning of 'Silent Night,' and though Misa didn't quite understand the words, she knew the song.

"You know," Mikami began. "My mother used to sing this to me the night we put up the tree." And apparently, Mikami did, too. Misa smiled lightly.

"That's what my momma did, too. And my daddy played piano to the tune," Misa said softly. Her eyes seemed to shine. "How big was your tree?" Misa turned to face Mikami and looked up at his face. (He was a good foot and a half taller than her.)

"Not very, but my mother always insisted covering it in everything we could get. It irked me so much, because it was always so messy," Mikami smiled. "What about you?"

"We had a real tree, that my grandpa always insisted on cutting down himself. My momma always scolded him and my daddy, because they would always try and cut down ridiculously big trees, so she had to convince them to get something we could fit in our house. We never had a big house, but it was big enough for all the family to come over." Misa laughed at the memories.

Eventually, the band packed up, but Misa and Mikami continued to talk. They discussed many things; movies, books, the weather, and the news. They stopped in front of a toy store, which, although closed, had a wondrous window display. It was like a scene from a fairytale.

There was a fake lake, on which swans swam, and a white castle surrounded it. On a porch of sorts, various dolls danced and twirled to a song Misa couldn't quite recognize. And on the balcony was what looked like the princess and prince, twirling like the others were. Misa was enchanted, and there was no prying her away. She began humming the tune of the song.

Mikami had only gone a few paces before he noticed Misa was still at the window. He stood and listened to Misa hum the song.

"Do you know what the song is called?" Misa shook her head.

"It's called 'Carol of the Bells' and it was composed by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych." Misa stopped mid-note and looked up. She pulled her face and hands away from the window, looking down and fiddling with the hem of her skirt anxiously. Misa looked back at Mikami. It wasn't often someone had told her what something was, without being exasperated and thinking that she should know these sorts of things. It was…nice. Mikami was nice. Misa decided she liked Mikami. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Mikami?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know how to dance?" Misa stood there nervously. Mikami looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Yes, I do. Why?" Misa took a deep breath.

"Good, because I don't," Misa said, and curtsied. "Dance?" Mikami shrugged, bowed, and took her hand, as they began to dance to the song.

It was not a white Christmas, nor was it a blue Christmas, or a perfect Christmas. But Misa didn't mind, because at least this Christmas she wouldn't be alone.

AN: So, that's it. Did you like it? (I hope so.) Time to explain some things, though. This is sort of an alternate timeline taking place in the manga, where, instead of dying in prison, Mikami ends up in a mental hospital on insanity plea. Takada also does not die, which, as you can imagine, made it so Mello doesn't, either. Misa also learns about Light's death and him being Kira in a much more forward way, rather than it just slipping. It's not quite the same, but if anyone cares to know more, I'll tell 'em. That's just the gist of it.