Ketsuraku

Disclaimer: I don't own Matt. He belongs to Death Note. I don't own Death Note either. It belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. I don't own them either. So don't sue me. I don't own a lawyer.

AN: Ketsuraku means 'missing' in Japanese. You'll find out why I chose this for a title in a few updates.

Full Summary: Enya Yale is a twenty year old obsessed with watch gears and her silken windhound Amaya. When she meets Matt at her mom's store, they have enough in common to strike up a conversation. But Matt didn't realize he was leading Enya to an undesirable fate… AU, please forgive me!

Liar

Amaya walked calmly at my side, her lithe, lean body relaxed and calm. She was a white silken windhound who had turned eight only a few weeks ago, and I loved her and spoiled her rotten. I hadn't walked her as far as this in ages, but she was always ready for a new challenge. I jogged up to my brother, who was pedaling quickly towards the approaching GameStop, blinking the sun away from my eyes and wishing I'd worn something a bit more practical. I mean, I was wearing a fitted leather jacket trimmed with faux fur, which was nice and warm on a cold autumn morning, and a comfortable pair of blue jeans, but have you ever tried jogging in heels? Especially four inch heels that had several large, heavy metal gears adorning them in the place of buckles? Not fun.

"Hey," I called to my fifteen year old brother Sirocco, "Wait up!" He didn't stop, but slowed slightly.

"What's up Enya?" He asked. Amaya and I slowed down to a quick walk as we neared him again, and he grinned that cocky grin of his. "Are you reconsidering joining a team?" I sighed and shook my head. My brother and I both loved gaming, but I was never good enough to do any sort of serious competition. He, on the other hand, gamed with a passion. I had decided he was the only one in the family with a theme song after hearing 'Play' by Krooked K. "Then what is it?"

"Just slow down, would you?" I asked, knowing that I sounded exasperated but not caring. "If I had my car back, I swear I would've driven us both, but please don't hold it against me…" I'd gotten us into a bit of a wreck a few days ago, and sent my precious black Nissan Cube to the garage for repairs, glad I had two well-paying jobs to cover the costs. (I worked as a secretary at my dad's office, as well as a night shift at a fancy restaurant whose name always slipped my mind waiting tables three nights a week.)

"I don't blame you," Sirocco said, "At least, not for the wreck…" The sparkle in his eyes gave me a pretty good idea as to what his next words would be. "But I can't believe you were flirting with the mechanic." I blushed.

"I was not!" I protested, and not caring what anyone thought, I chased him the rest of the way to the video game store in our small, technological town, Amaya running right next to me. (Although admittedly, I could hardly run at all in my heels.)

When we arrived at GameStop, I finally slowed down, knowing Sirocco would already be inside. Amaya was allowed in as an exception to the 'no dogs' rule, but only because our mom was the store's manager, and we were there so often all the employees knew us by name (both real and otherwise), face, and voice. There were even a few who were close family friends.

Unfortunately, I noticed that the 'Employees Wanted' sign was gone from the window. I sighed. "C'mon Amaya," I said, "Let's get this over with…" I hated when people told me I couldn't bring my dog inside. I could read quite well, I would tell them, and no, Amaya is not a service dog, but if you asked someone, you'll see that it's fine to have her in here, unless you're allergic.

And my mom refused to hire people who were allergic to dogs for that very reason. (Though there were normally other reasons.)

The place was packed, and Amaya strained against her harness for a moment before realizing it was hopeless. I gently slipped in and out of the isles, pretending I knew more than I did. Sirocco did most of the shopping when it came to video games… He'd actually gotten me addicted to World of Warcraft a few weeks before my final examines. I ended up going without sleep for two days straight, cramming, for those tests. I had almost gone insane.

"Enya!" I heard Sirocco's voice over the din, and Amaya and I threaded through the huge crowds of people (most of whom were younger than me, which made me feel out of place) towards his voice. "You'll never guess who I just found." The look in his eyes told me otherwise. Probably another one of my gaming obsessed friends… I had a few. Yeah, I'll admit I'm a bit of a nerd, or a geek, or whatever. I fit in perfectly.

"Who is it this time?" I asked, half distracted as Amaya whined. She had hardly any space, poor thing. I'd take her outside and play with her in a bit.

"Guess," Sirocco said again. His hazel eyes glittered mischievously.

"Amaya's long lost grandfather," I said sarcastically. I wasn't really in the mood for guessing games.

"Nope," he replied, "Try again." I sighed, which was a really bad idea, seeing as how I was wearing a corset. It dug into my ribs, probably having moved just enough when I was attempting to run to do so.

This must be why mom was so against my wearing them… I gasped for a moment, then said, "Sirocco, I'm really not in the mood right now…"

"Oh c'mon Enya," he said, "Just three more guesses. Serious guesses. And if you don't get it by then, I'll tell you." I didn't know why he was being so persistent, but I decided to humor him.

"Okay," I said, "Three serious guesses. And if I guess right, you pay for ice-cream on the way home." That was a bit of a ritual for us. Whenever we went to out mom's store, we'd get ice-cream on the way home. It used to be that our dad would take us on Saturdays, but then when I got my driver's license we started going once or twice a week.

"Deal," Sirocco said, "But if you don't, you have to cook dinner tonight." I hated cooking. With a passion. But apparently I was good at it, because Sirocco and my parents were always begging me to cook. Maybe it was because they were all too lazy, but still… I couldn't wait until a house or apartment went on the market that I could afford. I would absolutely love to live by myself on those nights when I had to cook for four.

"Alright… so…" I paused, bending down to stroke Amaya's head. "Is it Alorra?" He shook his head. I sighed, disappointed. I was sure that it would have been her; she and I ran into each other almost every time we came here. "Delia?" She was a pretty unlikely candidate, which was why I'd chosen her. She absolutely loved the outdoors, and spent every waking minute photographing wildlife. It was unlikely she'd be here, but then again, Sirocco had that 'you'll never guess' look in his eyes.

"I can't believe you suggested her," Sirocco said, snickering and letting his dusty blonde hair settle in front of his eyes. "Last chance to get out of cooking dinner…" I mentally ran through a list of people I knew. I figured that, whoever it was, the person was probably a guy. He was probably here for something involving a competition (they were held almost weekly, the store was almost always a nightmare) and he probably knew Sirocco. The latter narrowed things down quite a bit, because very few of my friends had ever met him.

"Is it Mage?" I asked, knowing that I was wrong. Mage's real name was Mark, but we all knew him by his screen name, which (I thought) matched him better. But if it wasn't him, I truly had no idea who was here. Sirocco shook his head. "Then who is it?"

He smiled and pointed behind him. I glanced over his shoulder, my eyes flickering around for a moment before they came to rest on a familiar head of red hair. I sighed. This was just like my brother. "You owe us dinner," he said. "And you're going to get this guy's phone number, everyone I meet says you've been single for too long." My brother, unlike most boys, keeps one ear trained on the gaming world and all of its announcements, and the other ear trained on the town's gossip, which annoys me beyond belief. Especially since so much of it seemed to be centered around me, like I was the town celebrity or something. It was annoying. But at least Sirocco will stand up for me, whereas other people have no idea what's true and what's not.

But anyway, I saw a redhead. But this wasn't just any redhead. This was the guy who'd taken my keys when I'd taken my car for repairs. About my age, had a pair of orange tinted goggles perched on his head… We'd talked about those for a while, after I'd inquired why he wore them. He'd tapped on one of the lenses and said something about welding. I can't even remember now. But we were not flirting. I turned towards Sirocco with a biting remark on my tongue, but he was already gone, chatting with a friend whose name I didn't remember.

I didn't immediately go and try to talk to this guy. He seemed pretty immersed in conversation with a blonde, who seemed to have been dragged here against his will. I felt a bit bad for him, but seeing as how I loved this place, not too bad. I did like his taste in clothing however… lots of leather.

Instead, Amaya and I went outside. My poor dog had almost gotten her paws trodden on twice, and I needed out of the claustrophobic atmosphere myself. I guess I did prefer when the store wasn't so crowded. Once we'd slipped out of the back entrance, I pulled a collapsible cloth Frisbee out of my pocket. It instantly sprang to full size, and I had Amaya step out of her harness. (It was just a simple step in, step out affair, she only wore it because she could slip out of any collar we put on her and I refused to use anything with a chain.)

"Alright girl," I said, "Go fetch!" I threw it as hard as I could out into the back lot, and instantly my windhound proved that she lived up to her breed; taking off in a streak of white, she caught the Frisbee as soon as it was within three feet of the ground. I, meanwhile, had taken off my jacket and pulled my shirt up just past my stomach, and was trying in vain to re-lace the damn corset I had insisted on wearing today. I didn't wear it particularly tight, being quite skinny without it or any sort of method of starving myself, but more just because I could. But it was a pain when it was trying to break my ribs.

Amaya came trotting back up to me, the Frisbee held in her mouth. "One sec girl," I said, "Just a minute." I was getting used to doing this by now. It was just twisted a bit, so I just had to twist it back. That done, I pulled my shirt down and grabbed the Frisbee from the ground where Amaya had dropped it; drew my arm back –

And almost had a heart attack. There was the redhead, leaning against the wall, watching me with a curious eye. I'm pretty sure that I was gaping like an idiot, because he laughed slightly, smoke rolling out of his nostrils. I made a face, having always disapproved of smoking, but at least he had the decency to stand downwind of me. I threw the Frisbee again, and Amaya tore off. "How long have you been out here?" I asked, furious. He shrugged.

"Just stepped out a minute ago. Name's Matt." I wanted to punch him. "Your car's fixed, you can come pick it up tonight." I stooped to pick up my jacket, my bracelets clinking against each other.

"I'm Enya," I replied, "And I doubt you're here just to tell me my car's fixed." The boy, Matt, smiled. Amaya trotted back up to me, and I grabbed the Frisbee and flung it away again.

"True," he said, "I didn't. I came here because I come here all the time. I take it you're the manager's daughter?" Damn, he was smart. I nodded. "No wonder you looked familiar…" He trailed off, taking a drag on the cigarette.

"That's disgusting," I muttered, turning my attention back to Amaya. Matt sighed, obviously he had heard me. "But anyway," I said, "I'm not going to be able to pick the car up tonight, it's halfway across town and both my parents are working late."

"I'll give you a ride," Matt offered, "I won't smoke if it bugs you." Okay, this guy was being a little too easy to get along with. Even though I was still a bit cautious, I smiled.

"Alright," I said, "That'll be fine. Can Amaya come?" I wasn't particularly worried for my own well-being; I'd taken several self defense classes a few years back (at my dad's request). In fact, if I was worried about anyone, it would be Sirocco, who'd have to get a ride home from our mom.

"Yeah, she'll be okay as long as she doesn't get carsick." I laughed.

"She loves car rides," I said, "She's more likely to stick her head out of the window." I noticed that he'd pulled his goggles down over his eyes, and also (and don't get the wrong idea) I couldn't help but notice how good they looked on him. Oh alright. He was cute. There. I said it. Happy? "So how does it look?"

"Good as new," Matt replied, "Gave it a good tune-up too, changed the oil, checked the tires, replaced a couple of rusty gears, the works. And speaking of gears…" Amaya whined and I threw the Frisbee to her, wondering why I hadn't pulled the car apart looking for rusty gears when I'd changed the oil two months prior. "May I ask what's up with what you're wearing?"

"Steampunk," I said. "Though I don't particularly like these shoes…" But I guessed a better example to the amazing style I wore would be my locket, which was brass and covered with a small array of old watch gears. I unclasped it and tossed it to him. "I've always liked watch gears, so my parents weren't really surprised when I started buying this stuff…" He was caught slightly off-guard, and fumbled with the locket before snagging the chain in his hands. I smiled.

"Interesting," Matt said, "These are real?" I shrugged.

"I think so, but they might not be." I didn't really care; it was a pretty cool piece of jewelry. Matt flicked it open, and smiled. I'd salvaged an old wristwatch of my mom's from the trash, taken it apart, and welded the watch hands to each other, then onto the inside of the locket to show one second past midnight. It wasn't the cleanest welding job, but it was pretty good in my opinion.

"You know, most people put pictures in these," he said. I smiled and flung the Frisbee to Amaya. She leapt up and caught it, executing a beautiful flip.

"I'm not 'most people'," I replied, whistling to Amaya, who'd lain down on the grass a few feet away. She got up and trotted over to me, flopping down by my feet. I smiled at her, and nudged her with my foot, trying to get her to stand up so I could put her harness back on. She stood reluctantly, and in a second, the blue harness was on her again. "Look at you, you're all dirty…" I laughed at her and scratched her ears. "Silly dog."

"Well," Matt commented, "That's a bit obvious…"

"What do you mean by that?" I shot back at him. He laughed and held up his hands.

"Nothing much…" He said, "Just that you seem to try and stick out wherever you go; like Mello." I arched my eyebrows at that name. "He's that blonde who I'm sure you saw, wearing full leather."

"Didn't seem like a very mellow person to me," I commented. Matt laughed at that.

"He's not, believe me."

"Well, I'd better head in," I said, "It was nice talking to you."

"Yeah," Matt agreed, "It was. I'll come with you." He held the door for me (which was completely unnecessary, but sweet) and followed me in. "So," he said just as we were about to part ways, "Just in case Mello decides to drag me off somewhere, here's my phone number… just text me whenever, okay?" I handed him my phone (since he so obviously had nothing to write on, or with) and he entered it in a matter of seconds.

"Thanks," I said. With that, we went our separate ways. I slipped off towards Sirocco, noting that he was talking to the blonde who I'd learned was Mello. Or rather, Mello was talking to him… or did it even matter? Sirocco saw me and waved me over. "Hey," I said, "How are ya?" Sirocco grinned at me.

"Great, and I don't really care about you." I laughed, knowing by now that he meant that I was grinning like an idiot. I quickly tried to look a bit more serious as he introduced me to Mello. "Enya, this is Mihael Keehl –"

"Call me Mello," he cut in.

"Mello," Sirocco continued, "This is my older sister Enya." I held out a hand, which he shook, maybe a bit longer than was strictly necessary.

"Nice to meet you," I said, not sure whether I meant it. "And this is Amaya." I nodded to my dog, and he scratched her behind the ears. She wagged her tail at him in appreciation, and he smiled at her; a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Pleasure to meet you both," he said. "I've been dragged in here more times than I can count-"

"So more than twice?" I asked sarcastically. I don't know why, but this guy had an aura that made me want to hit him. Hard. And repeatedly.

"And I've never had the honor of meeting the two of you, though your mother has spoken of you quite often." Mello was glaring pointedly at me by the end of this sentence. If I wasn't used to staring people down, I probably would've melted into a puddle. As it was, I blinked and glanced away within three seconds. "I was quite interested in meeting you…" He glanced my way again, and this time I glared at him.

"Gee, well I'm glad we could do something for you," I snapped, "C'mon Sirocco, I want to show you something." With that, I grabbed my brother's arm and dragged him away with me towards the back of the store.

"Enya," he protested, "What on earth…?"

"I don't like him," I whispered, "I don't like how he was looking at me." And I meant it. Mello scared me. Matt seemed like too nice of a person to hang out with him. "Oh, and by the way…" I showed him my contacts list. "I got his number."

…

AN: Well… I tried to make Enya as un-Sue-ish as possible while still being a character that is central to the story, and I hope I did an okay job. If not, constructive criticism would be lovely. Please review!