The Aves of Maria

Scuto Amoris Divini or "By The Shield Of God's Love."
***

The train station was blessedly less busy than it had been earlier in the day, but it was still quite crowded. Not that that was particularly surprising, they lived in Tokyo after all and the city was just as lively at night as it was during the day. The flow of people was less like schools of fish during this time and more like various African animals frequenting the same waterhole, complete with waiting crocodiles.

The light was yellow and sickly and though the janitorial staff was out and about scrubbing the day's filth from the concrete—old gum, muddy footprints, spilled soda—the neon color could not be washed out by anything but blue skies—or a broken bulb.

Light might have been making Maria feel a tad uncomfortable by walking so closely to her, as closely as a lover would have, but he was unconcerned with that. Criminals and homeless lurked in every shadowed corner and he was determined to shield her from every pickpocket and unsightly beggar that could come their way. Maria discreetly tried to shrug her young escort off. He gave her a few inches of space for less than a minute before gluing himself to her side again.

Her eyebrows had an exasperated tilt as they boarded the red liner bullet train. A few other passengers shuffled onto other cars of the train, but save for a few sleepy-faced passengers already seated, they were the only new passengers in their car.

Maria wiped down her seat with a moist towelette before sitting, hands folded tidily in her lap. Light gave her a reasonable amount of space this time and her relief was palatable.

The train shuddered and bumped along, the windows rattling in their frames. Ryuk was searching for anything interesting to be had with the other passengers without much success, though the contents of a man's CD player entertained him for a few minutes. It wasn't long before he was dangling in front of Light's face. The young man turned away, looking out the window. There wasn't anything to see, but it saved him the sight of Ryuk's hideous face while he thought.

He glimpsed at Maria out of the corner of his eye. She sat without a hint of a slouch, chin level, her eyes alert. Ahh, she wasn't so easily trusting of the populace as she seemed. She knew there were rotten people in the world and she was aware of them. Being a good, religious woman did not bestow her with rose-tinted glasses.

Light liked that.

He would definitely have to devise a suitable reason to see her again; one meeting alone wasn't enough to work out how her mind ticked. And what a beautiful mind it was. Fascinating. He wanted to observe it and pick it apart to see if it was as filthy inside as the rest of the populace… or if it was clean and pure.

She turned her eyes on him as if she'd felt his thoughts. Caught with his guard down, Light quickly averted his eyes to the window, noting that the train heaters were irritatingly hot.

"Something stuck to the window, Yagami-kun?" She asked.

Damn those heaters.

"Ah, no, Mashiro-san. I was just thinking."

The train shuddered to a halt and a few of the other passengers gathered their things and wandered off, though no others entered. Light and Maria stayed seated. It wasn't their stop.

"What are you thinking about?" The woman continued once the train began to move again.

It was a typical female question. "Just some of the things we talked about before. Nothing in particular."

They lulled into silence again. The train continued to start and stop, letting passengers on and off continuously until it was only Light, Maria, and a man that slouched, snoring, in his seat. The intercom beeped open and a computerized female voice announced the name of the next stop. Light looked back at the window, unconcerned.

The sleeping man stirred, stretching his arms above his head and stood, slipping his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt.

Beside him, Light heard Maria's breath hitch. "Y-Yagami-kun…"

"Hm?" He turned his head and froze when he saw the barrel of a gun aimed between his eyes.

The man in the sweatshirt grinned toothily. "Well, well, it's your unlucky day. Let's say we do this the easy way and you hand over all your valuables, yeah?" The gun clicked as he cocked the hammer back.

In his mind, Light swore. He had no name to go with the face of this mugger and though he kept pieces of the Death Note with him at all times, it would be impossible to write his name down without Maria noticing, even if he did know the man's name.

Maria made a small, fearful sound, scooting closer to Light and wrapping her fingers around his arm.

Light kept calm. He could get them out of this. "You're awfully gutsy to do something like this with Kira around." He was satisfied to see the man flinch.

His grip on the gun tightened.

"Mouthy, aren't ya? Yeah, maybe I do have guts, but you know what they say, 'Desperate times calls for desperate measures,' and I'm a desperate man. You just do as I say and I won't have to shoot ya, got it?" He prodded it forward. "Go on, pretty boy, pull out your wallet and let's see what you've got." The man's gaze flickered over to Maria's wide-eyed face. "I'm afraid that goes for you too, princess, open up that purse. And no sudden movements or I blow your kneecaps out."

Light hissed under his breath and complied, keeping his eyes firmly on the thief as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet. Maria's fingers were trembling as she reached into her purse, removing all the money she had there. The hooded man held out his hand expectantly and Light threw his cash across the floor with a sneer.

The man scowled and took Maria's money. "Punk ass little shit. I should shoot you for that, but since you two complied so willingly, I'm willing to be generous." He gestured to the scattered leaflets with his weapon. "Pick them up."

Light clenched his fists and eyed the man with a fierce glare. The man went rigid, fighting the urge to flee at the inhuman hatred burning in the youth's caramel irises. Scrounging up what little shreds of confidence he had left he jabbed the gun at the pair once more.

"I'll take that fancy watch too." He said, a slight tremble in his voice giving away his growing fear. "And that pretty necklace of yours, princess."

Light felt his blood explode with heat. No, no, absolutely not. That could not be allowed to happen. A piece of the Death Note was hidden inside his watch and however unlikely it was that anyone would find its hiding place, such a risk could not be taken. It was unacceptable.

He was saved the trouble of coming up with an excuse when Maria shrieked and clutched at her rosary.

"No! Please! Not this! Anything else!" Her eyes were rapidly swelling with tears.

Light and the mugger both blinked, surprised at the intensity of the golden-haired woman's protest. The hooded man recovered quickly, his lips curling.

"Shut up! It's just a necklace! Hand it over!" Frustrated the man made the fatal mistake of shifting the barrel of the gun toward Maria and away from Light.

Light was upon him in an instant, knocking the man's wrist to the side. Instinctively, he pulled the trigger, but the bullet inside fired harmlessly into the floor. Maria screamed at the sound. Before the man could recover, Light leapt upon him, sending his fist smashing into the older male's rugged face. The man whirled, eyes bugging out, spittle flying; the gun fell from his fingers and clattered to the floor. A second well-placed punch knocked him down, slumping to the floor limp and heavy, an explosive nosebleed mixing with the saliva oozing out of his mouth. The man groaned, stunned and in pain, his eyes tearing from the aching blow to his nose.

A moment later Light had whipped his tie off and tied the mugger's hands behind his back with the strong, crimson length of silk.

"Yagami-kun…" Maria breathed.

"Are you okay, Mashiro-san?" He asked.

She nodded mutely. The computerized female voice hummed through the PA system again. Light kept the man pinned to the floor with his knee.

"That is good. I dislike having to ask you to do this, but would you mind picking up the money I threw? I do not want to give this man any room to wriggle free."

Maria nodded in agreement and hurriedly crouched down, gathering up the loose leaflets of paper as the train rapidly slowed to a halt. She stuffed them into her purse carelessly, a temporary solution, and cleaned her fingers with a sanitized wet napkin as the doors hissed open. She quickly scooped up the gun as she stood, holding it away from her as if it was the catalyst of some deadly disease.

Light stood, hauling the mugger to his feet. The man groaned, dazed and dismayed as he was pulled out of the subway. Light paused momentarily at the doorway.

"Pearls before swine," he said, gesturing for Maria to exit first. She did so.

The security booth was close, and though the guards were alarmed when they first saw the illegal weapon Maria carried, they quickly calmed when Light explained the situation, roughly shoving the man who had attempted to rob them into the room.

The security men searched the robber thoroughly, but he was without identification and fingerprinting or doing a database search to see if he had any past crimes would have to wait until the sweatshirt-wearing fellow could be taken down to the police station. Though Maria wasn't interested in what happened to the man now that he was in the hands of the proper authorities, the two guards assured Light that they would contact the young man with further information once they obtained it.

Light insisted that he didn't want his tie back.

The two pairs exchanged cordial farewells and resumed their previous activities. Maria glued herself to his elbow, an obviously subconscious gesture that made Light's insides bubble with glee. Exchanging words in hushed tones, they decided against getting back on the subway train, despite the fact that the chances of getting mugged again were near zero. Instead, they headed to the streets and hailed a taxi.

The seats were much more comfortable than the ones the trains provided and in seemingly no time at all Maria was leaning against Light's shoulder, breathing softly and slowly. She remained awake, but whatever adrenaline had been running through her blood from the ordeal had clearly run out, leaving her weary. Light was feeling a bit of the effects himself, though it was nothing a hot shower couldn't remedy.

"Mashiro-san?"

She stirred a bit, seeping more sharply back into awareness as she pulled her eyes away from the hypnotizing blur of neon lights that cascaded over the city. "Un?"

"I was curious; why did you react so strongly when that man told you to give him your necklace?"

She inhaled deeply, sucking in oxygen, and sat up, pulling her body a few inches away from his. "I overreacted. However… this crucifix was a gift from my husband. It used to belong to his grandmother. It is very precious to me; that is why I panicked."

"I see."

The taxi driver turned and the fluorescent lights of the main streets vanished in favor of a rural neighborhood. Soon, the vehicle stopped in front of a one-story, traditional styled house with a vine-covered wall.

"Ah, you live here. It's so close to my house." Light commented.

She smiled softly at him. "Yes. Your mother used to visit quite often when you and your sister were younger." She turned her attention to the driver. "How much is the fare, sir?"

"5,645 yen."

Maris began to unzip her purse for the money, but Light held out his hand to stop her.

"Please, Mashiro-san, do not worry about the fare. You paid for dinner and my street is still several blocks away. I will take care of it."

"But…"

"I insist."

She sighed and closed her purse. "Oh, alright. Thank you, Yagami-kun."

"Of course, Mashiro-san. Here, let me walk you to your door."

She opened her door and he climbed out after her as she moved to unlock her gate.

He noted the meticulously clipped flowers in her tiny yard and the birdbaths framing her walkway. Somewhere, a bird cooed, most likely one of her doves. The veranda lights automatically switched on when they stepped on the stoop and Maria paused, turning to face Light after unlocking her front door.

"I'd invite you in for tea, but I'm sure your parents want you home by this time. It's been an unexpectedly exciting evening, hasn't it?"

He nodded. "'Exciting' is not the word I would think to describe it as, but… Yes, I should head home. I also have a few things to do before heading to bed."

She beamed up at him. "Thank you, Yagami-kun, for walking me home and protecting me. I'm sure now that this passion of yours is the right thing to do. You're such a brave and chivalrous boy, but next time hold back on the heroics? You could have been hurt." Before Light could stop her, her lips were pressed against his cheek.

His heart rate skyrocketed and his ears filled with white noise. He stared at her with wide eyes as she pulled away. "Goodnight, Yagami-kun."

A second later he had regained his demeanor and nodded at her, still astonished but no longer in a blurry daze.

"Goodnight, Mashiro-san." He bowed to her and she bowed slightly in return, flaxen eyelashes fluttering closed, and he took advantage of the moment to slip something into the outer pocket of her purse. He quickly straightened and walked away at a rapid pace.

Maria's eyes shot up to her hairline, startled.

"Yagami-kun!" But, he slid into the taxi and was driven away.

Bewildered, the woman reached into her purse and pulled out the thing that Light had so gracefully slipped in: several paper monies, totaling to an amount just over 10,000 yen. Maria put her hand to her mouth and smiled knowingly.

"Men."