Baka: Disclaimer- WE own NOTHING! Otherwise, it wouldn't really be a fan fiction now, would it? Co-written by Kyoka and baka-neko-fan! We are now known as Kyobaka!
Kyoka: This was, indeed, written at four o' clock in the morning, if that explains our insanity.
Baka: Though the idea hit us while we were completely sane, around nine at night, while playing Connect Four. (We don't own that either.) I was L, Kyoka was Light. (Who lost several times with the same method. L RULES!) On with the chapter~
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"So why the hell did I get sucked into this 'family' game night again?" Mello looked oddly disheveled, and nobody was quite certain as to how Mello was convinced to join them. Silence ensued for several minutes, and Mello looked even angrier, especially when it was Near who broke that silence.
"Mello," The white haired boy reminded gently with his usual monotone voice, "We came because L asked us to." He truly did not know the answer himself, but, he assumed their esteemed mentor had some fantabulous reason.
"Well, I suggested to Yagami-kun that we enjoy a night of fun to… get to know each other, and he insisted upon inviting a few guests. Naturally, I also saw fit to invite a few of my own. The three of you were the first that came to mind." he answered, addressing Mello, Matt, and Near.
Matt, who had been completely consumed by the running man clad in red (AKA Mario) on his GameBoy, finally glanced up and nodded, "Sound reasonable," He murmured with a shrug. He was certain that Mello probably wouldn't have had a problem with it if Near hadn't been included in the invitation; the blonde always jumped at any opportunity to get closer to the scrawny man. "Mello," He addressed said boy calmly, "Do try to get along with Near for one night… Try to think of it as 'team-building.'"
L nibbled on his thumb; whether or not it was indicative of a good mood, or merely a force of habit was unbeknownst to the rest of the group. Misa looked excited just to cling to Light, while Matsuda was looking, more or less, enthused. (He had invited himself and, naturally, Light didn't object because he didn't really have any other friends that he wanted to invite.) "So what's the first game that we have to play?" Mello's tone was still irritable, though it had improved by a degree.
"Well, Light has graciously offered to let me choose our first game. I thought that we should play a game that I loved in my childhood; Connect Four."
Mello gaped, Near looked mildly interested, and Matt was fixated once again upon his GameBoy. "That game is only played by two people," Near commented, "Will we do a bracket tournament?"
"Yes, I suppose…" L answered, chewing on his thumb in a furtive manner.
"How will we begin?" Mello asked, his tone implying that he did not, by any means, want to be paired up with Near.
"Light and I will be paired up first; next, Matsuda and Matt; then, you and Near." At this, Mello's face darkened. "Watari and Misa, would you like to play together?"
Watari shook his head. "I think that I'll just watch."
Misa's face, if anything, brightened. "I'm just fine! I can watch Raito-kun!" she piped up, firmly attached to her 'boyfriend's' arm.
Mello glared at Near, "Cant' I be paired up with Matt instead?" He asked, sounding a bit more than annoyed.
"No," L replied blatantly, "This, as Matt stated previously, is a team-building exercise."
Matt, who was surprised to hear that he was actually right, glanced up from the screen once more. "Mello," He said coolly, "If you beat Near, I will probably face you in the next round."
"What are you trying to say?" Matsuda whined. He hated it when people implied that he was a loser.
"I guess you're right…" Mello muttered, completely ignoring Matsuda, "That idiot's not going anywhere."
"Hey," Matsuda piped up in the background. Mello ignored this.
L, ignoring the situation altogether, continued, "You'll see that we already have three tables set up, one for each pairing. If you will, please join your opponent and begin whenever you're ready."
L and Light stared wordlessly at each other, as if a sparks began to fly. Misa, although she clung to Light's arm still, was completely ignored. They sat down at the table and L began by dropping a black checker into the center slot.
"You know, Yagami-kun, you can tell a lot about a person from a Connect Four game." L said as Light thought about his strategy. "You can see, for instance, the true nature of a person. Kira probably has a distinctive style. Say, maybe a defensive style, much like yours." Their game continued with no clear-cut leader within the match.
"Is that how you think, Ryuuzaki?" Light made a sharp counterattack. "But certainly, Kira wouldn't be revealing his personality through a game of Connect Four. Kira isn't stupid, and that's besides the point--why would he even agree to play Connect Four?"
"Well, that's a good question, Yagami-kun, but I hardly anticipate that if you were Kira that you would turn down my offer to bond. Maybe, in doing so, you think that I might trust you enough to give you my true name which is, in fact, Luke Skywalker."
"Very funny, Ryuuzaki," he answered dryly. "But if I was Kira, and I'm only saying if, I wouldn't expect you to give me your name just because we played a game of Connect Four." However, inside his head, he cursed at L's conclusion.
"But this isn't just a game of Connect Four, Yagami-kun. I believe that we agreed upon a game night."
"Fine," he answered, and blocked a Connect Four yet again, and, in fact, filled in the last blank space. "It looks like it's a tie, huh?"
"Near," Mello spat as the younger boy sat down across from him, twirling a lock of his white hair around a slender finger.
"Yes?" Near questioned, knowing full well that Mello would probably either threaten him or tell him that he hated him. Either way, the words were meaningless… At least in Near's eyes.
"I'm finally going to win…" He growled, biting a hunk of chocolate off of the bar in his hand, "I'm going to kick your ass, Near."
"Please, try to save your comments for after the game. I believe your thoughts will change." He nearly added that three years previous, he was the champion in the All-British National Connect Four Championship. He'd even beaten L, a Connect Four master, once or twice.
"No, then I'll just be rubbing it in!" Mello hissed defensively, "Watch, Near, this game will be over within four turns!"
"If you say so, Mello." Near murmured, "Who will go first?" Really, Mello's attempts at fighting didn't perturb him. In fact, it actually calmed him, because the angrier that Mello became, the less rational he appeared to be.
"You can 'cause no matter what, I'm going to kick your ass!" This time, Near didn't bother even with a shrug or comeback. He merely picked up a red checker and dropped it into the center slot. Mello answered by dropping one of the black checkers into the end slot, farthest to the left.
"I'm going to win, this time." He said confidently. Near dropped a checker in the slot directly to the right of the one previous, while Mello continued contentedly to drop his into the same slot. At this point, Near smiled.
"What are you smirking about, Near?" snapped Mello. "You can't possibly think that you're going to win!" Pausing only for a moment, Near dropped his third checker into the slot to the right of the second.
"DAMN IT! What the hell, Near? You were cheating!" Regardless of where Mello placed his next checker, Near would still be able to win. Each side of the row was open, so he was still able to get Connect Four.
"I wasn't cheating," Near answered placidly. "You were watching me the entire time, so it wouldn't be possible for me to cheat. Maybe you weren't watching the game closely enough."
"I resign," Mello said angrily. Tossing the game at the wall.
"Well, I didn't know that was a part of the rules, but all right," Near said shrugging. "I win by default."
"You know that I can win any other time!" he snapped. "If you weren't cheating, I would have won this time." Near ignored the rest of the rant and instead began stacking up the checkers, strewn out on the ground, as he waited for the two other groups to finish.
Meanwhile, Matt and Matsuda, after reading the instructions for the fifth time (for Matsuda's sake, not Matt's) finally began their game. Matsuda eyeing a strong diagonal that he rather liked, his expression eager.
A moment later, Matt dropped his final checker in and smiled in satisfaction. "Connect five. Pwned." He replied in his same, cool tone. Matsuda looked crestfallen.
"But--but--but where did that piece come from?" Matt looked nonchalant.
"Out of the box. You weren't paying attention." With this, he glanced back at Mello, wondering if the other boy had paid enough attention. He heard a crash as Mello threw the game at the wall in frustration. Apparently, he hadn't. No surprise there. He turned back to Matsuda, who still looked quite depressed over his loss.
"Were you even paying attention when I read the directions five times?"
"Uhmm…. Not really." Matsuda admitted lamely. Matt smacked his forehead, not even bothering to respond to that. It took a true dumbass to be unable to comprehend the simple rules of Connect Four. (Or, in Matt's case, Connect Five.)
"How have the other games ended?" L glanced over at the others. Near was ignoring Mello, who was practically in a state of hysterics, and Matsuda was still gazing open-mouthed at Matt's Connect Five. Matt, of course, had gone back to adventure land with the Mario brothers.
Finally, there was the championship round between Matt and Near, for which the outcome was pretty much predetermined. Near, who was the champion of a tournament that many people didn't even know existed, was well-prepared for the battle against L's third successor. Matt, however, wasn't as interested in the upcoming match as he was in beating Bowser. (Why should he care, it was against Near, of all people?)
So, it was little surprise that five minutes later, Near, who seemed apathetic at first, shouted in triumph, while Matt only shrugged and went back to his video game.
"Next," Watari announced, emerging from the shadows in the corner, "We will play Monopoly."
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Baka: Well… Many inside jokes weren't included… SHUT UP ABOUT THE CHECKERS, KYOKA, WE CAN PUT THEM IN A LATER CHAPTER! ^_^; Anyway, what do you have to say for yourself?
Kyoka: It's almost six o' clock now. I'm going to bed, because I, like the good nerd I am, have a life. (I am going to play chess tomorrow, thank you very much!)
Baka: Yaoi doesn't count as a life?! Now I'm depressed, and I wish this damn virus pop-up would leave us the hell alone! It's annoying! Grrr… Fine, you go get your beauty rest… I'LL take the liberty… Er, HONOR, of posting this! Nyaahhh!
