Summary: And that was the first time Serendipity met Mihael Keehl...and unfortunately enough for her, it wouldn't be the last time either...But she didn't know that yet. In which a law student becomes entangled in the fallout of Kira without her consent. OC.
Here's some background information for timeline's sake.
So, this story starts just approximately 4 days after Light and L meet at the entrance exam, but since they're not going to be relevant until later in this story- here's what you truly need to know.
Mello and Matt, and Serendipity (OC) are around 14-15 years old- but I'm going to round up and say 15 because I could care less about the specifics- but don't worry though, they won't stay that young for long. I aged Mello and Matt up because tbh having 13 year old's in this scene didn't seem to be that great...
Also, I apologize in advance if this chapter is a little confusing, as admittedly I've been trying to get back into writing so forgive the rustiness and redundancies...and typos. I've reread this about 20 times but I doubt I've caught all of them.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy!
January 21st, 2004 11:15 P.M
Throwing the hood of her jacket up, Serendipity cursed when she heard the unmistakable rumbling of thunder overhead. She glanced down at her hastily thrown on outfit, and frowned distastefully, wishing she'd picked something more weather-appropriate. The green hoodie barely shielded her from the elements now...and she highly doubted it would benefit her soaked.
Too late now. She thought, a grimace flashing across her face in the dim lighting. Checking her watch for the thousandth time, she released a shaky, relieved laugh when she saw she'd only been gone twenty minutes. Maybe they haven't noticed yet… But the thought was to convince herself lest her short resolve crumbled and she found herself hiking it back to her family's ritzy apartment.
The phone in her back pocket was silent...or at least for now- so it was safe to assume her parents hadn't discovered her absence yet. Because, if, -when they did...she'd be so dead.
That is, if the city didn't kill her first.
The eerily quiet street seemed increasingly menacing as she passed under a flickering streetlamp, - a stark contrast from its appearance during the day. Perhaps that was more a result of her overactive imagination than reality...but it was night afterall. A whole different kind of people roamed the city at this time, mostly workers unfortunate enough to hold the infamous graveyard shift, but night was also the domain to criminal activities. Lots of criminal activities.
She didn't have to be a Senator's daughter to realize that. Hell, she didn't even have to be from the city to realize that...But she did have to be a Senator's daughter to get into the fight that resulted in this midnight escapade.
Perhaps it was spite, but the reality was nothing more than adolescent rebellion. She hadn't meant to sound ungrateful for the proposal of a prospective family "vacation"- but it was just a convenient name for "tagging along on Dad's business trips." ...And if there was one thing Serendipity hated more than her accursed name, it was these so called "family vacations."
The paparazzi had foiled most, if not all of her family's attempts at relaxing, and she wasn't ready for another tabloid article about her 'summer beach body' or lack thereof. The press on the other hand, wasn't as shameless to defame her family for their appearances...but harshly criticized any vacation taken by her father. As if most of his work problems weren't caused by their inaccurate articles in the first place. Idiots. All of them.
Venturing out of the safety of their apartment was a rash, prideful act of independent defiance on her part, but she wasn't backing out now. No-Not when she was five minutes away from her destination.
"Defiance" She muttered under her breath, staring at her sneakers as they ambled her forwards, "This hardly counts."
Air. That's all she'd wanted honestly. Regrettably, confrontation wasn't a matter she handled well, and as much as she loved her family- sometimes they all just felt so suffocating. After this night's argument she just needed to clear her head, and maybe then she'd be able to figure out a way to worm herself out of this prospective 'vacation'-
...Or at least hopefully.
Snapped out of her thoughts, Serendipity coughed as she neared the comforting, overbearing lights of the convenience store. Was she developing a cold? With her luck, probably. Pulling her hood closer to her body, she suppressed another cough and ducked into the building. Didn't need anybody recognizing her now- especially at this time of night.
Entering the corner store, she noted three men arguing quietly at the cash register. Their eyes turned to glance at her with mild interest momentarily- but their gazes drifted to each other soon after. She half expected someone to glance up again in a double-take, but that moment never came. To them, she realized, she was just another bastard child of their wretched city- and because of that, they couldn't care less about her presence, or as to the reason why she was breaking curfew.
The thought was sadly relieving.
Also was the fact that most normal people didn't pay much attention to local politics to know who she was.
The men looked like they had much more important things to think about anyways, judging by their hushed whispers and cryptic glances. The cashier, a man seeming to be in his early forties looked agitated: brows creased in frustration as their conversation continued on, his clipped tone hinting at obvious annoyance. If they caught unto his anger the two other men didn't show it- continuing on unaffected with terse statements.
She caught snippets of their conversation as she slipped by.
"-pushed around by an insolent brat."
"-No respect."
"Who does he think he is?"
"Boss says we gotta do something-"
Wonder what that's all about. Serendipity thought, but didn't dare voice it aloud. Minding your own business was the number one rule of surviving the nightlife around here, and she wasn't about to compromise her safety because of a little curiosity- though admittedly, she was kind of curious as to their flavor of criminal activity. Maybe this place was a drug front? Or perhaps the owner preferred a more sinister type of criminality...
Whatever- wasn't like she was going to try to stay to figure that one out. For now, she just had to focus on the task on hand. She had come with a purpose after all (even though that purpose was rather trivial.) A coke and a bag of chips, those were the targets at hand. Drug front of not food was food, and if she minded her own business, her conscience wouldn't change that perspective.
The bell on the door chimed behind her, signaling a new customer, but she paid them no heed- and darted down the nearest aisle.
Five minutes, and five more shouts from the cash register later, Serendipity was humming along to a popular song on the radio, a coke and three bags of chips in hand. She briefly wondered if the ten dollar bill in her coat pocket would cover it all, (you never knew with taxes)- but that was the least of her worries. The men from before had only delved further into their heated conversation, and something told her that interrupting them would not be a good idea.
Not a good idea at all.
So, she amended to waiting- or at least until the other guy left.
Leaning on a promotional display for the next mediocre sugary snack, she readjusted the items in her hands and scanned the store. Subtlety glancing back to the front entrance, she noted the almost imperceptible outline of a gun in one of the man's pants and gulped. Given the present situation and the way the men didn't seem like they were going to leave anytime soon, and their seemingly escalating anger and killing-intent, the thought of abandoning this snack conquest seemed like a favorable idea.
Spinning around on her heels, Serendipity prepared to do just that, but she hadn't expected the presence of another person directly behind her. The shock sent her tumbling to the ground in an ungraceful heap, hood, amongst other items falling in the process.
The person- the boy she observed from the floor, simply gave a dry look in her direction, blonde locks escaping from his own black hood. His piercing blue eyes froze her to the spot, but it wasn't because of the severe stare he was giving her. No, his eyes- they swirled with ambition, intelligence...but lacked something crucial...something like...innocence.
"Uh-you alright there?" He asked, scrutinizing her, but she barely heard him.
His voice was deep, she noted, but betrayed youth nonetheless.
"Um…well..." she almost forgot to be angry, and blushed in embarrassment, eyes darting from his face to the many...chocolate bars?- he held. "I'm, ah, fine." Standing up, she spied the news headline on the dingy television in the corner. Behind her, it caught the attention of another certain teen as well. "But he's not…"
Reading the headline, she immediately felt sick.
The man on the screen looked excited, and from her experiences with the media, she knew that meant something bad had happened.
He relayed:
"Breaking News coming in right now! Authorities flocked to the Pennsylvania State Penitentiary after an inmate was found dead under mysterious circumstances. The inmate's full name has not been released but sources tell us that he was found to have died due to a heart attack. Witnesses speculate the identity of the victim to be the perpetrator of the LABB Murder Cases of 2002," Behind her, the boy froze at the mention of this name, "and his death to be connected to the recent phenomenon in Japan regarding the debated figure of KIRA...whether or not benevolent or malevolent figures are at play, citizens will be happy to know that-"
She turned away from the screen with a frown on her face and stopped listening. Kira. That name had been in the news a lot recently. On talk shows, internet forums...it seemed the legend from Japan had been turning the world upside-down nowadays. At first, she'd thought it was just some elaborate hoax, or conspiracy theory like when people speculated about the Freemasons or Illuminati...except this one had stayed around for awhile instead of blowing over like the rest. Her friends talked about it, and her teachers led class discussions about the ethics of it…
It was a polarizing subject, and not in a good way.
Serendipity didn't like to choose sides, she was only fifteen for God's sake and didn't know much about herself or her convictions but- other people were willing to draw lines in the sand, and it was dividing everyone into sides that were rather unsettling.
When her father had brought it up at the dinner table and asked her opinion, it was the last straw. In fact, that was the conversation that had brought her to the store in the first place...because the conference her father was going to- the family vacation she was oh-so-loathing to go on, was a meeting regarding the threat of KIRA.
She really couldn't escape the name, and it was getting old...fast, like a song being overplayed on the radio all she heard was "Kira this…" and "Kira that…"
The sounding of the News Station jingle brought her back to reality.
"I hate Kira…" She muttered under her breath, but not quietly enough.
"That son of a bitch..." The guy behind her said at the same time. She looked back at him, perplexed for a moment- his glower at the screen was unwavering. If she didn't know any better, she would've guessed with that look, that he had some personal vendetta against the so-called "mysterious figure."
"And I thought I was the only one who hadn't jumped on the whole Kira bandwagon." she sardonically drawled.
He glanced at her momentarily, a steely look in his eyes easily portrayed he was conflicted. This guy obviously wore his heart on his sleeve. He appeared almost ready to answer, but something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention- and the atmosphere changed from charged to urgent FAST.
Serendipity didn't have time to react when the boy's body crashed down on her. She raised her fists and prepared for righteous anger when-
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullets whizzed overhead where they had just been standing, and her heart subsequently skipped more than one beat. The arm around her urgently pushed her body forward, although her mind failed to catch up with the situation.
"Wha-wha-what just happened?!"
Her line of sight first latched unto the man next to the counter.
The glint of the gun in the light. The undisturbed expression on his face, sprayed with blood splatter. Her eyes trailed from the tip of his gun to the man next to the counter, who looked downright mortified...and then her eyes locked on the target.
And then, she saw it.
Blood. Blood everywhere.
In front of the teenagers, the of of the men she'd seen conversing angrily at the counter was now reduced to a statistic of the city's 'Victims of gun violence," his brains painting a morbid picture along the lottery machine. His almost headless body crumpled to the ground and dropped like a dumbbell. When it finally reached the floor with a resounding thud, she officially started to panic.
Three thoughts flew through her brain.
I- I just almost died.
That could've been me.
and
Did- did I just witnessed a murder?
At the cash register, the man with the gun simply glared at the body on the ground with mild disdain, as if he had just swatted a fly, and not blown somebody away.
He cast a glance over to the other thug, who, reacting the most normal out of everyone looked as if he was about to piss himself if the guy didn't kill him first.
The killer stepped forward.
"We have no place for disloyalty, hear?"
What.
"U-understood."
"Good. Now get out before I change my mind about letting you live."
The man at the end of the barrel didn't need to be told twice and ran out faster than the speed of sound.
Oh great. Serendipity cringed. She had gotten herself stuck watching mafia drama unfold right in front of her eyes!
"We're so going to die!" She frantically whispered as she recalled all the headlines of what usually happened to the witnesses of these events. If she was lucky she'd just eat a bullet.
Instead of rightfully acting scared, the boy behind her only seemed concentrated, and also...annoyed?
"And I really wanted those chocolate bars too…"
You've got to be kidding me.
Somebody had skewed priorities.
"Listen-" he whispered tersely. "Just follow my lead- and be quiet."
She couldn't believe her ears.
"Are you crazy- you're going to get yourself killed!"
"Not likely." He almost seemed amused by her objection. When she didn't budge, his amused expression melted into a deadpan stare.
"Would you rather stay here like a sitting duck?"
No. Not exactly.
It seemed to prove his point.
Her legs, despite the shock, started to move with his, although her heart felt like it was going to give out right then and there.
Each step forward on the linoleum tiles felt too loud, too obvious.
Oh my god, oh my god, oh god…
Slowly inching up the aisle, she took a moment to observe the boy who had admittedly and surprisingly taken the lead. His determined and calculated expression quelled some of the anxiety in her mind, but when she found herself scrutinizing his clothing- internal alarm bells started to go off.
Now, it wasn't exactly his style of clothing that tipped her off to something. He was wearing all black, which wasn't in itself suspicious...but the clothes as she could tell we're obviously expensive- way too expensive to be wearing in this part of town.
What was a guy like this doing here?
That's when she also noticed the gun tucked into the waistband of his pants. Thoughts of the trust she'd foolishly placed in him seemed like a bad idea. How stupid could she have been putting her life in the hands of a stranger? Hopefully, it was a good calculated risk.
A hand crept on her shoulder, and she found herself staring into the boy's crystal blue eyes. They had reached the end of the aisle, and now it was time to act. Would they run for the door? No, that was too risky and obvious.
She hoped he had a really good plan.
"Just play along."
And then, without any inclination or time to prepare, Serendipity found herself shoved harshly to the ground. When she reached the floor, she could see her reflection in the tiles...she could see blood, but most importantly shoes. The Killer's shoes.
Thrown to the wolves.
"Yo- Mark, found this one hiding in the corner." The familiar voice of the boy yelled, almost bored behind her.
Instant betrayal.
A million and one questions began to surface in her mind, each more confusing than the last.
They know each other? No- that can't be, wait. Was he just fooling me this entire time?
The murderer only cast her a dry, apathetic look, as if she was a gnat he was too lazy to step on, and raised his eyes back to her betrayer.
"Ah Mello, so nice of you to announce yourself. What took you so long?" Mark asked from above her. The exchange sounded so casual, so opposite to the events that were unfolding- as if two people on polite terms had just met for brunch.
Mello. So that was the boy's name.
Wait-the two men were on a first-name basis?
Yep, she was about to vomit.
Mello cracked a grin and walked forward. "You looked a bit preoccupied." He started, kicking the body of the man on the floor apathetically. "I didn't want to interrupt you."
"I see. Well, I'm certainly sorry about the mess, I wasn't exactly expecting your visit."
"No offense taken." Mello waved him off and cast a cursory glance to the floor again. "But I don't think that the Boss will be happy about the cleaning bill."
"Well it's a good thing he's not going to know about it then." The statement was tinged with an underlying threat.
Mello snorted. "Of course."
The conversation going on in front of her was almost cruel in a way, as their blatant disregard for her when she knew something awful was going to happen after they finished talking. Her heart was thumping before, but now it felt as if it were seizing and was going to explode any second now. She could imagine the metal on her forehead, and Mark pulling the trigger to give her the same fate as the man on the floor beside her.
I don't want to die, I don't want to die. I don't want to die.
Maybe if she crawled away...?
The two men continued with their talk.
"Let's just cut to the chase. Why are you here?" Mark gritted.
Mello inspected his own gun dubiously. "Just in the neighborhood, you know, thought I'd drop by."
"And why is that, exactly?" Mark asked cryptically, eyes narrowing into accusatory slits.
A pause.
"I've heard from multiple sources that the only place you can find authentic Swiss chocolate is in your store."
"Excuse me?"
Mello just ignored him and scanned the various wrappers on the candy display.
"Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, hazelnuts-ah, my favorite." He snatched on from the rack and tore open the foil.
"The real reason Mello."
Snap. A bite.
"You know," the blond started between eating, leaning against the counter. "You almost took off my head back there." His light tone lowered to irritation. "You're lucky I have fast reflexes, or else..."
Why this insolent-
Mark gulped. "Good thing I wasn't aiming for you then."
"I believe you..." The phrase was drenched in sarcasm. He finished the last square of the chocolate bar and scrutinized the wrapper before him. "Although, I would be more careful if I were you. There are rumors, about karma y'aknow."
An obvious allusion to the Kira story. The man stood unfazed.
"Good thing I had my record expunged years ago although I admit, I'm touched by your concern."
A monotone drawl.
"Consider it a warning." Mello replied as he swallowed the last chocolate square. "-Speaking, of which, to answer your question from before, that's why I'm here- to deliver one...or at least that's what I was supposed to do." He almost sounded disappointed. "You've been bolder lately, and it hasn't gone unnoticed. I was supposed to tell you to law low, or as Boss said 'to make sure he doesn't do anything too fucking rash" He cast a long, accusatory glance to the bloodied heap on the floor. "-You just had to use a gun, didn't you?"
The shot had woken the entire neighborhood no doubt, judging from the way his own eardrums were still experiencing a dull pain.
Ugh. He hoped he wasn't developing tinnitus.
Some people had no forethought.
"- I predict the cops will be here in…," The hour hand of the watch was just over twelve. "...15 minutes."
Mark had the decency to at least look concerned this time.
"...Shit."
"I suggest you start by getting rid of the footage," Mello advised, signaling to the many CCTV cameras in the store. There was a considerable pause as the teenage boy's mind schemed for a way to turn this into something more favorable. "Actually scratch that, I'll handle the footage, and-" His eyes scanned the room and landed on her. "take the girl off your hands too. I can't do much for the physical evidence given well..."
He would be cleaning up the mess for him. It was an interesting notion, one that reeked of ulterior motives.
"That's generous of you..." Mark analyzed with unhidden suspicion "...You want something."
A statement- not a question.
Mello grinned wide.
"Remember my proposition from before?"
Eyebrows flew up in response as the man connected the dots. It wasn't a simple offer. In fact, it was mutiny.
He'd always known the blond-haired beat was a mole.
"Perhaps I said I do..." a narrowing of the eyes. "...What's in it for me?"
Typical response.
"The same terms I'd outlined before...but this is my last offer."
The man didn't hesitate.
"Done." Mark leapt over the counter and retrieved a USB from God-knows-where, but not before stuffing his pockets with cash from the till. Before he dropped the stick into Mello's awaiting hands he spoke seriously. "This didn't happen, hear?"
"My lips are sealed."
The trade was complete.
And with that, Mark fled the convenience store without so much as a remorseful backward glance to the scene he'd left behind. As soon as his silhouette disappeared at the view of the store, the distant sound of sirens could be heard from a few streets away. So maybe he had miscalculated a little bit when he'd said 15 minutes, but it was perfect timing.
"That's our cue to leave." Mello breathed out, eyes landing on Serendipity with clipped annoyance. He motioned his head to the back of the store. "Come on."
Wide eyes stared in response. She had just watched him broker a deal with a murderer, and now, he seemed so casual talking to her as if none of it mattered.
"Come on! We don't have much time!" He yelled, louder this time- but when she made no effort to move, he strongly gripped her arm and yanked her to her feet.
The sirens were closer now, maybe three streets away if they were lucky.
It was time to scatter.
He ran, and she unwillingly followed him through the back, stock rooms of the store, his long legs weaving through the halls without faltering. The exit signs were starting to run out of arrows. They passed countless boxes of contraband on the way out. If there had been any doubts about the store being a front, there was no argument now.
Serendipity gulped. She had never seen drugs in person before...but then again it was child's play compared to watching a person get shot.
Louder sirens. Two streets away now.
The door was in sight, and they burst through.
When the scent of fresh air reached Serendipity's nose, she almost cried, but it wasn't over yet.
More sirens.
Without a moment's notice, she found herself shoved against the brick walls of the alley, air escaping her lungs due to the shock. A leather-clad hand clamped over her mouth, muffling the surprised shriek that left her lips. Instantly, she became aware of three things: The bricks that dug into her back uncomfortably, the tips of golden hair that brushed her forehead, and the warmth radiating from his body.
This was too much excitement for one night, truly.
His frame easily dwarfed hers, as the immediate sight she was met with was of his black-sweater clad chest. Wide-eyed, she tilted her head up to see his expression to discern what was going on, and when her eyes adjusted to the darkness she realized he wasn't looking at her. No, His eyes were trained on the road in front of them.
As if in slow motion, A police car drove directly past the alley, close enough that calling out would've alerted them.
Close enough that she could've given them away with little effort.
When the blue and red lights faded out of sight, Mello retracted his hand from her face and uttered one simple command.
"Run."
She didn't know what possessed her to follow him. She could have bolted in the other direction but something told her that wasn't a good idea, although following strange boys into dark alleys at midnight sounded much worse on paper. In another universe, this could have been a Kodak moment, two young lovers taking on the nightlife hand-in-hand. In another universe that was, and this was not another universe.
They ran.
Down Columbus Street, up Poe boulevard, across Poet's Square, past Lafayette Street and countless others. She didn't know how long they had run for, or how many streets they had passed- just that the adrenaline was saying go farther. However, a few streets later the adrenaline had waned, her lungs were burning, and her body taking over control was screaming stop.
"I think," a wheeze,"We lost them." They were still sprinting, and Mello didn't look at all phased. When the opportunity presented itself Serendipity tore her wrist from his grasp and stopped in her tracks. He turned around. "-I can't breathe."
In that moment there was only silence, just the sound of their labored breaths- and for the first time, she reflected on the entire ordeal. Here they were in the middle of an ordinary street, on an ordinary night, under extraordinary circumstances...and nobody knew it but them. They were the witnesses of a shared memory with no other mutual connections. She only had one question for him.
"Who...who are you?"
He loaded the question back in her direction. "Who are you?"
"I asked first."
He crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged.
"I'm Mello."
"I already know that."
"I'm a detective."
"A...detective?"
But he was so young, yet given the events...It made a bit of sense...sort of.
There was definitely a deeper side to that story.
A ringtone stopped the conversation from continuing.
-Great trembling there will be when the Judge descends from heaven to examine all things closely-
Call from: Matt
What a weird song…
Mello fished the device out of his pockets and pressed accept. It was an expensive model, just like his clothes.
"Matt, yeah you took care of it? I know, I'll explain later." A friend perhaps? or an associate? Serendipity thought, "I'm on…" He stopped to take in their surroundings and locate the address."...King's corner. Got it? I'll meet you on the next block."
Click.
A sigh.
"So..." This was awkward. He was leaving. This was it? "If anyone asks you where you were tonight, it was in your bed at home- or a boyfriend's house, or anything really. Just not here. You never saw me."
"R-roger that."
"Perfect," it was drenched in sarcasm. This time, he turned to face her square on. "See you never." He turned on his heel to walk away, but she felt compelled to say something more.
"Serendipity." Her voice was louder than she intended it to be, but it did its job in gaining his attention. Imploring blue eyes met expectant brown irises, "...My name, it's Serendipity."
...
The corners of his lips quirked up in amusement.
"A happy accident...are you serious?" He scoffed.
"...Yeah."
The irony was not lost on them because this meeting had been an accident, but definitely not happy.
"Well then. Serendipity," the name flowed awkwardly from his lips,"Nice not knowing you."
And with that, he turned back around and walked away for real this time. She watched his retreating form fade into the oblivion of the night- her eyes transfixed to his shadow. Just like he'd barged into her life, he was gone like a smoke that dissipated into the air.
And that was the first time Serendipity met Mihael Keehl...and unfortunately enough for her, it wouldn't be the last time either.
But she didn't know that yet.
When Mello finally slid into the leather seats of the passenger side of their rental car his mask of confidence shattered. He briefly entertained the idea of slamming his face against the dashboard in front of him...repeatedly. Tonight had been a disaster and mediating a deal between a psychotic ex-mafia boss who'd just killed his former colleague while simultaneously saving a random girl all the while extracting information from his target had not been on his checklist for the day.
He deserved a medal, truly.
"Drive." A command. Matt slammed the gas pedal.
Thank God the windows were tinted because he was not about to let anybody else see his rage at the helplessness of the situation.
First, he initiated a punching battle with the passenger side seat, then he wrestled furiously with his seatbelt, and lastly glared out the window with smoldering eyes that could freeze someone on the spot with their intensity.
Needless to say, Mello was pissed.
Apathetic eyes shielded by amber goggles cast a blank expression in the rear-view mirror to witness the sight.
"So what, you're like Batman now or something?" An amused laugh, but the situation wasn't funny.
Mello sighed, long and aggravated.
"That wasn't supposed to happen."
The plan was simple. He was supposed to have gone in there to keep tabs on Mark, a prime suspect in a case regarding illegal drug trade throughout the area. He was supposed to have grilled him on the spot about the whole ordeal to catch him off-guard while using his cover as a fellow member of the organization which had taken months to cement. He was supposed to have cracked the case the right way to finally prove himself as the worthy successor.
All of those things were supposed to have happened.
But of course, it didn't.
From the moment he'd heard the shots, he'd lost. He had forgotten rule one of being a competent detective and hadn't prepared for the unexpected. He was so certain everything would go his way, and that he'd leave with an easy victory that he'd failed the consider the possibility of error. Sure, he'd gotten the information, and he'd saved a civilian...but now he'd turned Mark loose in the process- a method his mentor would not have approved of- and that was damning.
Now what?
His thoughts shifted to the girl.
She was pathetic really. Couldn't even have snuck away without him, and for some reason, he'd felt obligated to help her. Would L have done that?- Potentially compromise a case for someone irrelevant? Thoughts of Lind. L Taylor came to mind, the man who'd been a simple domino to the KIRA situation. The man who'd stood proxy and died on public television for the world to see. A martyr for L...no, collateral damage.
No, L wouldn't.
He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
And what had she said her name was? Serendipity of all things? Irony at its best.
"You know, they're going to have to hear about this sooner or later." Matt's voice rang out from the driver's side. "How do you know he's not going to squeal?"
Because Mello would kill him if he did.
But yes, there was that other complication.
The thought of the report of this failure reaching Near's ears boiled his blood. Matt always had a way of saying things he didn't want to hear.
"Don't remind me..."
Outside the car, lights passed ominously- the skyline of the city growing fainter and fainter as they drove further and further away, and it seemed like in that moment, Mello's mood only became darker with each mile. Soon, a crease formed above his brow, and a steely look set itself in his eyes. Everything was wrong. The night had been foiled, his already hormonal, puberty driven angst was increased tenfold, and he'd suddenly recalled the newscast from before.
In retrospect, it seemed that was the fixed point as to where it all started to go downhill.
The inmate's full name has not been released but sources tell us that he was found to have died due to a heart attack. Witnesses speculate the identity of the victim to be the perpetrator of the LABB Murder Cases of 2002...
"Kira's getting bold…" Mello muttered and contemplated silently.
"Mean anything good for us?" Matt questioned.
A pause.
"I don't think so."
Serendipity's phone buzzed furiously in her pocket.
15 missed calls. 33 messages.
WHERE ARE YOU?!
They'd noticed.
She hoped she was a good liar.
~oOo~
So yeah, that's over.
BB is dead, and our main players have been introduced. I always thought Mello and the other successors must've solved cases before L died, because how else would he know if they were capable? Also, yeah I know Matt is 15 and driving but considering he looked pretty adept at it in the anime, and seeing as they are all geniuses and all- I don't think it'd TOO much of a stretch
Also, Mello's ringtone is the Deathnote theme translated.
So yeah, that's chapter numero uno. If you are feeling generous, perhaps you can drop a review?
C'ya next chapter.
~dreamwithinadream262~