Symbiosis
Main entry: sym-bi-o-sis
Pronunciation: \?sim-b?-??-s?s, -?b?-\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural sym-bi-o-ses
Entymology: New Latin, from German Symbiose, from Greek symbiosis state of ivingt together, from symbioun to live together, from symbios living together, from syn + bios
Date: 1622
the living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms (as in parasitism or commensalism) ; especially : mutualism
a cooperative relationship (as between two persons or groups) the symbiosis...between the resident population and the immigrants ---John Geipel
---sym-bi-ot-ic adjective
---symbiotically adverb
This entry is idiotic.
I've looked it up so many times these past few weeks. The chain I wear weighs heavily on my arm even as I flip the pages of the dictionary with which Watari gifted me so oddly back when I was young. It implies first that two entirely different entities – or, if one desires to be practical, "two dissimilar organisms" - can live in harmony, even intimately. It then goes on to compare parasitism and mutualism, which in and of themselves are entirely different terms.
Mutualism.
Main Entry: mu-tu-al-ism
Pronunciation: \?myü-ch?-w?-?li-z?m, ?myü-ch?-?li-, ?myüch-w?-?li-\
Function: noun
Date: 1849
the doctrine or practice of mutual dependence as the condition of individual and social welfare
mutually beneficial association between different kinds of organisms
---Mu-tu-al-ist noun
---mu-tu-al-istic adjective
Parasitism
Main entry: par-a-sit-ism
Pronunciation: \?per-?-s?-?ti-z?m, -?s?-, ?pa-r?-\
Function: noun
Date: circa 1611
the behavior of a parasite
an intimate association between organisms of two or more kinds; especialy: one in which a parasite obtains benefits from a host which it usually injures
parasitosis
Mutualism implies the benefit of both parties. Parasitism, however, requires only one partner to flourish at the expense and detriment of the other. These two terms are entirely different, and yet the Oxford English Dictionary, the basis for the increasingly English speaking world's knowledge of that which allows them to communicate, equates them in a single entry. A paradox, to say the very least. However, what I find intriguing is that this seemingly senseless conundrum mirrors exactly the situation in which I find myself. At the other end of the aforementioned chain is the sole cause of my current predicament, and he is the one I have been seeking. He is the top of his class. He is the son of a policeman. He is socially , mentally, and charismatically capable of achievements beyond imagination.
He is a murderer.
Despite these obvious, valid observations, I find myself unable to decide if this facade of working together is parasitic or mutual. Is this chain truly a metaphorical scolex, or is it an artery?
I feel the chain tug slightly on my arm. Ah, you too have begun to write, Light Yagami. Do not worry yourself. I am counting on the fact that you will find this diary, and will disclose nothing of interest to you. Perhaps I only seek to confuse you more – or maybe I am truly trying to tell you about myself by revealing nothing but my thoughts. We are quite similar, you and I. I can already tell that you have thought of the same thing I have, and that your scholarly scripts will end up in my hands at one point or another. So this is now a race. Who will make a fatal error first? But no, it was a race from the very beginning.
Know this, Light Yagami.
I am Justice.
Let the games begin.
L
This is amazing.
My father has allowed me, after 50 days of painful imprisonment, to take part in the Kira investigation. Finally, L has seen my innocence! Of course, I'm not allowed to leave this wretched investigation center or even L's side, but this is better than laying on my back, bound hand and foot, waiting for a verdict that can and will not come. This is Japan, after all. I haven't done anything wrong, and the justice system will not let me take the fall for a crime I didn't commit. My faith in this system of justice is so much stronger... How could anyone think that Kira's judgments are just? If I were convicted of a crime and Kira believed I was guilty, it wouldn't matter if I was really innocent. I wouldn't be alive long enough to even plead my case. But in this instance, L believed I was Kira from the very beginning and I am still alive. I was allowed to prove my innocence, even in the face of seemingly flawless evidence against me, simply because there was a mere shadow of a doubt that I was Kira. This is the kind of justice we need. This is the justice for which I will fight.
Even if it means working alongside the man who wants me killed. I will find Kira...and bring him to his knees.
LIGHT
Two notebooks slammed shut at the same time.
"It's after two," Light stated rubbing his eyes as he nonchalantly slid his notebook into his pillowcase. "We should get some sleep. My father will be coming here at 6:00AM tomorrow, and we need to be able to contribute – not drool on our desks."
"There are many more useful things to do when one is tired than drooling," L, replied. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a handful of Skittles and began popping them one at a time into his mouth. "You should learn to do some of them. You sleep entirely too much."
"Well, some of us don't eat sugar all day!" Light growled. Flopping over on his side, the brunette slammed his hand down on the lamp, switching it off and almost sending the entire nightstand toppling to the floor.
"Careful," L cautioned, flicking another Skittle onto his tongue. "You almost broke the light."
"Will you shut up?"
"Most likely no."
"Aghhh!" Light picked up his pillow and slammed it down over his head. The notebook he had just placed carefully into the case flew out and fell to the floor with a sharp slap, sliding under L's bed and coming to rest slightly beyond the bedstand.
The room was silent for a few moments. L finished off the rest of his Skittles, while Light lay motionless with his head beneath the pillow. The digital clock on the nightstand between their beds droned on through the minutes, displaying the next ten in monotonous red numbers.
Licking the last of the sugar from his fingers, L flicked his dark eyes across the bed next to him. Light seemed to be almost asleep. He let his gaze travel to the ceiling for a count of five, then swung his feet over the side of the bed. "Let me get that for you," he murmured. When his roommate gave no response, L promptly slid off onto the floor, purposefully reaching down with his chained hand to get the notebook.
Whumph.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Light scrambled to get to his feet from where he lay sprawled on the floor, eyes narrowed and furious as they regarded L, who was holding the tiny leather bound notebook by the tips of his fingers. "Why do you have that?!" he demanded.
"You dropped it. I thought you might like it back." L carefully transferred it to the fingertips of one hand and held it out.
"You didn't have to knock me out of bed!" Light snatched it back, glaring daggers at the man who had just sent him tumbling to the floor for a notebook. "Were you really so eager to read my diary that you would try to kill me to pick it up?!"
"Perhaps," the black haired youth said, emotionless black eyes once again trained on the ceiling. "Or maybe I just wanted to knock you out of bed."
"I swear I'm going to use this chain to hang you in your sleep," Light grated.
"Then it wouldn't really matter if you were Kira. You would simply be charged with first degree murder and we'd be done with this. Where would the fun be in that?"
Light allowed his tormentor to suffer the wrath of his gaze for a moment longer before laying stiffly back down on his bed and – with much stretching and yawning – threw his chained arm over the side of the bed furthest from him.
L laid with his arm out to the side and stared at the ceiling until dawn.