~Rhyme~
Chapter 1: "Out of Time"
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History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.
-Mark Twain
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"..."
"Mello?"
The blond adolescent's face had gone ashen. He didn't speak for a full minute, just stared at the small black laptop sitting on Roger's desk. The sole other occupant of the room.
The laptop's screen showed nothing but a large black L on a plain white background: There was no facial or vocal expression; nothing that might enlighten Mello to the motivation behind the words it spoke. His correspondent, however, was not in the same position as he was...
xXx
In a plush hotel room far away, inky black eyes bored into a similar computer's screen. This computer displayed not a letter but instead the image of the boy, Mello, aided by a discreet camera placed in the upper right-hand-corner of the room.
Mello's head had been half-thrown back in shock and his eyes were wide. Full of trepidation. It was a far cry from the confidant arrogance he had exhibited when he had first walked into the room to speak with L. This satisfied L for some reason.
L pondered why this was as he chewed the end of a silver spoon in thought. The tea he had been drinking was long gone, and Watari had not yet been in to supply him with more.
"You want me to what?" Mello finally managed to choke out, jerking L from his thoughts. The teen's voice was shaking slightly, with an inflection to it that suggested that he was hoping he had misheard the detective.
Which in turn indicated to that detective that he had not misheard at all. L decided not to bother repeating himself. He was pushed for time as it was. He sighed in suppressed annoyance, lightly pressing a key on the laptop and leaning down to the microphone to speak.
"It is... necessary." he began delicately, "I would not ask you to do such a thing if I did not feel it was... absolutely vital-"
"Wait!" Mello cut him off, the confusion on his face turning to indignant anger, "So this means you've chosen him then."
L could see the anger and hurt in the boy's eyes. Which, he supposed, was fair enough, being turned down now after so many years of effort, years of sleepless nights studying, indeed, even cheating. And then to have this asked of him on top of that. Still, his self-oriented reaction did not fail to annoy L a little bit, so his long finger moved to the key-pad once more.
"I was 89% sure this would be your reaction." he dead-panned, "But there was a small percentage that you would behave in the manner of an unselfish, fundamentally good person, and actually demand the justification behind my request."
Mello recoiled at the soft words, his face stony in an attempt to hide the hurt that was plain in his eyes. He could never have been the next L. "But since you are more interested in your own concerns, I don't think that I will bother. Suffice to say that if you ignore my direction I will be-"
"L." came a tired voice from the door and L turned in his chair to see Watari standing there, a full teapot in one hand and a box of sugar cubes in the other. His eyes moved from his dark-eyed charge curled up in the armchair to the face of his other, younger charge on the computer screen. His eyes lit with recall and some other emotion the old man rarely wore.
"...Sad." the detective murmured to himself quietly.
"L?" came a confused and scared voice from the machine on his desk, and he turned back to the blond haired boy. His finger went again to the button.
"...Sad." he repeated so that Mello could hear. "I will be sad. Goodnight Mello." At the delicate touch of a button the image of the blond haired boy was replaced with black.
Watari came to stand next to L's chair and poured him a cup of tea in silence. As L began to open the box of sugar cubes the old man hesitantly opened his mouth to speak.
"Did- you just-?"
"Yes," L said softly, selecting a cube. "Mello knows what he must do. You have briefed Roger?" The first sugar cube fell into the tea cup.
"No- I was hoping... well, you might-"
"Change my mind?" L supplied.
He examined Watari out of the corner of his eye, a skill he had honed through much practise. The man was exhausted, that much was easy to see. Worn might be a better word. Worn thin like a rope, ready to break. It was rare moments like this when L wished he could be the one to bring Watari a hot cup of tea instead. Provide him with a deep, comfy armchair, maybe a warm crackling fire. Be the one to tell Watari that he needed rest.
Then it occurred to him that he didn't even know how Watari took his tea. If he even liked tea. He felt a strange, suffocating pressure in his heart at the thought, but ignored it as he ignored all feelings of that sort.
"No Watari. It's much too late for that." L said quietly as the sixth sugar cube fell into the cup. "I don't think... I will be alive for much longer...this case..." L stared into his tea, making no move to drink it or even pick it up. His face was blank, expressionless, but Watari knew him better than that.
"L..." he said, his voice gentle. L felt a firm and warm hand on his shoulder which brought the suffocating pressure back, but he shrugged both the feeling and the hand off. He set his jaw and turned his face from the old man.
"Please brief Roger, Watari. I'd rather not have to ask again." he said shortly. Watari sighed sadly and made to leave the room, before L's voice stopped him once again. This time it had a bitter edge.
"There is no time left to look for a person able enough to take my place, Watari." He said. His eyes were hard as flints; determined as he looked back into the eyes of his guardian. "My only choice is to create it myself."
"I only hope you know what you are doing, L." said Watari quietly.
"I thought you knew me better than that Watari." L replied, allowing himself a small, enigmatic smile. "I always know what I am doing."
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A/N + Disclaimer: Don't own Death Note. Wish I did. And now that that is overwith...
First Multiple Chapter Death Note story!!!! Yay!!!!!! *does a little dance* The good news is, I already have seven and a half chapters all typed up! So updates SHOULD be relatively regular. I was going to wait until the whole story was finished before posting any chapters, but then I thought 'What the hell, I'll just post it. I need the pressure anyway.'
Now nothing is very clear as of yet, I know, but: Stay tuned! There are many questions to be answered in the next chapter. Like: What exactly L has ordered Mello to do? What about this would make Watari worry? And what is Roger's role in all this?
Read on to find out! :D
Fun Fact: This chapter was pure agony to write, and I'm still not entirely sure I like it. In fact, I rewrote it twice, from different points of view. In the first writing I had L actually there in the room with Mello, but then I thought I'd better keep to canon and have him on his computer. Then I decided I wanted Watari in it, so I rewrote it again but changed Mello's point of view to Ls. I have heard a smart person say once that "writing is rewriting" so hopefully it's not all bad. =P
Anywho. Let me know what you think ;3
~CANDY