Yup, I am aware of SexySpoon's story Love Me, Love Me Not. (Check it out! It's awesome-o. And check her out too…oh wait. XD lawl, that sounded wrong. But she's uber cool.) Our stories has the same idea, only L and Near aren't obsessed with yaoi. And this is not crack.
Summary: L assigns Mello and Near their new project: the Kira case.
Warning: Um…there isn't much of the beloved L in the beginning. :( Sorry. I love him, but right now, he's too busy working on the Los Angeles case. There will be hints of pairings later on. Spoilers. And I hope to gawd that Mello isn't OOC…
Some spoilers for Death Note: Another Note.
Disclaimer: Death Note is not mine to claim. This story is, however.
Mello is 16 and Near is 15. Ignore the ages please. )
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c h a p t e r o n e: MN meets Yagami Raito
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Lind L. Tailor.
That was name of the man sitting in front of a desk. The man had a permanent grimace planted on his face. His dark hair was wisped out, and it stopped under his chin. Though he looked very professional and well groomed, his eyes told a different story. But his appearance did not at all matter as the one sitting at the desk spoke:
"My name is Lind L. Tailor, widely known as 'L'."
Near blinked at the man's line. Clever, clever L. He had used another man to fake as him in order to lure in Kira. That concluded his reasons why he had told him and Mello not to worry about "L" broadcasting himself on the news. He took a small glance at Mello's way and, as he predicted, found him watching the video clip interestedly, a bar of chocolate dangling from his lips. There was a thoughtful expression in his narrowing blue-green eyes.
Near turned his attention back to the laptop. He watched as the man, currently acting as L, ranted about how Kira was evil and how he was going to bring Kira down. Near knew Kira had watched this playing on television, since L had sent them a copy of the tape used to broadcast in the Kanto region of Japan. He imagined that if Kira had tried to control his temper, he would eventually see through the acting and completely ignore the scripted spewing, thus saving himself from giving any clues to the actual L.
Unfortunately, the insults got the better of Kira. Soon, Tailor had suddenly clenched his heart and thrown his head up, gasping for air. When he had fallen onto the desk, Near snuck another look at Mello. The blond had his crossed legs rudely perched on Roger's desk and was leaning back into the chair off its front two legs. But the chair came back down on its all when Mello leaned in forward, dropping his feet on the ground.
"Impossible…" the gaping Mello had muttered, and his chocolate slipped from his mouth although he caught it before it reached the ground. "Killing without even being close to this guy…" Then a scrambled voice came on.
"Unbelieveable…"
Near almost smirked. Ah, he thought. This was L's plan to get Kira to confirm his suspicions.
"The person you killed, Kira, was actually a prisoner sentenced to be executed today," the scrambled voice spoke. "He had no media attention, so it was inevitable that you didn't know his existence."
A big "L" in Old Time font came up on screen: L's signature.
"But I, L, am real!"
"Yeah! You go L!" Mello shouted. He sat up straight in his chair, holding his chocolate bar, and preceded to punch the air. Near resisted rolling his eyes. Honestly, Mello could be so childish sometimes. However, he did agree with Mello. L's plan to get Kira to kill the actor "L" was impressive and daring. That was one thing Near would've never done without: declare a challenge against Kira publically. Indeed, L's challenge against Kira definitely threatened him, but Kira would still gladly oblige to murder L.
That was a big risk to take L, Near thought. It may turn out to be the most foolish or intellectual act I've seen from you.
He looked onward at the video, imagining Kira's reaction to L's declaration. The tape finished, leaving Near and Mello staring at the laptop in wonder.
"So, what did you think about the tape?" Roger asked. His elbows were propped on his desk and he rested his chin on his folded hands. He looked truly curious about the two boys' opinion. It didn't take long for Near to come up with his.
"I thought what L did to confirm his suspicions of how Kira was killing was—"
"That was awesome! Fuck yeah L!" Mello interrupted. He sat forward and gripped the sides of the chair, looking extremely ecstatic and proud of his idol, even managing to give a lopsided grin. Near inwardly sighed. Even though he felt the same way, he couldn't muster the emotion out of him. He looked to see Mello's face. Every sparkle, every centimeter the smirk took up, Near studied it. Mello was like a bundle of emotions and he often showed it easily. That was something Near had to learn from Mello.
Near felt a tingle in his stomach, unknown of the emotion he felt. Maybe it had something to do with Mello's smile…
Roger gave a small and amused smile at Mello. "I'm glad you feel that way Mello," he said. "Because L has a proposition for you…"
Mello perked up, awaiting the next words to be said.
"…both."
Mello's energetic face fell into an emotionless pout. Roger almost chuckled at his quick-to-fall response.
"L made us a proposition?" A dumbfounded Mello asked in horror. Roger nodded.
"But, I hate Near, much less work with him! There's no way I'm doing it with him!" Mello exclaimed, pointing at Near.
"Mello, please don't be irrational about this…"
"I'm not being irrational!" Mello retorted as he shot out from his seat. "I have a perfectly good reason to not work with that arrogant, emotionless ro—"
"Roger, I accept working with Mello for whatever L has offered for us," the white boy replied, not taking his eyes off of the ground. It wasn't that he didn't care; he did have the slightest bit of interest of handling an important case.
"Ah, I'm glad, Near, that you have accepted, despite conflicts between you and Mello," Roger said. Mello's jaw lacked open. He, for sure, was not letting Near getting the best of hand. Still, was it really worth working together?
That he was unsure of.
"Now all we need is Mello's confirmation of working with you, Near," Roger stated. He gave an expecting look at the blond who was fuming with anger. "Would you like to help Near along with the assignment L has given you two?"
Mello was torn from making the decision. Is this really worth losing my pride for? To work with that stuck up Near? I mean, this is L giving the assignment here…
And that's when he realized how stupid and oblivious he was. L's proposition was…
"Mello, Near…I might as well inform you two that your next assignment is a case. A very important case." Roger looked at Mello's shock stricken face and sighed.
"The Kira case," Roger said. But Mello already knew. And if he knew already, then Near had too.
Perhaps that was the reason why Near had accepted so willingly.
"I'll do it!" Mello exclaimed, ready to outdo the pale boy. He triumphantly looked at him as if to say 'what-of-it-now'. But Near just looked boringly around the room.
It was his indifference to everything that pissed Mello off.
I definitely won't let Near get the all credit! Damn smug bastard…
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At first, when Roger had entered into his office, it was unexpected to find a ruffled mop of black hair behind his leather chair, which had been turned. But once Roger had opened the door, the chair swung fully around, revealing a gaunt man clad in a flimsy white long-sleeved shirt and jeans. The man's legs were pulled up to his chest, and the first person he thought of ran cold shivers of fear down his spine. But, instead of glowing crimson, it was dull obsidian eyes that greeted the elder.
A feeling of relief replaced his fear. It was not him.
"Hello L," Roger greeted him calmly, smiling politely at him. "I did not expect you here in the midst of your case in Los Angeles."
"Yes, I myself could barely find time. But I did."
The elderly man slightly raised his brows in question, but he instead took a seat in a chair in front of his desk.
"You are probably wondering why I self-invited myself over to Whammy's," said L.
"Indeed I am," Roger said. "I don't understand what could have been more important than the case you are working on, instead coming to another country."
"Yes. I understand why you feel that way," L muttered. He sighed. "It's a shame that Beyond is committing these crimes once again. And here I thought he had died…well, apparently not."
The question of how he found the time coming to England was on the tip of Roger's tongue, but he held it down. He folded his hands together on the top of the desk, closing his eyes in thought. "What issues do you need to talk about?"
L brought a thumb to his lips and bit on it. "I'm sure you have heard of the Kira case before on the news media."
Roger nodded, unaware of L's next intentions.
There was a dramatic pause before L spoke again. "I want to give the case to Mello and Near."
Roger's eyebrows rose up before slightly creasing together in uncertainty. "Are you serious about this L?"
"Very serious, Roger," the man replied, removing the thumb from his mouth. He put both of his hands on the sides of the leather chair he was crouching on and pushed himself up from the chair. His eyes never left Roger's. "I want to test their abilities out."
Another moment of silence ensued before the unwilling one 'tsk'ed, feeling slightly dubious about Mello and Near's aptitudes.
"No," Roger blurted. He shook his head slowly. "The case…it's too dangerous and difficult."
"Exactly," L replied simply. "Mello and Near must be challenged more with cases that are more complicated and uses more thought processing than mere cases that only require two or three steps. The Kira case is unlike many of the cases they have had before."
"I'm sure we can get them a simpler assignment for each of them to sol—"
"Ah, but that is not the only part to the case that's beneficial for both of them," L had added. It was now clear to Roger that L definitely thought the Kira was important if the man even attempted to persuade him from changing his mind.
The man sighed. "Alright, L. Please do tell."
"Yes, well, as you can tell between Mello and Near's relationship with each other," L began, "they are not what you would call…friends. Acquaintances, if you look at them the best way." Sticking a thumb between his teeth again, due to an absence of a cup of tea and sugar cubes, he continued.
"That is a bit of a problem, you see. Mostly on Mello's part, because Near has no difficulty with him. But…just to make this simple, Mello has an abundance of traits that Near lacks. But Mello lacks what Near has an abundance of also. Therefore, if they work alone in future cases, they will not reach my level as quickly as they might have anticipated; but if they work together, they might be able to even better me."
Roger nodded, fully understanding L's words.
"That is one of the reasons why I am putting Mello and Near together on this 'project', as they say, to further bond their relationship. Or, at least, have them cooperate and learn from each other. And when they do learn from each other, I hope to select the best successor out of the two," he finished.
"Yes, I complete understand what you are saying L," the elderly man muttered. "Is there a reason as to why the Kira case appeals to you more than any other cases in the world?"
The detective looked up and made a thoughtful noise. "I suppose it is because I entrust them as clever and intelligent enough people to outwit Kira, besides me," L shrugged, dropping the modesty. "Besides, I cannot have two cases on hand that both include the risk of my life."
Roger frowned at this. "I still partially disagree with this, L. This also includes the risk of their lives as well."
The detective's gaze in the air drifted to the other. "That is true. However, I do not worry about them."
"How?" Roger calmly demanded. "They are only teenagers, and they have no experience whatsoever with cases that could possibly cost their lives."
"While that may be true, Near's clever plans and Mello's determination to stay alive will help them keep going in the case," L said, not mentioning the fact that Mello's emotional actions could put their lives in jeopardy. "I quite envy them, you know. They are partners and rivals at the same time. Competition helps them strive to work harder, but they also must assist each other in their work."
L sighed brooding. "They will have each other in future cases like these." He paused and turned to Roger. A flicker of an emotion Roger could not describe flashed in L's blackhole-like eyes. "That is, if you allow them to work on the Kira case…"
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That L…
Somewhere in a comfortable middle-class house located in a homely Japanese neighborhood, an intelligent, handsome, and sophisticated young man pounded his fists onto his desk, and a jolt of pain sprang up from the side of his hands. But he could care less in the situation he was in.
"Damn it!" He cried in rage, slamming his elbows the desk, knocking down a pencil or two. His fingers kneaded into his once well-groomed hair, messing up the brown locks and clawing at his head as to help make him think harder.
"How did he get me?!"
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A/N: I had to split the chapter into two. It was way too long for a first chappie. . How was it? (I don't know how I'm going to come up with this confusing and flabbergasting plot…uggghhh. Why must I have a life?)
If someone would be kind to show me a site where they have summaries of Another Note? (Or better: pages of it…)
