Title: Puzzle River Part 3 of 5: Dissolution
Fandom: Death Note
Characters: Near, Matt
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,300
Disclaimer: Not mine, no money, characters belong to Ohba and Obata.
Summary: Matt plays a piano piece for Near that pushes his emotions to the limits
"Near, could you please come over to the piano? Could you lean against the piano please?"
"Why?"
"Just try it, it's fun."
Near complied reluctantly, just so he could get away from the endless questions of the kids. He leaned an arm across the head of the piano so that his body was alongside the edge of the piano. However, he did not face Matt, but looked into a ring of bright eyes blinking at him from the darkness alive with flickering rivers. What an odd sensation of stepping into the unknown! Did they expect him to sing or something? Feeling really awkward, he flipped around so that he could look through the window, at his own reflection in the stained glass, smoldering like a pale candle.
"Near's favourite piece must definitely be architectural," mused Matt aloud, as his fingers began searching for a steady rhythm. What is the architecture of a river, with no beginning and no end, yet ever changing?"
"Da dum dum, da dum dum" Matt had decided to build his piece upon a waltz in G-major. Near could feel its steady reverberations pass from the piano's interior to his body, like heartbeats. It was very soothing. As his left hand kept up the harmonious pattern, his right hand created a clear, crystalline motif in the upper registers.
Near nodded coldly. Yes. It reminded him of Mozart, another child prodigy.
A cold and dry melody like ice above a river. But underneath... I can hear the deep undercurrents.Matt hit the pedal and the notes blurred together slightly, stirring ripples of disquietude in Near's soul.
"A puzzle river, with no beginning and no end, yet always changing. A brief season of mist, followed by frost, and the river is locked in ice. Spring comes, the sun melts the ice. Now... "Matt allowed swathes of silence to enter his piece. "Now we hear the snow begin to melt. Listen to the passing away tones! Give each note your full attention and watch it fade paler and paler away into the dark. Then the next rising note catches the dying note. Together, the dying and the new mix."
Near had a puzzling, unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach as he could no longer discriminate between harmony and melody, they seemed to function as one. He gritted his teeth and sought desperately to recover his grip on metronome before it sank beneath his hearing.
"It sounds like a harp!" remarked one of the kids.
"Yes, it shimmers. Perhaps glistening a little in the sun?" As Matt mused, he shifted the keys to a higher register. "How does the ice feel as it melts into the river? A little frightened? A little painful?"
The chords extended themselves in the air with agonizing languor and the melody began to thrill in a fascinating, virtuoso cascade that was propelling the listeners into uncharted waters. Near saw the faces of the kids crease in tension. Matt was daring everyone to share the emotions of the snow as it melts. The torturous suspense gripped everyone and all sighed in rapt unison when the final bitonal vibrations disappeared into the night.
Clap, clap, clap. "Good Heavens Matt," came Roger's voice from the door. One must think you have 20 fingers on each hand to play such a piece.
Matt looked too exhausted to say anything to Roger, only looked at him gloomily, while the children, looking stunned, stood up like sleepwalkers.
"Come along children, the bus is waiting. Near, Matt, take care of yourselves. There will only be the two of you here tonight."
As Roger departed, shutting the door quietly behind him, Near stole a nervous glance at Matt. Matt was resting his head against the board of piano. His hair and eyelashes looked slightly damp but the sidelong look he cast Near was full of devious mischief.
So it's the two of us now? Only the two of us in Wammy's House?"
So what if it is.
Matt laughed and rubbed his hands together. "Now its time for me to do something I've always dreamt about...particularly in a church."
Near's face paled and he asked cautiously. "which is..."
Matt proceeded to pull out a pouch with brown herbs, some papers and began rolling them. He lit up with a satisfied smile. Thick tendrils of smoke climbed up into the ceiling.
Near bit back a sigh, he had somehow expected something more threatening than smoke. That was why he restrained the criticism about to fly from the tip of his tongue and simply detached himself from the piano to press his face to the rippled surface of the stained glass, from which fresh breeze was issuing from cracks. As he breathed deeply, he contemplated his position. Matt was leaving, but seemed to have planned a final confrontation with him. Something that had the smell of Mello all over it. Had Mello contacted Matt, told him to meet up in Mexico? And his own future with the powerful new team he would summon.
But as he forecast his days ahead with his immaculately powerful investigation system, he felt a sudden, spontaneous rush of nausea.
"Sick of it all, Matt. I'm so sick of the world. I've had enough." Near was shocked at his own honesty. Was it the side-effect of the foul-smelling smoke?
"What else is left for me but the endless puzzles that I solve over and over til everything starts looking like me? I know my train set so well that putting in another joint means nothing. My lego castle has been combined and recombined so many times its all gone sour and stale. Everything is just me, me, me, locking together like the puzzles. I'm locked in my own mind!!!"
"Yes, the world must seem boring to a genius like you. Everything is too clear to be a challenge. But is it really? Take a test. Why don't you follow me, Near. We can leave together. Matt offered quietly. "Or do you hate freedom?"
"Shaddup Matt!"How many times had Near also longed to spread his wings in delight, rather than serve as the arrow of truth flying unerringly to its target? But he always held back because of duty.
"Its my duty to build up L's legacy. Who's going to take care of Wammy's House when all of you leave for your selfish reasons?" Near's fingers had stopped twirling his hair and begun to rub his temples instead. The more he suppressed his anxiety, the more his veins throbbed.
"Duty again? When will you get tired of using that excuse? I've been watching you, Near. I know you in and out. One day, when no one can stand being around you, you'll figure out the truth."
"There should be the three of us here, isn't it Near? We could've been Coil, Daneuve and L but we're too foolish to do it, aren't we? The ironic thing is you can only function as part of a group, yet you squeeze the life out of everyone around you with your capable fists."
"Tell me how the ice will feel without the sun to melt it"
Will you be the new god of boredom?
The tension that Near had been feeling all day suddenly struck, perhaps exacerbated by the smoke. His head was splitting and ears ringing. Near sank down slowly onto the stone floor and lost consciousness.
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