L and the Chocolate Factory
Chapter III.
"Have I told you you're strange, Ryuuzaki?"
"More often than necessary, Raito-kun."
"You do know we're trespassing, right? It is against the law. Aren't you supposed to be on the side of the law, being a detective?"
"This isn't trespassing as we are actually invited to enter."
"But we could at least use the front gates! Climbing over the wall of a factory doesn't seem to be a guest-like attitude."
L gave Raito a blank stare. "The opening ceremony is being covered by the media."
Raito paused.
Oh, of course. The elusive L, the world's greatest detective, would definitely hate being seen worldwide by potential enemies.
"We still could've used disguises," grumbled Raito, dusting his coat of the debris that fell as he scaled the wall. "Or at least removed this maddening chain. It would make climbing walls a whole lot easier, don't you think?"
L shook his head, swinging his lithe form over the wall with little difficulty, to Raito's extreme irritation, to crouch at the ledge. "I will not risk you killing off half the population of a city jail, Raito-kun."
Raito spoke through grinded teeth. "I'm not Kira!"
L did not reply and instead pulled Raito up with surprising strength to one so frail-looking. When both of them were sitting at the top of the wall, they were able to see the snow-laden courtyard upon which several figures were walking.
"That would be the others, right?" asked Raito, dusting off his coat of the dirt that clung to it. "We should probably join them soon—"
"On three, Raito-kun. One, two—"
"What? Ryuuzaki, I—"
"—Three."
With two dull thuds, they fell on the ground. It was fortunate that the snow was thick enough to cushion their fall. L was better prepared for the landing, as he landed on his feet, only falling over with the momentum of Raito's rather ungainly descent. Groaning, Raito picked himself up.
"Damn you, Ryuuzaki!" he growled, glaring at the snow-covered but otherwise unperturbed detective who was staring at something ahead. "I swear, I'm going to—" he paused, all thoughts of the painful things he'd make the detective do before he dies fleeing Raito's mind. "What… is that?"
A loud, blaring music had reached their ears.
"Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka the amazing chocolatierWilly Wonka, Willy Wonka everybody give a cheer—"
L stood and began moving forward, transfixed, dragging Raito with him. He stopped besides the other transfixed audience of the horrible mechanical puppet show.
"—The greatest guy you'll ever meet!
Wonka here he is!"Fireworks erupted from the background, setting fire to the dancing and singing puppets and began melting them. Everyone quietly watched as the puppets sputtered and rotated jerkily until they finally ceased moving, leaving a grotesque sight of melted puppets and burnt decorations.
The sound of applause and a giggle made Raito and the rest of the winners look at the source. A strange, pale-looking man wearing a top hat over his dark bobbed hair, and a long coat stood beside the rich girl's father.
"Isn't that just magnificent? I was worried it was getting a little dodgy in the middle part but then the finale," he snickered. "Wow!"
The strange man climbed up the stairs to face his unmoving audience.
"Who're you?" asked the blonde girl in a tracksuit rather rudely, gazing up to the man.
"Isn't it obvious?" said the irate-looking boy. The boy crossed his arms and threw a look of contempt at the man. "He's weird and looks absolutely ridiculous. He must be Willy Wonka."
Raito had to admire the man for not reacting to such rudeness. In fact, Wonka seems to have not heard the boy. Everyone stared expectantly at the self-proclaimed 'chocolatier'.
"Good morning starshine. The earth says hello!" Wonka said, smiling. His large, goggle-like shades glinting in the morning light, hiding half of the strange man's face.
As nobody reacted, his smile began to waver. Feeling awkward with the silence, Wonka whipped out his cue cards and began to read on them uneasily.
"Dear guests, greetings. Welcome to the factory. I shake you warmly by the hand," he paused to reach out a gloved hand, but changed his mind upon seeing the cold looks he was receiving, and continued reading instead. "My name is Willy Wonka—"
The British girl interrupted him, waving a hand on the stage. "Shouldn't you be up there?"
The man paused to look at the girl oddly. "Well, I couldn't very well watch the show from up there, now could I, little girl?" he turned to the others, gesturing forward. "Let's get a move on, kids."
Everyone began moving after Wonka inside the factory. L and Raito hung back until everyone was inside before following them.
"Wonka-san is odd."
"I could say the same about you. Honestly Ryuuzaki, he greatly reminds me of you. Are you sure you don't know your family? He might be your missing twin."
"Sarcasm does not really affect me, Raito-kun."
"Vouldn't you want to know our names?"
Raito heard the large boy asked as they stepped on the threshold. He saw Wonka push the doors open.
"I can't see why it matters," came the nonchalant answer.
As they enter the large hall, Wonka paused and removed his coat, tossing it carelessly on the carpeted floor. "Just drop your coats anywhere."
"Mr. Wonka, it sure is toasty in here," commented the irate boy's father, removing his coat.
Wonka turned, rather startled. "Oh?" he paused but continued after a few seconds of thought, smiling mysteriously. "Oh yea. I have to keep it warm in here because my workers are used to extremely hot climate. They just can't stand the cold."
He began to walk ahead, but the blonde girl intercepted him in mid-step, and throw her arms around him, making the man gasp audibly in shock.
"Mr. Wonka, I'm Violet Beauregarde."
Wonka was obviously highly uncomfortable, as he met the determined gaze of the young girl.
"Oh…" he muttered. She looked up to Wonka with a wide smile, which Raito found rather disgusting, as she continued on chewing her gum. "I don't care," he said finally, trying to pry her arms off him.
"Well, you should care," she said smugly. "Because I'm going to win the special prize in the end."
He gave her a look that vaguely resembles a grimace, finally extracting himself from the girl's hold, and stepping away. "Well, you seem to be pretty confident, and confidence is cute."
Barely had the blonde girl, Violet, look at her mother to receive an approving nod, had the other girl step in front of Wonka, effectively startling the chocolatier once more. She smiled brightly at him and curtsied elegantly.
"I'm Veruca Salt. It's very nice to meet you, sir."
Wonka, recovering from his surprise, paused. "I always thought 'veruca' was a type of wart that always stuck at the bottom of your foot. Haha!" he ignored the indignant look the girl gave him and moved away, only to have his path blocked yet again, this time by the large boy still munching on his chocolate bar.
"I'm Augustus Gloop. I love your chocolates."
Wonka gave the boy an appraising look. "I can see that," he paused. "So do I. I never expected we have much in common."
He made a move to step forward, but changed his mind, whirling instead to face the irate-looking boy who merely glared at him. "You. You're Mike Teavee. You're the little devil who cracked the system. And you—" turning towards L who, wide-eyed, pointed at himself. Wonka gave the longest pause so far, then frowned. "Who're you?"
L dug on his pants' pockets and produced the Golden Ticket, clamped between his fingers. "I've won the last ticket. Hideki Ryuga."
The others had, by now, noticed their presence and were gawking at them, or more specifically, at the chain connecting Raito and the detective. Mike, the irate boy, snorted in disgust. "Fags."
Raito resisted the urge to punch the little bastard, and shifted his attention instead to his companion and the chocolatier. Wonka's frown had deepened considerably while L merely chewed on the pad of his thumb.
"This contest is for children only."
"Forgive me, Wonka-san, but you did not specify that there is an age limit for this contest. I read and studied the contest rules, and I haven't seen any reason why I shouldn't be allowed to participate."
"Oh..." Wonka, apparently surprised by the detective's logic, raised his eyebrows. "That's true, I suppose," he said, blinking, recovering his composure. He studied L's bearing quite intently. "I'd like to ask though, do you love sweets?"
Raito understood Wonka's line of thinking. Majority of people turn their backs from candies and other sweet stuff once they leave childhood; Raito himself was one of these. But if Wonka hoped to throw L off the tour because of that question, the chocolatier would be in some disappointment.
L gazed at Wonka steadily. "I wouldn't be here if I don't, Wonka-san."
If Wonka was surprised by that statement, he did a good job hiding it. He smiled widely. "Well, then, I don't see any reason why I shouldn't allow you to join. Welcome."
He glanced at the grownups. "And you must be their p-p—"
Mr. Salt, noticing his struggle, supplied. "Parents."
Wonka glanced at him in relief. "Yea. Moms and dads. Dad…? Papa…?" he trailed off, his eyes getting misty. He fell silent, for a while to the confusion of his guests. Then, as if he noticed the weird looks he was being given, he shook out of his stupor and smiled that vague smile of his. He turned to Raito, gesturing to L. "You are his guardian?"
"No," said L, kicking his loosely tied boots from his feet, then wriggling his toes. "I guard him."
Raito would have knocked the detective's head if not a voice interrupted him. "What's your name?" It was the British girl, Veruca. She was looking at him with a look that somehow reminds him of Misa. He shuddered.
"I'm Light. Light Yagami."
"That's such a pretty name," she gushed, latching on his arm. "I'm Veruca Salt."
"Uh… Nice to meet you."
"I want you."
Raito choked. "E-excuse me?"
But the girl had already ignored him and turned to her father instead. "Daddy, I want him as my boyfriend."
Mr. Salt had paled considerably. "Veruca, darling, you're barely twelve years old and—"
Veruca's eyes had turned to slits. "I'll be thirteen this March, and then I'll be a teen. I want him as a MY boyfriend."
"I… see," muttered the man, deflating visibly at his daughter's persistence. Then, drawing himself up to his full height, he turned to Raito. "Well, Mr. Yagami, how much do you want?"
Raito could feel his jaw dropping. Was the man actually trying to buy him? A snort came from behind him, but Raito was too stunned to bother with L just then.
Veruca smiled happily at her father before looking back at Raito. "I'll have you."
"No, you won't," said another voice determinedly. It was the gum-chewing girl, Violet, who was holding on to Raito's other arm. Raito could feel a forming headache coming. She looked up at him, with the same sickening expression. "He's going to be MINE."
Having to deal with Misa for almost a year now, he had learned to tune out her endless (and pointless) babbling effectively. Now, he used the same ability as the two girls began arguing rather loudly. Their parents joined in as well, attempting to break up the forming fight between the girls. He sighed dejectedly.
"Still popular as ever, ne, Raito-kun?"
"Shut up, Ryuuzaki."
A loud, ear-splitting whistle made everyone clap their hands over their ears and flinch. As the last of the echoes faded, Raito opened his eyes to see Wonka calmly pocketing the whistle and removing his earplugs.
L also removed his.
"Where the hell did you get that?" asked Raito, incensed, his ear still ringing quite loudly.
L glanced at him, before handing back the earplugs to Wonka. "I borrowed it," answered the detective simply.
"Okay, then," called Wonka brightly, making his way in front of his visibly shaken guests. "Let's move along."
They began walking once more, with the two girls separated from Raito by their parents (to his great relief), and sized each other up.
Veruca smiled tightly. "Let's be friends."
Violet returned the smile. "Best friends."
They latched arms and looked away from each other with determined faces.
Augustus, walking besides L, approached the detective. "Vould you like some chocolates? I think you might need some seeing as you're so thin and all."
L studied the boy, an index finger tapping his lips. "I'd like to say that I want some, but judging by the way you eat and how you won, I don't think you'd give me some. You're an unpleasant boy with an appalling appetite. There is about three percent that you'd tell me to buy my own chocolates if I said I'd want some; the other 97 percent is that I've unnerved you enough to give me some chocolate out of your own will after I finish speaking."
Sure enough, the boy's eyes widened, and the chocolate-covered mouth dropped open. Almost unconsciously, he dug in on his pockets to produce an unopened Wonka bar and handed it out to L.
"Thank you."
The boy nodded weakly and moved hastily away. L peeled the wrapper deftly with his fingers, and bit on the chocolate. Seeing Raito's eyes on him, he asked, "Do you want some chocolate, Raito-kun?"
Raito fought the urge to roll his eyes. "No, I don't. Ryuuzaki, you've traumatized the kid."
"Iie. I was merely stating facts."
"Yeah, sure," said Raito, watching the Bavarian boy pushing his chocolate bar towards his mother who was looking rather shocked. "If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you enjoyed terrorizing him."
L didn't reply and continued eating his chocolate.
"Here we are, everyone!" said Wonka, stopping in front of a tiny door. "Behind this room is the chocolate factory."
Mike, looking at the door curiously, said, "But why is the door so small?"
Wonka gave a small smile. "It's to keep all the great big chocolately goodness inside."
He produced a key chain holding voluminous collection of keys of all shapes and sizes and bent down. He inserted the key and slowly pushed the doors open.
The smell of sugar hit Raito's nose at once, much more stronger than the worst of L's daily ration of sweets. He almost choked at the sudden heady smell.
"W-what the hell is this place?" he muttered. He felt sudden twitching at his right, and glancing swiftly, he saw L's eyes widening more than usual, his mouth open in a silent cry.
The guests entered the room with something akin to wonder as they stepped out in a huge green meadow amongst which, ran a river of melted chocolate. Trees bent over by the amount of fruits they held scattered over the meadow, candy canes littered the ground and the magnificent sight of the chocolate waterfall held the gaze of everyone.
"Now, do be careful, my dear children. Don't lose your heads. Don't get overexcited," drawled Willy Wonka as he led them in, obviously relishing their expressions of wonder and awe. He smirked. "Just keep very… calm."
L dropped the chocolate bar he had been munching earlier… and yelled at the top of his lungs.
A/N:
Edit - added some new phrases, edited names and other grammar stuff...
As you can see, I'm following the 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie. I'll be using many lines that was used there and alter them to fit my sequences.
Please tell me what you think of this story.. Thanks again!