[[Holly: OMG THRILLING CONCLUSION TIEM!!11!1
L: The part where I win, you mean?
Holly: I spoiled that you didn't win in the introduction, remember?
L: Oh…right.
Mello: So obviously I won.
Matt: Yep, it was Mello!
Near: What about me?
Mello&Matt&L: SHUT UP NEAR.
Near: ;w;
Holly: I'm not revealing the winner yet, you guys…
L: I thought you said it was the thrilling conclusion?
Holly: I kind of lied. Oh well.]]
Yes, again, this is being told by Watari. And he actually gets to talk in this one, so that should be a little more clear…
Judgment day was so very close at hand.
Mello woke up with a start, far earlier than he would ever be caught dead waking up (ie at 11). Matt was already awake, curled up on his bed with his DS in his hands, muttering to himself as usual. Yawning, Mello shook his hair out of his eyes and cleared his throat, causing Matt to jump, fall backwards off the bed, and drop his DS.
"NOOOO! I ALMOST KILLED PANTERA CANTUS THAT TIME!"
"Uh, sorry?"
"Apology accepted."
Having retrieved his DS from the floor, Matt made some quick button presses, presumably to save the game, and turned the system off, tossing his bed and crashing onto Mello's bed with a huge grin on his face.
"So is it L and Near butt-kicking time yet?"
"A few more hours, I think. Don't worry, I saw the chocolate chips you put on the cake."
"Awww, those were supposed to be a surprise!"
"You showed them to me, Matt. I just didn't see you put them on. Thanks, though."
"Oh…yeah. Heh. You're welcome!"
Seemingly abashed, Matt scratched the back of his head and, apparently out of things to do that didn't involve video games, scrambled for his DS and turned it back on.
"What was that, a whole thirty seconds without playing? Is that a new record?"
"SHHH. PANTERA CANTUS."
Mello rolled his eyes. He reached under his pillow for that which he always kept close at hand- a giant bar of dark chocolate. He took a huge and unnecessarily violent bite out of it. Gesturing to Matt to follow him- he did, nearly walking into the door as he walked, refusing to take his eyes off the DS- Mello left the room, his eyes narrowed, looking weirdly angry, particularly next to Matt, who was somehow simultaneously playing DS and skipping. It was Mello, though, who ran smack into L. Literally.
"OW! Watch where you're go- oh."
"Hello, Mello. And Matt."
"Hiya, L!"
"Matt, stop being so nice to the enemy."
Mello's eyes narrowed further, if that was possible, and L narrowed his in response. Matt seemed entirely unfazed, as he barely looked up from his game and muttered to himself something about black planets.
"I hope you know that your chocolate disaster is about to be destroyed."
"WHAT?! WHERE? WHY?"
"I meant in competition."
"Oh. Um…no, yours is!"
"Great comeback."
"Shut up!"
"No, both of yours are."
The voice, sounding almost foreign to them in its confidence, belonged to Near, who was walking down the hallway towards them with an oddly disconcerting grin on his face. Mello and L exchanged glances before looking back at Near.
"Hey, uh, Near? What're you so happy about?"
"The fact that I'm going to kick your butts today. Why wouldn't I be happy?"
"Because you're going to lose. Horribly. I mean, you'll probably beat Mello, but-"
"Hey!"
The three of them broke into a loud argument. This was a common enough occurrence in Wammy's House, naturally, but it was unusual for Near to actually keep up with the others. Matt usually didn't participate in these screaming matches, naturally- he was level headed by nature and preferred to not argue. Of course, L was level headed usually, too, but Mello had a tendency to put him over the edge. The argument devolved soon enough into a simple and obvious back and forth.
"Vanilla!"
"Chocolate!"
"Strawberry!"
"Vanilla!"
"Chocolate!"
"Strawberry!"
Matt curled up on the floor, sitting the way L usually did, alternating between stabbing his DS screen with the stylus and chewing on it. Eventually, the argument was broken up- by me.
"You kids still arguing over the cake contest?"
"Yes, Watari."
"Well, are all your cakes done?"
"Uh huh."
"Yes."
"Yeah!"
"Okay then. I will proceed with the judging, then, if it will stop all this racket. Honestly, I can hear you boys from the other side of the house…"
I walked towards the kitchen, the three competing boys walking like obedient little ducklings in a row behind me, the last boy, realizing a little late that the rest of us had left, dashing after us. It was time to eat some cake.
I must admit, I knew what I was getting myself into.
"Mine first! Mine!"
"No, mine!"
"You have to try mine first, Watari. Their ridiculous cakes will overpower the deliciousness of mine."
"That's an argument, at least. L's first, then."
"Awww…"
I started cutting myself a slice of L's cake. The five of us crowded the kitchen, huddling around the table where the three cakes sat, all looking pretty and perfect. Matt, only vaguely interested, leaned against the table, face in his DS. L looked as though his excitement was only barely contained, and Mello's wasn't contained at all. Near, on the other hand, looked dead calm. It was…frightening. The piece of cake was cut, and I loaded it onto a plate and took a tiny bite.
"This is…quite good."
L's eyes were glowing as I dug into the cake. It was quite good; I would be lying if I said otherwise. Of course, I'd had L's cake many times before, and he never really changed the recipe. It was tasty but boring. I hadn't expected anything else, though- I'd be considering his cake the baseline. Perhaps one of the other boys would do better.
"Next, I will try…Near's."
Near grinned, which, combined with his calm demeanor, was kind of off-putting, in a strange way. I cut a slice into the pink cake. Mello looked irritated and impatient- as usual- but I knew that a chocolate cake would overpower any other flavors, and so I should save it for last. I took a bite.
"Oh…Near, this is…very good…"
I tried to restrain myself from saying anything further, but I couldn't help but smile. It was an unusual flavor for a cake, strawberry, but it was something different, and it was truly very good. Just as good as L's certainly, possibly even better. But unlike L's, it was something new. Something different. And that was worth some points. L and Mello's eyes shot daggers at Near, who simply beamed.
"One more, then?"
My stomach was sort of hurting at this point, but even so, I reached over to grab a piece of the chocolate cake. Mello grinned ridiculously widely, and evilly, and Matt looked up from his game for a moment to watch the proceedings. I, myself, was particularly fond of chocolate cake, but I hoped not to bias this one in Mello's favor. I took a bite.
"Ah, this is…"
It was pretty good. Rich, creamy, and very very chocolatey. There was an odd crunch to it that I couldn't identify, though; a very unpleasant crunch, with a weird, metallic taste to it. Blinking, I reached for a napkin and spat the cake into it. I couldn't help but look, even as L and Near burst into hysterical laughter. I recognized the pieces that littered the inside of the cake. They were purple.
"Car parts…?"
Near's laughter was renewed, echoing throughout the kitchen, and L's laughter matched it. Mello turned bright red, not from embarrassment, but from anger. Matt was upset enough to be roused to stand, his expression almost a pout.
"That's not cool, you guys! Who messed up Melly's cake?"
"…Matt, I don't think we can prove that either of these two did it. It could have been either one, or it could have been someone else. We don't know. All I can do is judge the cakes as they are, though unfortunately I'm not sure I can judge Mello's cake, as that was quite…unpleasant."
Mello looked like he was about to punch someone in the face. Near and L just kept on laughing.
"Well, would you like me to give the verdict now, then?"
They both shut up, instantly.
"I'll take that as a yes. Now, the best cake belongs to…"
"…Wait."
A voice came from the door. The fifth boy walked in, his shaggy dark hair hanging around his eyes. Had L not been in the room already, I might have thought it was L, but the subtle differences gave it away- slightly darker skin, slightly lighter hair, and, most notably a gleam to his eyes that gave him a frightening quality that L never possessed. And he was holding an odd looking cake in his hands. The other boys could only stare at him, open-mouthed.
Beyond Birthday just grinned, wickedly.
"…Jam cake? Ke…ke…ke…"
Holly: O HAI PREDICTABLE PLOT TWIST.
Mello: Can I murder Near?
L: That was pretty funny, actually.
Mello: I'm serious.
Matt: OMG, HANEKOMA WAS THE FALLEN ANGEL?!
Mello: Help me kill Near?
Matt: K.
Near: ;w;
Holly: R&R. You probably know what's coming, but even so, the epilogue remains!