I am updating way too much rather than doing my homework. Which is very stupid of me, but I just can't seem to help it. Somebody please shoot me. Right now.
Just kidding! If you kill me, you'll never find out what happens next! Mwahahahaha!
Death Note - let's see... I own my laptop, my ducky, my lone glove, my horrible alarm clock and the monster that lives under my bed. Is Death Note on that list? I think not.
Chapter 5: Unraveling
Light flicked idly through the channels, the moonlight shining through his window and gently illuminating his room, his thoughts full of the events of the last few nights. Seeing his coven again, Ienipa's present, taunting L, leaving a trail of metaphorical breadcrumbs, being caught in the sunlight, being seen by L – not necessarily in that order.
News, news, sports, game show, news, documentary, news... Light sighed, leaving the TV as it was and turning instead to his bookcase, in a pointless attempt to find something to read; he already knew all of the books word-for-word and could probably recite them from memory, so what was the point in reading them again? Nevertheless, Light had nothing better to do, so he settled himself down with his battered copy of Dracula – yes, he appreciated the irony – and turning to the first page.
After reading only five words, Light felt his mind start to drift, and he started wondering what the great L could possibly be doing now. Sleeping, if he was anything like every other human being on the planet... then again, had he not proved time and time again that he was nothing like every other human? There had been several occasions where Light had been pleasantly surprised by L's level of insight and intuition – his thought processes were so similar to what Light's had been as a human. He was sure that L would make a fantastic vampire, whoever he was.
Tossing the book aside, Light turned back to the television, his mind automatically storing the information that police had finally caught up to several well known criminals – how frustrating to have them take all of the credit for my work, Light thought angrily – and the fact that a very important businessman had recently died of an unexpected heart attack. Light shook his head despairingly; humans were such delicate creatures. It took only one small fault in their incredibly complex bodies, and they were dead. Though the man had had no previous heart troubles such things were not terribly uncommon, so Light shrugged it off as another of life's little oddities.
Without anyone here to witness his strange habits, Light felt free; he would often practice his fighting techniques, or extend his genius to its limit here in the safety of his apartment. Sometimes he would try his hand at singing or dancing; he had even discovered his talent for painting, something that he had always scorned in his human life.
Light gazed blankly at the painting hanging on the wall – one of his own, detailing several shinigami in their realm, as described to him by his coven, watching the human world; six shadowy figures with red eyes in particular. Perhaps he shouldn't leave it where it could be seen by anyone who entered his apartment, but Light doubted that any human would make the connection between Light, the shinigami and the six humanoids they were watching.
Heaving another sigh, Light drifted over to his laptop, logging into his new email account in one browser window, using another to hack into the police data base. Having refreshed the page several times, he saw that something new had appeared. A smug smirk curled his mouth when he saw the report on C – it seemed that they hadn't seen his little message, though Light didn't doubt that L had immediately picked up on it. He had already left behind another note, and was eagerly awaiting the results.
Light frowned when the doorbell rang – he immediately minimised the screen, closing his laptop and muting the television.
"Just a minute!" He called, his voice surprisingly even, to his great surprise. Inside, he was fuming; who would be calling at this time of the night? It wasn't something that normal humans did; what was going on?
"Hello?" Light asked politely, opening the door to reveal his rather unwelcome visitor; the young man was dressed sharply, black hair neat, eyes cool and calculating behind his glasses. Light was admittedly rather impressed – though he was quite aware that looks were not terribly important in the grand scheme of things, he did acknowledge that it was always good to appear presentable, if for no other reason than to make a good first impression. This man had the appearance of a lawyer or a respectable businessman; intelligent and likely ruthless.
"I apologise for the late hour of my visit, but I regret that I must ask you for a favour. You see, I've just moved in down the corridor, and I'm afraid that none of my belongings have been delivered yet; I don't suppose you have any spare blankets, do you?" The young man got straight to the point, something that Light quite admired.
"Of course; if you'll just wait a moment," Light requested, stepping back inside and reaching inside his small airing cupboard, pulling out several of his clean burgundy sheets.
"Will these suffice?" He asked, handing them to the man. A hint of a smile curved the corners of the man's mouth, and Light felt a small shiver run down his spine at the expression; it reminded him of Kietheren's savage grin when he was devising a new way to hunt his chosen prey.
"Yes, thank you," the man responded, bowing politely to Light before turning to walk back to his apartment. Watching him walk away, Light again felt that shiver of unease run down his spine; his eyes glowed a disturbing red as he gazed curiously above the young man's head.
Teru Mikami. I think I will have to remember you.
Light's hand tightened around his phone, his breathing ragged as he waited anxiously for someone to pick up. He knew that they were in different time zones, but it shouldn't be taking them this long to answer, surely.
"Hello, who's calling please?" Yoru's voice echoed down the phone, and Light felt himself sag against the wall in relief at the familiar tone.
"Yoru, it's me," Light growled. "I need you to tell me something, and don't bother with any of your word games. Is it possible for humans to have death eyes?" Light gripped the phone so hard that a distant part of his mind began to panic over whether he would break the small handheld before Yoru had a chance to answer.
"That would depend. Could you see the lifespan of the human?" Yoru asked, his voice thoughtful and full of something that Light couldn't quite place. He supposed he would describe it as a strange blend of fear and excitement.
"What kind of stupid question is that? Of course I could!" Light hissed angrily. Yoru chuckled quietly, which only served to anger Light further.
"How very interesting... Tell me, Light, what was the name of this human?" Yoru enquired curiously, and Light snarled furiously down the phone. He had no time for this! There was a human committing mass murder, using the justification that it's his victims' 'time to die'. Light felt sick at the thought of the disgusting piece of filth he had encountered earlier that day. The human hadn't appeared to notice him, but he had been continuously muttering to himself; Light had heard enough to confirm that this was the criminal mastermind behind the Wara Ningyo murders.
"Beyond Birthday," Light responded. "But I don't see how that's relevant!"
"Oh, it's not; I was just curious. In answer to your question, Light; yes, it is possible for humans to possess the eyes of death, but for them to do so without making the deal with a shinigami is indeed rare. I have seen only three instances in my lifetime," Yoru said, finally answering Light's original question.
"Alright," Light sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache starting to build behind his eyes. The sun was close to rising, and Light was exhausted. "Thank you, Yoru."
"You're welcome," Yoru replied amiably. "Goodbye, Light."
"Bye," Light said shortly, and hung up. Slowly, so slowly, his eyes opened, the irises a stunning, terrifyingly beautiful crimson.
"I guess I'll be busy tomorrow," he muttered, a broad grin spreading across his face, turning his features positively demonic. Light didn't care about that.
C would have to prepare in order to outwit B.
There was a click, before a cool female voice sounded through the speakers.
"Welcome to the One True Soulmate hotline; for those of you searching for long term relationships and commitments..." L felt his mind go blank with something very much like shock, or horror, or perhaps utter, homicidal rage. He should've guessed that C would pull a stunt like this, rather than risk communicating directly with L, yet it didn't stop the irrational surge of anger that flooded his mind.
"If you're looking for foxy females, press one..." The voice continued, and L resisted the urge to hurl the phone across the room. He kept listening, despite the fact that his instincts were screaming at him to hang up already; C was probably getting a good laugh out of this. Still, there was also the very slim possibility that C might have used this to try and communicate with him.
The voice changed suddenly, and L gripped the phone, an excited grin blooming on his face. This person was male, and sounded as though he was endlessly amused. His voice was warm, and he sounded young – possibly even adolescent.
L had never heard a more appealing voice.
"And if you're searching for C, please hold. An automated message will play in precisely one minute." A slight buzzing sound filled L's ears, and he felt an excited laugh bubbling in his chest and throat; one that he promptly crushed, in favour of sitting stoically and counting down the seconds.
After exactly sixty seconds, the buzzing sound ended abruptly, and there was a slight pause before the message began to play. L took the phone from his ear to stare at the thing, his jaw unhinged as he recognised the music now filtering through the speakers. This time, he really did throw his phone across the room, where it thankfully bounced on the carpet without breaking. The music continued to play.
"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down,
"Never gonna run around and desert you..."
Light chuckled softly. It had been ridiculously easy to convince Akuma to play the part of the woman working for the dating agency; she had found his prank utterly hilarious, and had agreed immediately.
It was a shame, Light reflected, that L hadn't waited to hear the end of the message. In it, he had included plenty of information about himself that he was certain L was just dying to know. Ah well. He would have to dispose of this number now, in order to prevent L ever listening to the entirety of the message.
He would just have to find another way to get through to the detective.
Light raised a hand to knock politely on the door, in a way that completely disregarded the severity of the current situation. He heard a flurry of movement from within the room, but no voice called out, and no move was made to open the door. Light sighed resignedly – he had been hoping that it wouldn't come to this.
Easily tearing the door from its hinges, Light stood on the threshold, peering cautiously into the room, gladly noticing that Beyond Birthday still had his back to the door; though that would only last for perhaps half a second more. Light rushed forward, thankful that he had had the presence of mind to gain permission to enter from the original purchaser of this hotel room; Beyond's supposed intended victim.
Light had been lucky – Beyond had not had enough time to foolishly implement his plan. The cameras had already been disarmed along with the smoke detector, and Light knew that had he left it any longer, Beyond would have undoubtedly doused himself with petrol before setting himself alight. Light grasped the young human's arms, twisting them behind his back and keeping his face hidden.
"You know," Light began conversationally. "There was just one flaw with this oh-so brilliant plan of yours. Would you like to know what it was?" His voice was purposefully taunting, mocking, designed to keep the young murderer occupied until Naomi Misora finally got her arse in gear and realised who the murderer truly was.
"Kyahaha. So, C, you managed to catch me? Congrats. So what now? You gonna knock me unconscious and leave a little note, like all the other times?" Beyond's voice, surprisingly enough, was joyous and triumphant, as though he had just won rather than lost.
"I'm not sure. Maybe. First, would you care telling me how you came to have those lovely red eyes of yours?" Light asked, knowing full well that only Beyond would understand something like that.
"They came with my face," Beyond responded sarcastically, though Light heard his true meaning; he had been born with the eyes.
"How fascinating. Tell me, Beyond Birthday, can you see your own lifespan?" Light felt a surge of malicious pleasure at Beyond's shocked gasp; after all, Light wasn't supposed to know his name. Still, Beyond managed to gather himself with admirable speed.
"Of course not," Beyond responded contemptuously, as though such a thing should be common knowledge.
"And that is where your scheme was destined to fail – you still have a few years left, Beyond Birthday. Assuming, of course, that no one decides to interfere."
"Come on, C, I'm sure you're just dying to know why I did this – would you like me to tell you? After all, I've lost now," Beyond said, his voice a mocking imitation of remorseful.
"I'm not so sure that you have lost," Light said thoughtfully. "I'm not entirely certain what your aim was, but I get the distinct feeling that it has somehow been achieved."
"Perceptive indeed, Mr. C. Yes, I have won; shall I tell you why? Hm? I've won because you solved this case and not L. I wanted to create the perfect crime, one that even the great L couldn't solve. And I succeeded! You were the one who caught me, not L! I finally defeated him!"
"Oh? Because I can hear his little puppet running towards us as we speak," Light laughed; indeed, he could hear the thundering footsteps of Naomi Misora as she hurtled down the corridor, probably wondering what on earth Beyond was planning.
"In that case, tell me something about yourself, C. After all, you seem to know a lot about me. How about your name?" Beyond laughed, his slightly manic voice reminding Light uneasily of Kietheren.
"I'm afraid we're out of time, Beyond Birthday. But it was a pleasure to meet you," Light said politely as Naomi rushed into the room, stopping dead at the sight of the mass-murderer being forcibly restrained by a seventeen-year-old boy.
"Ah, Naomi, I've been waiting for you. If you would be so kind as to blindfold and handcuff Beyond here, I would be most grateful," Light said, 'turning on the charm', to use the somewhat vulgar phrase preferred by Akuma. Naomi stood for another moment, completely frozen, before she snapped out of her daze, following his orders quickly and efficiently; something that Light not only admired but was also very thankful for.
"Thank you. Now, if you would keep our meeting to yourself, I would most certainly be eternally in your debt," Light said, smiling warmly at her.
"I – of course! But who are you?" Naomi asked, her voice an amusing blend of confused, defensive, angry and afraid. Such a typical human, though she was admittedly an excellent FBI agent.
"Here is my card," Light said, brushing dismissively past her, and handing her a small square of off-white parchment, emblazoned with his trademark cross.
"But... C, wait!" She called, turning to him. Light paused, tilting his head in her general direction to indicate that he was listening.
"Thank you! And... Will I see you again? I really admire your work, and..." Light cut her off.
"I expect you'll be seeing me again. You are, after all, the only one who knows the face of the mysterious C." Light smiled at her one last time before spinning around and sprinting away, determined to leave before the backup Misora had undoubtedly called for arrived. Besides, he would have to find a way to evade them in broad daylight, a task he certainly wasn't looking forward to.
Honestly, it made him wonder if being a secret detective and vampire was really all it was cracked up to be.
"L, you need to stop obsessing over the man you saw fall," Watari told him gently, forcing a piece of cheesecake into L's unresisting hand.
Five minutes later: "L, please stop moping over C. I'm sure he'll leave another message for you soon."
Seventeen minutes later: "L, for crying out loud, this is bordering on unhealthy!"
L had thus ignored every one of Watari's pleas, and he intended to continue doing so for as long as necessary. He was well aware that his obsessions were unhealthy and bordering on unnatural, but L had never really been one for worrying about his health, and he certainly didn't care one jot about normality. He was going to figure this out, or die trying!
Maybe he was just being melodramatic. However, the point still stood that these were perhaps the most stimulating problems he had been faced with since... ever. Of all the criminals he had encountered, all of the cases he had taken on, these two people were by far proving to be the most challenging puzzles he could have wished for. They were both so mysterious, so out-of-the-ordinary. It was fascinating and disturbing at the same time.
Shaking his head slightly, L turned to the window, his thoughts miles away, focused entirely upon the frustrating little message sent to him by C; he was certain that it was not yet finished, and he was anxiously awaiting the last piece of the puzzle, so to speak.
"L, it seems that you're in luck," Watari said, walking briskly into the room with a stack of papers held carefully away from the banoffee pie that was balancing precariously on a tray in his other hand.
"I see that; thank God the bakery was still open at this hour," L agreed, reaching for the pie immediately, and Watari rolled his eyes.
"Actually L, I was referring to these," Watari sighed, handing L the papers and placing the banoffee pie carefully and strategically out of L's reach; L considered it cheating, whereas Watari would simply argue that it was being cautious. "Your 'friend' seems to have left another message." Gasping, L focused on the pages in front of him, flipping impatiently through them to find the relevant report. L felt a small frown crease his forehead as he read through the words, checking several times to make sure he hadn't misunderstood the message.
See, I think I know what your problem is. You're all so naive. You think the world is a place that you can change for the better. So very human; I wonder, how can you remain so hopeful when surrounded by destruction and
death? I suppose in a way, I can admire that unwavering sense of optimism. The world through my eyes is far darker, stained with red.
Thank you for having hope.
L thought through the complete message several times, yet he always reached the same conclusion. Having finally unravelled the hidden question, he felt oddly deflated, yet he also felt the stirrings of something very much akin to pity somewhere deep within him. It sounded as though C had given up completely on humanity.
Then there was the message itself; it was so morbid, and slightly frightening. L couldn't help but wonder if C himself was a 'child of the night' – if so, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor man.
L, do you know, children of the night see death?
Harhar, L got Rick Roll'd. XD Sorry guys, couldn't resist it. I just had to put that in somewhere.
Le gasp! Beyond Birthday! Yes, like every other fangirl in existence I fell in love with him the instant I read Another Note. How could you not love a homicidal jam-loving maniac who looks and acts like L? Unfortunately for me, he's a very hard character to pin down, so I hope I did him justice.
Also, I'm kinda surprised. Thus far, no one has picked up on the titles. There's something special about them. See if you can work it out.
And I promise that Naomi Misora is very important. Simply because Death Note does not have enough strong female characters, and I wish Naomi could've had a bigger role.