Death Note Alternate Reality- Welsh Edition
Chapter 7- The Blue herring painted Red
Near's Room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd site, eleven ante-meridian, three days later
While Mello was still very much asleep, having stayed out late for many nights in a row, Near was awake, and attempting to form what he knew together into a coherent story.
The deaths were always organised within the United Kingdom, and had recently stopped, yet Mello had reported that empty crates presumably once containing apples had still been arriving at the mail... this suggested that... the killings had extended to international targets, ones beyond the MI-five's view. Whether these targets were criminals or not would greatly affect his view on the case. If it turned out that the targets happened to be criminals, then it was clear that the deliveries were nothing more than a diversion... in which case, there would be nothing to smuggle.
And that would mean that the killings were far more likely to be the work of... a vigilante, or at least a set of them, one which perhaps pretends to fund criminals for deliveries before killing them... but then there's the cases in which victims died of heart attacks and acute lymph cancer... these seemed beyond any vigilante's capability. In which case, this 'Mafia' was less an organised crime syndicate and more an organised murder scheme, the murders being the primary objective, possibly with powers beyond the average person's grasp. Near was unsure about any international criminal deaths, but new of someone who would be able to help him out...
Opening his computer, he turned it on, and after waiting for it to boot up, he accessed 'Skype', and, as expected, 'Ryuzaki' was online. Clicking on his icon, he pressed the 'call' button, and waited for a moment before hearing a monotonous, weak-sounding, "Hello?"
"Hello, Ryuzaki. I have called relating to the case, naturally. I do not think that this case is an organised smuggling group after all..." Near mumbled, "...after seeing the behaviour of some of the 'Bangor Mafia' members last night, I can..." Near paused, feeling his lips slightly before continuing, "...safely say the majority of them are behaving in manners not out of the ordinary."
"...you say 'the majority'. Why is that?" L asked.
"...Mello... I mean, Michael... claims that Matthew Dave, the person who corresponded with the very first address you obtained, has been behaving strangely, waiting outside the mail office every day..." Near looked downwards, "...according to you, the deaths have stopped in Britain, am I right?"
L nodded through his web-cam, "That is correct."
"...well, considering Matthew's behaviour, I can assume he is an active member, and that he is using these deliveries as confirmation of deaths..." Near muttered, "...the fact that he's continuing to stay there, if Mello is to be trusted, is that... they have extended their 'delivery mules' to international targets. If they are criminals, then this could have certain implications..."
L smiled slightly, and he said, "You're thinking that the varying addresses and deliveries are decoys for the real business of the 'Mafia', aren't you? I'm impressed, Nathan. You believe that this person or group is aiming, not to deliver or smuggle any illegal goods to Bangor University, but rather kill criminals. And this assumption relies on finding out about the most recently used people..."
"Exactly." Near mused, "I was wondering if you could help..."
L turned his eyes away for a moment, and said, "Ah... here we are. A Spanish serial killer by the name of Alejandro Bonito died yesterday, and eye-witnesses said that they saw him leave his post office, before climbing to the roof of the same building and jumping off it, dying of head injuries. Another was Ayman al-Zawahari... my, this one's fairly high profile... I presume you know who he is?"
Near nodded, "Second-in-command of Al-Qaeda. Set to be the successor of Osama bin Laden."
L sighed, "Correct. He died of a sudden heart attack after attempting to set up a raid on a holiday resort in Egypt. There's no sign of bizarre behaviour before he died, but it does seem contrived... because his entire team also died of heart attacks while declaring to the holiday-goers that they were going to kill them... this was on live news, as well..."
Near stopped and thought, "Both Mello and myself seem to believe that whoever is in charge of this organisation... if it is an organisation, has supernatural powers of some sort. But if this person is Matthew Dave... then we would already be dead. Could it be that he's being used by this supernatural leader as a decoy, like all the other addresses, and is just being used more extensively than the others. It's clear this force can control others' actions..."
L nodded, "He almost certainly has supernatural abilities. What struck me as particularly odd was that these people died right after their names were shown next to their photographs on television. I was watching it via live-stream on a computer, so anyone with an internet connection, student or not, would know their names of interested enough to watch. Similarly, all the previous victims have had their names and faces revealed at some point in the media, and had extensive wikipedia articles on their crimes. Also... there's something else you should know... the thing that's made me think about names and faces..."
"What is it, L?" Near asked.
"...an actor, by the name of Michael Caine, was found frozen to death in the Snowdon mountains yesterday. His wife had asked for a search party after he drove away from their house, not telling her where he had gone, beyond that he wanted to go mountain-climbing." L relayed, "And it was found in a crevice, out of human view. It was only because a search party was looking for something that he was found at all... I think that this was an attempt to kill Mello..."
Near twirled his hair, and said, "I don't understand... the actor happens to share..." Near's eyes widened, and he began to smile somewhat inappropriately given this was discussing an innocent man's death, "...so, you're saying that this supernatural killer requires a name to kill. And this killer received Mello's alias', assuming it was his real name, and tried to kill 'Michael Caine'. But, it didn't kill Mello, but instead killed the actor..."
L grinned, "Yes. So, this confirms it. The one behind the killings is concerned with killing criminals, not smuggling, and has some form of supernatural capabilities that enable him to kill people who he knows the name of."
Near picked up a die, and rotated it within his hand, "...this case has just become... far more interesting... the first thing I need to do is notify Mello to be extra cautious of Matthew Dave. If he isn't being used, but is the head of this operation, or indeed is the only one in on this operation at all... then Mello will need to investigate him more carefully for the time being..."
Matt's room, Enlli Building, Ffriddoedd site, twelve o'clock midday
Matt was feeling particularly proud of himself, for reasons he never thought he would have been, too. The young man merrily hummed to himself, and he got out his Death Note, using his computer to find another target.
Even Ryuk was confused by this turn of events, and asked, "Hey, Matt... why so cheery? Isn't this the point where you become defensive and say you're only doing this because you have to?"
Matt grinned to himself, and said, "I'm too far gone for that. I've now figured what I'm gonna do with the Death Note... after I saved that holiday resort in Egypt, I realised what it is I've gotta do..."
Ryuk laughed to himself, "I see... so, you're going to become a superhero?"
Matt's expression became deadpan, and he said, "No. Heroes don't kill. I'm just going to do the right thing with these terrible powers. You know what, now that I've stretched my targets to big-time international criminals, I think that there's no need to send you apples... I can provide you a lot more entertainment this way..."
Ryuk stepped back in horror, "...n-not send me apples?"
Matt shook his head, "Ryuk, you don't understand at all, do you? After that party, those two people, 'Mike' and 'Nathan', had chance to investigate people who I'd already used as decoys. If I continue to hang around the mail office, then I'll just look like I'm standing out from the crowd... I need to occasionally set it up so they are looking suspicious, or simply stop what I'm doing. And seeing as the former would involve having to kill them, and simply cement myself as the most suspicious when I'm the last member of whatever group they think I'm part of standing. So the latter is required. Don't worry, Ryuk. I'll still buy you apples... every now and then. However, I've got a duty now... here are the targets I've got for today..."
Matt brought up a list of the FBI's most wanted terrorists, complete with names and photographs.
Matt smirked, "It's amazing what you can find on the internet, isn't it?"
Ryuk rolled his eyes, "It looks like you're enjoying this..."
"Well, the FBI clearly want these men dead." Matt pointed out, "I'm just going to help them along the way. I'll make their deaths of varying dates and times of death, not to mention various causes of death. I could make it seem like they've simply died of incompetent attempts at terrorist attacks. However, I have to admit if this exact wanted list suddenly depletes in one fell swoop, it'll draw attention... I need to pace these deaths over a long period of time... weeks, months if needs be... but then again... the agents who are after me aren't even looking for people beyond Britain. I bet they haven't noticed that I've moved my killings to international targets..."
Ryuk sat on Matt's bed, and said, "Don't you think underestimating your enemies isn't exactly the smartest thing to do?"
Matt looked at Ryuk, and nodded with what seemed to be respect, "You're right." Matt then turned his borderline neutral look to a glare, "...get off my bed."
Ryuk changed his posture from sitting to lying, and said, "Make me."
Matt growled a little, "...hmm. Well, I guess I'd better plan out this regime... I'll start with... Jamal Ahmed Mohammed Al Badawi. While the five million dollar reward for assisting in his capture would be nice, I think this is gonna be cheaper on the already skint American Government."
Ryuk rolled his eyes, "I'm in awe of your concern for your fellow man..."
Matt folded his arms, and then opened up a live-stream of international news, "...right, I'll also kill current criminals, that way I'll stop major crimes before they become continuous, like the crimes of these guys on the 'most wanted' list."
The news reporter cycled through various criminal reports throughout the world, before the news switched to more local topics, one of which caused Matt to freeze in horror.
"In Entertainment News, Michael Caine, renowned British Actor and Author, was found dead in Snowdonia, Wales. The seventy-nine year old was said to have driven from his home three days ago according to his wife, who requested a search party the next day. He was found dead yesterday, post-mortem reports indicate he died of hypothermia." a news reporter declared through Matt's computer.
"No... no..." Matt stammered, "...but... I said that he'd be out of public view..."
Ryuk grinned to himself, and muttered, "Well, a search party isn't the average public, is it? They were actively looking for a body..."
Matt's face became red, but his fury remained tranquil, "...if those agents find out about this... they'll become that much closer to finding out the truth..."
Ryuk cackled ever so slightly, "Well, you could always just trade half your lifespan for the Shinigami..."
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!" Matt snapped, hyperventilating afterwards, "...I AIN'T GIVING HALF MY LIFE TO A FREAK LIKE YOU!"
Matt breathed heavily, Ryuk not moving from Matt's bed. At this point, a knock on Matt's door was heard, causing Matt to turn to the sound in fear.
"W-what is it?" Matt asked.
"Matt, are you okay?" Halley's voice asked.
"Uh... just... just fine..." Matt mumbled.
"Are you sure?" Halley replied.
"...I'm just... a little tired of having to comfort my friend all the time..." Matt lied, having calmed down a little.
"...I see. Well, if you wanna talk, just say..." Halley's voice concluded, and steps towards her room were heard, before a door opening and shutting.
Matt looked into Ryuk's eyes, and scowled at him, whispering, "Ryuk, you'd best be grateful you're a superior life-form to me, because I would kill you with this thing if I had the chance..."
Ryuk wasn't at all fazed by this revelation, and simply said, "There's no need to be grateful. We Shinigami will always take our immortality for granted. There's very few ways a Shinigami can die. I guess you can say you're helping me do that in one way..."
Matt folded his arms, and sat on his chair again, "...what do you mean?"
Ryuk laughed ever so slightly, "...that Death Note there... didn't always belong to me. I stole it from a Shinigami named 'Sidoh'. It wouldn't surprise me if he comes down here to get it back. Otherwise, he's gonna die when he realises he's running out of life and has no Death Note to help him... it'll be funny if I see him as a pile of dust when I get back to the Shinigami World..."
Matt looked away from the Shinigami indignantly, "...you're a sick son-of-a-bitch, Ryuk. And here's me thinking humans were the only things that killed their own even when it isn't out of necessity..."
"You don't have a sense of humour, do you, Matt?" Ryuk remarked.
"Better than having a twisted one." Matt parried, "Come on, I have a lecture at one..."
"Hold on, you haven't even written that guy's name down..." Ryuk reminded Matt.
Matt put on a false smile, "...oh, thank you for noticing, Ryuk!"
Writing in the terrorist's name, and a cause of death, complete with details, Matt headed out of his room, his Marine Biology notebook in tow.
Dean Street Lecture Theatre, Dean Street, Bangor, Gwynedd, ten past one post-meridian
Matt walked into the lecture theatre late, and shuffled around until he found a seat next to Gary, who said, "Hey, Matt. You oversleep?"
"...yeah." Matt replied, forcing a false yawn as if to prove it, "So, what have I missed?"
"Well, we've currently covered the differences between Echinoderms and other Triploblastic life-forms. It's weird, they're radially symmetrical like Diploblasts even though they have a mesoderm..." Gary explained.
"That's cool. So, nothing else?" Matt asked.
"Oh yeah, stuff about how they're capable of regeneration." Gary added.
"Oh well, that's a no-brainer." Matt bragged, "It's obvious that starfish and stuff grow their appendages back..."
"Anyway, are you gonna listen to the lecture?" Gary complained, "We got two hours of this, so I'd like to get the most out of it."
"Sorry." Matt mused.
Suddenly, Gary seemed to counteract his aim, and said, "...oh, by the way, room inspections are supposed to be happening around two today... you get the email?"
Matt's eyes widened, and his face went white. He knew he had left the Death Note out on his desk... and this lecture was going until three. There was no way he could just leave the lecture theatre suddenly without looking suspicious... Matt shuddered to himself.
"...I haven't checked my emails recently..." Matt replied, and then said, "Anyway, let's stop talking now... let's get on with getting down some notes..."
Matt knew that writing down notes was the least of his concerns. He had to think of an excuse to leave early... anything... just to get out of the lecture theatre...
Forty minutes passed, and the information from the lecture had got in one ear and out the other. Matt began to look visibly panicked, and finally, the lecturer said, "Okay, the first half's done, we're going to take a break, but we'll restart at two."
Matt smiled to himself. This was his opportunity.
"Hey, Gary, I'm just gonna go to Aldi..." Matt said, and got up from his seat, "...I'll be right back."
Gary accepted the lie, and said, "Okay. Don't be late again..."
Matt didn't respond to this, and took off, putting his headphones on to drown out any jibes Ryuk would have to say on the way back.
Walking as quickly as he could without drawing attention, he headed up 'bitch hill' in record time, and finally got to the Ffriddoedd site. Rushing to the other side of the entrance to the site, he reached the Enlli Building, and headed up to the second floor via the stairs.
"Oh... oh... please tell me they haven't..." Matt said to himself as he entered his flat.
Walking to his room, he opened the door, and found his desk as it was, devoid of the one noticeable object... the Death Note.
"No... no..." Matt stammered, "...this... this can't be..."
Ryuk chuckled to himself lightly, his laughs building up gradually until he finally gave up all pretence of seriousness, and outright giggled to himself, "Nice job, idiot! And you had just figured what you were going to do with the Death Note as well... if this were a story, I'd call this a tragic moment..."
Matt turned to Ryuk, his face filled with rage, but lost his motivation to shout at the Shinigami, and instead, broke down in tears, "No... the Death Note... someone else has it... and... what if they start... start using it... what if they use it for selfish reasons... I..."
Ryuk rolled his eyes, "Please, someone bring me the world's smallest violin..."
Matt continued to cry to himself, and finally muttered, "Ryuk. How long did you say I have to recover the Death Note before it officially becomes the person who currently has its property?"
"Four hundred and ninety days." Ryuk stated.
Matt got up from the floor, "...well... provided that this inspector decides to use it... this could be interesting..."
"You calmed down fairly quickly..." Ryuk remarked.
Matt turned to Ryuk, "Well... I've just realised something... Ryuk, you wouldn't happen to be able to follow other humans than me, would you?"
Ryuk stopped and thought for a moment, and said, "Well, I suppose if that person had touched the Death Note in my possession, then there'd be no rules against it. We're only allowed to follow humans if we intend to kill them or give them a Death Note. So... I guess it'd be okay... you want me to go see that human, right?"
Matt nodded, "Well... I've still got a few pages of the Death Note in my pockets... I'll use them to get a few more crates of apples over here. This'll be my offering... in return... you have to do as I say..."
Ryuk grinned to himself, "If it's for apples, I'll happily co-operate... tell me what you have in mind..."
Matt sat down, and thought over a plan. Once he was done, Matt began to relay the ideas within his brain, "...this is what I want you to do. I expect you to do exactly as I say, no funny business. Of course, if you do, I can't exactly stop you, but... I hope you like apples as much as you say..."
"Can you just get on with telling me the plan?" Ryuk asked.
"...right, here goes..." Matt began to say, and began to explain a devious, extensive gambit...
Author's Note: And for the same reason as the Yotsuba arc, I shall reveal no more. Ha ha ha.
Seriously though. Spoilers, man!