I really gotta do this now, because I am screwing up a classic story here.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Little Mermaid, Disney version or original, or Death Note. I'm kinda just screwing with it here.
Mello sighed, leaning back in his chair and unwrapping another chocolate bar. He'd called for Halle specifically, because she had gone and checked on the kid he and Matt had found, but she was taking forever to return to him. Taking a violent bite out of his chocolate bar out of annoyance, Mello watched the door and considered grabbing a servant to find the damn woman. It wasn't too far of a walk from the room they put him in to the music room where Mello was sitting, but Halle seemed unable to get from point A to point B as quickly as he wanted. Just as he decided to get up and search for her personally, the door opened.
"About time, Halle." He snapped, unable to help the jab at her tardiness. She scowled lightly.
"I was busy." She said shortly. "And Matt failed to mention how big Matsuda's fires were, let alone that there was more than one." Mello rolled his eyes and turned around. Why Roger had hired Matsuda was beyond him, but it wasn't a pressing issue for him at the moment. He glanced out of the window, but he was on the other side of the castle; as such, the window showed a busy street in town, and not his beloved ocean.
"Busy doing what?" He drawled, not really caring about what kept Halle occupied. Halle looked around, confusion tainting her face and voice.
"Huh..." She frowned. Mello turned to her in a flash, curious as to what had her looking so lost. "I was sure Matt would bring him out here..."
"Him?" Mello jumped up from his seat and grabbed Halle's shoulders roughly; though he was younger than her by quite a few years, he was tall enough to look her in the eye even though he was barefoot. His blue eyes met hers and were lit up in anticipation. "He's awake?"
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"So, we've been pretty much all over the castle." Matt looked at Nathaniel's blank eyes. The red head squinted at the paler boy, and Nathaniel held his gaze steadily. "And you haven't said one word yet." Nathaniel shrugged and looked away, finger tangling in his hair. Matt grabbed his hand and yanked it down, his face twitching slightly when Nathaniel turned and stared at him again. Feeling a bit weirded out by the empty stare, the red head let go of Nathaniel's hand quickly and kept walking. Feeling as though he'd done something wrong by wordlessly rejecting the red head's touch, Nathaniel reached forward and grabbed Matt's striped shirt by his elbow, holding the strange cloth firmly between his first finger and thumb. Matt stopped and stared at him, then shrugged and turned forward. "So, anyway, we're on our way to the- - -"
"Hey, look, it's the red-headed loser who always hangs out with Mello." They both stopped, Matt's body going tense underneath his fingertips. Nathaniel looked ahead of them to find a group of three in front of them before looking back at Matt. Matt was scowling, taking deep breaths with his fists clenched. Nathaniel hesitantly let go of Matt's arm, withdrawing and placing his finger in his hair again. He felt distinctly uncomfortable, but he was unable to glance away or even move from where he was standing to get help; Matt had been dragging him all over the castle at a fast pace and though it had gone from screaming agony to a dull roar, his legs were in more pain than he could ever have expected. All Nathaniel could do was watch as Matt prepared to face the three boys alone.
"What do you want?" The red head asked through clenched teeth. Something surprised Nathaniel- - -one moment, Matt was standing next to him, an annoyed look on his face and his fists clenched, ready to fight. The next, Matt was on the floor, clutching at his face and groaning quietly. Grateful that he had let go of Matt's arm when he did, Nathaniel moved to the side when one of the other boys jumped on Matt. Nathaniel grabbed onto a window ledge, the edge of the stone digging into his free palm while his other finger continued to twirl calmly through his hair. Another one of the boys joined in on the fight by jumping on Matt as well, though the third just shouted and kicked at Matt whenever he could. Nathaniel stared, horror growing inside his stomach and spreading outward; he'd never seen a fight before, not one like this. Blood was starting to fall freely down Matt's face and bruises were forming, but despite the commotion they were making the hallway remained empty. Nathaniel wasn't sure what he should do- - -should he join in, though it was more likely that rather than helping Matt, he would get injured as well? Should he run and get help? Who would he get to help, how would he get them to understand what was happening, if he couldn't speak? Inwardly, he was panicking, thoughts racing around his mind as he tried to think of a solution, but outwardly he couldn't do much but look around in the hopes that someone would come running.
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Halle and Mello both jumped when they heard something crash to the ground. Mello pulled away instinctively, flushing a slight red at the thought of being found so close to the older woman. A pained grunt followed shortly after the sound, and Mello remembered Matt. They looked at each other with wide eyes, worry starting to form in Mello's stomach for his red headed friend. Halle seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she didn't hesitate to turn and run out into the hallway; Mello followed her closely.
"Matt!" Mello stopped short of the group of four, who all stood up straight. The two on the floor were still scrambling up, pushing themselves up over a groaning pile with red hair- - -Matt. Blood coated their faces and clothes, dripping slightly off of their fingers as well.
"Mello-sama." They said together, bowing respectfully. Mello scowled darkly, making them all cower in fear.
"I thought I told you to stop picking on Matt." They exchanged guilty looks, not one of them looking back at the crumple red head trying to pick himself up off the floor. Mello shook his head, walking around them to pull Matt up. Matt grinned at him as they clasped hands.
"Thanks, Mels." Mello shook his head, pulling Matt up and dragging the red head behind him into the room. Matt turned around and stuck his tongue out at the three boys, snickering when they glared back spitefully. Halle looked to the side and saw Nathaniel leaning against the wall, blinking slowly and twirling his hair. She smiled kindly at him.
"Come on, dear." Halle said soothingly, holding her hand out to him. Nathaniel eyed the offered appendage wearily, his finger tightening and yanking a couple of strands of hair from his head; he didn't feel comfortable touching anyone, but he felt it would be rude to ignore her completely. Halle pursed her lips, but continued to hold out her hand in hopes that he would take it. "Mello would still want to talk to you." Nathaniel looked at her suddenly, his eyes still wide and blank, and Halle cringed back instinctively. He blinked once and walked around her, avoiding her hand.
Halle brought her hand to her side, following after him wearily.
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"What were you doing?" Mello snapped in annoyance. Matt coughed slightly in response, and Mello made a disapproving sound in the back of his throat. "Honestly, you're going mad, Matt!"
"It's not my fault." Matt coughed some more as Mello pushed him into the chair that he had vacated and wrinkled his nose. Mello sighed, using his arm to wipe off the blood that tricked down from Matt's temple.
"No?" He questioned lightly, rolling his eyes. "And whose fault is it? I told you not to go running around this place by yourself. You know that people think you shouldn't be here and resent you for it."
"I wasn't by myself." Matt muttered sullenly. "Honestly I'm not that stupid." Mello made an encouraging noise in the back of his throat and Matt realized that Mello didn't know that Nathaniel had woken up. "Oh, right!" Matt pulled away from Mello to look up at him, ignoring the blood that rushed down by his emerald eye. "Mels, that kid woke up."
"What?" Mello's face split open in a grin and without a second thought, he turned around. "Halle, you never said- - -" He turned at the same time Halle walked in, Nathaniel behind her. The boy was as pale as Mello remembered, though the whiteness of his hair stood out even more against the bright clothes Roger had ordered him to be dressed in. His eyes were pitch black and wide, looking around the room with disinterest before locking with Mello's blue. He stared at Nathaniel for a few seconds, taking him in and feeling his heart race at the thought of being able to talk to his savior. "Hey." Mello said softly, biting his lip in nervousness. Nathaniel blinked at him before looking around at the room they were in again, his eyes focused on the busy street.
Mello scowled.
"He doesn't talk, Mello." Halle interrupted, frustration in her voice. She continued speaking in the hopes of getting through to the blonde before he did or said something he would regret. "Nothing. And we don't know anything about him, Mello. No one is missing a small, pale boy of his description anywhere!" Mello looked Nathaniel over again, not listening to Halle at all. His face twitched slightly at the sight of so much color on the pale boy; he made a mental note to redesign Nathaniel's wardrobe so that he only had white clothes. Anything else on him looked too off.
Matt snickered, making the blonde realize he'd been staring at the pale boy for far too long; he flushed darkly, elbowing the laughing red head harshly. Matt coughed slightly, but stopped laughing, his smile not fading away. Licking his lips, Mello directed another question at Nathaniel.
"So, where ya from, kid?" Nathaniel looked at him again, then blinked and brought his hand to his hair, twirling slivery locks between his pale fingers. The blonde looked very similar to the first time he saw him, Nathaniel decided. He was wearing all black, a complete opposite to himself, though his feet were bare against the cold floor instead of laced up in his boots. Nathaniel's eye traced over Mello's blonde hair, framing his face in a way that wouldn't happen under the water, taking in the emotions on his face as they flickered across. Excitement that faded into confusion which was starting to bleed into anger...it was too much for Nathaniel, especially with the street just outside catching his interest. Mello frowned lightly as Nathaniel looked around again. "Hey."
"Mello," The blonde woman started exasperatedly, "he can't- - -" Mello cut across Halle again.
"Hey!" Nathaniel's black eyes locked on Mello's blue, blinking once at the loud volume of Mello's voice; the blonde had moved closer to ensure he'd gotten Nathaniel's attention. Mello glared at him, his face beginning to contort into a scowl at being ignored by the boy he'd saved. "Can you hear me?" Nathaniel nodded slowly, twining his hair around his finger so tightly strands were being pulled from his scalp. His legs, unnoticed in his new baggy pants, were beginning to shake from exertion. "All right, then. Where are you from?" Nathaniel looked up at the ceiling, his mind rushing to think of an explanation; something told him Mello wouldn't believe he came from the sea, and he hasn't the faintest idea what he could tell the blonde.
Perhaps he should have planned this with Kira and Misa a bit better.
"Mello- - -" Halle tried desperately.
"Quiet, Halle!" He snapped at her, making her step back slightly with a hurt look. Mello grabbed Nathaniel's chin and forced him to look at Mello again. Despite his tight grip, he made sure to gently pull Nathaniel's face down. He also took care to keep his hand slightly loose, so as not to leave any bruises on the boy's pale skin. "Can you talk at all, kid?" Nathaniel's eyes snapped back to Mello. Indignation flooded through his body, and he reacted instinctively.
'Of course I can!' was out before Nathaniel could think. 'I'm perfectly capable of talking if I chose.' Mello blinked at him and Nathaniel realized belatedly that no sound came out. His legs wobbled more noticeably, and his hand fell from his hair as he nearly hit the floor. Mello moved quickly, though, catching the boy's arms before he could hit the floor and keeping him standing. Nathaniel felt embarrassment course through his body and was extremely grateful that he couldn't blush the way he knew he would have. Nathaniel sighed inaudibly and shook his head slowly, fingers twirling his hair faster as he silently answered Mello's question.
"Ah, whatever." Mello frowned at him in confusion, though he made sure that Nathaniel wasn't about to fall again before he let go of the paler boy's arms. He pulled back and turned to Halle, all of a sudden hungrier than he could have anticipated. "I wanted lunch. Is the food done?"
"No." Halle scowled, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to the right. Her voice held the contempt she carried for Matsuda, which she would normally not reveal to anyone outside the servants quarters. "I have to go help Matsuda cook." Mello turned to Nathaniel again.
"You hungry, kid?" Hesitantly, Nathani nodded. Mello turned to Halle again.
"Halle- - -"
"I know, I know." She sighed. "Roger told me." Halle turned to look at the pale boy, gaining his attention. "Do you like crab, sweetie?" Nathaniel blinked a few times; crab? He liked crab well enough, he supposed. After all, he didn't mind Carter, even before the crab became the only connection he had to his home. Nathaniel was about to nod when he noticed Mello's hungry expression out of the corner of his eye, the blonde licking his lips in anticipation.
Oh. She meant to eat.
Nathaniel felt horror spike through his body; he wanted desperately to reject the idea, even nonverbally, but he couldn't imagine eating crab in any sort of way, shape, or form. He flailed inwardly, wondering how to respond in the negative before shaking his head violently. The muscles screamed at the movement, but Nathaniel continued his actions in the hope his message would get across.
"Whoa!" Mello rushed forward and placed his hands on either side of Nathaniel's face, stopping him. Nathaniel froze, his eyes wide and yet dead at the same time; Mello offered a comforting smile, his thumbs creating a soothing caress on Nathaniel's porcelain cheeks. "Ok, ok, no crab." He promised. "No crab." Nathaniel stared back at Mello, blinking. The blonde's comfort was startling, and it sent a wave of affection coursing through his body. Nathaniel reached up slowly and placed his hands gently on top of his. Mello smiled lightly before turning to Halle. "Matsuda's Japanese, right?"
"Yea?" Halle frowned, tilting her head and not following where Mello's train of thought was going.
"See if he can make some sushi, then." Mello said, moving past Nathaniel and walking towards the door. Nate stared wordlessly at Mello, shock coursing his body, his mouth open. Sushi...sushi was raw fish, if Nathaniel remembered correctly. Sushi wasn't any better than crab! Nathaniel closed his mouth resignedly, not sure of anything he could do to convince the blonde to change his mind. Matt, however, made a retching sound as he pushed past Nathaniel. Mello looked back at him and frowned. "Got something to say, kid?" Sighing inaudibly, Nathaniel shook his head.
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"He's a strange kid." Matt said absently, both of them watching Nathaniel walk in the waist-deep water on the beach. The pale boy had eagerly followed the two boys down to the beach, occasionally stumbling as if he wasn't used to so much movement of his legs. Once they had touched upon the sand, however, Nathaniel seemed to have lost control on himself completely; he'd fallen to the ground, as if he hadn't been able to hold himself up any longer. He refused both Mello and Matt's help, choosing instead to drag himself forward slowly until he reached the water. Once Nathaniel had gone in the water, a tension seemed to leave his body. He relaxed for a long moment in the shallow water, allowing his legs to immerse themselves under the water as the waves lapped at his waist; he didn't seem to care that he'd ruined his clothes, and after a long moment Nathaniel had gone further out into the water. He seemed to regain control of his legs as he did so, walking parallel to the sandy beach, and the two boys followed his pace on the sand. Occasionally, they glanced at him to be sure that he hadn't fallen.
Mello did so now, watching Nathaniel trail his fingers in the waist deep water.
"He is." Mello agreed finally, reluctantly pulling his gaze away from Nathaniel to the sand. He unwrapped a chocolate bar without looking, stowing away the wrapper and the foil in his pocket. "Did you see the way he reacted to the idea of seafood? He didn't even touch any of the sushi Matsuda made!" Mello took a violent bite of his chocolate bar, his eyes sliding to his right to inspect Nathaniel again.
"He really loves the water, doesn't he?" Matt asked, abruptly changing the subject as he turned to Mello. The blonde scowled at Matt's quick changed, but allowed it with a snort; his new visitor didn't seem to like raw fish any more than Matt did. Instead, he plopped down on the sand, tired of walking. Matt followed suit, laying down and sprawling out as much as he could. Mello snorted at the thought of all the sand embedding itself in the bright red hair, and refrained from laying down himself. "And we found him here, right? Could he be a shipwreck survivor?"
"We dunno." Mello sighed, leaning back on his hands. He slowly blew out a long stream of air, making his bangs flutter. They haven't even had him for a full day, but the lack of information on the pale boy was driving Mello insane. They had no clue how old he was, where he came from, or even what his name was. It didn't even seem like anyone was looking for him. "It's probable, because he hasn't been reported missing here or anything, but he won't..." Mello's voice trailed off as he turned slightly and stared at the water intently. Before Matt could open his mouth, the blonde was already jumping to his feet, grateful he hadn't bothered to put his shoes on. "Hey. HEY!" Mello jumped into the water, Matt following instinctively behind him, when Nathaniel went under the water and didn't come back up.
Nathaniel had heard Mello and Matt talking, but kept his eyes on the water. He figured he was the topic they were discussing, so he ignored them as best he could and continued walking.
The water was soothing to his legs, and Nathaniel gratefully allowed the excuse to keep away from Matt and Mello. He was completely humiliated about his display, mortified that he had lost control of his body so easily. It had been his damaged pride that refused help from the other two, and Nathaniel wanted nothing more than to duck under the water and never come back up.
Kira never told him about the pain it would cause him to walk, or that the people on land would eat fish for food. Though, to be honest, Nathaniel thought he remembered Carter mentioning something about the latter point, though he couldn't recall it properly at the moment. His free hand rose to tangle in his hair- - -
Something under the water caught his eye and before he could think twice, Nathaniel took in a deep breath and dove under the water. His legs buckled under him, and he drew them to his chest as he slowly sank down from the sudden lack of support. Floating for a few seconds, Nathaniel felt calm slowly take over his body as he looked around and managed to find what caught his attention.
A dark amber color blurred in front of him as Nathaniel suddenly remembered he was holding his breath and couldn't breath. His vision began to blur and his lungs felt like they were about to pop; stubbornly, he stayed under to try and make out what it was.
His arm was grabbed suddenly and he was yanked backwards. Pain shot up from his shoulder, surprising Nathaniel into opening his mouth and taking in the salty sea water. Coughing, taking deep breaths, Nathaniel turned to face a drenched Mello, Matt wading into the water behind him.
"What on earth were you thinking?" Mello hissed, his hands tight on Nathaniel's arms. The pale boy wince and subtly squirmed to get out of the harsh grip, but Mello didn't seem to notice his efforts; instead, the blonde began dragging him back to shore. Matt stared at the water distrustfully, reaching out and helping Mello when they were close enough to the red head. The three of them moved together, stumbling due to waterlogged clothes, and collapsed on the shoreline of the beach.
They lay flat on the sand, Mello no longer caring about keeping sand from his hair, the blonde and Nathaniel panting to regain their breath.
"Well?" Nathaniel's eyes traveled to the water, ignoring the irked blonde. He recognized the merperson tail, and the unique coloring of the amber tail.
'Lawliet...' He mouthed softly, feeling an intense longing to go back with his older brother. Nathaniel sat up slowly and stared with wide eyes at the lapping water, his finger losing itself in his drenched white locks. Mello frowned at him, leaning up on his elbows.
"Let's get you back inside." He muttered finally, picking Nathaniel up easily and walking in the direction of the castle. Matt followed, glancing back distrust fully at the churning water.
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He knew he had been spotted, and he knew who it was that spotted him. Thankful that it wasn't one of the humans that had seen him, he flipped under the water with a practiced ease, wondering if Nathaniel was still watching him. Taking deep breaths through his nose, he turned and swam away, in the direction of the underwater kingdom Nathaniel once resided in.
"Nate," He mused quietly, swimming easily around fish and rocks. As he passed by a familiar cave, he stopped and placed his hand sorrowfully on the stone entrance. The rock felt cool against his hand; there was an air of familiarity about the position, as if it were a regular occurrence before this moment. "Nathaniel, what have you done?"
He surged forward suddenly, power and speed in his movements as he remembered what was happening above the water surface. The palace appeared in his sight, not too far from Nathaniel's hiding place, and he raced past Takada and Naomi in his haste. The girls cried out, warning Gevanni to move before being knocked out of the way. In surprise, they watched as he ignored everyone in favor of explaining what he'd found on the shore.
Wammy sighed after he finished explaining, placing his head in his hands.
"Are you sure, Lawliet?" He asked quietly, anguish in his voice at losing one of his youngest.
"About 95.7% sure." Lawliet answered, placing his finger in his mouth. His dark eyes watched as the old man broke down in his throne, his wrinkled hands running through the white hair that resembled Nathaniel's. Lawliet waited for Wammy to collect himself again, worrying his thumbnail in his mouth as his mind raced with the possibilities.
"Can you bring him back?"
"I'm not sure." Lawliet admitted reluctantly, removing his thumb to speak clearly. "I could try, however. Do I have your permission to do anything that I may need to?" Wammy sighed again, rubbing his temples and considering the gravity of the situation they had found themselves in.
"Yes." He said after a few seconds. His voice was heavy with the weight of what he had just agreed to; he prayed that, whatever happened, nothing too drastic happened in bringing back Nathaniel. "Bring him back."
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"How are things going, Nate?" Misa asked, leaning her arms against the sand. The sun was setting, and Nathaniel had somehow managed to sneak away from the watchful eyes of Mello and Matt. He had gone back down to the beach, and Misa and Kira had broken the surface of the water to visit him.
He shrugged one shoulder as an answer to Misa's question and started drawing in the sand with his finger. Misa chewed her lip worriedly and glanced over at Kira, imploring him with her gaze.
"Here, little brother." Kira brought out the box Nathaniel had seen by his vat, the one that held his voice in it. Opening it carefully, Nathaniel blinked at him when he felt his voice crawl down his throat and settle right into its vacated space.
"My voice was a payment for my wish." He stated instantly; curious, Nathaniel tried to raise an eyebrow only to find that his face still couldn't move. Kira laughed slightly, brushing his hair back from his face.
"We wanna know how you're doing, kid." He said. "You can talk to us, at least, so we can keep an eye on your progress. No worries. So, how was your first day?"
"I believe Lawliet saw me today." Nathaniel said softly, twirling his hair. His finger twirled nervously in his salt crusted hair, while his other hand moved his sand drawing into the water. Kira's eyes narrowed as Nathaniel spoke.
"Ehhh?" Misa sat up quickly, splashing water on both Kira and Nathaniel, looking at her brother with worry in her eyes. Kira made a sound of surprise, wiping water droplets off his face, but Nathaniel made no move to do anything.
"I saw something that looked like Lawliet earlier today." Nathaniel repeated, feeling ominous at the shared look of horror between the blonde mermaid and her lover. Not wanting to speculate on what seeing Lawliet would mean for everyone, Nathaniel sighed before changing the subject to something much more important to him. "It hurts to walk, Kira." Kira winced apologetically, his face contorting when Misa screeched in his ear.
"Yea, I know, little brother. Nothing I can do about that."
"Is this pain common in humans?" Nathaniel questioned softly. Kira shook his head, contemplating the reason behind Nathaniel's pain.
"I know at times, it hurts them to move." Kira murmured. "But that's usually because of over exertion or injury, neither of which apply to you." They fell into silence for a moment. "I think it's cause you're not human." He said finally. "You know, you're just learning how to walk." Nathaniel drew his hand out of the water, dragging it across the sand. Kira was about to say more when they heard someone yelling on the beach.
"Someone's coming!" Misa gasped, pushing herself off the sand and into the water.
"Open, little brother, quickly!" Kira opened the box, and Nathaniel obeyed; he was surprise at how easily his voice left his throat again. Kira smiled. "Told you it'd be fine. Good luck, little brother."
Before Nathaniel could protest, Kira and Misa were gone.
All right, chapter 9. XD
so, this chapter...differs...a bit from how things went in the actual movie... haha...
emo-nerdy-insane-writer: that is true, Ursula=bad. and its true that Kira=Ursula. XD but at the moment, Kira does not necessarily = bad. XD
