Page Ten: 25th January, 2004
"Matt."
From behind the glare of the TV screen, Matt nodded vaguely. He was on level 22. "What?" he replied, only barely noting that Mello had even spoken to him.
Mello was holding something flat and black in his hand, and waved it around a little. "You've been carrying this notebook around for a while… and I can't remember seeing it before. Where'd you get it?"
Ah. The notebook. That made sense. As Matt drew his shotgun and successfully blasted a zombie's head off, he replied, "Found it. Outside."
"Oh, really? So has someone left any notes in it? Got any idea who it belongs to?"
Matt's bottom jaw moved, but no words came out. If he could just make this jump, he'd unlock the stealth armour…
Suddenly, the screen went black.
Matt's brow furrowed.
And Mello, tossing the plug at the back of the TV aside, smiled sadistically. "So, do you know who the book belongs to?"
Mello just didn't understand. Level 22. The stealth armour.
… Still, there was no point in sulking. The sooner he got the conversation over with, the quicker he could get back to fragging. "…Sorry, I don't. And there's no notes in it either. It's just a regular old blank notebook… though I guess it's a little strange how I found it though, seeing as it just seemed to have fallen out of nowhere…"
It was Mello's turn to frown. "… What?"
"Well, first it wasn't there, and then it just… appeared. On the floor," Said Matt. "Like it had been dropped by something, but there was nothing for it to have dropped from."
Mello stared at him, then stared at the book. His expression hardened. He turned to the door, the book still clutched in his hand.
"Hey – that is mine, you know," Matt called after him.
"First of all, it isn't yours… and secondly… I'm taking it for potential evidence."
Taking it for… what? "Potential evidence for what?" he asked.
Mello turned back to face him, and rolled his eyes. "For someone supposed to be clever, you really are dumb sometimes… Think about it. Kira's on the loose, and he can kill people by making them have heart attacks, which isn't something you can generally do to people. On top of that, Roger's just died of a heart attack, which could mean that Kira has decided to kill him. And then, from out of nowhere," he waved the book once again, "a random book just drops out of the sky. I'm not saying these things are definitely linked, but… come on. It's a bit weird, isn't it?"
That sounded reasonable. Of course, the thought hadn't crossed Matt's mind before, but now that he considered it… "… Fine. You can take the book."
Mello grinned, and made his way out of the room. "Technically I didn't need your permission, but thanks."
Now it was back to level 22. He was going to get that stealth armour if it killed him.
--
"Mello."
From behind the pages of a battered, black notebook, Mello growled. "Near," he replied. "What is it?"
Near walked towards him, sleepily, and sat down on the floor next to him. "That book you're looking at… You took it from Matt, didn't you?"
"That's really none of your business."
Near scowled. "I noticed that he had been carrying it around since yesterday, but I've never seen it before. I can rule out him actually going out and buying it, as it's obviously old – and it's unlikely that you're going to find a second-hand notebook on sale… and seeing as Matt didn't leave the grounds of the orphanage yesterday, I'd be safe to assume that he'd found it here."
"What's to say that he didn't already have this book?"
"He didn't," said Near, grumbling. "I do pay attention to these things."
Mello sighed. "Fine. Yes, he found it here."
"Do you have any idea who originally owned it?"
"No."
"Can I have a look at it?" Without waiting for a response, Near plucked the book out of Mello's hand, and began turning it over in his hands.
"… Be my guest," Mello seethed.
After a few moment's inspection, Near tossed the book back at him. "Do you know what the symbols on the front cover mean?"
"No," said Mello. "Do you?"
"No," said Near. "I wouldn't have asked if I…"
"Good. Now you've proven that you're of absolutely no use to me at the moment, you can go away and bug somebody else."
Begrudgingly, Near got to his feet and slouched away.
Now, Mello could get back to the book. There was something strange about it, he could feel it… and he was going to get to the bottom of it if it killed him.
--
"Rem."
From behind a lone, jagged pillar, Rem appeared. "What is it, Gelus?" she replied, noting –with some concern – that her friend had actually bothered to turn away from the hole he watched the girl through.
"I was… I was meaning to ask… before. But…" the little Shinigami stared sheepishly at his feet, then stared back up into Rem's eyes. "… I don't know where my… notebook is."
She wasn't particularly surprised. He spent so much time looking down into the human realm that he'd be likely to mislay his head if it weren't attached securely…
… Though, looking at all the loose stitches in him…
"So basically, you want me to help find your Death Note."
"… Yes."
"Do you have any idea where you left it?"
Gelus looked sheepish again. "Under my bottom. I always sit on my Death Note, so I remember where it is."
If it were possible for Shinigami to blush, Rem would have. "… Erm… I see. So… I imagine you've checked there then. How did you manage to lose it?"
"… I never said I lost it…"
Silence fell for a few moments.
"Gelus," said Rem.
"What?"
"… When was the last time you saw Beyond?" she asked, already knowing what the answer would probably be.
"Well, I was… I was meaning to mention that…"
"Alright. So he's stolen your Death Note. How much time have you got before you need to write down another name?"
He looked puzzled, and stared at the floor for a long time. "… I can't remember."
"Oh."
She knew he was trouble.
Beyond Birthday.
He had one of those looks about him, and she knew he'd been planning something.
There was only one reason why any Shinigami would want another Death Note.
… Like Ryuk.
It was a ticket into the human world.
And now…
… Now she'd have to go down into the human world too.
She was going to get Gelus' notebook back from Beyond… even if it killed him.
--
Author's Note: What a confused set-up that was. I hope people can still bear to read on...
Which reminds me. What do you think, o readers? Love it, hate it, want more B in it? (Seriously, he'll be back in the next chapter...) I'd just like to know.
Thanks for reading up to this point! More will be up soon!