My sincerest apologies for neglecting this so long, but I was so busy... anyway, that is irrelevant. On with the story, moving away from the cliffhanger! Please enjoy and review! Thank you!
Recap:
"Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake." She raised an eyebrow at him, folding her arms.
"Then move not, while my prayer's affect I take," he told her, and leant in.
My heart stopped. It was as if the whole room had frozen.
NO!
XXX
She laughed it off while he averted his lips' route and whispered in her ear: "Japan. Think about it."
Her expression became blank and understanding. She nodded once in his direction, turned away from him and went back to speaking to Fall. "That is how you would perform it. Remember, Juliet's testing Romeo."
"What do you mean? A test for what?" Fall stared at her.
"A test for love," C answered. "Are you stuck anymore, Fall?"
"Um, no."
"Good." She walked away from her and headed towards her desk, where her bag sat on top. She fished a mobile phone out of the bag and dialled a number into it quickly before speaking so calmly it was unreal. "Good afternoon, Roger. I don't know whether L's spoken to you but it's important..."
Yes!
Everything was working out just the way I'd planned it. Well. I hadn't factored the weird re-enactment of 'Romeo and Juliet' into the equation, yet in a way that was better. This way I could guarantee they'd want to be alone. All I had to do now was get the two of them out of the country and find L's permanent record before they broadcasted the fact L was on the case in Kanto. After that, everything should flow smoothly. Once L was gone, who was going to stop me? They couldn't pin anything on me. I was just ridding myself of the one relative I'd ever had, breaking whatever bond I had left with him, and since not everyone knew I was related to L, they couldn't immediately trace it back to me.
Hang on. How many people knew I was L's niece? L, C, probably M, Matt, Mello, Near, Roger... was that everyone? I prayed that was it. If anymore than the teachers knew of this fact, I might have some difficulties. When things got too heated, I could always relinquish ownership of the Death Note, my memories with it.
On the way out of C's Drama class, I tripped on the step just out of the door, dropping my books and grazing my palms. Fall walked past me giggling about how goddamn clumsy I was, and as I scrambled to my feet, I saw a pair of hands holding my books out to me. It was the boy from Drama class, Hamlet. His face was cold, the sort of cold I was usually the one dealing out. I scowled back at him.
"Oh, don't say thank you, then," he said sarcastically, in an accent I recognized as American. "I don't care. Stupid women..."
"Hey, you didn't give me a chance, jerk-off," I snapped back, snatching my books from his grasp. "What makes you think I'm going to say thanks now? Jesus Christ."
"Are you Christian?" he asked me abruptly.
"No, I'm K," I retorted.
"You know what I mean. Are you part of the religion Christianity? Catholic, Protestant, Puritan? Ringing any bells?" He rolled his eyes at me. "Jehovah's Witness?"
"No," I muttered. "Why?"
"You mentioned Jesus, and you're wearing a cross around your neck."
"Fuck you, Shakespeare-boy."
"I bet you'd like to."
"Ew! No!"
"You're not helping yourself with the Christianity thing," he pointed out.
"Why are you even talking to me?" I demanded. He smiled wryly.
"Several reasons," he laughed. "One; you don't act like anyone else I've met before, and that's interesting to me. Two; no one else spoke to you throughout that entire lesson, and I want to know why. Three; you look like L, which makes me think you're related."
"That's only three," I hissed. "Still, that's nothing new, is it? I mean, Leo's got sisters here, and you've got a brother here."
"Another thing to add to my list," he smirked. "You knew Romeo was my brother before I told you that."
"Yeah, doesn't take a genius. I bet I could figure some stuff out about everyone without them telling me. It's not an art form or anything."
"You don't need to figure anything else about me if you don't want to. I'll tell you if you show me around."
"K, I think you'd better," Ryuk cackled. "This boy is different to those other bozos."
Since when the fuck did Ryuk start commenting on who I did or did not speak to? I shrugged and nodded. Why not? I mean, the only way I'd ever get to learn to trust him would be if I spoke to him.
XXX
I decided to show him the very edge of Wammy's in case he ever wanted to break out, like I had wanted to many times. The wire fencing was only electrically charged at the top, so that left him free to place a carefree hand on the middle section and lean up against the fencing with me.
"People are gonna think you like bad boys," he nudged me with his elbow. I stomped on his foot in response and raised an eyebrow. "No, really. I got kicked out of my last orphanage for attempted arson."
"Bullshit," I spluttered. "No way did you, the boy named Hamlet, get kicked out of an orphanage."
"Yeah, I did!" Hamlet shoved me. "Don't judge a boy by his name, K."
"Don't go fucking with my name," I warned him.
"It's not even your name. Nobody here ever admits their real name," he sighed. "It pisses me off. I'm proud of my name, even if part of it is the same as Romeo's. Trust him to want to be named after the player of Shakespeare. I preferred the tragic guy that killed people for revenge rather than the pitiful guy known for poetry."
"Not a Romeo fan, then," I said.
"Hell no."
"What's your real name, if you're so proud of it?" I asked him. It was a wild stab in the dark, but I could tell he was dying to admit it to someone. I just happened to be that 'someone'. Plus Ryuk had said he was 'different'. Maybe his name was what made him so different.
A thought hit me. Why should he share his name with me? Every kid in Wammy's hid their name for protection.
"Will," he confessed. "Will Hathaway." As bad as the image was of him that he was trying to project onto me, he was incredibly naïve. He didn't even realize the trouble he could cause by doing this, by admitting his name to me. Still, my lips twitched upwards and even I had to own up to the fact he was reasonably good-looking.
"Will Hathaway," I repeated, smiling at him. "Nice name."
"I'm guessing you're not going to tell me yours," he shrugged. "Ah, well. I'll worm it out of you one way or another."
My breath caught in my throat. What if he really could know my name? Was that why he was 'different'?
"Very well, Hamlet. If you're so bad and yet smart enough to get into Wammy's, what really happened? Attempted arson – they wouldn't chuck you out unless you'd actually burned some shit down. Plus there's got to be a reason you burned it."
"Uh... yeah." I crossed my arms and waited. He ran the hand not resting on the wire through his messy brown hair and touched the back of his neck. "My mom was a princess in a far off land..."
"Ugh. Just forget it. I was actually being serious, and you just... whatever." Now I really didn't trust him.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. It's just difficult to talk about. I mean, Romeo's better at this than I am. I guess it's because he's not got any fucking guilt about it. Mr. Perfect. No, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I'm pissed off because my mom committed suicide recently, and it was my fault. In fact, scratch that. It's partly my dad's fault. He was a drug cartel and a gun-for-hire, and I got him thrown in jail. I didn't like it when he started hitting my mom, so I started hitting him right back, and I got him locked up." I was beginning to get a nasty feeling about where this was going.
"Yeah, so he didn't like that, and as it turned out, neither did she. She kept yelling at me, asking why I'd done it, and then I shouted at her that I'd done it so she wouldn't get hurt, and she started blaming herself. And then... then my dad got his stupid ass killed."
"What was your dad's name?" I asked quietly.
"Jake Hathaway. He was killed by this new Kira." I could feel the colour draining from my face. I never thought I'd have to face someone who'd been directly affected by my work. "You know, in a way, I'm annoyed at Kira, because he let my mom die. Yet... I am so happy for him. He got rid of my dad. He can't hurt her anymore. He can't hurt me. He can't even look at my family anymore, but then neither can Mom."
I thought I was going to vomit. Hamlet finally looked at me, his eyes blazing. I saw a flash of another colour in his eyes and froze.
"You know what happened after Mom killed herself?" he asked me. I shook my head, my mind completely overwhelmed by a sharp, icy feeling. "She found me. She told me there was so much I could do, so much I could see, if I just opened my eyes to it."
"Who?" I breathed.
"Koneko."
"Koneko?" It meant 'kitten', or 'cat', not something I'd heard of before. I suddenly felt a cool presence and Ryuk's laughing behind me was too terrifying for me to comprehend.
Hamlet smirked at me. "I know why you're so different to the others, K. Keira. You have a Death Note."
"And so what if I have?" I snapped, everything now making perfect sense despite the fear that thrilled my blood. "You do, too, evidently."
"Very clever, but I haven't used my Death Note yet," he sighed. "I do, however, have something you do not have."
"Shinigami eyes," Ryuk snickered. "Good boy."
"Why are you telling me this if you haven't used your Death Note? What do you want from me?" I shouted.
"I want you to tell me what you're planning. If you don't, I'll tell everyone I can that you are Kira. I don't care if you try to kill me."
"You have no trouble with me killing criminals?" I realized, shocked.
"Not at all... unless you anger me." I scowled at him. He spoke in a low voice. "Now, if you were to turn around, you would see a bunch of people spying on us through the bushes to your left. Why don't we give them a good show, Yagami-Lawliet?"
With that, he pressed his lips to mine and I stood completely still, unresponsive because, as much as I wished otherwise, I was still definitely and utterly freaked out.
And what girl can resist a good-looking guy in a leather jacket?
XXX
The news I received the next morning was not the best news I could have hoped for, but it was news all the same, so, once dressed, I ran into the room holding Wammy's two brightest sparks and decided to wake them up. I bounced on Leo's bed, which would probably wake up Slo, seeing as he was in the single bed next to his friend.
"Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!" I ordered them, jumping on Leo's bed. He groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers up to his ears.
"K, let me sleep..." he moaned.
"You can sleep when you're dead!" I shouted. He did a double-take and rolled over again, making me fall off with an exclamation of pain. "Ouch! Leo, that was mean!"
"You're not even meant to be in my room! What the hell happened to not being allowed in the rooms of the opposite gender?" he yelped, sitting up.
"I quite like it," said Slo in a slurred voice. He rubbed his eyes quickly to see me sitting on the floor between the two of them. "Hey, K. You do realize it's two in the morning, right?"
"Really? No, I hadn't noticed," I gushed sarcastically. "Goodness, I'd better let you two geniuses get some sleep then, hadn't I? There is a bloody reason, Slo."
"All right, whatever, I'm up," Slo muttered, throwing off his covers and heading off to the bathroom. "I get to use the bathroom first, lazybones."
"Why are you here, K? Don't get me wrong, it's nice to see you, but... ugh... why are you waking us up?" Leo mumbled, touching his palm to his forehead as he swung his legs off the bed.
"Because you're ten rooms along from mine and as I don't get a chance usually, I thought it would be funny."
"Was it as good as you thought it'd be?"
"It could get more comical with practice."
I heard Slo's laugh from the bathroom and bounced up to sit next to Leo, whose face was a bit wary. I tilted my head to one side, confused.
"I don't want you to attack me like you did with Hamlet," he said in a strained voice, trying to keep it light, jokey. I cursed Hamlet, Will Hathaway, to the deepest pits of Hell, praying that at some point I'd get a chance to kick his ass in Combat.
"I did not attack Hamlet!" I hissed angrily. "He attacked me!"
"Yeah, we believe you," Slo said mockingly, laughing.
"Shut up, Slo!" Leo snapped. He looked at me, surprised. "Really?"
"You believe Hamlet's words over mine? Shit, you're meant to be number one and two in this house," I groaned. "What a surprise L's going to get when you two take over..." Did he notice how my tongue flicked out L's name with such strong hatred?
Leo laughed. "All right, K, I truly do believe you. Now you'd better shift out of here and then we'll get ready."
"Thanks for not believing shit, Leo," I said, ruffling his hair. I heard a wolf whistle from behind the bathroom door and rolled my eyes. "Shut up, Slo."
XXX
"I wanted to let you all know there is a big reason why you're here," Roger announced loudly over the crowds of under-eighteen-year-olds. "As most of you very well know, the murderer Kira is once again at large, and the last group of people to bring him down included L, Near, Mello and Matt. Since then, we have recruited new, fresh, young minds into our ranks, and that includes dear C and M."
Yes, I thought slyly. I know that bit; we all do. Now get to the part where my plan actually has something to do with this!
"Fortunately, our detectives believe they have made something of a breakthrough with their latest case. L and C were going to leave for Kanto, Japan, this morning. There they planned to announce their existence on the Kira case."
Planned? As in, they decided not to? Were they insane? They weren't going to Kanto, or they weren't going to announce their existence on the Kira case? Weren't they gone already? They should be... but no. I saw them enter from the door behind Roger, both wearing jeans and white t-shirts. They wouldn't get lost, the two of them – if they ever went off to Japan!
The thing that really riled me was that I had to get them alone in Japan or it would not work. That cautious expression on their faces made me feel defensive instinctively, and my eyes flickered up to Ryuk seated neatly on the ceiling. He was cackling, cocky little shit...
L cleared his throat, and Roger nodded to him. "L will now outline the action they will be taking."
That cunning, conceited –
"Well, there is a flight to Japan in three hours. Within those three hours, we will have packed, departed and gotten onto the plane. Everybody from Wammy's will be coming with us to Japan so you are not missing out on your education and you also get a chance to see a case in working. We will be staying in the country for as long as necessary."
WHAT?! This was outrageous, and it was no help! I had to stay at Wammy's in order to get hold of L's permanent record, and if they were in Japan with the rest of Wammy's House, they must know that somebody was on the inside! My plan was slowly crumbling away, and the anger could probably be read plainly on my face. How on earth had C gotten L to hear this farce? The place was gradually becoming so dangerous to be close to. If I could pin Kira's work on anybody now, I would be extremely fortunate. I would stop being so specific with who I blamed now, just so I could get away with what I was doing. Plus I had to stop Hamlet finding out what I was planning... two Death Notes in such close proximity was a disaster.
Everyone's anticipation well and truly pissed me off. They couldn't be serious! Forty-five (as there were now) students on their first trip out of the orphanage could mean huge trouble. I was surprised to see I was not the only one with another reaction compared to excitement. Slo had blanched. Ah. Right. They would try to get him to come and have a look at the case himself, and obviously, he would have no choice but to go along with it.
A new plan was quickly formulating in my head. Once we were in Japan, what then? I had to get L's name, and fast. I had to get rid of all of them. They were threatening everything I was attempting to do. My father had done this before; I could do it too. I had the combined brains of Light Yagami, Rin Lawliet and the Great Detective L behind me. I could manage this.
Think... Kira... Japan... Kanto... broadcasts...
Ah.
My smile soon returned. It was all becoming delightfully clear now. I had to congratulate myself on that plan. As hasty as it was, it understood the urgency of my situation, and that was just... perfect.
Now to put it into action.
XXX
The girl in black was smiling so triumphantly it angered C. Despite everything, the heat began to build behind her eyes, her jaw clamping down to tense. The memory of him smiling just like that made her blood boil. She closed her eyes hurriedly before she could snap and felt a cool hand on her shoulder. Eyes anxious, she looked up at her friend.
"Are you quite well, C?" he asked her.
"Headache," she muttered. "And I am uneasy about what is to come."
"You decided this was the best way," he reminded her. "Are you having second thoughts? It's all right if you don't feel up to it."
She glared at him. "No. When have you ever known me to back out of a case?"
"Never, which is what concerns me," he sighed. "Now calm down; you're making me nervous myself."
"Sorry... we broadcast later today, and it's a strange feeling. Everybody in Kanto is going to know that we are capturing who some call a god. It's been over a month, and the killings lead us nowhere. L, we could die."
"I will not allow that to happen. I've evaded death once before. I will happily do it again."
She gave him a serious look. "Don't promise that."
"Do you want me to promise not to promise?"
"I want you to promise to stop talking."
"No guarantees there."
"Just what I thought."
"Will you promise me to take care of yourself?" he said sternly.
"Of course not."
"You'll be the death of me, C..."
Music for this chapter:
So In Love With Two by Mikaila (thanks for that, M)
Hello Zepp by Charlie Clouser
Ignorance by Paramore
Undisclosed Desires by Muse (which will be more prominent than first divulged in later chapters!!)
I still have only one vote concerning who K should end up with. Please tell me in your reviews!
Thanks.
C.