I don't own Death Note.
To everyone who's still with me, your reviews make me so happy. I'm sorry this took so long.
Thus our heros enter the most frightening environment known to man... High school.
I hope the OCs in this chapter weren't too horrible. They were just filler characters, but still. Also, I was using what little I know about handwriting analysis at the beginning, so bear with me. I used Miss Yagami, as opposed to Yagami-san, to eliminate possible confusion, as san can denote a male or a female and I have no intention of bringing Light's father back from the dead, as much as I miss him.
"Is Near awake yet?" Matt asked his blonde companion once he realized Mello had joined him. He was sprawled across their floor on one of the rugs that littered the room. It was the striped one, which was fundamentally different from the black one and the white one, because the striped one was his.
"No, he deserves some sleep." Mello answered, pointing in the general direction of the clock. The glowing green numbers on its face read 3:45, damn. Then again, between school and soccer practice, he needed to look over the list while he had the chance.
With that thought, he turned his green eyes back to the black and white photocopy before him. It was littered with little side notes, scribbled in orange pen. One of the women wrote with long, flowing script, she was probably confident, it seemed likely that she was a high class call girl from one of the better "stables". Another wrote with letters so close together that it was hard to read. She was probably a run away, escaping an abusive home only to get picked up by some pimp and put out on the walk.
Matt would never admit that he helped Mello this much; Mello was the genius, he just made the side notes. After all, while Mello was busy perfecting anything and everything, Matt had learned to specialize. He did language, weapons, explosives, spy work, and acted as an extra pair of eyes... In other words, he collected the information and it was up to Mello to process it.
"I was thinking about this." He gestured to the list with his pen. "And I think we should look at the street girls first, ya know... The girls who work the alleys are more likely to know what's going on than than the ones who work out of an... establishment."
"Okay, Matt, which ones?" The blonde was leaning over his shoulder to read the notes he'd made. Matt loved how much Mello trusted him.
"I marked them for you."
"Good job. Go get ready."
He really did try not to grin like an idiot, but when Mello complimented him, it was really hard not to smile.
Matt glanced down at his school logo jacket and the baggy pants he was wearing. It really didn't suit him; he just didn't go for the boxers-above-the-pants look. To complete the disguise, he took a liberal amount of gel and spiked his hair.
"Mello, I feel like a total dick-wad."
"You look like a jock, it's the same thing." Mello shrugged, then went back to squirming into the 'woman suit'.
"This is really funny if you think about it..." Matt commented offhandedly.
"Really, how so?" Mello's eyes narrowed slightly, he even paused long enough to wait for an answer.
"The way we're dressed, it's ridiculous. You hate being mistaken for a girl and I hate school spirit."
"The irony could be cut with a knife." Mello smiled ruefully and kissed Matt, holding the red-head's face carefully between his palms.
After that they lapsed into a silence so complete that it was almost a relief when Near broke the monotony. "Good morning, Matt, Mello."
"Good morning, Near..." Mello's voice was a sultry purr that Becca had taught him to use. Not that Mello didn't purr anyway, but Becca taught him to do a feminine purr.
Near looked stricken, like maybe he wasn't sure if he should laugh or offer sympathy. In the end, he schooled his face back into a neutral mask and helped Mello put on his "face".
Antonia's work was pretty impressive, in a few minutes Mello's face was softer and rounder with no trace of the scars. He really did look like a girl like that. Matt missed the scars instantly.
"So, Matty, tell me... Does this skirt make me look fat?"
"You should wear it without the woman suit, let me bend you over the bed." Matt couldn't help the grin when his comment made Near turn dusty-pink and brought out the feral gleam in Mello's eyes.
"I might have to take you up on that offer..."
Breakfast was a pain in the ass. No one but Matt and Light could cook anything that didn't taste like charcoal or induce seizures from the insane sweetness, and neither of them had time to cook. They were in desperate need of help.
Matt should have known better than to worry, however, because L was always on top of these things. "Everyone, Miss Yagami and Sayu-chan will be arriving this afternoon. Please treat them well."
The look on Light's face was absolutely priceless. When he finally stopped gawking, he grabbed L up out of his chair and hoisted him onto his hips before practically devouring his mouth. "I thought I'd never get to see them again. God I love you sometimes."
"Only sometimes, Light-kun?"
"Only when I'm breathing..."
"Orgasms don't count?" L tilted his head and blinked once, twice before Matt fell out of his seat laughing. Light had the most precious look of horror on his face and L looked so terribly amused by the whole situation.
The mental image it brought to mind wasn't one he particularly needed, but Matt filed it away for later... just in case.
"Well, that was special." Mello muttered around a crispy piece of bacon, "Who let Gevanni near the stove?"
Lidner immediately pointed at Matsuda, who pointed at Becca who was also pointing at Matsuda. Since Antonia was pointing at Matsuda too, it was fair to assume one of two possible situations had occurred: Either A) It was Matsuda. or B) The girls had joined forces to frame Matsuda. It didn't matter which it was anyway, because Mello threw the soggy Bacon at the poor, air-head police officer and stalked out of the room.
Oh well, back to pondering Light and L and orgasms. He was SO hacking the security system tonight...
Twenty minutes later, Matt was standing at the bus stop, seriously considering the possibility that "normal kids" were lacking important higher functions.
"So, who do you think you are, carrot-top," The boy heckling him had a neck thicker than Matt's torso. "Coming onto my turf without paying homage?"
"The name's Matt, and I think I'll keep my lunch money, thanks." Matt was pretty sure he could take the big guy, and on the off chance that he couldn't, Mello was wearing spike heals. "Lemme guess, Tiny?"
"Shut the fuck up, you shrimp." 'Tiny' took a swing at him, but all Matt had to do was sidestep him.
"FYI, Tiny, the muscles you get using steroids look impressive, but they don't do shit if you can't fight." Another swing of that massive arm, and Matt ducked under this one. "I know kendo, karate, Tai-kwon-do, and a whole bunch of other impressive words."
Just when Matt was starting to think that he'd have to beat this guy down, the bus finally came and 'Tiny' took the easy way out and hurried to his seat.
"Matty, help me onto the bus..." To everyone else, Matt must have looked like a doting boyfriend, taking 'Beth's' hand and walking one step ahead of her up the bus stairs. What they didn't know was that Mello was probably afraid of falling and making a fool of himself. The former mob boss was graceful, but eight-inch spikes were a little much even for him on those stairs.
Becca insisted, however. According to her, Mello still didn't walk like a girl without the spikes.
"Oh, Dude, what a Babe." The boy Matt sat next to whispered, finger combing his tawny hair. "She your sister?"
Matt gave a chuckle. "You wish, man."
"Oh shit. Sorry, Man, I didn't realize..." There was a pause that Matt interpreted as nervous. "She act as soft as she looks?"
"She's a firecracker under all those soft curves. Don't piss her off... Trust me."
Matt found out later that he had the other boy in his first two classes. His name was George, and he apparently excelled in psychology.
"Matt, Man, Did you see that test? I'm gonna bomb for sure."
Matt smirked, "I bet ten bucks I'll pass with a 98 or better."
"No way, twenty buck says you'll get a lower grade than me." George stretched his hands above his head and rolled his shoulders. The smirk on his face melted a second later. "Don't look now, but here comes your Foxy Lady."
Mello was gonna love that one. Foxy did describe him pretty well though. Beth had every guy in the hall looking. "Matty! I missed you so bad!" 'She' squealed, throwing herself into Matt's arms.
It was odd catching Beth. Mello was usually all hard muscle, 'Beth' was all soft curves. By the time Mello let him go, Matt had a red slash of lipstick on his face.
"I missed you too, Beth. Why the sudden display of affection?"
"I hate these people, Matty... My day has been so horrible... You love me, don't you?" The pout was for effect, and although it worked well with Mello's full mouth, it wouldn't have looked right at all on his real face. Mello didn't pout, not like that, but apparently 'Beth' did.
"Aw, Sunshine, oh coarse I love you. Here, have some chocolate, it'll make you feel better."
Matt got a barely disguised glare for his use of 'Sunshine' but the look of relief that crossed his lover's face when he produced a chocolate bar from his book-bag was worth it. The sloppy kiss planted on his mouth tasted of chocolate and Mello under the chemical taste of lipstick, and it made the entire day just a little bit better.
He could tell that it took every ounce of control in Mello's body to lick the chocolate, as opposed to biting into it greedily and hiding away in some dark corner. He honestly wondered what horrible things might happen if Mello really had to go an entire day without his favorite sweet. He suspected it would involve explosions. Mello always did like blowing things up.
"She really likes chocolate, doesn't she?" George asked after Mello walked away.
"All girls like chocolate." Matt dismissed, "It's just a matter of how upset they are when you give it to them."
George nodded like it was a huge life's lesson, which immediately clued Matt in on the fact that George probably hadn't been popular until he joined the soccer team. Matt wasn't used to anyone looking up to him as a role model, he wasn't sure what to do with it.
Matt was just getting his lunch when Mello contacted him again. The cell phone in his pocket vibrated once and went still, a text message. Once he got to a table, he sat down and checked it.
//Rick is a nice guy.
Just now, I met him on the way to class.
Went to get a drink and he even offered to hold my hair back.
In the next few days, I hope I can see you more, Matty.
The opportunity we want might be soon.
Soccer won't distract you will it?
Coach's going easy on me 'cause I'm new.
Office called today, Mom says you can come over.
And she won't even be there, isn't that so cool?
They're staying late for a meeting at her work.
Having you over would be great.
Sex sound good today?//
The fact that the actual message didn't make much sense didn't phase Matt, he knew that the real message was done the same as Light's messages as Kira to L. The first word of every line was the only thing he had to read and to anyone else it looked like he was meeting his girlfriend for sex... but it was still funny that Mello used proper grammar in text messages.
He would have laughed, but the real message was too disturbing for that. Rick was the team captain so why was he fucking the coach?
"Hey, Foxy, you out to embarrass me? You just had to send a message like that during lunch, didn't you?" Matt greeted his blonde lover when they met before practice.
"Watch it, or I'll do worse." The tone was teasing and 'Beth' even flicked him in the nose playfully, but he knew that Mello meant it. He didn't even want to think about "Worse".
Matt gave a chuckle and hauled 'Beth' into his arms. "I'll be a good dog from now on, okay, Foxy."
"More like a rabbit; I'll be eating you." Mello's voice answered him in a dry whisper that implied that he'd like being eaten. The blonde stayed pressed against him a moment longer, and Matt wondered what was showing in his eyes that he didn't want his fellow students to see. When the other finally moved, it was 'Beth' that smiled up at him and waved as she ran off to cheer practice.
Coach Christiens made Matt uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if it was because the man was having sex with students in his office or the way the man was sizing him up that gave him the willies, but something was wrong.
"Matt! Welcome to the team!" The greeting was warm enough, but in Matt's mind, it could have been, 'Hello, Eve! Would you like an apple?'
"Nice to be here, Coach." The smile Matt flashed was the one he reserved for special occasions, like wiring Mello's hideout to blow; His 'pleasantly blank' smile.
Kicking a ball around with the guys was fun. He actually missed the camaraderie of group sports. Mello had been his only friend for so long that the easy give and take among the players was as alien as it was welcoming.
"Matt, ease up. We won't bite, there aren't any of those on my team." Ya, Rick was a real charmer. If only he knew.
"Sorry, I'm just a little tense." Matt admitted.
"Ha, I noticed. Look, we're all buddies on my team. We hang out, talk about girls and sex, guy things. You don't have to worry." Rick said 'girls' like he thought Matt needed to be reminded which sex he should want to talk about.
"You met my girlfriend, Beth, earlier, didn't you?"
"The hot new blonde cheerleader?"
"That's her."
"Nice." Rick whistled, "You ever pass her around?"
"I really hope you aren't asking what I think you're asking..." Matt kept the pleasant smile on his face, but he let his voice drop into that tone Mello used sometimes. The voice that said, 'you better be joking, or we're going to have problems.'
He really hadn't realized that he was going though the motions, dribbling the ball down the field, until George clapped him on the shoulder. "Good job, Matt! Man, you can get a goal without even trying, and on our best goalie, too!"
"You are good. Don't take my job, okay?" Rick was using it to get out of answering, but Matt let it slide and practice went smoothly. Apparently, all the training Mello forced on him made sports easy.
Matt was cooling off, doing pull ups, when the coach walked up holding a piece of folded notebook paper on a book. Matt's mind immediately supplied 'Kira' and 'shit' as possible responses. "Hey, Coach, what's up?"
"I need to know how to spell your name for your jersey."
"Oh, that's all. You had me worried for a minute there... It's M-A-T-T-H-E-W N-O-L-A-N." Matt's mind was working double time. Mello was supposed to be the bait, but it looked like he'd caught the Canadian Kira's eye first. "So, coach, can I go now? I'm meeting my girlfriend after practice."
"Sure, Matt, but why don't you meet me tomorrow at lunch."
"Okay... No prob." He really wanted to get the hell out of there. Luckily, the Coach seemed happy with his response.
Matt met up with Mello and Light actually picked them up from school; not only did he pick them up, he did it in a sparkly new red Mustang that made Matt's mouth water. L was with him. "Matty, come on! I'm on a date! I don't have all day!"
"Coming, Chris!" Matt yelled back, turning to say good-bye to George, only to realize that the boy was staring in awe at the car.
"Holy shit, Man, Can I touch it?" George was talking to Light, not him.
"You'll have to ask Roy about that." Light (Chris) inclined his head toward L.
"Don't scratch the paint." L (Roy) nodded, but kept his face almost blank behind the mirrored sunglasses he was wearing. He probably looked like a college student, bored with the little high school kid.
George ran his hand, carefully, over the car then looked over at Light. "Dude, you are so lucky. I'd date a guy if he'd let me drive a car like this!"
'Chris' smiled at him, "Dating a guy isn't that different from dating a girl, he just doesn't care as much if I don't bring him flowers and poetry."
George got a good laugh out of that, "Good luck on your date, I guess."
By the time they finally got to the safe house, Matt wanted to shoot something. Normally that was Mello's thing, but he was having a shitty day.
"Here, Matt." Near had his PSP waiting for him. He'd even gone through the tedious process of loading the game and paused it on the opening screen so Matt wouldn't have to.
"Near, have I told you lately that I love you."
The pale boy smiled at him, but didn't have time to say anything before Light's little sister rushed into the room.
"Matt-kun, it's been so long!"
Matt wasn't exactly sure when assisting in someone's kidnapping became a prerequisite to friendship, but apparently it was. Sayu gave him a quick hug and smiled warmly at him.
"Well, if it isn't the Devil's little sister. You're as pretty as ever."
He chuckled when her small fist came in contact with his shoulder "Matt! Stop flirting! Mello might try to shoot you again."
Matt grinned, "She's got your number, Mello."
"Oh, shut it..." Mello answered as he slipped behind a screen to change. "Have I mentioned lately that I hate my job."
"What happened?" Sayu asked, rolling a bottle of solvent under the screen.
"Thanks." Mello walked out adjusting his leather, "Stupid coach groped me."
"What did you do?" Sayu wanted to know as she helped Matt get the last of the glue off of Mello's face.
"Stupid bastard got away with it. He said he thought I was going to slip." Mello's tone let everyone know what total bullshit he thought that was.
"That sucks. I hope he gets fired or sued or something."
Mello actually smiled at Sayu for wanting to defend him. "How did your day go, Matt?"
"Oh, I made some friends, school lunch was horrible, and I think the new Kira is trying to kill me..."
"Matt, we are going back to the SPK building, and you are going to tell me exactly what happened." It could only mean trouble when Mello's voice went perfectly level like that.
They rode the underground monorail that had been installed back to the main building in silence. Only the occasional shuddering breath from Mello reminded him not to even try to lighten the mood with a joke.
"Found it." Matt announced, pulling up the file of Jessica Ridley, one of the murdered cheerleaders. "She was dating Rick when she died."
Mello looked at Near for a long moment, "The killings of the girls are immediate, but the boys are being used for an extended time."
Near nodded, "Also, Mello, the girls are forced manually while 'Kira' uses the Death Note to control the boys."
"Matt, did you bring me a DNA sample?" Mello demanded, "I need to test something."
Matt fished the zip-lock bag out of his pocket, "You're lucky the guy chews gum..."
A regular crime lab would take weeks to get the results of a DNA test, but when you have enough money to buy half of New York- State, not city- more effective methods can be used. Mello was staring so intently at the printout in his hand that Matt started to worry. "Mello?"
"Tell me what you see." Suddenly Matt found himself with a face-full of printout. He laid gloved hands over Mello's and eased it back until he could see.
"They don't match, Mello."
"Exactly, there are two Canadian Kiras." Mello stood and began to pace. The leather of his pants made small sounds where it rubbed against itself.
"What now, Mello?" Near asked softly, those captivating eyes darting briefly to Matt.
"I don't know. Matt's in danger now. It's reasonable to assume that Christiens doesn't know Matt's real name, yet. That could change at any time if he makes the eye trade." Mello sat suddenly and steepled his fingers in a way that reminded Matt of the villains in old comic books. His chocolate was conspicuously absent.
Matt covered those hands with his own, anything to erase the guilt in his blond lover's eyes. "Mello, it's a risk I have to take. We'll just have to stop them before they can figure out that Matthew Nolan isn't my real name."
"Matt, I wouldn't survive your death."
"Humans are so amusing..." Light's shinigami, Ryuk, was floating just inside the door, "What're you gonna do now, Mihael? Tick-Tock, every minute you waste is another minute closer to them finding out Mail's real name."
"The eye trade." Mello answered resolutely, "I'll know instantly who the Canadian Kira is, and I can kill him."
"You can't. Agent 'Lidner' owns my Death Note now." Ryuk was grinning like a big, floating shark. "Try again."
"I hate you more than I hate Ran." Mello muttered. Matt hadn't even had time to protest Mello trying to trade away half his life, and he was already on a different subject.
"I'll make the trade, then." All three boys turned to see Lidner standing in the doorway, looking as resolute as Mello had moments before.
"No!" Mello protested at the same time as Ryuk said, "Done."
Lidner's eyes widened and the pupil contracted then she took two hesitant steps forward and laid her hand against Mello's cheek, looking at something above his head. "Mihael Keehl," She whispered, "Oh, God." Her head dropped to his shoulder and she looked for all the world like someone had just run over her best friend or her dog, or maybe both.
Matt laid one hand gently on her shoulder. "What is it?"
"Nothing, just... I always thought Mello would... Just..."
"At least I'll be young and pretty?" Mello ventured, easing her back into a chair.
Lidner nodded numbly, "Young and beautiful..."
Mello stood silent for a long time, absorbing what he'd just been told. Near had turned away, and it took Matt a moment to realize his shoulders were shaking, he was crying.
Mello sat down to dinner that night and seemed to ignore the looks he was getting from the other members of the team. "I'm not afraid." He whispered, his gloved fingers caressing his crucifix as Matt watched. "But I don't want to know how long I have. It would affect my performance."
Matt looked around the faces at the table. Light was looking away, pained. L's eyes were softer than he'd ever seen them, glistening with tears he wouldn't shed. Lidner's face was blank, shocked and Matsuda had a single tear glistening on his cheek. Gevanni's eyes were closed. Becca, Sayu, and Miss Yagami were sobbing and hugging each other brokenly. Near looked so empty that Matt wanted to die, as if the thought of Mello dying didn't do that to him already.
The only person at the table who didn't look ready to fall apart was Antonia. The old lady looked like she was turning something over in her head. Finally, she looked up at the shinigami floating a few feet away, "Ran, you said that Rem was trying to save Misa when she died?"
"Yes... By writing the name of the person who would have killed her, Jealous extended her life the first time, at the cost of his life. Rem was doing the same thing."
"If someone killed the person who tried to kill Mello?"
"He would live and his life would be extended."
"Thank you, Ran." The old lady held a plate of apple pie toward the shinigami, "Come have dinner with us."
At this point, everyone at the table was staring in shocked silence.
"I knew I liked you for a reason..." Mello grinned, and everyone started to speak at once after that. It was too early to celebrate, but it was also too early to plan the funeral.
Later, in their room, Near was holding onto Mello like a lifeline. Matt had to ease his arms apart so he could hug Mello, too.
"I love you both." Mello said solemnly, "I won't willingly leave you, but I want to know something important, just in case."
"What is it?" Near asked, just as solemn.
"I never planned to live this long. I was ready to throw my life away during the Kira investigation. I need you to promise me that you'll keep on living... Take care of each other, no matter what. The world needs an L."
"I promise, Mello." Near whispered.
"Anything for you." Matt added.
Near wandered off just before bedtime and Matt had a hard time getting Mello to sleep. Near was slipping into bed with them just as Matt himself started to drift off.
I had you scared for a second there, didn't I? I hate leaving you on a cliff hanger, but I'll get the next chapter out as soon as humanly possible. Please review, It doesn't take that long and It'll make me happy. Thank you for reading this far,
