Mello & Near's Idiot
Disclaimer: I still don't own Death Note because as you can see, the world has not been sucked in by a black hole yet.
AN: I really am getting closer to the climax and the end… Sorry if it's not what you expect. I'll tell you this right now: It won't be a happy ending. As always, R&R!
Chapter Thirteen: Puzzle In Place
Mello stopped in front of Noah and looked up at the older person who had taken over his rightful place with resentment and anger in his eyes. The blond opened his mouth to swear a chain of words and maybe even swing his fist, but then stopped himself just in time.
It was just a fluke. Near was always first and he was always second. There was no way anybody could change that- No way at all.
While repeating this over and over in his head like a mantra, Mello took a bite out of his chocolate bar and grumbled out, "You aren't stupid after all." It wasn't a compliment, but at least it was better than what he had been planning to do.
Matt watched Mello, quite confused. Why wasn't his friend beating the hell out of Noah? Not that Matt cared much, he just felt uneasy about Mello's unusual behavior.
Both Near and Risa were just as confused as Matt, though Risa was relieved instead of unnerved. As for Near, no one could tell.
Noah nodded his head a couple of times to acknowledge that Mello was there, but didn't pay too much attention to the blond. Mello almost lost his temper and swung a fist anyway, but then his mantra was repeated again and he calmed down. By next week, it'll all be normal and the way it should be again.
Risa was unaware of the tense situation. All she knew was that Mello wasn't beating Noah up for being better than him, and that was honestly all that mattered to her. "You guys are all so smart, I have no idea why you even hang out with me… I am grateful for it though." She said nonchalantly, she honestly didn't mean anything by the sentence.
Noah however took personal interest in this. He had yet to realize that Risa was last in the whole Whammy's house. When he did realize, his curiosity was overwhelming and he just had to ask, "How did you pass the test with your grades now?"
Risa looked at him blankly like he was talking nonsense, "What test?"
Mello, Near, and Matt (though only slightly) were all shocked; they hadn't thought that Risa had never gone through the test before! Now that they thought about it, it was so obvious; they had simply chose to ignore the fact. There was no way Risa could complete the Whammy House test that deemed her smart enough to come to this gifted orphanage…
"Why are you here then?" Noah asked, not unkindly, nor meanly, he sounded like he was simply interested in the answer.
Risa looked at him and she frowned momentarily, how was she going to get herself out of this jam?
Noah noticed the frown and was even more thoughtful than before. She must really be someone special to be here, but it appeared she wasn't talented at anything in particular… Then perhaps there was some secret the boys and L were keeping that he didn't know?
He assessed the boys that were once the top three and shook his head; no, they knew as little about the reason why Risa was here as he did. Though he wasn't really sure about Near…
Noah excelled in psychology, and could practically read the thoughts of anyone in any given situation as long as he was allowed a certain time to study them. He had been orphaned lately when a serial killer had murdered his parents, and he had stood watching the gruesome sight.
He could read exactly what the killer was thinking, he knew. He understood the killer's motives and he actually agreed with it. This scared Noah, sure he hadn't always been the "perfect child", but he had always tried hard and was relatively certain that his thinking should not be the same as the guy who killed his parents'.
Near however, was seriously creeping him out.
Noah had never been particularly grateful for his gift; it was just matter-of-fact. He had been born with it and had learned to accept it. In certain times, he had even found it useful to know what others wanted or were thinking before they actually opened their mouth to talk.
Now however, at Whammy's, he was finding that he felt insecure and threatened by this boy with no emotions. Near was the colour of purest snow, unreadable, untouchable, forever out of Noah's reach. Noah was afraid of this boy, and what he was afraid of, he sought to destroy.
Risa's voice broke Noah out of his chain of thought, "Hello, Noah? You still listening?"
"Yeah." He answered back, noticing that they needed to be on their way to class now. In fact, Mello and Matt were already gone.
Near stood there, emotionless, staring, and waiting… At first Noah was puzzled and didn't understand what exactly the white-haired albino that sent shivers down his spine was waiting for. Was Near waiting for him?
The answer turned out to be no, because when Risa headed off in the direction of their first class that morning (which just happened to be the same despite their age difference), Near followed.
Noah had just noticed something that he thought was quite useful… It seemed that this "number one" boy at Whammy's was quite fond of this rather strange and intriguing girl. He had stalked (AHA, HE ADMITS IT!) Risa so far because he'd been interested in her injuries, but it was just now that it clicked in his mind how she was always with Near. To a certain extent, Noah was glad of his realizations this day, but on the other hand, none of these thoughts would help at all for him achieving his goal.
To become L.
The reason Noah had was not what most would think and not what he had told Roger; in truth, he couldn't care less about the fact that his parents had been murdered. His actual reason was much more understandable in his opinion.
Noah wanted to become L, so he could observe and learn more. More than anything, he wanted to know why criminals killed, how fair judgment was exactly, and if what the world thought was right was actually right.
He needed answers, lots of them. And if being L helped him get those answers, then he would most definitely do just that, no matter who or what stood in his way.
The first step was to beat Near, and Noah was determined, with lots of plans racing through his head, to do it.
Over the next couple of days, Noah observed Risa very closely, noting how her behavior was rather boring. She seemed to be normal enough and didn't look like she was pulling on an act at all.
On Thursday, after school had ended, and Noah, Risa and Near were walking around the school for no particular reason, Noah brought up a subject that he thought might make Risa reveal what was so special about her. "What do you think of the death of criminals? Are you against or for all the criminals dying?"
Noah didn't expect Near to answer, and the pale boy didn't exceed his expectations. Risa however, was a lot more thoughtful on this subject than he had predicted.
"Lives are lives, you know? People have done things, bad things in their life. It's human nature. If none of us can learn to forgive and forget, then trust me, this world would have one hell of a small population of humans. Yes, some people have killed others and think they hold more power, and they all think they're so special. But in the end, it all comes down to the fact that more often than not, they have a reason for what they do. Anyway, the old saying goes 'a life for a life'. Honestly, if people think that way in reality, this world would be one messed up place. Besides, even criminals have people who will mourn for them after their death and that would just cause more and more hatred to build up. In the end, it would probably be released through more killing." As she said this, Risa looked upset and her eye (the one that wasn't bandaged) was glazed as if she were actually seeing something in her past concerning this issue.
For the rest of that day, Noah was very thoughtful indeed. He could see a puzzle forming in his mind and he would find a way to fit all the pieces in.
Over the next couple of weeks, Mello was seriously freaked out by the fact that not only did he keep on being third, Noah actually occasionally pushed up to be first. Noah was challenging Near like he himself had never been able to!
Mello couldn't help the fact that a lot of stress was building up on him. Not even Matt could be his punching bag now because he found himself getting way more violent than before and didn't want to permanently disfigure his friend.
It was purely involuntary that he found himself sending a kick straight at Noah's face during a soccer match at recess.
Noah said nothing; he had been expecting the kick for weeks now. He had watched the signs of Mello's anger being forcefully suppressed, and then finally, the explosion. Mello didn't interest him as Risa and Near did, the blond was too easy to read, and way too emotional.
Since Noah had been expecting it, it really wasn't too hard for him to simply catch the kick and twist Mello's leg so the boy fell to the ground. Kids rushed over left and right to see what was going on.
Mello, so as to not lose face, obviously couldn't run off in this situation. So he stood and fought, like he thought any man should (though he doesn't necessarily qualify as a man, being only ten). He fought with all the strength he had, but found Noah turning his impatience and frustration against him and eventually he fell to the ground and didn't get up again.
Noah could tell that the boy was tired; not that he cared much. For all he was bothered with, Mello could just disappear off the face of the Earth, as long as he stopped getting in the way of his thinking! Just as Noah was about to give Mello a nasty blow to remind him not to mess with him again, there was a scream from the other side of the school.
Both Mello and Noah rushed towards to sound without a second thought, which confused the whole crowd. Hadn't they been fighting only two seconds ago?
They both recognized the voice- it was Risa.
"S-Seriously, you don't know what you're doing." Risa warned, her throat dry, "Please give it b-back." Horror filled her eyes and she was close to begging. In fact, tears were already flowing down to her chin.
A group of older girls stood in front of her, one of them playing with her precious knife in a way that showed utter distaste. Risa knew for a fact that these girls wanted to break her most treasured possession.
One of the girls had somehow found out that her knife was more important than her life for Risa, and they were now using that knowledge to its full potential. All of these girls had been very upset about Risa, the most stupid kid around the school getting so much attention from Noah, who wouldn't even spare them a second glance!
Now they were happily getting their revenge on her. The leader of the group of girls, and the one with the knife, asked with a venomous voice, "Do you know why you're here?"
"I want my knife back!" Risa squealed, struggling against the hold from two other girls.
The leader proceeded as if she had never heard Risa at all. She said, "You take too much time away from Noah. All of us are sick of you being the charity case, how long does it take for your face to heal anyway?" She was referring to the half of Risa's face that was still bandaged. The bandage would probably stay there for the rest of Risa's life, but of course the girls didn't know that.
Another member of the group started pulling on her hair, and hissing insults. Risa didn't understand why these people wanted Noah's attention so much, but that didn't matter. She needed to get that knife back!
Just as she thought this, the leader took hold of the knife and easily yanked out the tweezers from it.
(AN: Recap, it's a Swiss Army Knife, so yes, there are tweezers inside.)
Risa screamed.
Noah and Mello both rushed into the alleyway. The scene they saw immensely frightened them. Risa was there, holding her precious knife, the bandage on her face had been removed, and six girls lay unconscious at her feet.
Risa looked up at them, still fitting the tweezers in. It was actually Riku who spoke these next words just like the first time, "Death to all." The same fiery hatred burned in her eyes, and it was enough to make anyone take a step back.
Mello's breath hitched in his throat as he looked at the scar that he had yet to see on Risa's face. It was horrible! (I will not go into descriptions, merely use your imagination…)
Noah on the other hand, was slowly feeling a puzzle piece slide and fit into place. He was one step closer to finding out Risa's secret…
One step closer to Near's demise…
One step closer to becoming L…
Very soon, he, Noah, would solve this puzzle.
End Note: I wonder what you thought of this chapter… Hmmm… Please review!! Also, just a reminder: I won't update on weekends.