Chapter twenty one
It was December twelfth, one day before Mello's birthday, and Kat was trying to ignore L. This wouldn't be the first time they had missed one of the boys birthdays, but that never made it easier. She had already organised more gifts than she could count to be delivered to the boy as he awoke, and she was waiting for the moment he awoke to call him. Mello wasn't like Matt or Near. He was more sensitive, so she would need to show how much she cared. Sadly, they were also painfully busy. Over the last two days, Kira had killed forty six men in as many hours. Each death counted another hour, leaving only two hours unaccounted for.
L was livid. Though he had remained calm all through his communications with the police, he had flipped in the hotel.
"That arrogant motherfucker! Who does he think he is!" L cried, throwing his arms around wildly. Kat watched him silently, her eyes following him as he flung himself across the room, slamming his first into the wall in frustration. She wasn't used to being the calm one, and it wasn't a feeling she was fond of.
"A god." She answered quietly, watching as L took some deep breaths.
"What?" He demanded, turning sharply to face her. Kat didn't flinch, instead remaining dead still.
"You asked who Kira thinks he is. A god. He has a massive god complex, something we both know." She stated, watching as L managed to calm down enough to sag against the wall he had just attacked. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"The question was rhetorical." He groaned, falling into a crouch. Kat shrugged, expression unchanging.
"Doesn't make my answer any less valid. You need to stop taking this so personally." To prove her point, Kat returned to typing on her laptop, her fingers flying over the keys. She was currently replying to one of the many request emails she had received since they arrived in Japan. They always said the same thing, that the problem was unsolvable. This was not true. Kat had already solved the case in one email. The president of Peru could relax.
"This is personal! Don't you see what he's doing?!" L fumed, moving to stand back up.
"He's trying to show you that he can kill whenever he wants, therefore proving you wrong."
"He's trying to- wait, what?" L stared at her in shock, his anger melting away from his posture. Kat tucked her hair behind her ear, her gaze never leaving the laptop screen.
"He's trying to prove you wrong. That's why you're so angry. You had decided he was a student, thanks to the pattern of the killings, and now he's proving you wrong." She paused to meet his wide gaze, her fingers never pausing in their typing.
"Well... Yes." L agreed, though he seemed slightly disheartened, considering he couldn't explain his anger to her now. Kat rolled her eyes, sending the email and setting the laptop aside.
"Yes, he is. But what can you take from this?" She asked, sitting up slightly and crossing her legs. L shrugged, his attitude returning.
"That he's a cocky little-"
"Focus, L! How could he possibly have know you suspected him of being a student? How could he have come the the conclusion that he should kill once an hour? Think." She waited patiently, the gradual look of realisation dawning on L's pale face relieving. He was thinking, he was calming down. She had made him think.
"He's getting inside information." He concluded, standing up straight (well, as straight as L ever stood).
Kat nodded encouragingly, her lips turning up in a small smile. L paused, his hands still running through his hair.
"But from who?" He finally settled on a question, though weather it was rhetorical or not, she wasn't sure. She decided to answer anyway.
"I don't think it's from a person." She looked at the pile of files on the coffee table, each detailing a different member of the Japanese police force. She had spent hours pouring over those with Watari last night, each taking turns in checking on L. She hadn't seen anything that suggested a benefit from aiding the killer.
"Then the database? That's the only other way he could be getting this information." L came to crouch beside her, a small smile staring to pull at his lips. He planted a gentle kiss on her cheek, his cool hands finding one of hers.
"You really are brilliant, you know that?" He asked, looking into her beautiful face. Kat roles her eyes, but smiled all the same.
"That's why I'm here." She offered, but L only squeezed her hand in response.
"That's not the only reason, and you know it. Although, it's an amazing perk." He turned to the compute on the floor beside him, calling down to Watari. He answered just as quickly as usual.
"L?" The elderly man answered, his tone soft and patient. He obviously expected the detective to still be mid-rage. L blushed slightly at the sound, but moved on.
"Could you please put me through to the police, Watari?" He asked politely, clearly trying to show how he had relaxed. Kat chuckles before standing, collecting her laptop, and moving into the kitchen. She had her own thins to do, and she didn't need L fluttering around in the background. It was her boys birthday in a few hours, and she had things to do. Roger had been instructed to throw the best party he had ever seen thrown for a fourteen year old boy. Matt and Near had agreed to be as nice to the boy as possible (Near had insisted that any conflict between them was purely Mello's own doing), and that there would be no fighting. She would have to wait and see.
"Happy birthday, baby!" Kat cried, grinning brightly at the computer screen. There, disheveled and jawing, was Mello. His blond hair was sticking up all over, and his pale face was flushed from the warmth of his bed, but he managed a smile for his adoptive mother.
It was nine am in Winchester, so it was already five pm in Japan, and Kat wasn't sure she could have waited much longer to see her boys. L wandered around behind her, picking at a bowl of strawberries. Kat waved her hand at him, demanding his attention.
"L, get over here, say happy birthday to Mello!" She ordered, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the sofa beside her. He sighed, but smiled at the boy none the less, waving awkwardly.
"Happy birthday." He added, watching at Mello rolled his eyes.
"Thanks, dad." He yawned again. Suddenly, Matt was on the bed beside the sleepy teen, his arm wrapping around his shoulders.
"Hey mum! Hey dad! Can he open the presents now?" Mello sighed at his bother while bother Kat and L chuckled.
"Of course, but you have to show me what you've got." Kat ordered, watching the boys jump out of the bed. It was Near that reached over and turned the laptop so the camera faced the rest of the room. It was full to the brim with gifts, many of which Kat had not bought. It was nice to know her eldest had friends.
"This one first!" Matt insisted, handing Mello a messily wrapped box. L knew what it was immediately. Matt had made him help with his little 'project' before they left, and he was quite excited to see how it had turned out.
Mello ripped open the paper, then made quick work of the box. Inside was a small silver phone. Mello looked up at his brother, puzzled.
"That phone is undetectable, has a battery life thirteen times better than any other, and would get reception in the North Pole in the apocalypse." Matt explained. He paused, then pointed at the top.
"And it has a camera, which is fun." He grinned, and Mello looked very impressed. He gave his mother a fist pump, both too 'grown up' to hug, but the sentiment was there. Mello opened his gifts and was thoroughly impressed with the lot. Finally, there was one left. Near held out the perfectly wrapped gift, his small hands gentle. Mello took the box and pulled off the paper, but before he could rip the box open, Near piped up.
"Careful, you might break it." He warned, earning a confused look from his brothers and a concerned look from Kat and L. What he could have come up with, none of them knew. As smart as he was, Near wasn't good with people, and he could sometimes do strange things.
Mello carefully pulled the kid from the box, then tipped its contents onto his palm.
"Near, why...?" He stared at the gift for a moment, then at the pale boy across from him. Near shrugged, his indifferent expression unchanged.
"It made me think of you." He explained, his hand wrapping itself around a pure white curl.
"What is is?" Kat finally asked, hoping to save Near's feelings. Mello took a hold of the gift with two fingers and held it up to the camera. It was a deep red rosary.
Mello had never been overly religious. He believed in a god, but not the conventional 'bad people go to hell' kind. He liked to think of a more morally grey, ambiguous kind of God.
"Uh-"
Before Kat or L could think of anything to say, Mello had pulled his younger brother over and wrapped his arms around his slender shoulders, hugging him tightly. Near was still, but he didn't fight against the contact, a small smile even taking place on his pale face. Mello took a moment before stepping back, taking the rosary and sliding it over his head. It fell to the middle of his chest, and was actually quite nice. It must have cost Near a decent amount, considering how well made it was. The deep read stone was simple, yet attractive.
"Thanks." Mello said gruffly, clearing his throat. Kat felt her hand press against her heart, the surprisingly sweet scene before her just too much. L was more or less the indifferent, but he could see the significance in the moment.
"Well," Matt announced, moving on, "I for one would like to eat, and I'm pretty sure mum and dad have work to do."
The boy stared into the camera meaningfully, then turned to his brothers.
"Come on, let's get this show on the road!" He clapped his hands, ushering his brothers towards the door. Kat bit back a laugh, watching.
"Ok, have a great day Mello, and I love you all!" She called. A chorus of 'you too' was her answer, and then the screen went blank. L sighed, standing up and heading back into his work. Kat just sat for a moment, thinking over what she had just seen. Mello and Near where the two with the most unusual relationship of her boys, and she was always worrying about them, but it was nice to see the genuine care they had for each other.
"You don't need to worry about them as much as you do, you know that?" L asked from across the room. Kat picked up her own work where she had left off, rolling her eyes.
"That's such a sad thing to say... I'm their mother, blood or not, and I will worry about those boys until the day I die."
A/N:
Ok, I haven't slept in a long time, and it doesn't look like I'm going to for a while, and I'm on a roll, so it looks like you guys are in for a treat! This chapter is a lot shorter than usual, but it was so sweet at the end that I just didn't want to ruin it with the perfect asshole that is Light Yagami. Speaking of Light, he should be showing up soon! Funny, a 21 chapter story, and one of the main characters has still failed to show! Oh well.
I've said it a thousand times, and I'll say it again, please let me know what you think of the story, I really love hearing from you, it really makes my day!
Love you all
KD xxx