Well, here's the next chapter. It's longer than the last one, though shorter than my overall average. But, I'm happy with it. Finally, I have revealed a little more :D
I think you'll like it even though not much happens overall. If there's any break in character, I'm sorry -_-
Please Review
Chapter 26
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Things went well." His voice was soft, his back to her.
Leila watched him curiously, storm eyes following his every movement; noting he seemed restless.
"Did they?" He hummed.
"Yes. Very well. Apart from the fact you won't be able to leave your hotel undisguised for awhile."
"It's not like I leave the hotel much anyways." She responded, absently shifting her feet before wrapping her arms around herself.
He remained with his back to her.
"True."
"But this guarantees that Light is Kira. Most certainly in both our eyes, doesn't it? Had Kira been anyone else, I would've died."
"That means?" He urged.
She sighed.
"We need to finish this soon."
"Don't skip over the answer just because you don't like it." His voice turned firm and she couldn't suppress a shiver before nodding.
"It means that for some reason or another, Light Yagami - Light-kun - wishes me to remain alive." He smiled, though she was unable to see it.
"Exactly. We need to use that somehow. Maybe to infiltrate the Task Force? No…"
"I need to go to Near. He'll figure something out better than either of us can, Eli." The use of his name nearly made him flinch, but he nonetheless peered over at her.
The bright crystal blue of his eyes added some colour to the empty grey room they currently stood in. The golden of his hair; its length tied back with a black ribbon so to remain out of his face which was gentle, despite wanting to contort into something not as beautiful almost desperately.
Across from the dark haired girl who looked so much like L, stood a young man who bore uncanny resemblance to one by the name of Mihael Kheel.
"Near? Leila, you do realise that you're smarter than him right?" Eli responded, turning so his entire body faced her.
"But my ability to put together plans is limited. Yes, I've been predicting certain outcomes, but this one has left me rather stumped. With all due respect, Eli, I thought this last plan would kill me."
"Well, you did get shot by one of those crazy protestors."
"You know what I mean." Eli sighed and crossed his arms, eyes flitting upwards in thought.
No amount of roughness touched his expression. It remained gentle as he thought things out slowly. After all, in this room they had nearly all the time in the world. This room which remained in the vastness of Leila's mind - the only place she could come to remember exactly who that voice was.
When she woke up, she would forget again and Eli would relay to her what they spoke about during their meeting. And she would be left confused by the familiarity, unknowing of the man who more or less resided within her. It had been this way for as long as she could remember - since her early childhood.
"Mello won't like it at all, you know. That you'll turn to Near instead of him." She looked down and continued to hug herself close - offering herself some lame sort of comfort.
"I know."
"Well, as long as you do. I know how much you care for him, but Kira comes first. Especially now."
"I know, Eli."
"I'm just reminding you. Your friendship with him has been rocky from the start and it may get worse. Especially if he realises you're alive and rather well because you were wearing a Kevlar vest when you were shot." Leila sighed softly and looked to her companion with an almost pleading face.
A normal person probably would have crumpled with that look, but not Eli. Then again, he wasn't entirely normal anyway.
"Don't look at me like that. The truth needs to be blunt."
"And finally, your mouth matches your face." Leila whispered with a light smile.
Eli looked thoroughly disgusted.
"I look nothing like that bastard, got it?"
"You wouldn't know. You don't exactly have any mirrors in here." Eli faltered momentarily before glowering faintly, though it looked more like he was pouting to be quite honest.
"I don't, Leila! I know that for certain without even having to look in a mirror!"
"If you say so." Her words came out as a surrendering sigh and Eli's expression became concerned.
"Leila?"
"I'm not ready to die yet, Eli. There's still so much I need to do first."
"That's why I'm here. Trust me, as long as I'm around, you're not going to die before your checklist is done."
"Eli…how can you promise that?"
"I just can."
Beep. Beep. Beep.
"Serenity…Jacob…"
Hoarse whisper.
"Lily!"
Relieved excitement.
"I- I can't feel my fingers."
Pained gasp and smile.
"Sorry…"
Brief silence.
Jacob frowned faintly as he watched Lily and Serenity. The quiet of the current hospital atmosphere - a private room easily paid for - was somewhat comfortable. After all, there the girl was, very much alive and sporting a couple of broken ribs.
"How did you know Kira wouldn't be the one to kill you?" His voice was calm as was his expression.
Serenity looked to his boyfriend with wide eyes before he shook his head.
"C- can we not talk about -"
"It was just a hunch. You could say…a little birdie told me." Or perhaps a voice inside her head, but they didn't need to know that.
"A hunch?"
"…why do think I had us wear the vests? And you wear a wig? I took all precautions for your safety."
"And not your own?"
"I told you before we set out…this was something that very well might have killed me. But…I felt it was necessary." Neither Serenity nor Jacob could find anything to say to that.
More silence followed until Jacob recalled something.
"Oh, someone of interest stopped by to visit you. Apparently they figured out where we took you after the incident at the complex." She peered up, looking a little tired, but mostly intrigued - though not terribly surprised.
"Oh?" Serenity frowned faintly and nodded.
"Yeah, that git, Yagami. He wanted to see you." Peace blinked once before she closed her eyes and smiled.
"You didn't let him?"
"Of course not. He said he'd be back tomorrow though."
"Good…"
"Lily?"
"Don't worry, Serenity. I don't plan on dying anytime soon. I may have been lucky this time, but from now on, I won't need luck." She paused slightly before she smiled again.
"Can you get me a phone please? I- I need to make a phone call."
Mello was not pleased. To say he wasn't pleased would be an understatement as he was downright pissed. The sheep had to contact him now of all times? The fact that Near had contacted him at all was enough to piss Mello off. Especially at this point in time!
Mello was still in silent mourning. Even though he wouldn't admit it, Matt could see the new dullness to his eyes that had been there ever since that broadcast. While Matt himself felt that mourning over the dead was an insult to memory, Mello was clearly feeling the guilt that came with Peace's sudden passing.
Matt could understand why Mello was feeling like this. Peace was one of his closest friends - their closest friends. Ever since Wammy's, it had been the three of them. They fit together so nicely. Their contrasting and differences were what had done it. They were a balance and even though Mello didn't show it, he cared about them and he worried.
Especially about Peace.
He had never voiced it out loud, but Matt was more than certain of it from simple side-ways glances. Mello's eyes gave away a lot of what he was thinking, even if he didn't even know it.
"What the fuck do you want, Sheep? We have more important things to do than chat!" Mello's voice was course, bitter as he glared at the pale face on the laptop monitor.
Near merely twisted his hair around his index finger, staring impassively at the blonde.
"It is common courtesy for me to contact you at such a dire time, Mello."
"Common courtesy, my ass!"
"I imagined you would be acting as such. Giving Peace -"
"Don't you fucking say it, Sheep!" The blonde barked and Matt himself couldn't help, but recoil slightly and he was used to such outbursts.
Near, however, was unaffected. Nothing ever seemed to shake him.
"- Peace's current incident. She requested I contact you and pass on the knowledge of her survival." Mello froze, eyes wide.
"Sh- she's alive?" The vulnerability that Mello would normally not show, was plain as day.
Matt wasn't entirely surprised.
"You believe that she would be so careless?" Near questioned, eyes no longer focused on Mello's reaction so much as something clearly out of view of the camera.
Probably one of his stupid ass toys, Mello inwardly seethed - though such annoyance was quickly short lived.
"She challenged Kira and then showed her face! What the hell was I supposed to think?"
"I thought perhaps you knew her better, Mello. Given how close you are."
"Don't you fucking - !"
"How did she manage to pull it off?" Matt interrupted, stepping into view of the camera.
Near's eyes flickered to him.
"Apparently, the reason behind her collapse was not caused by a heart attack. Do you recall a loud sound going off during the concert she chose to hold?"
"Now that you mention it…"
"You mean to say that she was shot?" Mello ground out.
"Precisely. She was lucky to have decided to wear Kevlar beforehand or else -"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Where the fuck is she so that I can kill her myself?"
"Such details I am not inclined to say, Mello, on her request. No doubt because of such a threat." Mello's gaze turned cold.
"Tell me where the fuck she is, Near, or so help me, I will find her myself."
"Then proceed to shout at her for idiocy? I do believe that Peace had ulterior motives, Mello. For example, she was shot as I earlier mentioned. Despite showing her face and most likely starting a revolt against Kira, she was not killed directly by him or any of his subordinates. She was shot. Pray tell me why you think such a thing would occur?" And Mello was left speechless.
The burning desire to punch Near's face in was all that was left when the little sheep vanished from view of the monitor - the screen turning quite black.
Silence echoed painfully throughout the room. Matt broke it.
"Mello, she's alive." He murmured - why had he been so shocked?
Really. He knew so much more about this and he should have known in the first place that she wasn't dead. Not only was Peace smarter than that, but…
"…why didn't Kira kill her?" Mello muttered, previous anger replaced with a nagging curiosity and the feeling that Peace hadn't told him something important.
Then again, he had always known that she was hiding something and even though it bothered him, now he knew that whatever she was hiding was the meaning behind her survival. He needed to know what it was.
Matt glanced to him, the green eyes behind his tinted goggles already filled with realisation. Perhaps he had made a promise, but Mello was going to drag it out of someone sooner or later. That someone being Peace. Even though she was stubborn, she would eventually cave and it wouldn't be pretty. Mello seemed about to go and hunt her down now anyway.
That meant, in his own way, Matt needed to protect her. Or at least give Mello more of a reason to want to catch Kira. That Yagami bastard had played with the wrong person.
"I believe I know the answer to that." The disbelieving stare he got in return was almost enough to make him quiver - if perhaps he didn't know that it was a notion for him to continue.
He'd call Peace's personal phone later when he had the chance to let her know that he'd spilled the beans. Or, at least some of them.
"So, you got Near to contact Mello for you…"
"It's best if I avoid speaking to him at this given moment."
"You honestly think that he won't come find you to get the answers to his questions? He is a bastard."
"I really wish you would stop calling him that. And I know he would find me if he wanted answers. But, the thing is…" She trailed off and glanced down.
Eli watched her carefully before he sighed and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Oh. I get it. There's a reason you had Near do it. An underlying reason." His eyes flickered up as did hers.
Storm grey locked with crystal blue.
"So you wouldn't be forced to do it yourself. After all, you did tell Matt everything Mello-bastard needs to know about the key to your survival." She smiled faintly and turned, back facing him and eyes lightly shut.
"Matt is just as loyal to Mello as I am. Besides, it is a rather dire situation. You can't trust anyone, but L with great secrets. Especially ones regarding personal feelings."
"I guess when you say L, you're not referring to yourself, are you?" She stiffened, though it was only ever so slightly.
Hardly noticeable, but Eli still noticed.
"Even though you are L. You have the title, the brains, and the -"
"No matter what our similarities may be and no matter what title I have, I could never be L. No one could ever replace him. Not even someone who shares his blood and a similar face."
"Leila…"
"I'm not L, Eli. I never will be, but despite that, I still have to act the part. Just until this is over…" The blonde sighed softly and gave an assuring, gentle smile.
"…and it's almost over, isn't it?"
"It's almost over."
