Another update! Sorry for the brief delay. This chapter is very much a filler chapter before the next big one. Also, there is a time jump of a few weeks. Don't worry, y'all get caught up. Also, my next update probably won't be until the end of the week. Hope that's okay!
Thanks everyone who is supporting this fic. Please continue to read, review, follow, and favorite along!
It's harder than Mello remembered, being on his own again. It had only been a couple of weeks at the new SPK tower, and yet it was a big adjustment to stay away.
To have to start stealing groceries, medical kits, surveillance technology, and hell, even just basic things to live on - yeah, that sucks. The cops get called on them a lot more frequently now, and with the amount of surveillance cameras in the stores and on the streets they've gotta be easy to find. (He thinks Near knows exactly where they are, but just doesn't care enough anymore to come drag them back).
They don't have any cash or reserves anymore, so Matt may or may not have committed a few acts of credit card fraud in order to have an emergency backup plan.
Japan's changed from what they both remember. It takes a couple of days of walking the streets over and over to relearn the roads. Thankfully, some things are even easier now to find, with the convenience of technology and maps. It's a good thing Matt had kept his spare laptop in his bag, because that was the only thing he'd taken with them from the SPK headquarters.
Mello does try to contact some of his old mafia contacts, but all of their numbers are gone. Probably switched them years ago. Hell, half of them probably aren't even around anymore to ask.
The killings start up. Not very many a day, but enough to take notice. Criminals mostly. Some businessmen. Big-name sleezy politicians.
He and Matt do a lot of surveillance themselves. Matt hotwires a ratty car from a used car lot and they do stake-outs. It's a lot like the first investigation, especially when they sneak in and set up the bugs on everyone's houses. Though, there's some shit that's better now versus then: one good thing about the internet - you pay a small fee and you can get a shit ton of people's personal info online.
Anyway. The Yagamis, the only two that are left, at least, don't seem to act weird. Mello watches the girl, Sayu, a small twinge of regret in his gut. Not as traumatized, though she still lives, unmarried, with her mother. Mikami was unmarried, and his parents are both dead. His aunt who raised him is still alive though, but her routine is almost as steady as that freak's was. Takada's parents act normally. No sign of Amane anywhere. Both of Higuchi's parents are dead now, and since he was unmarried too, it's hard to investigate him. All of his former friends on the Yotsuba C-suite are also dead, killed by Kira many, many years ago. Matt doesn't think it's worth going after their families, and Mello agrees with him.
It's boring. Wake up. Eat if they've got it. Stake out. Listen to the recordings from the bugs. Plot. Go through Matt's programs to see if any other familiar faces show up on surveillance cameras.
He doesn't think about Near. Well, he tries not to.
Matt tries to bring up the fight a few times. He shuts it down. Every time. Eventually, Matt walks around their hideout in similar moody silence. Which really, that just pisses Mello off more.
He starts dreaming. Snippets of that day in 2010.
He sees his death. Catches a glimpse of Lidner looking at him with pursed lips. Sees himself with a trucking hat on, going undercover in some hideous uniform. Watches Matt get shot on the news. Sees Takada shaking and undressing before him, terrified of what he's going to do to her. Feels squeezing of pain in his chest as he has a heart attack and dies.
Ouch. Not a fun week of sleep.
Even once those pass, the... other dreams come back. It's like a switch flipped in his brain. Instead of dreams of his death, he now sees flashes of someone's body on his, under his, wrapped around him. A set of hands on him, someone's mouth.
(Okay, maybe it's not just anyone. Maybe it's someone very particular. Someone he hates. And knows he hates now. For the most part. Maybe. Even though his words sometimes linger in his mind hours after he wakes up).
You made all of these feelings I once had about you come back.
Seriously. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Because it sure as hell is giving his body all kinds of mixed signals.
It angers him. It riles him up. Confuses him, mostly. Some mornings he wakes up panting, stuck with mix of hormones he can't seem to shake out for the rest of the day. Other days the proof is evident in his pants, and even Matt breaks away from his moodiness to snicker and throw a pillow at him to make him cover up.
When he's feeling a little bit more vulnerable, he's willing to admit to himself that Near's words have stumped him. He thinks the others have always been right - Roger, Lidner, hell, even Matt - Near never really hated him like Mello always thought. Though, now he probably does. Mello really couldn't blame him.
Enough time has passed that he's still annoyed that Near wanted to keep sitting on his ass, but he's not really angry anymore. Though, he's not really regretful, either. (Well, maybe a little, but he won't admit it). He should've just left earlier and avoided that mess. Could've avoided these weird-ass feelings he has about Near now.
Seriously. Weird-ass feelings just about sum it up.
Almost three weeks after they left the SPK hideout, Ryuk pops up in the backseat of Matt's car. They're sitting in the car outside of Takada's family home, doing another stake-out to witness her brother's routine.
Mello nearly shits himself when he stretches and turns ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of a random looming monster sitting in the backseat. He whirls around instantly, gun out and cocked. Matt follows nearly a second behind.
"Whoa," Ryuk says, completely unfazed. "Cool guns."
Mello groans and lets himself slump back down. He lowers his gun, knowing it would've done shit to him anyway.
"What do you want?" he asks, not trying to hide the annoyance in his voice.
Matt is still staring, wide-eyed. His expression is a mix of horror and fascination, and Ryuk eyes him slowly.
"Who's your friend?"
"Matt, Ryuk, Ryuk, Matt," Mello says. He reaches over and pushes Matt's gun down towards the floor. "Now tell me, what do you want?"
"Do you know how long it took me to find you?" Ryuk asks, and if Mello didn't know any better, he'd say it sounded like Ryuk was complaining. "Near-o wouldn't tell me where you ran off to. I had to track you down myself. Speaking of the kid, what broke you two lovebirds up? He didn't seem very happy when I saw him."
Mello scowls. "Shut up," he says.
Ryuk laughs. "Aw, so you two did break up? What a shame. I'm a sucker for a good love story."
"Shut up!" Mello hisses. His hand moves down towards his gun again. Even if he can't kill the bastard with it, it sure as hell would make him feel a lot better to shoot the asshole.
Now it's Matt's turn to lay a hand on the gun, keeping it pressed down. Mello glares over at him, but Matt's gaze is still on Ryuk, though it's shifted to complete fascination.
"I've heard a lot about you," Matt says. He sounds more like a devoted fan than a person with the self-saving fear of a shinigami in him.
"You're another one of those," Ryuk says. He gestures above Matt's head. "The incorrect lifespans."
"So it seems," Matt says affably. "You know anything more about that? I still don't know why the hell I woke up here."
"Eh." Ryuk shrugs. "I talked to the Shinigami King. I'm not really supposed to tell you why you're back now."
"Wait, so you know?" Mello's irritation about Near shifts to irritation at being kept in the dark. "And you didn't think to tell us?!"
"Nope. Not really my place. Sorry, kid."
Mello growls and fights the urge to shoot him again. "So does this have anything to do with why you said the King likes me so much?"
Ryuk shrugs again. "That's one way of putting it. I'm actually here because I have a deal for you. I want to give you a notebook."
"You took it from Near?!"
"Different copy. Different from Kira's." Ryuk pulls into his waistband a pulls out a red notebook. He wags it enticingly in front of Mello's nose.
"Why me?" Mello asks. He reaches up and takes it. When he flips through the pages, every page is blank. A tendril of power snakes down his spine. He could write down Near's name. When they find Kira, he can kill them immediately. He could go back to the mafia and take over. Again. His options are endless now. He flips through the pages again, reveling in it.
Again, Ryuk shrugs. "I've heard you've taken quite a liking to them."
Mello hesitates. Every molecule in his body is screaming for him to take it. He turns to Matt, and that feeling goes quiet. Matt is looking at him with a mix of hesitation and wariness. He schools his expression into something more neutral when he catches Mello looking.
Mello clears his throat, tries to control his own expression to something a little more tame and a little less power-hungry. "What do you think?"
Matt raises an eyebrow. "You're asking me?" He hesitates. "I don't think it's a great idea. I mean, think of what happened last time you tried to get one. You blew everything up to protect yourself."
Mello chews on the inside of his cheek. Damn, he would kill for a chocolate bar right now. That always makes him think better.
Matt blows out his breath, sending his hair flying up. "Do what you want, Mello. I can't stop you if you really do want to take it."
Mello's burn is all but healed now, but the skin around his eye tingles anyway. He wants the notebook. He really, really wants the notebook. He closes his eyes and concentrates. Matt's fallen expression is the only thing he sees, and even more unwillingly, Near's unhappy expression pops up.
He makes a sharp noise, an unhappy sound the mix of a groan and a growl and tosses the book back towards Ryuk before he can second-guess himself.
"Keep it," he mutters, opening his eyes. "I don't want it right now."
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Matt's expression clear to relief before he turns his face away so Mello can't see.
Ryuk picks the notebook back up and shoves it back in his belt. He doesn't look angry. If anything, he looks amused.
"Alright. I'll keep it for now."
Mello sits, furious at himself. He gives up the goddamn notebook because Near looked sad in his mind? Jesus Christ, what the fuck is wrong with him?
He half expects for Ryuk to just disappear, but instead, he continues to sit in the backseat. He watches Mello with the eerie expression as if he knows his inner thoughts. It irritates him even more.
"Don't you have someplace to be?" he snaps.
"Nah, not really. I'm just a casual observer. Think I'll stick around you two for a while."
"Is that really necessary?"
"No. But it's boring following Near-o around. He just sits there all the time."
"Why aren't you following the Kiras around anymore?"
"Oh, you know about the two Kiras now, eh?" Ryuk looks a little impressed. Mello does not remind him that he was the one who let that little secret loose in the first place. "The interesting one doesn't remember me anymore. The other has his own scheme cooked up. It'll be more interesting to see your reaction to it instead."
Mello waits another beat. "That's all you're going to tell us? Seriously?"
"Why would I tell you anymore? Impartial observer, remember?"
Mello snorts. "Yeah, okay."
They sit in silence for another few minutes until Ryuk begins floating in the backseat, hitting his head on the ceiling. He makes an unhappy noise again. Mello fights the urge to sneer back at him.
"Is this seriously all you two get up to?" he complains, unimpressed. "I thought you'd be up to more than this."
"Someone has to do this surveillance," Matt says. "Might as well be us."
Ryuk moans in the back. "Got any apples?"
"Didn't really pack expecting company. Sorry."
"Got anything to do?"
Mello huffs, annoyed, but Matt rummages around in the bag by his feet. "I got an old gaming console if you want it?"
Ryuk perks up. "Video games? I love playing video games."
Matt also lights up. "Seriously? Me too."
"Back in the old days Light and I used to play them together."
Mello turns around at that. "You and Kira used to play video games together?" He can't stop the laughter that bubbles over at the ridiculous image, and even Matt snorts with him.
Matt tosses back the handheld system. He unbuckles his seat belt and leans over the center console to explain the buttons to Ryuk, who watches with interest.
Mello does his best to tune them out and yet is unsuccessful. Of course.
My Tumblr friend delilahhyuuga238-art sent me a song they felt really fits the confrontation in the last chapter. It's called "No Surprise" by Daughtry. I gave it a listen and definitely agree! Feel free to give it a listen. (Also, if you haven't yet - check out their art this fic is loosely inspired by! It's linked in the end notes.)
I'm a huge fan of creating playlists for fandoms, so if anybody else has any song recommendations, please link them! If I get a ton I may make a playlist for this story. Also, I think it's obvious but just in case - I don't own the song "No Surprise"
R&R!