Hysteria
L.
Time freezes.
And then seems to snap back into fast-forwards, to make up for the lull. Like in that stupid movie Matt saw, with the fish, and he called horseshit on just about everything in that thing and spent the whole time sitting in the back with Mello trying to throw popcorn at Near and wishing Roger wouldn't come up with these stupid group activity nights in the first place or that he'd at least get them something decent to watch. Why is he thinking about this right now? Oh right, because it's true.
L's mouth drops open. Mello kicks the police officer as hard as he can in the shins and yells. Near starts squirming furiously to get out of Misa's arms. Matt dodges the chief again, and fumbles with the zipper of his backpack. Sighurd says something that they all miss.
Mello couldn't say later why he panicked. In fact, he'd deny furiously that it was panic at all. Planned resistance, he'd say, because he was being manhandled. In fact, he just started yanking and grappling furiously, trying to get away from someone with a considerable amount of training restraining people who are trying to get away.
L pushes Light forwards and steps out of the elevator, raising his hands. The door half closes on him, and makes an obnoxious 'bing' noise that makes Near jump and kick at Misa a little.
In the mean time, the chief has rushed at Matt again, who has sprung out of the way and kicked a chair into his path. The backpack opens, zipper tearing with an obnoxious sound, and everything scatters across the floor.
Near makes it out of Misa's arms, finally, and she rushes for Light, shouting in alarm, adding greatly to the mounting cacophony.
Mello shouts again and bites the detective's hand, and is finally let go. He falls flat on the floor and scrabbles away before he can be grabbed again.
Near lunges for a pile of books and papers, with a thin, black note book sticking out of them. No one would ever credit Near being able to move that quickly.
The chief gets Matt by the arms, pulling them behind his back, and shoves him down over the reception desk. Matt yells in surprise and pain as his ribs connect with the edge of the wood, and Mello throws himself onto the chief's back, trying to yank him off.
Motsuba and Aizawa go for Mello at once. He doesn't seem to notice their approached, in his haste to help Matt.
L finally manages to push out of the elevator, past Light and the hysterical Misa, who has her arms around his shoulders.
Near scrambles to his feet, book clutched in his hands.
L and Near lock eyes across the room. The last of the four detectives is reaching for Near, but watching Mello and Matt, who seem to be putting up a hell of a fight. Near has two point seven seconds before he's grabbed, he figures out, costing himself point three of that time. L draws himself up straight.
At the same instant, Near throws the Death Note, and L shouts, with all the considerable command and presence he can muster,
"Stop!"
He catches the book out of the air, one handed, and spends a good three seconds wondering where the low woman's voice is coming from, and why she's howling in laughter.
Everyone stops.
Except the monster in the doorway, with tears of blood streaming down her metal cheeks. Sighurd simply can no longer breathe.
Neither, it seems, can L, but for very different reasons.
He should probably say something.
He will. Eventually.
The thing has rotten wings.
What should he say?
What does he do?
"Everyone..."
No, he has nothing. He starts violently when a hand sets down on his shoulder, and looks over. It's Light, eyes warm and concerned. Light smiles at him, a little tentatively, since Light figures he's already pretty much got control of this situation and now just needs to untangle it, and L feels his heart beat a little faster. He focuses on Light's eyes, breathes once, and then turns to face the room.
"Gentlemen, you may release them. Mello and Matt are going to behave and come here right now. Near too. We will go upstairs."
L's posture eases into what it was again. He puts his hands in his pockets. The policemen release their holds on Mello, Matt, and Near, who look at combinations of the floor and each other, rather guiltily, he is pleased to note. As they should be. They were essentially brawling in his foyer. The only real question is... what were they doing in his foyer? And who is it that they brought with them? It goes against his every instinct to leave her here, but the look Near is giving him suggests that it is important he does so.
He is not sure he wants Light to know about this, until he knows more.
The elevator door closes, all of them jammed inside it, on Sighurd, still standing in the lobby, watching L with eyes he can't decipher.
Shinigami.
He'll have to get Watari to buy some apples.
By the time they have reached the main room of the investigation, bypassing the more serious security in light of the special circumstances, L's head has stopped reeling quite so much. He steps out of the elevator.
"Misa, I am going to have to ask you to remain behind. Please go about your daily routine." She opens her mouth to shriek in annoyance. He interrupts her before she can. "It is vital that it seems as though nothing has happened. Due to your fame, this disruption is conspicuous, and a risk. But if you maintain the difficult job of being the regular, public face of the investigation, you will save Light and us all from a grim fate."
He's pressed the 'down' button as he speaks. The door closes on the nodding actress, and he sighs in relief.
Then pads, barefoot, towards the sofas, dragging Light along by the chain.
Everyone looks at each other, and joins him. Even the adults feel slightly like chastised children, being sat down and given a bit of a talk. L tucks himself into an armchair, folding his knees to his chest, with the death note pressed there.
Near curls up in much the same position, and winds fingers in his hair. Matt settles down next to him, and sets a hand on his shoulder. This seems to make Near ease somewhat. Mello sits on the other side of Matt, posture clearly still aggressive. Fiercely protective. L bites his thumb and smiles, as Light pulls up a chair next to him.
"Thank you for bringing this to me."
The moment he says it, Mello feels something in him untwist. L isn't angry. L is grateful, if anything. He looks sideways at Matt, who glances back at him. And Mello can tell that he gets it. Suddenly, no matter how this turns out, the whole thing has very much been worth it.
None of them have ever really paused to think about how someone could win this much loyalty with only a few words and a very little bit of kindness over a great many children. But these words of praise already mean the world.
"You're welcome," says Near, calmly and simply. "Can they please all go?"
Of course there is immediately a chorus of protests, but the chief rises to his feet when L nods. The rest, as usual, follow his example. No matter what his rank may be, or what he may ask them to call him, or what they might go through, he will always be 'the chief.' As long as L has his support, he knows that he has all of them.
The men leave the room, leaving L, Light, Matt, Mello and Near, sitting in slightly awkward silence.
Now that they're here, the question, Matt realizes, is where to begin.
"Please," says Near, "read the rules on the inside of the cover, and above all else, do not let the person you are chained to touch the paper."
Mello and Matt glance at each other again. Near thinks that this Light person is Kira. Immediately, they both consider it. As they should have before, really. Mello feels guilty about that, but Matt forgives himself, since it's been a kind of busy few minutes.
He's probably the right age, of course, just as they estimated, and he could very well be attending school near here. Well, could have been, since he was now shackled to the detective, and that was another thing: if L is keeping him this close it means he needs to be supervised more than even cameras could do.
Yes, odds are that this is the person L believes to be Kira. And if L believes something to be true, the odds are overwhelming that this actually is the case. None of them doubt that in the slightest.
But, given the current look of surprise, and the utter lack of fear...
Light evidently is supposed to speak English.
"Il ne souvient pas," Matt murmurs, "Il a perdu ses reconnaisances de la note." He doesn't remember, it means, he's lost his memories of the note.
Mello nods, and presses his forehead to Matt's shoulder for a second. Breathe in, breathe out. Wait, while L reads, and thinks, and passes his judgement.
Ultimately, of course, he reaches the same conclusion that the three of them have.
They all wait for him to speak.
"I think everyone would feel much better if we could have some cake."