To LottieRaven: Thank you for all those compliments, you flatter me.
You're right, for now there is just that feeling of curiosity and fascination between L and Light, but it will soon evolve into something else, as you may have guessed.
Don't worry, it's perfectly normal for you to wonder if I had stuck to the real age of the characters. I must admit I don't like it when fanfictions are not faithful to the original plot regarding that particular point, because the age gap is part of this relationship's charm if I can say that.
Once again, I thank you for your encouragement and support, it really means a lot. My craziest dream would be to become an author, but that is far from easy, to say the least. I have actually published two of my works on a french website, but as they belong to the very infamous category of 'tales', I did not get many feedbacks. But perhaps one day, I'll take the matter into my own hands and try to contact an editor. I have nothing to loose anyway.
Indeed, the rivalry will be very present in this story. It's unavoidable when you lock up twenty-six genius together in a house, I suppose!
Anyway, thank you for always reviewing and sharing your thoughts, it's always very pleasing to read from you.
So here is chapter 3, I hope you like it!
To LM273: Thank you very much for your feedbacks, I really appreciate it!
About L's future, I won't tell you anything. You shall see when the time comes ;)
I admit I was a bit unsure about my work on the Wammy's kids, but I am glad you think I did a great job out of it. Finding a unique personality to all the children was a bit difficult, but I hope I managed it somehow.
Well, I will not say anything about R's nickname neither, I would hate to ruin the surprise! So once again, you shall see...
I'm really happy you like that story. Here's the next chapter, I hope it'll be to your liking!
Chapter 3: Q
It had been a year since Raito Yagami became R, one of the most clever pupils of Wammy's. And over this one year, R had reached a very obvious conclusion.
The Wammy's House exuded logic and order. Yet, there was one tiny little detail that tarnished that perfect, well-oiled gear that was the School for the Gifted and Talented. And that thing resided in the person of R's neighbor, who was sleeping next-door and who sat at the desk on his left in class.
His letter was Q.
While every child in the House had been assigned a nickname according to this first letter, depending on whatever capacity or speciality that characterized them, Q was different.
For his nickname was Matt.
And that irrelevant, preposterous inconsistency disturbed R to no end, so much that he had promised himself to solve that ridiculous mystery.
"Hi, R."
The auburn-haired boy greeted him every morning with that same absent, cheerful voice. His eyes were always hidden between huge tinted goggles, lowered to a small twinkling screen of some portable game console.
He was perhaps one of the most pleasant and joyful student, however his merry façade never reached his lips nor his eyes, showing that he was probably as hollow as any other Wammy's kid. The only words that left his mouth were made of jests and sarcasm, yet for some reason he valued his mask of happiness over everything else, including sincerity.
"Hello, Matt." He replied dryly as he took a seat in front of the six-year-old kid, keeping his eyes to his cereals bowl and scones.
R often found himself eating his breakfast at the same table as Q, for he was one of the rarest children to not attempt to engage in a conversation, nor make some disruptive noises, nor stare at him with inhuman, piercing eyes.
Nonetheless, it had been one year of speculations and theories, and he had to know. So, for the very first time, he was the one trying to initiate dialogue.
"I've been wondering..." He began, sounding as detached as one could possibly be. "Why that nickname?"
The lithe fingers froze above the buttons of the console, and green-goggled eyes raised to meet his, blinking at him.
"You're talking to me?" Q asked, dumbfounded, pointing a finger at himself.
R slowly reached up with his hand holding a spoon, waving the cutlery in a circular motion. "Do you see anyone else sitting at this table?" He inquired haughtily, quirking a disdainful eyebrow.
"Fair point." Matt shrugged his shoulders, reporting his attention on his video game. "Well, I'm not sure why I've got that nickname. I've been told Eve wanted to call me 'Queer' but people told her two years old was a bit early to determine a kid's sexual orientation so..." He pouted in indifference. "She called me Matt instead."
R glared at the younger boy in pure exasperation, until the latter straightened up in his seat, shooting him a delighted glance.
"Nah, I'm kidding." He grinned widely, looking back down at his console. "I've really no idea. You know what they say. Never question Eve, cause you won't understand a single word."
R didn't answer, settling for his appetizing toasts instead, pondering what he just learnt, which in this case, was approximately nothing. It would seem he was left with not much of a choice.
He had to ask the only one who had a say in matters of nicknames.
Eve.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon, all the pupils had got out from a trying Mathematics class, and for once, R followed the crowd of children to the common room. A large, well exposed hall with numerous grand windows and beige parquet floor which contained several black and white sofas and armchairs, and some game areas, like televisions or more modest equipments like Legos, puzzles, chessboards, and so on.
R usually never went to that room where all the kids gathered after class, for the very reason that he did not like the company of others. But there was his only chance to obtain an answer to his obsessing query.
And there she was, at the far end of the room, lying on a black meridian, one glass filled with crimson liquid hanging at her hand which was resting on the armrest lazily.
Clenching his fists in determination, he walked towards the most eccentric member of this renowned institution.
"Eve," he said firmly, not tearing his gaze off the purple figure on the sofa, "can I have a word?"
As he spoke, the velvet clad student raised a hand in the air, and then let it sprawl on her forehead in a sharp noise. He arched an eyebrow as he noticed the girl's golden hair were splayed on the back of the meridian, so long that they touched the ground on the other side.
"Ah, permission..." She sighed heavily, her amber eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Always permission." Suddenly, she turned her head to him, peering up at him from her spot. "When you have poise and grace, you do not need permission." She added in an airy tone.
"It's not about poise and grace." He frowned at her, never dropping his guard of ice and marble. "It's about politeness. Something you seem to be terribly lacking."
"Some people lack what others do not. That is how the world is made, we cannot do anything about it, I am afraid." She sat up, rotating on her behind, leaning against the backrest.
"I guess so." R replied hesitantly, not so sure about what he had just agreed, but not willing to waste any more time. "I have a question for you."
This time, a broad smile stretched the young woman's dark red lips as she folded her hands on her lap. "And I have much more than one answer for you."
"Well, then enlighten me." He raised a hand to his chin. "I want to know. Why didn't you give Q a nickname that is starting with his letter, whereas you did for all the other children?"
In response, her brown eyes gleamed and she put her head down, dipping her lips into her matching beverage. After she had took a very small sip, her fiery eyes locked with his, as if defying him.
"I loathe boredom above anything else." She said, her voice as light, as fleeting as ever. "I flee predictability. Why do something anticipated, when you can do something utterly unexpected? Hm?" She tilted her head to the side quizzically.
"I suppose so." R retorted coldly, feeling his patience slowly growing thin. "But that doesn't answer my question. You said you had many answers for me, so tell me. Why did you call him Matt? That doesn't refer to any of his abilities nor quirks."
"We cannot always reduce someone to the idiosyncrasies they develop to express their individuality, nor to the prowesses they exhibit to hide the hole in their soul."
At hearing those words, R could do nothing but stare at the violet-dressed teenager blankly, unable to move when he saw her standing up and circling him, gold cascade of hair floating in her wake.
"Do not attach too much importance to names, R." The phantom voice said in his back, and he could do nothing but listen to it. "Names do not attach much importance to us, after all." Then, her voice was but a bare whisper, and he was sure he was the only one able to hear it.
"Good evening, R." Eve saluted him above her shoulder. Finally, he was able to whirl on his heels to look at the eerie figure as it crossed the door step. Unconsciously, he headed towards the exit, following the older pupil.
As if she had felt his presence behind her, E stopped in her tracks in the middle of the corridor. Without turning around, she spoke, and her fickle, mild voice as well as her words caused his blood to freeze in his veins.
"In a few years, you will fall in love with a letter, behind which hides a person with no name." She paused, and he could see her flashy red bonnet going down as she lowered her head.
"When you see L tonight, tell him that the dolphin, even though able to dive in apnea for hours, cannot survive underwater."
And E, alias Eve, vanished into the depth of the deserted hallway, leaving R with nothing but more questions and less answers.
After a quick, yet nourishing dinner with a silent Q and a rather dubious interruption of a small blonde curled-haired boy wearing huge round glasses and a large white laboratory coat who offered him some pills that were supposed to give him a perfectly regular sleeping schedule, R headed towards the library.
He refused the pills, of course, despite Q's assurance that this thirteen-year-old boy had nothing to do with a drug dealer, but was simply gifted in the area of medicine, creating very healthy and efficient treatments.
Whatever. He told himself, huffing haughtily as he reached the empty dark room decorated with endless ebony wood bookshelves and thin, aligned tables.
As he had foreseen, he soon spotted a crouched figure sitting at the farthest end of the library, a white and blue silhouette glowing in the moonlight. Restraining a satisfied smile, he led towards the most retired area of the room and took a seat on the right side of the quiet being.
L did not even look up from the tiny red-covered book he seemed to be reading thoroughly, hands raised in the air at his eye level, fingers grasping the corners of the paper, as if afraid he would catch a disease if he held it in a normal fashion.
"L."
"Yes?" The cool, mechanical voice answered without delay, though its owner did not spare him a glance.
"E asked me to tell you something when I see you tonight."
"Oh, really." The older student inquired rhetorically. "And how did she know you would see me tonight?"
"I'm pretty sure she didn't." R snorted mirthlessly. "She knew I would grow curious when hearing what she had to say, and that I would go and tell you anyway." His hazel eyes met onyx orbs above the book L had lowered by one inch. "She didn't guess anything. She simply manipulated me into meeting you tonight. Say something mysterious, compelling the person to wonder and go to the person designated beforehand..." He suppressed a chuckle as he leant down on the mellow velvet chair back. "A very classic trick."
At those words, L disregarded the book on the table in a deadly sluggishness, and R swore he saw a ghost of a smirk distorting the bloodless lips.
"I must say I am impressed, R." He stated in a rich, deep voice. "E is known to be the most talented student of Wammy's in the area of psychology. Watari himself even goes as far as to call her 'the world's greatest psychologist', and yet you managed to guess her intentions in less than seven hours. Quite a feat, indeed."
L's pupiless eyes fell on a white cup filled with a brown liquid which lay on the table and that R had not noticed yet. It gave off a soothing odor of bergamot. The dark-haired man stirred his beverage with slow, regular motions of his silver spoon.
"And still..." The cleverest student continued, his tone enticingly deadpan. "Here you are, sitting with me in this deserted library at eleven o'clock in the evening. Which leads me to ask," His obsidian eyes reflected the warm brown of his tea when his eyes flickered to R, "why did you comply if you had seen through her true intentions?"
"I was merely curious." R answered, pursing his lips in irritation as he fixed his gaze on L's cup. "I want to know what she meant by the words she told me to repeat to you."
L sipped on his tea noisily. "And what were those words?"
"The dolphin, even though able to dive in apnea for hours, cannot survive underwater."
The white-dressed boy put his cup down on the wooden table which emitted a sharp clang noise.
"I see."
"Do you know what she meant?" R furrowed his eyebrows as he searched for L's eyes, which were focused on the porcelain container.
"Yes..." L trailed off quietly, still not meeting his gaze. "And no."
R arched a quizzical eyebrow at the elder pupil. "What do you mean? It's whether yes or no."
"Well, you see, E's words are not meant to be taken all that literally." He tilted his head to the side as he rested his spoon in his cup. "As she uses to say herself, E has some kind of a motto which could be resumed as—"
"Why do something anticipated, when you can do something utterly unexpected." R cut him off sharply. "Yes, I am aware."
L stopped his fidgeting with his cutlery and raised his head to look at R intently. "Indeed. You must have understood so far that E is not the kind of person who ever speaks clearly. Everything she says, including her greetings and farewells, is a mystery, a riddle that yearns to be solved."
"And... did you solve the one I just told you?"
Silence. Bottomless eyes pierced through R as the two boys seemed to be bound to stare at each other. And then, the emotionless voice echoed in the darkness of the library.
"Of course I did."
"Alright, then." R said lightly as he propped himself up, ready to turn his back on L.
"You are not asking me what the solution is?" The older asked dully, but R was sure he could decipher a tiny hint of wonder in his baritone voice.
The chestnut-haired boy sneered, glancing back at L above his shoulder. "Would you tell me if I asked you?"
The dark-haired male marked a pause, his pallid hands anchored on his knees.
"Probably not."
"I guessed so." R smiled bitterly as he walked away between the rows of tables and shelves, leaving a silent L behind. "Now, if you'll excuse me... I have to wake up early tomorrow. Goodnight, L."
The huge ebony wood doors of the library creaked shut and everything went pitch black when a morose whisper filled the room.
"Goodnight, R."
The next morning, R was sitting neatly at his assigned table in his usual beige pants and black jumper, resting his chin on his palm. On his left was Q, his goggled eyes focused on his console, his lips moving in silent murmurs directed at no one but himself.
Ranks forward was the famous crouched figure of the oldest and cleverest student of all, L. R was so entranced in his examination of L's white back that he did not hear when a tall, voluptuous blonde woman entered the room and put her suitcase down on the teacher's table.
"Good morning, everyone." The smooth voice said pleasantly.
R finally raised his head to glance at the new comer. The woman seemed to be on her early twenties, she had straight, thick shoulder-lenghed blonde hair, a pair of curved dark sun glasses on her nose, and a black cigarette holder in her right hand. She disregarded her trench coat on the chair back and sat on the edge of the desk.
Suddenly, her eyes fell on Q. "Hello, Q." Her red lips stretched into a grin.
Following her gaze, R turned his head to his neighbor. At his greatest surprise, Matt was no longer looking at his console, instead he was staring at the young teacher with reverent, intrigued eyes. R suppressed the urge to widen his eyes in awe, for he never saw Q paying attention to any of the teachers before, except for that special computer science teacher. This was beyond astounding.
"Hello, Wedy." Matt answered blankly, though his eyes betrayed his obvious interest.
The complicity between that odd hazel-haired student and the young teacher was nothing but overwhelming. Yet, the class unfolded as any other computing class. All the students were focused on their computer screens, and Wedy was walking between the ranks, checking on their progress regularly.
The daily subject was breaking into Manchester's City Hall server in order to find the town hall's precise amount of funds and investments, which earned the bold teacher a slight huff coming from the boy sitting behind R.
Without delay, the blonde spared a glance at the black-dressed pupil behind him, throwing a joyful, "don't worry, T. I've got the mayor's authorization for this experiment. You're not going to break any law today." That seemed to ease the rightful child.
After four minutes of hard work, Q rose from his chair.
"Miss, I'm done."
The blonde woman whirled on her heels, offering her most radiant smile to the six-year-old child. "Very well, Q. Please, come here and show the class what you've found."
The kid in striped sweater moved to the front of the class, grabbed the piece of chalk Wedy was giving him and started scribbling on the black chessboard.
"If we use that shortcut, we manage to enter the server..." Matt was explaining his course of actions, step by step, but it seems the only people able to understand his reasoning was himself and Weby, "...then, it's quite simple, all we have to do is create an algorithm that will list all the possible combinations for the password..." All the children looked completely baffled, and R was slowly drifting out of attention.
"...and there it is." Matt finished in a firm voice as he turned around to face his fellows.
"We can see that the City hall of Manchester possessed a capital equal to nine hundred thousand and fifty seven pounds, and has contributed to the local football team at the amount of ten thousand, and also to an association for the defense of the forest grounds and natural environment at the amount of two thousand and sixty pounds."
Wedy's scarlet lips distorted into a satisfied smirk as she reveled in the dumfounded expression of the majority of the students.
"Congratulations, Q." She puffed on her cigarette, blowing out the smoke which leaked in the whole room, still smiling. "The class is over. Goodbye everyone, see you on Thursday."
And the blonde woman exited the white classroom without another word. R watched Q as he headed back to his seat at his left in silence, ignoring all the curious looks he was subjected to.
At first, I was wondering why that kid was admitted into the House, but now there's no room left for question.
He observed the younger child as he sat down and picked up his red console, resuming his video game as if he did not just break into one of the most protected networks of the country.
Yes... He is a genius.
One day, as the sun started to set, reflecting its marvelous shades of orange and rose on the english country, R decided to wander in the only part of the House he didn't know.
At the far end of a dark corridor opposite to the one harboring the dormitories stood an iron door which seemed to lead to nowhere. That was for that very reason R had decided to discover what hid behind that mysterious door.
When he finally pulled on the doorknob, he was faced with a steep, narrow metal staircase. The young student climbed silently without any trace of hesitation in his firm steps. Above his head, a large opening let enter warm yellow and pink rays which illuminated the dark stairs, allowing R to find his path rather easily. As he put his feet on the very last step, his breath was caught in his throat.
He was on the rooftop of the Wammy's House, under a small kiosk which seemed to have been dropped here by chance. In front of him stretched the forest, its tall, majestic trees gleaming in the marriage of the purple and orange setting sunlight. But that was not what surprised him most.
In the middle of the kiosk, leaning on the barricade was a well-known white and blue figure, contrasting in its paleness with the brilliant rays of the dying sun.
"Hello, R." L greeted him, his voice void of any emotion. "I see you have found my hiding place sooner than I had expected."
Choosing not to answer, R simply walked forward and settled on the barricade at the elder's right side. His brown eyes fell on the shining forest.
"You come here often." He declared steadily, for it was not a question. "Does anyone else know this place, except for you and now myself?" He asked, not bothering to look at the oldest pupil.
"No. I was the only one to have discovered that very special place... until you, that is."
"Does my presence disturb you?"
R sneaked a peek at the black-haired man who tilted his head upwards, as if willing to address the sky.
"Not at all."
He nodded though he was perfectly aware the older student was not sparing him a glance.
After a moment of peaceful, soothing silence, R spoke again, his voice plain and neutral.
"Why didn't Eve give you a nickname like she did for the other pupils?"
L, his face still turned towards the glowering sky, closed his eyes.
"Do you know why E gave nicknames to all the Wammy's kids?" He answered by a question of his own.
"I guess it's supposed to replace the names we don't have. So it would be easier to identify, to call one another."
Finally, L put his head down, staring at the bleak forest which was slowly engulfed by thin layers of fog.
"That is only the practical reason. I expected nothing less of someone as pragmatic as yourself, though. But that's not the only reason."
R quirked an eyebrow at this, waiting for him to continue, which he did spontaneously.
"Deprive someone of their name results in dehumanizing them." L stated emotionlessly. "Even cats and dogs have names. Whereas we, pupils of the Wammy's House, only inherit of one... single... letter." He cut his sentence word by word as he raised his index finger in the air as if to illustrate his allegations. "Like mere laboratory rats, like mere objects."
R lowered his gaze to the empty courtyard below, nodding in understanding. "I see. So if Eve gives everyone a nickname, it's barely to remember us that we're real persons, with real emotions. To sum up, those fake names are the last shred of our humanity. To have a name is to be human." He paused, straightening back as he turned fully towards the white silhouette that glowed in the dying sunlight.
"But wait. You don't have a nickname. Why?" He inquired, genuinely confused. Then, frowning even more deeply, "Does it mean—"
"Yes." L replied, his voice empty and blank. "You understood pretty well, R." Dark hair soared slightly in the freezing wind as the older student raised his head to look at R. Onyx orbs bore into R's heart with a strength it never held before, burning and eating at his mind.
"I have no nickname because E considers that I am no human."
Author's Note:
Here is chapter 3. I introduced Matt and some other students, I hope you liked it.
Some of the Wammy's kids called by a letter in this fiction are real Death Note characters. Will you be able to find and identify them?
(Hint: including L, Light, Matt, Mello and Near, there are 11 of them).
You have to find the ones whose true name was not revealed, basing on their letter (thus L, R, Q, N and M don't count).
PM me if you have the answer. There'll be a little reward for the winner who finds at least one of them!
P.S. I've read somewhere that Matt's letter was actually Q, so I did not extrapolate on this.
Anyway, thank you for reading!
Please let me know what you think of this story and leave a review!
I have a lot of work to do for college at the moment, so I may not be able to update once a week, but once in two weeks should be possible. Thank you for your patience.
Bye bye, humans!
C.