Chapter 24:

"The Law Of Reason"

Beyond Birthday began to undress. Light was shocked at how quickly he shed his clothes unashamed.

It was sheer madness. There was no way both of them would be able to fit into one-average size body bag. Light had seen a few to know, one-size does not fit all—especially two people at the same time.

Light swore mentally, but he was complied to strip down to his jockeys. Wet clothes not only weighed three times as much as dry ones, but they collected a lot of bulk when pressed, and adding water into the mix would be like cooking them alive. So, BB was right. They needed to ditch as much clothing as possible so they could fit into the body bag—if possible. But not all was necessary. His jockeys were dry.

Light saw the rest of BB's burned body apart from that hidden behind a pair of black speedos.

BB looked up and saw Light staring. "Don't judge me, Yagami," he said. "Since the fire that burned more than half my body, I need the tight support, but everyone likes their own style. Jockeys suit you."

"I didn't ask," Light replied annoyed.

BB picked up the body bag as the flame throwers began to eject fire further out towards them. But just then, something appeared on the wall, sizzling a fiery message, ignited from the new flame.

BB looked at it, read it.

Light said, "Is that the clue to unlock the vent? How can we even use it if we're trapped in this bag?"

BB looked up to see a punch pad on the ceiling near the vent. "Yet another impossibly Locked Room," he said. "I hate 'A' so much. He invents inescapable puzzles. Even if we do figure it out, there's no way to relay the answer to him, the blast of the flame throwers will drown out our voices."

"My father once said there is always way out of every cage," Light said. "Case in point, the cage you put me in. I burned my hands, but I got out. A sacrifice has to be made every time without a doubt."

"I won't give 'A' what he wants! I won't sacrifice one thing for another. I hate to lose."

Ryuk chuckled. "So does Light."

Light grunted. But it was true.

"I can help you with the passcode," Ryuk said. "If you guys can figure it out, I can use the punch pad. And no, I won't be saving you. There is a difference between aiding a human and saving a human. It's not against the rules. But if my helping saves your lives, sorry, you're on your own."

"Won't sacrifice yourself for our well-being, huh?" BB looked at Light. "Makes no difference, I can see Light's lifespan, and it doesn't end here. Unfortunately, I can't see mine, and of course, the Shinigami won't tell me, so I'm going to have to take a chance this will all work out—for me."

Light looked at BB. "Worth a shot," he said, happy with the confirmation he didn't die here.

"Don't get your hopes up, Yagami," BB said, almost reading Light's mind. "Living and existing are completely different things that most humans can never grasp. Chew on that piece of knowledge."

"Even still," Ryuk began to say, "the vent is only large enough for one of you at a time."

"We'll squeeze together as tight as we can once we get the code," BB said, looking at Light. "I don't care what I need to do. I won't die here! I'm going to live to finish what I started and kill that mother fucker! Once we get in the bag, Shinigami, you'll need to zip it up tight."

"Okay, good luck," Ryuk said. "And think." He recited the fiery clue on the wall.

"What a worthy fellow,
but he's long in the tooth;
Ride revered,
Yours very truly:
Paul."

"Huh?" Ryuk voiced. "Is that a poem? And why are three words underlined?"

"Hmm," BB mused, as if something felt familiar about it. "'A' likes wordplay, and he has a good education." Then he shook his head. "We'll figure out in the bag. Yagami, get down facing me, and I'll press down against you," BB said. "And no funny business, we might survive this after all."

"This is crazy! And why are you on top?"

"This is no time to be thinking about dominance. Get down on the floor, now!"

Light followed instructions. He got down and inside the body bag. It was just large enough for his height. Then BB knelt down and pressed down as tight as he could, pushed around, and pressed down, until their bodies were touching in such a way it made Light feel uncomfortable. BB straddled Light's hips, their mid-sections conjoined, privates-to-privates, and heads close enough to—

"Ryuk! Zip up the bag, and be quick about it, or we're going to be a pair of well-done beef kabobs!" BB commanded.

"Sure," Ryuk said, and with two thin, jewelry adored fingers, pulled up the zipper. The zipper slipped over easier than one hoped, and secured the bag. "Can you guys hear me?"

"Yes, Ryuk," Light answered. "But it's going to get hotter than hell in here soon enough."

"Then you guys better figure out the passcode quickly," Ryuk said. "The flames won't harm me, so I can say here as long as it takes." He chuckled under his breath. "And I'm interested to see how you fair."

"All he wants is to be entertained, he doesn't care what really happens," Light said to BB.

It was dark, but Light could feel BB breathing on him. They had to press flesh-to-flesh. "Kind of cosy," BB joked. "Reminds me of the time I was trapped in a coffin with L for a day when we joined up to catch a criminal so evil it took the two of us to…Well, if we survive, I'll tell you that story another time. Despite our differences at the time, L and I made a good team. Then we went our separate ways."

"Did you catch this criminal? Is it someone I need to concern myself with? What's his/her name?"

BB laughed. "Are you excited that there's a criminal out there you need to judge? You get a thrill using the Death Note, don't you? Why do you have this overwhelming need to cleanse the world of evil?"

"I admit it, I get a perverse pleasure in eliminating evil."

"Are you that excited? That better be your watch poking me down there, Yagami."

"Shut up! Why do you think I need to do anything? The world is rotten. In using the Death Note, I'm actually doing the world a favour. There's nothing deeper than that."

"If we get out of this gauntlet alive, I'll explain the Law of Reason to you," BB said. "Every person has a need to correct the wrongs of the past. I know about Jasper Yuta."

Light swore. "How the hell do you know so much about me? How do you know about Jasper Yuta?" Light twisted, rocking the body bag. "Get off me! I have to get out. Get me out of this thing!"

"You'll kill us both! Stop it! You're panicking! It's a clean sign of claustrophobia. Take deeper breaths."

"The air is stifling in here, and frankly, you need a better deodorant!"

BB planted his body heavier on Light, pinning him down. "Settle down, Yagami! And let me think."

Light huffed, then shut his eyes, and tried a mental calm technique; he clenched his fists. But it was difficult with the sound of the flames elevating, preparing to engulf him at any moment!

He thought of calming his phobia of tight knit spaces. He didn't know why he had the phobia, but he did remember when he was much younger, about four years old—before he met Demetre Draycott—he had somehow become trapped in a box and couldn't get out, and panicked, until his father found him, and let him out. The memory came flooding back like a repressed memory.

"Do you know the answer?" he spoke calmly to BB. "To the clue 'A' gave us?"

All of sudden, the roar of the flames engulfed the room more loudly like in an incinerator, the rush of pressure threw the bag asunder, and it rolled. Now Light landed on top of BB. Even though the body bag was protecting them, the heat could still be felt. And the flames passing over the bag was like a hot wind, and clearly felt—getting hotter with every moment.

"Interesting predicament," BB said with some amusement in his voice. "I can honestly say this is the first time I've been with another guy." He chuckled. "Congratulations, you're on top now. And you didn't even have to buy me dinner." BB laughed, almost insanely.

"This is no time to joke!"

"Calm down. You've engaged in the interest of both worlds, Yagami, right? Yeah, I know about the Yukaza Incident.* as your police report labels it. And your loyal, little houseboy, Riki, who now resides with you and Misa**. Well, he lives most of the time with Misa in her apartment, since your apartment keeps getting, let's say—compromised. Not a very secured location for a supposedly secret task force. Amane has a very extravagant loft in Kanto. I've visited it. And she has lots of lovely—toys." He laughed. "Riki went with Misa on her shoot to protect her while she was out of your watchful eye. Am I right?"

Light swore again. "How the hell do you know so much about me? Tell me!"

"Like I said, what I don't know—I find out. After you—Kira—killed L, I made it my life's goal to learn everything, and I mean everything, about you! And you'll be surprised what I found out. And as a teaser, let me tell you your father isn't as innocent as you may think."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Tell you later. I know the passcode to the vent punch pad now," BB said, quickly changing the subject.

"What is it?" Light said hotly, focused on the moment. "I want out of here!"

"Being Japanese, you're basically subjected to your own culture, paying little attention to the rest of the world. Racist? No, it's all about the preservation of your culture. The Japanese have always valued their own over others. Oh, you're taught basic world history, but those that come from outside your isolated island in the Pacific know a lot more that you do about the world beyond their waters despite the advert of the internet. This is why L found you so quickly. You first killed with the Death Note in your own backyard."

"Thanks for the history lesson. Not what is the answer to Auric's clue? I feel like a roosted chicken."

"Recall the clue: 'What a worthy fellow…' with the word 'fellow' underlined, '…but he's long in the tooth…" with the word 'long' underlined. 'Ride revered…' with the word 'revered' underlined. Then it ends with: 'Yours very truly…' and signed: 'Paul,' " BB recited. "While set abstractly, poetically, it refers to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, an American poet who wrote: 'Paul Revere's Ride', you know, 'The British are Coming, The British Are Coming!" The underlined words: 'fellow' and 'long' clued me into the author, as did the third line. Longfellow always ended his letters: 'Yours very truly'. The third underlined word 'revered' clenched it."

"Okay, fine, so what does this have to do with our predicament?"

"Shut up, and I'll tell you. Like all teachers, show your work."

"We don't have time! The flames are going to roast us alive!"

"Remember our mistake in the water chamber, 'A' won't release us until we tell him how I came to my conclusion. And much like a poet, his flames of passion go beyond just the answer. You're the one who figured out the water chamber to its arithmetic conclusion, however the end result was dire. We had the Shinigami to help us out, but not this time. Not with that vent locked."

Light didn't like it, but then said, "Fine, go ahead. Tell me how you figured it out."

"You may or may not know, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a renown poet that lived from 1807-1882, and he was greatly admired by both US President Abraham Lincoln and novelist Charles Dickens."

"I know both, go on," Light said.

"Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theatre and Dickens had a pet raven, known facts of both."

"So? What do those facts have to with our current situation?"

"He's sending me a personal message. I tried to assassinate him, but unlike Lincoln, I failed. So, he wants revenge. And he's also telling me, that you were purposely set free—to join me here. Either Raven is a traitor, or you were duped by her sister Hawkes—'A''s pet—who infiltrated my hideout and pretended to be her. 'A' planned this to the minute detail, just like a master tactician. Just like how L would have played it, and just how L caught me. And that is the clue. There is no code for the punch pad. It's a dummy, just like he's calling me. He wants us to go to Hell, to burn in the flames of his hatred for both of us."

"No one is that smart to conspire future events!" Light said shocked. "Unless…Is that it? We're dead then? There's no way out?" Light's panic returned. "But wait…my lifespan…"

Just then, something happened, and the rush of the flame throwers sizzled out, with an almost ear-popping poof. A moments reprieve? Out of fuel? Had BB solved the clue 'A' left him?

The bag unzipped, and Ryuk towered over them. His clownish face, that abnormal grin, looking down.

BB blinked, his face drenched in sweat. Light Yagami was the same.

Light rolled off BB and immediately took a series of deep breaths. The vent was open, the grate hanging down, and it was now producing ventilation with a cool breeze which was a welcome relief.

"Y-you managed to open the vent door, Ryuk?" Light said breathlessly. "Even without Auric's passcode?"

Ryuk shrugged. "It wasn't me, the panel just suddenly beeped, and opened. And the flames fizzled out."

BB staggered to his feet. He wobbled and felt a little light headed, then steadied himself. "Who…"

"I'll help you get out of this room, but don't count this as me putting my life out there to save you, Light, or even you Rue Ry—" Shinigami stopped short. "Oops! I nearly gave something important away."

Light looked at BB, then looked above BB's head as if he could see his real name floating above his head. Sometimes Light wished he had made he Shinigami Eye Deal with Ryuk. Things would have been so much smoother for him. Nevertheless, he wanted to live to see his new world flourish.

"Yes, Light Yagami," he said. "Rue is my real name, but that's all you'll get. Yet continue to call me BB or Beyond Birthday for now."

BB looked down at the body bag and caught the glint of something, he bent down and picked up the object that lay just inside, previously unnoticed. Had it been there the whole time? The tips of the object were sharp as he settled it in his hand.

Light caught notice of the object, as he stood up. "What is it? A mini-knife?"

"For me to use to cut myself out of the bag after yours was burnt to a crisp, I think," BB said. He turned it over, then went closer to a light source near by. "Strike that," he added. "It's another clue."

"Are those Pilot Flight Wings?" Light wiped sweat from his brow.

"I'm starting to see a pattern here," BB said, looking up at the vent. "If I have to guess, the next room has something to do with Wind—judging by these Flight Wings—one of the four elements of the planet." BB sighed. "'A' has always been conscientious about the planet. If he saw a scrap of garbage on the ground, he would always pick it up, stuffing his pockets. He probably built these rooms with the four elements in mind, as we all know, any one of these elements can be deadly. We escaped Water, we've defeated Fire, somehow. Now we're at the half way mark. Ryuk take up to the next room."

Light looked up, and said, "What does that twisted son-of-a-bitch have for us now?"

"If you ask me, I bet it won't be a breeze," BB said whimsically.

Light rolled his eyes. "I wonder what my father and the rest of the Kira Task Force is reacting to my disappearance and that you've been masquerading as me for a week?"

"He wasn't very happy, I can tell you," BB replied. "If it wasn't for my friends, I'd be in jail right now, and you, well, you'd probably be at the mercy of 'A' and whatever tricks he has installed for us, but alone. And you'd probably be dead, as he wants you to be—to get back at me. But enough small talk. Let's go!"

Ryuk took them up consecutively. But almost immediately, it wasn't what BB was expecting.

To be continued...


*(DN Novel: Hollow Victory)
**(DN Novel: The Power Of A God)