Nine Months Due

By: Kaytee Kudo

Category: Death Note

Genre: Romance, Humor

Rating: T

Summary: The Shinigami decide to take matters into their own hands and attempt to put the Kira case to a close by erasing the world's memories of Kira. But this is not without consequence…

Other Notes: Alternative ending bordering AU; LxLight, Mpreg in later chapters

Quick Recap from Previous Chapter: L realizes that, despite whatever misdeed Raito did, he still couldn't find it in himself punish him, or else he would just worry himself to death. He decides to trust the boy for now and lift the punishment from the three misfits. L made Raito assistant professor so that he would still be able to learn despite not being in school (they have to wait for the next semester, unfortunately), but then, Raito discovers that he had to teach the class Matt and Mello is in...

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note…not even in my dreams…

CHAPTER 12

Otaku Date

When L told Raito that he would call off his punishment, there were two things that surprised him. The first was, as unbelievable as it may seem, Raito never expected that L would ever make him in an assistant professor. The boy may be aware that intellect-wise, he may be well above any other Tokyo University professor, but he really did not think that, given L's temperament, the detective would entrust the future of thirty or so children under his care. He knew himself, more than anyone else, as he pointed out to L a few days ago. And more than anything, he knew that he was just not cut out to become a professor.

His personality could not handle it. He used to be excited to teach children some stuff he knew, but his petty childhood dream was easily crushed when he experienced working part time in a preschool. He didn't even last a day there. L should have known better, whether he was aware of that past or not, if he were to call himself the best detective in the world.

Anyway, the detective actually got past this and still made him an assistant professor, so the least Raito could do is to be thankful, and handle the responsibility properly.

Thankfully, his new position as an assistant professor commanded some respect to all the students, Mello included. The blond could not force him to join his soccer team anymore, now that the teacher, Blake Tatcher, was keeping an eye on him. This was probably a part of L's idea. The day went on pretty smoothly, so to speak.

"You are truly exceptional, Mr. Yagami." The teacher beamed after the day is done. "You're more promising than what Roger implied, and he told me you're Japanese. It won't take long before you become a real professor."

"No, I'm really not that good. I just tried to explain what I know. I haven't even graduated college yet."

"Ah, but with that kind of brain, who needs college?" he continued to praise Raito.

"No, I just listened to what sensei was teaching and followed suit. I still have lots to learn" Raito argued.

The teacher merely smiled.

"Ah, I guess I've come face to face with the genuine Japanese humility", he said happily. "You don't need to downplay your abilities when it's overflowing like that."

He patted Raito on the back.

"Good luck, Raito-sensei"

"Th-thank you, sir", he said as he bowed to the professor, who just smiled and went home.

He would have said something entirely different if he knew what's going on in the professor's mind when he said that, but it was only the following morning that anyone discovered what was up.

"What do you mean he suddenly quit?"

At times like these, L couldn't help but feel that somehow, the world is harshly forcing him to face reality, no matter how surreal it may look. For one, he knew that that rather tired sigh coming from the usually obedient elderly signaled that the said man was already at the brink of his patience.

"Watari…" he started, trying to force a little concern in his voice, but failing miserably.

"Look L, I know that I usually don't meddle in any of your business, but I don't think this can probably last a little longer," Watari finally expressed his concerns for the first time since they left Japan. "Raito needs a doctor, and as far as I know, no one here fits that description. I've clearly pointed out to you that I am an inventor, and Roger is especially far from that. You can't expect a former sales manager to do a doctor's job satisfactorily. I'm even daring to say that Raito isn't having any proper medical attention at all."

"I think Roger is doing a decent job."

"The poor man only thinks that Raito's injuries are skin-deep, like most of the kids he treated before. He could not even fathom that there is something going on inside the boy, so his assurance only goes so far."

It was L's turn to sigh.

"As you've pointed out, Raito-kun's situation is extremely strange, which is why just going to a hospital wouldn't really have a positive effect on him. It might even lead him to a more difficult scenario if doctors find out of his abnormality. I want to protect Raito-kun as much as possible. And I still think that I'm giving him utmost care here."

"To go so far as to call it 'abnormality'…Raito would be devastated" Watari mumbled.

L turned away.

"Don't ever let Raito hear that." The older man warned. "Pregnancy is not something to take so lightly. You have to remember that, especially now, in his first trimester. He needs all the medical attention he can get."

"Watari-san", L said tiredly. "I am very aware of the situation and have been giving all the attention I can from the very beginning. I would still stress that it is not a good idea to show this to the public, as it is more dangerous. There are also many instances of pregnant women not having any medical attention at all, and still turning out fine. We only need to be careful."

Watari sighed again.

"I simply couldn't argue with you." He said. "I will let you have your way for now. But this will be the last time. If I here another incident like that, I would be forced to take Raito to a doctor."

"Thank you, Watari-san" L said, knowing that he only barely won the argument. He shouldn't let such accidents happen again, for Raito's sake.

He didn't make Raito an assistant professor solely out of a whim. That action was carefully thought of, as far as L was concerned.

For one, he knew that Raito needs something to focus on, or else he would end up sneaking out again, to be found in another infamous gay bar. The only thing anyone can think about is for the teen to participate at Whammy's, as was previously agreed upon by L and Souichiro, but then, there where bad influences to worry about, too, namely, Matt and Mello. L needed to put Raito on an edge, somehow, so that he can easily avoid peer pressure and not get hurt in another soccer game Mello forced him to join. Also, someone has to keep an eye on him other than L, which meant that he just couldn't let the boy have his way and be a professor. Raito being an assistant professor assures L that the professor would keep him from such scenarios, and assure L that someone other than him is taking care of the boy. No one can call him a careless partner after that.

If there was one thing L was guilty of, it was the fact that he didn't consider the professor's reaction to this act. It never crossed his mind that Raito, being the genius that he was, would convince the man that the teen can be able to handle ALL of his responsibilities, and just simply give the job to Raito, much less the professor's decision to suddenly quit in the middle of the day in favor of some overseas job he has been eyeing for a while now.

L had no choice but to announce that the winter break would be earlier and longer than usual, and that Whammy's house is in need of a replacement professor.

"Why can't you just give me the spot?" Raito argued, for the umpteenth time now. "It's only the first week of December and I know that I'm more than good enough to replace Tatcher-sensei. Why can't you trust me?"

"Trust is not the issue here, Raito-kun" L patiently explained as he put his mouth to his finger. "I have to remind Raito-kun that he is pregnant, and he can't even take care of himself as he is now."

"Why you... don't you dare imply that I have a disability or something! I can take care of myself pretty damn well, you know."

"I am certainly not treating Raito-kun as a disabled person. In fact, Raito-kun is so able that he seems to break every rule I impose on him. I simply can't just delegate this job to someone who still throws up unpredictably throughout the day."

Raito glared at him.

"And I forbid Raito-kun to involve himself with any of the children throughout the whole vacation, since he always finds himself in trouble whenever he's with them."

"What am I supposed to do then, stare at you?" Raito asked sarcastically.

"Raito-kun can spend his time in the library if he wishes to."

"That is way too boring, and I'll just throw up if I smell the scent of old books…"

"Raito-kun can involve himself in a hobby as long as he proposes it to me first and I deem it safe, and I will require Watari to keep an eye on you at all times, wherever you go."

"Then I guess that means you're only allowing me to go to the library", Raito said bitterly. "You don't think anything is safe"

"I am only concerned about Raito-kun's health" L simply said, and that did it.

Raito said nothing more as he grumbled silently, marching to the library, L watching him as he disappeared from the corner.

"What up, Raito-sensei?" Mello peaked from just above the table Raito was slouching at, that it looked like they were two kids sharing a secret with each other.

"Don't bother me."

"Hey, we used to be friends, sensei…"Mello teased. Raito just pouted, and turned away from the little troublemaker, at least that's what happens whenever he's with him. "And I'm not even gonna ask anything from you this time, since you've already done your part."

"What do you mean?", Raito said skeptically. "And I'm not even allowed to talk to you."

"Eh, you're grounded? I thought you were in charge" Mello emphasized the last few words to taunt him more. Raito looked like he was about to strangle someone.

"Shut up."

"Ah, but that's okay. You're the reason Jack-ass Tatcher left anyway, and whatever you did, I'm thankful. That guy's an asshole." Mello said, biting a large clump of chocolate.

"Hey, I thought you were banned from those." Raito observed.

Mello just smiled.

"All thanks to you, man" Mello patted him in the back, which irritated the pregnant teen. "That guy is L's enforcer by the way, and he's acting all cocky because of that, when he's more than a prick than any of us combined."

The blonde-haired boy offered him some chocolate, which Raito promptly refused.

"Now Matt's out of cold turkey, and he also might come and thank you later. He's just busy catching up to his addiction right now."

"I don't remember L lifting the ban just because Tatcher left."

"But it was enough for him to completely forget about it. Besides, that jerk just left without thinking , that we easily got back all our stuff that he got custody of." Mello explained. "And don't feel sorry for the guy and side with him just because L made you assistant professor. For all I know, he's gone to some gay bar or something."

"Why are you so angry at him, anyway?"

"Just because he was born", Mello cockily said. "And the fact that he keeps pretending that he's a goody-two shoes fella in front of L and Roger, when he uses the stash he confiscates from kids, and does a lot more swearing when no one is around."

"Somehow, I feel you've nurtured a growing hate with that guy."

"Yeah," Mello said. "But anyway, I don't know how you did it, but expect our thanks anytime soon."

"Whatever you do, please don't"

"Hey, don't act like a wuss now."

Mello shoved a tabloid in Raito's face.

"Here, I bet you'll find this a little less boring. Have a nice day, Raito-chan."

Raito would have shoved the paper back to the nice young brat, but he was practically out of energy from vomiting too much. Honestly, this was the longest break he had in a while.

"Raito-kun can get a hobby if he wants."

Remembering L's promise, an idea suddenly inspired him, making him hastily browse through the shabby looking material.

"What is this, Raito-kun?" L asked obliviously asked as he looked at the paper, which was now currently placed above his work files.

"Read below, smart-ass", Raito just said as he pointed to the advertisement he had highlighted before, but then, subtlety is not something that works on the detective.

"I've seen the advertisement, Raito-kun, but I've never paid attention to it. Why is Raito-kun interested in the 'Twilight Superheroes Club'?" L asked as he put his finger on his mouth yet again, bobbing his head up to look closer at Raito.

"You said you would allow me to get a hobby." Raito pointed out, but L remained curious. "Well, I looked for one, and I want to do this."

L raised an eyebrow.

"Raito-kun should not humor me this early in the morning. I still have a lot to…"

"Like what, porn?" Raito interrupted.

"I do not involve myself in such immature subjects…"

"Don't lie to me. I've seen you browse to some sexually offending sites when you thought I was asleep…" the teen argued again.

L sighed, slightly pink, as it was the only tinge of color his pale skin could afford.

"Fine. I look at pornographic material when I think no one is looking, but it is partly Raito-kun's fault. Any sexually healthy man would do the same if his partner continuously denies him of his rights."

"Rights?" the teen repeated scandalously, that L was slightly thankful that his room is sound-proofed. He could not afford any more rumors, especially of the domestic kind. "You're calling them rights now? What am I to you, your sex toy?"

"I did not call Raito-kun any of that!" L defended himself. Honestly, the boy is starting to get more emotional these days, and some of his conclusions jump on to a whole new level. "I was just saying that, as a man, I have my needs, and I am married to you but I am not getting any of it."

"So you're saying that you just married me for the sex? Am I just that to you? For your needs?"

Raito was quickly getting high pitched right now, that L really has to think of something soon, or else get bitch-nagged by an emotionally imbalanced teen. But then, looking at the angry boy was not getting him anywhere.

"You know what, I give up. Raito-kun can do whatever he wants as long as he takes Watari with him."

Raito beamed immediately, until he realized something important.

"…But Watari isn't even around here. You allowed him to take an early vacation with his family, right?"

L bobbed his head, like he was in deep thought.

"Well, then, too bad, Raito-kun. You'll just have to wait before Watari comes back." L dismissed as he turned back to his computer, but Raito didn't want any of that.

"L…", Raito started.

"Wha-"

L really should have seen it coming.

"So, basically, we'll just take you to this damn club activity, leave you there to do whatever we want and go pick you up again when it's done?" Mello clarified as he eyed Raito suspiciously.

"Yeah, it's a win-win situation. As long as Matt wears that camera at all times, and make sure he doesn't do anything that involves men or flirting with them."

"Well, you can be pretty sure that I won't let him even if you didn't tell me…"

"And why do I need to dye my hair?" Matt interrupted the two, who seemed to be in their own scheming worlds.

"I've already told you Matt. You're going to imitate Raito, so you better act your part. And you better hold off smoking or else L would notice."

"And why are we doing all this when L already agreed that we can accompany Raito to wherever the hell he wants?"

Mello looked at him seriously.

"Matt…do you really want to spend more than thirty minutes with this guy on a stupid club?"

Matt blinked.

"Well, you have a point there."

"Good. You can just behave like L would expect from his girlfriend while I take care of business."

"Hey, I'm not L's girlfriend!" Raito protested.

"You pretty much act like one, judging on how protective L seems to be on you. Either that or you're already his wife."

Raito pouted.

"That really wouldn't help your case." Mello commented. "Anyway, you two better switch clothes and let's get going already."

The two of them nodded and went on different stalls, with Raito taking quite a lot of time as he realized how complicated Matt's attire really was.

"Cmon, ladies!" Mello barked as the two hurried up and went to their motorbikes. As L instructed, Raito has to sit in the sidecar, which was attached to Mello's bike, and it slightly annoyed the blonde haired boy, seeing as he loved it more than anything else in the world, well expect for Matt, Raito thought.

"And drive carefully," Raito warned.

"Yeah, yeah, princess." Mello wore a helmet for the first time, and handed Raito one too. "Here, hurry up and let's get going."

The ride to the city was smooth, and Mello actually kept his word and drove carefully, since even with the brash attitude, he is still scared of L, and he didn't want to ruin this chance. Besides, he needs to get some plus points from the detective if he wanted to keep his footing as L's candidate for his successor, and he has a feeling that Raito was the key to all of this.

"There, we're already here. Are you sure you want to waste your time here when you can go anywhere anyway?"

"Of course not. I'm going on a date today, and L is actually lying when he said I can go anywhere."

Mello rolled his eyes.

"Well, good luck with whatever the hell you're doing."

The two headed off soon after, leaving Raito alone an empty alley.

Mello actually guessed everything right that it was scary. Raito really wanted to join the "Twilight Superheroes" club, as he originally proposed to L, but he didn't want the two misfits to be there, as he knew for sure that they would just make fun of him, but L kept insisting that he needed a chaperone, and Raito could only think of two boys who can agree to whatever he wanted. Besides, he didn't want L to watch whatever he does, as it creeps him out. It was a crazy idea, but it was the only thing that kept Raito into his comfort zone.

He memorized the exact location of the place, and even researched it on a satellite map, that he felt that he's been on this place for all of his life. However, he never thought that the place would be this shady. The meeting place was on a basement of a torn-down building, and on the door was a crumpled sheet of brown paper that looked like it was there for ages, since Raito could imagine that it was white when it was first placed there, but the hastily-written sign was there to stay. The door creaked when he opened it, and when he did, a dark, cobweb filled room welcomed him. At that point, Raito swore he would never count on tabloids ever again.

He was about to leave when he saw something moving, and a moment later, he realized that it was a man. The said man blinked when he saw him, but smiled soon after.

"So you got tricked too, huh?" he said in a friendly tone. Raito nodded.

"There really are people who go to any lengths to just waste people's time. I guess the lesson here is to not buy tabloids at all, don't you think?" he continued. Raito took a closer look at the man, as he approached him. He was wearing a white, neatly pressed shirt and dark pants, and his dark-rimmed glasses looked a little thick, considering that it glinted in the light. His black, bowl cut hair, combined with his small, lean figure made him completely geeky. The man raised his glasses to have a better view on Raito, and he offered a hand when he came closer to the boy.

"But I guess if we are on the same boat, then the announcement was successful on meeting up two geeks in the same place, huh?" he smiled again, and Raito just stared at the geeky-looking man. "I'm Eric Thomas. I actually went here to find other people who share the same interests as mine, since my work is so stressful. Tell me, are you also here for that reason?"

Raito fidgeted.

"No, actually, I came here to look for a date", Raito said truthfully, hiding a blush.

If anything, he was being honest here. This club would never spark any suspicion in L's mind, as the club would only attract geeks and nerds at most, in L's mind, Raito will never find guys of the sort to be attracting. But the truth is, those kinds of guys were actually Raito's type, considering he found L attractive, if not a prick.

The man laughed.

"Well, that's not what I exactly came here for, but I guess it's fine, I have nothing to do anyway. So what do you say, do you want to go on a date with me?"

Raito nodded faintly, and the man beamed, offering him a hand.

"May I know your name then?"

"I'm Raito Yagami." He said timidly as he gave his hand to the man, and let himself be led outside.

"So tell me, Raito, where do you want to go?"

L really didn't know what got into him to suddenly agree to Raito's terms. He felt that, sooner or later, the teen would be the one in charge in this household. Being aloof and insensitive might have worked on Watari, and perhaps the taskforce, but Raito's bouts of fury, strengthened with hormonal imbalance is the force to be reckoned with. Suddenly, he was forced to listen to constant nagging, or else face another endless session of another nagging—amidst an angry, screaming teenager who is more than willing to give L a piece of his mind. L was already having huge chunks of Raito's mind, anyway, and it was only the first month. He had no other choice but to suck it up and endure, and give up a couple of his principles. Married life is hard, and having Raito around is a constant reminder of just how hard it was.

It was a bad decision to let Watari go after all, especially when he promised that he won't cause another scandal with Raito. So really, L should have known what was coming to him, and just let Raito do his thing. The lecture he received from the teen still rang from his ears even now, and it made him want to cry.

But still, it was a bad decision to count on Mello and Matt to act as Raito's chaperone, and it made him so nervous that he resorted to nail biting. His fingers were already red from the constant chewing he did. That was when he suddenly realized that Raito in fact had video cameras on his person. This was the first time he ever realized it this day, that he felt that whenever it came to Raito, he could not find himself thinking that clearly.

He quickly looked for the remote control and viewed the large screen in front of him, hoping to see Raito following his orders for once, but that was just wishful thinking. He actually dropped the remote control this time.

Raito couldn't believe it was still possible. After all these years, this was the first time that he actually had a lot of fun, and it actually help him get the "P" word out of his mind for a long time. That meant a lot to him, considering that even his body seemed to harshly remind him of his condition.

This further reiterates that these kinds of people were actually his type. He didn't know if it was because they dared to be "unique" in some way, that a perfectionist like him found attractive. But even then, Eric was a lot sweeter than L, and he wasn't too aggressive. He was growing tired of that. And anyway, it seemed like Eric was a better speaker than L. At least he didn't have any weird speech patterns, plus, he knew exactly what a date entails. With L, it would take him more than a hundred attempts and he still won't take a hint.

"At least we know that we shouldn't trust whatever advertisement is posted on that tabloid, but then, we wouldn't have met if it was the case…" the man continued. "I'm just curious, are you a university student?"

Raito smiled consciously, realizing that the man was gazing at him so intently. They were on a coffee shop, and the waiter just took each of their orders.

"No, I'm actually home schooled." Raito said, a little embarrassed. "How about you?"

"I'm a doctor." He smiled.

"Really? I never thought a doctor would have this kind of interest." Raito commented.

"That's exactly the point on why I went there. Almost everyday, I have to act seriously and when I goof around, my seniors would guilt-trip me on how people's lives are important, and that I shouldn't mess around with it. It makes me crazy." He ruffled his hair a bit. "And I can't talk about sci-fi with any of them since they'll bombard it with logical questions."

Raito laughed.

"How about you? You look like you could easily get a date without the help of a club or anything. Why did you go there in the first place?"

"I'm actually not allowed to date." Raito simply said.

"Oh?" Eric quirked his eyes, that Raito was briefly reminded of L. "Man, I feel for you. Student life is so hard enough as it is, and then you're home schooled? I bet your parents force a strict schedule on you, that it almost feels like military school. I could see why you picked an innocent-looking club."

The waiter finally served their coffee, and Eric took a small sip into it.

"Well, if that's the case, then we really shouldn't expose ourselves in public, or else there might be someone who knows you and tells on you."

Raito nodded.

"What do you say, can we just go on a movie? There's this one I really like to see…"

"That's okay…" the boy answered, and the man's eyes glowed.

"Really?" he smiled.

"Yeah, let's go."

With every stunt Raito ever pulled on L ever since they came to England, this one was probably the craziest one ever, and yet L couldn't help but get hurt. For one, how could Raito even think that by just dyeing Matt's hair and changing his attire, they would look alike? It was either he was underestimating L's discriminating abilities, or it was just the hormones. Lately, L just kept blaming the hormones like it was every man's worst enemy, and he had no choice. Any other excuse would have hurt him in some way. In a way, blaming the hormones became L's safety blanket, and he just realized how that sucked.

He was so enraged by the whole stunt, that he didn't hesitate and just picked a motorbike and drove way above the speed limits, and that was pretty much a feat, considering that this was his first time actually riding one. He knew where Raito was supposed to go, just like any other fact or fiction, as long as it involved Raito, and he trusted his instinctive sense of direction, given that he spent most of his life in England, even if majority of it was spent in a rather dark room.

Seeing a dark, empty, cobweb filled room just confirmed his worst nightmare. He openly cursed, and punched a wall in frustration, before running back in his motorcycle to drive around aimlessly, with both eyes on the watch for one mischievous Japanese teenager.

He went to every club he knew existed in England, be it a social club like alcoholics anonymous or the shadiest known strip club downtown. He went to every social gathering that he knew was happening today, and on his last desperate attempt, he found himself on a very strange convention, consisting of black clad teenagers, who wear a darker style of makeup than Misa could ever achieve, and whose bodies look like they've gone through a rough beating, judging from the insane cuts all over their wrists. One of the larger teens approached him, who also had black circled eyes like L's, only more pronounced.

"So glad you could come", he said. "We've all been waiting for you, sir."

He was actually a polite boy, amidst all of the makeup and lack of cheer.

"Nice to meet you too", L greeted back. "But you've mistaken me for the wrong guy."

"Oh, is that so? I'm so sorry. God I'm so stupid, making such unforgivable mistakes. Now I'm messing up a perfectly fine day." He said, evidently looking mad at himself for some reason. "I hate myself. Damn it!"

He started banging his head on a nearby wall. L just stared at him. After a while, another similar-looking kid approached him with the same question, which L also politely answered.

"Really? But you look a lot like him, I thought you're just putting on a disguise to mingle with us commoners before you get on stage. I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me…"

Learning from the past suicidal boy, L knew he had to take action quickly.

"But people really mistake me for others, it's only natural, really. I don't hate you…"

"You sound like you do." The kid replied, in an overly sad face. Moments later, he was literally sobbing. L knew he had to get away from this kid when he saw a knife in his hands, but then, when the detective looked back, the said kid was actually using it on himself.

At this point L was certain that he would keep Raito at least a hundred feet away from these kids. He was hurriedly walking when someone touched his shoulder. Fortunately for that person, even when L was already shaken by these kids, he remained completely in control with himself and didn't just physically harass that said guy, since they actually do the abuse to themselves here, without L's effort anyway.

"I know you. You're the jerk from that gay club I went in the other night! I believe you owe me an apology."

L looked at the weirder man in front of him from head to foot. There's no doubt about it. This was the same man who tried to flirt with his Raito-kun the other night, the one where they caused an unnecessary scene just because this same man was forcing himself into his Raito-kun's pants.

"I don't think you do, on the contrary, I think you need another beating." L warned.

"Hey, hey. I'm not here to promote violence. I'm actually one of the speakers here, so please, keep your feet to yourself." Teru defended. "So how's Raito doing?"

"You don't need to know that", L spat.

"Ah, but I know. Why can't you just accept that the two of you aren't really for each other. Raito is practically screaming it at you."

L exposed his cuffed fist to the nerd.

"You better say everything you know within ten seconds or you'll find my fist in some part of you that you wouldn't like." L warned.

"Hey, no need to threaten me or anything, you did that more than enough. I'm just saying, your boyfriend is actually having a decent date for once, and he's enjoying it from the way Ihe smiled."

L didn't hesitate to cuff the impolite man.

"Where is he?"

"Ummm….Eric?" Raito asked softly.

The young man smiled encouragingly.

"Could it be that…the movie you wanted to see…was this?" he pointed weakly at the dark-looking poster, describing a horrific, gruesome movie that looked somewhat adapted from an original from Japan, and somehow, it looked all too familiar to Raito.

"Yeah, that's the one I want to watch. I can see why you're familiar with it, since it was on Japanese theaters several months ago." Eric said enthusiastically, until he saw Raito's clearly shaken face. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no, I just…" Raito looked like he was recalling a terrible memory. "I watched the Japanese version of that months ago."

From the look in Raito's face, it appears that he clearly didn't want to watch it all over again.

"Ah…that's too bad. I guess we can pick another movie…"

However, the look on the other man's face looked even more pitiful than Raito's as if the teen just busted his dream or something, and as Raito noted, the other movies to choose from involved overly abused plotlines, not to mention chick flicks.

But anyway, it was true that Raito actually have watched this movie before, on a date, and it felt like it was only yesterday. It was not even his idea in the first place. On the contrary, it was also his date that suggested it, and it was his first date that involved a horror movie. Although, during that time, he was actually pretty sure the girl picked that movie since it was a chance to cling to Raito on every scary scene, he didn't foresee himself to be the one who was clinging to the girl all throughout the movie.

That was his first experience on watching a horror movie, as his Dad never allowed any of that at home, believing that it would just corrupt his children's imagination, and that his kids were just as brave, thank you very much, so Raito never knew what to expect.

As one would expect, that was the worst date Raito ever had in his entire life, and after all of that, he never made any attempts to contact the girl, and she didn't either. She was probably turned off since her image of the brave, handsome Raito was quickly destroyed when the said boy was actually crying in her shoulders, hoping that everything would just stop. Raito didn't care though, that girl was shallow in the first place, and he just said yes to pass the time.

Ever since then, Raito unconsciously formed a trauma from the whole experience. As far as he was concerned, that would be the first and the last horror movie he would ever watch on his whole life. He never realized that just months later, he would find himself face to face with the same movie all over again, and he was actually affected by it that his body was shaking uncontrollably.

But then, the look on the other man's face was enough to break Raito's heart, that it felt that he had to cheer him up somehow. Perhaps it was time to act like a man and face his fears. Besides, since he watched it before, he knew what to expect now, right?

"It's okay. I can watch it again, it 's fine…"

"Really?" the man's face lightened up with just that, that it was really a shame if anyone would break his heart again. "Wow, this is the first time anyone agreed with me before, this is great! Thank you, Raito, you're really the best."

Raito smiled weakly, as if he just agreed to have his entire teeth extracted.

But then, this hasty decision was something he would regret for the rest off his life, three times over. The movie was digitally re-mastered, making every horrible scene Raito witnessed before become at least three times scarier, that he was screaming within minutes, and his sobbing was actually heard all over the room.

His date, Eric, didn't enjoy the rest of the movie as well, since from the very beginning, he had to concentrate all of his efforts to reassure the teen that it was okay, that he was there, and it was all just a movie. The boy was practically all over him, and he had to endure the mean looks he kept getting from the other audience. The climax of the movie, where the woman protagonist gave birth to a kid who killed everyone, Raito actually screamed, vomited, and finally fainted. He had no choice but to take Raito outside then, without seeing the ending, amidst all of the annoyed looks he kept getting and the apologies he gave to the management.

That was when he suddenly got attacked.

"What are you doing to my Raito-kun?" an enraged-looking man, despite his pale face questioned, taking the teen away from him in one swift motion.

At long last, L finally found his Raito-kun. It wasn't easy, with Mikami around, he had to re-trace ever place the boy ever went to by asking all the locals, along with the nasty, annoying side comments from his emo friend. When he heard that there was some Asian kid freaking out in the movie theaters, he knew he had come to the right place.

"I am so sorry", Eric apologized. "I never knew that…"

"You should have!" L spat, preparing to leave with his rebellious teen. "Raito-kun is sick, and he isn't allowed to go outside in the first place. I hope that this is the last time I'll ever see you, or you'll regret it."

The violent detective turned to leave, when the man held him up.

"Hey, wait! Where are you taking him?"

"Home"

"But he needs medical attention. I saw the symptoms, this might be something serious."

"And what does that have to do with you?"

"Well…" he took something on his pocket, and gave it to L.

"I am a doctor, and I think that this is the least I can do."

L looked at the calling card suspiciously. Who would have thought that this geeky-looking man was actually a doctor from a very prestigious hospital, under a well-known team that had made miracles over the past years?

Chapter End