I have decided to leave the rest of the story telling to the mysterious third person who I envy for knowing everything. Even though I thought I would die of embarrassment, I guess I'm over that by now. I'm not a kid anymore. Besides, she (she being the third person) seems to know anything anyways. How- I don't know. Oh but trust me, I will find out. I'm onto you miss.
Besides, I'm not much of a writer. I'm a detective. I work with fact. This strange person works with words. To each his own. I will figure out the sorce of all their knowledge. Until then, enjoy the rest of this story. (I won't be).
-The Great Detective L
P.S. punishment of a teenager. and revealing of embarrassing names (aka it says L's real name). take this as you will.
!
The bus got to Wammy's in no time. Alright, maybe a little time. It was enough time for L to drive himself crazy with worry. Only on the inside though. Outside he was cool, calm, and collected like he usually way.
But still. Watari and Roger were so mad. They were blowing it out of porportion slightly, L thought, but knew better than to tell them that. He didn't need to anger them further.
He knew he was going to be punished. That was just inevitable. But how would he be punished! He had no bloody idea. His hands were shaking. Oh look, Matt was talking to him.
"Wasn't it cool L when the pengiun slid down the hill like that and then made a huge splash in the water!" Matt exclaimed. He was talking with his hands to show how big the splash was. Near was nearly asleep leaning on L.
"Yes, that was very cool, Matt," L said. The little boy stopped talking and stared at him for a little bit. He looked worried. Like a mom when they think you're hurt or sick. You know the face. Now imagine cute little Matt. Commence in the "d'aaaaw."
"What's wrong L?" Matt asked.
"Nothing's wrong," L said calmly, trying to give a small grin to show that. He wasn't very used to smiling anyways. Being so worried didn't help. It wasn't very convincing.
"Is it what happened with Mello?" Matt asked. "It's okay L! We found him! He's okay, you don't have to be worried," Matt insisted.
"I know. It's a good thing he's okay," L said. Then a scary idea popped into his head. 45%. There had been a forty five percent chance that something bad could have happened. He could have gotten lost, gotten stolen, gotten hurt, been eaten by a lion, drown with the pengiuns. Holy shit. The list was endless. L understood some of Roger and Watari's fury now. Alone the child's risk was 45%. With L is was less than 10. He'd let Mello down.
The bus stopped and everyone ran or skipped or whatever children do excitedly back into the house. Some went to their bedrooms while others went in the courtyard. Some went and hung out in the living room. Not a worry in the entire world.
With a steering hand on the back of L's neck, Watari led the boy into the house. They met Roger in the hall.
"How are we going to handle this?" Roger asked calmly.
"I'll do it. I know what I'm going to do. Is it still in your desk?" Watari asked. Wait, L thought. What was Watari planning to do! What was in the desk?
"Second drawer down," Roger said. He set a hand on L's shoulder and gave a sympathetic smile. "That's a good decision. He never causes any trouble. But this is something he'll need to remember," They were talking like he wasn't even there. It was irritating L slightly. That and he was still worrying about what on earth was going to happen. What was in the desk?
A gun. L decided. It's a gun. They're going to shoot him dead, right there. No, that's too loud. A knife. It's a knife. They're going to chop him into little bite sized L pieces. Serve him in the cafeteria. It was a vile of poison. They were going to poison him, make him deathly ill. And then save him, help him get better. A lesson he'd never forget! No, it was a book. A blank book with a thousand blank pages. And he was going to be forced to write lines on every single page. That was a more orthodox punishment. They'd make him write lines. At gun point. And when he was done they'd poisen him. Chop him into a hundred little pieces. And then they'd put him in the drawer. All the little L pieces in one drawer. And if anyone was ever so irresponsible again they'd use the second drawer to set an example. Scare the kid into complete obedience.
All of that rushed through L's mind in the short walk from the front door to the office. Watari had him sit down in a chair.
"Tell me what happened, L, although I'm sure I already know," Watari instructed as he sat down behind his desk.
"I'm not placing any blame in this, I'm just telling what happened. Matt and Near saw the balloon guy and took off running. I was trying to follow them, and I called for Mello. I was certain he was right behind me. But I was too distracted. I should have been paying better attention. When I realized, we went back but he wasn't there. Then I remembered how much he wanted to see the lions..." L explained. Watari nodded.
"You may stop, I understand. Maybe it was too much responsibility to put on you. I should have realized it would be hard for you..."
"No, Watari! Please, it wasn't too much! It was an accident. It was my mistake, I'm sorry," L demanded. He felt insulted. What did Watari mean? That he couldn't handle a couple of little kids? That's ridiculous.
"What are you saying, L?" Watari asked, lacing his fingers together. L sighed. He knew what Watari wanted to hear.
"I take full responsibility for what happened."
"Do you realize what could have happened?" Watari asked. Of course L did. "Mello is five years old. He may be a genius but he is still only a child. He is also vey pationate, very curious. What if he had wandered into the lion's cage somehow? No doubt he could figure it out.
"He didn't even recognize me when he asked for directions. To him I was just a random stranger. If he hadn't chosen me, if he'd chosen some pedophile, some criminal. So many things could happen to a young boy like him.
"That's why we had them with you. You were there to protect them. You understand that, right?" Watari finished. L nodded solemnly. Of course he'd already thought of all of this. But hearing Watari say it now made it seem worse.
"Yes, I understand," L responded staring at his hands. He couldn't force himself to look up at Watari for some reason.
"You've been on your own for a long time now. You're good at taking care of yourself,"
"Yes sir,"
"Well now you need to do more than that. You've obviously noticed that those boys have taken to you quite well,"
"Yes, I have noticed."
"And there is one man running this home- Roger. There are fifteen children. It is quite hard for one person to take care of fifteen kids, but he is doing quite well. Still, there are the younger ones. They've chosen you, so I entrust you to take care of them. You understand this, correct?"
"Why do you keep asking me if I understand Watari! I obviously do," L snapped. Did Watari think he was an idiot or something? L regretted letting the words explode like that. No doubt his attitude would get him in more trouble. But Watari understood him and replied patiently.
"You are a very smart boy, L. You're a great detective as well. Anything to do with academics you flourish! But this is not academics. It's alright for you to not understand sometimes. There will be times that you won't. I am just making sure you do now," Watari explained calmly.
"I-I understand. I'm sorry," L responded, feeling a bit guilty for freaking out like that. "I'm responsible for Matt, Mello, and Near because I'm their friend."
"You're more than just their friend. You're part of their family. And you're their role model."
"I'll do the best I can with them," L said. If he was an influence he better be a good one, he thought.
"I know, son." Watari responded. "You've never been in trouble before, have you?"
"No,"
"You must be scared,"
"Being scared would be silly,"
"Being scared would be natural. L, I am going to do something. Neither of us are going to like it. But this is for your own good, alright? I need this lesson to stick with you." Watari explained. L nodded, though it was involuntary. He was frozen in his chair as Watari sat down calmly. He'd pulled something out of the second desk drawer and set it on the desk. L wasn't positive what it was, but he had an idea and he didn't like it.
"Come over here, L," Watari said, not exactly commanding. More as of a "let's get this over with," sort of thing. L didn't move from his chair. He couldn't force himself to.
"L," Watari's voice was warning now. Every brain cell in L's mind told him to stop being an idiot and get over there. But he couldn't do it. Watari was getting agitated.
"L Lawliet! Right now, young man!" he snapped. The first word was enough to get L from his chair to Watari's side in one swift movement. Watari was the only one who knew L's real name, but he never used it. "Much better,"
L watched as the man carefully undid the button of L's pants and they dropped to his shins. He stared down at his green boxers in dismay and confusion. Watari was concerned at how thin L was getting again. The boy needed to eat more. Even if it was just sweets, something to keep some weight on him.
"Alright L, lay down over my lap now," Watari instructed. L obediently bent himself over Watari's knees. His lanky frame allowed for his feet to touch the ground on one side. He was gripping a rung of the chair on the other. It was strange to him, since he still had no idea what was going on. What kind of odd punishment was this?
"You are going to recieve a spanking L," Watari explained. He was gently but firmly patting L's boxer covered bottom as he talked. L thought that was the weirdest thing. He knew what a spanking was but that didn't seem right. He looked over his shoulder at Watari like "Dafuq are you doing?"
"You are fifteen, so that means fifteen swats with the paddle. Seem fair?" L didn't answer. He didn't know enough to determine fairness. For example, what did a "swat" imply? How much force was used. Watari thought that L not answering was a sign of rebellion. He brought his hand down hard, once. "Answer me, L," he commanded.
*gasp* "Uh, yes, it's fair," L answered.
"Very well then." Watari said. "This will hurt me as much as it does you," Watari said. How much is that exactly? L wondered. Watari picked up the paddle.
SWAT! The first strike came down and one word shot into L's fifteen year old mind. SHIT! It almost shot out of his mouth but he had more self-control than that. He never cussed, ever. Unintelligent people cussed. He refused to, even mentally. But still, he couldn't prevent that one word from broadcasting itself through his mind. This was going to be hell.
SWAT! SWAT! "I understand that what happened was an accident. But it is the kind of accident that we cannot allow. Something like that could end very badly." SWAT! SWAT! "We gave you the responsibility to look after them," SWAT! SWAT! "How would you have felt if something horrible had happened? I feel we are very fortunate today." SWAT! SWAT! SWAT!
Five more, L thought to himself. Only five more. His ass was on fire. Watari shifted him and L had to hold onto a wrung of the chair so that he didn't fall off. He looked back at Watari, just to see him raise the paddle again.
The last five were to L's upper thighs. Watari wanted him to be able to feel this, even with the peculiar way he sat. Watari thought with a smile when he remembered seeing Near sitting like that earlier. Those boys really looked up to L.
Watari gently helped L to stand, but the young detective's pants were bunched around his ankles and he fell backwards. He landed hard on his bottom and winced. He let out a small "ow."
Watari helped L back to his feet and the kid fixed his jeans. He could barely force himself to look up at Watari. He felt embarrassed and stupid and wondered if Watari was still mad at him.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. Watari surprised him by wrapping him in a tight hug. L's normally hunched shoulders dropped and his normally buzzing mind dulled to an "uhhh..." He gently patted his older friend on the back, wondering why he needed consoling.
"Don't make me do that again," Watari said after pulling away. L rubbed his sore bottom absent mindedly.
"I didn't make you do anything," L said. This made the old man chuckle. "Why did you say that it would hurt you the same as me?" L asked. "That is something I don't understand."
"I think of you as my son, L. It pains me to have to hurt you, even if it is for your own good," Watari explained. He then cleared his throat and tossed a permanent marker at L.
He caught the marker. "What's this for?" L asked.
Watari held up the paddle. "Roger has kids sign it. After..."
"Oh," L said.
"It's tradition," In the best calligraphy he could manage L left his own mark in the corner of the paddle. One letter, L.
He studied it for a moment, looking over all the faceless names of people he didn't know, recognizing names of people he did. He analyzed hand writing absent mindedly. One name caught his eye.
Judah.
He smirked. Watari noticed.
"What's that smirk for?" Watari asked him. L cleared his face and pushed the paddle away. Watari chuckled. "Get out of here. You have an angry little boy who thinks you left him on purpose. It'd be best if you explained the mix up," Watari suggested. L nodded and left the office.
!
L- Legit and word for word. Only one problem I have to take up with the author. Never in my life have I though the word "dafuq." What is that supposed to mean anyways?
Me: Sorry for leaking my strange vocabulary into your thoughts L. Bet you're gonna say that now though.
L- what does it mean though?
Me: See you guys later, I'm off to explain slang to everyone's favorite genius. Final disclaimer?
L- the strange third person and author doesn't own death note. but she does know everything about it. watch out people.
