Chapter Five – Vulnerability
She's afraid. Mello thought, glancing at Layla who stared at the coffin with an expression of either fear or sadness. He couldn't exactly tell.
Three days ago, Until had died and Watari had arranged a hasty funeral. Layla looked pale and sickly as Watari spoke about Until's inventiveness and his kindness towards all of them. Mello had never particularly noticed such a trait from him and he was sure none of the others had either but, they all knew far too better than to say so.
Mello shifted uncomfortably in his chair, then paused to gaze at all the other boys, looking like a large black puddle in the haze of black suits. Their hair and heights were the only thing that differentiated at all and suddenly Mello was struck with the image of all of them with no hair. He bit back the urge to laugh. He tightened his hand on his crucifix and vowed to pray for Until's soul. His mother had always told him that sometimes if you prayed hard enough for a dead person God would listen and grant them entrance into heaven.
But, sometimes Mello didn't feel like God ever listened to him about anything.
Layla sighed suddenly and shut her eyes shaking her head blandly. Mello watched her blankly out of the corner of his eye, then spoke. "You still hear them don't you?"
She nodded and glanced out of the corner of her eye where a few feet away Zion was standing and watching the funeral with a bored expression on his face. His black suit and tie seemed to fit him like clothes fit on a store mannequin, stiff, with no naturalness about them. However, there was not a single thing beside him that Mello could see that could pose a threat to her.
"There's nothing there." he said firmly.
She looked down at her hands that were clasped firmly in her lap and Mello could see the tears that began to gather at the edge of her eyes. Without thinking, he reached over and clasped her hand sharply in his own, trying to ignore the warm droplets that fell periodically on his wrist.
Watari inclined his head at the two of them and then stepped away from the stand as several men in suits slowly lowered the pale marble coffin into the ground.
The children dispersed as the first clod of dirt from Ryuzaki's shovel hit the casket. Mello however did not move, stopping to watch Ryuzaki move with the strange catlike fluidity that he had come to associate as it's own form of strength.
After about thirty minutes of tossing dirt over the coffin Ryuzaki stopped and stuck the shovel harshly into the ground. He bowed his head for a moment and Mello could see the faintest movement of his lips in what he assumed was prayer.
He turned suddenly and gazed at the two of them. Mello suddenly let go of Layla's hands his face flushing a hot crimson. He was aware of how stupid the two of them must have looked among the empty whiteness of the chairs that Watari had arranged ahead of the funeral.
Ryuzaki sauntered over to them and sat in the chair beside Mello, drawing his legs up against his chest. Mello tried not to notice how the edge of Ryuzaki's pant legs had risen slightly and he could see the faint paleness of veins as his feet became hidden by his shoes.
"Its a beautiful day, isn't it?" he said softly.
Mello nodded, unsure of what to say. The clouds were a dim, dismal gray and already he could feel wet droplets falling onto the edge of his face.
"I think that Until would have liked it today. Today is a clean day." Ryuzaki said softly, biting into his thumbnail.
"Its ugly outside." Layla said softly, and Mello fought the overwhelming urge to cuff her in the back of the head for being so disrespectful to his mentor.
"I'm surprised you think so Linda." Ryuzaki said suddenly, "I thought you had an eye for beauty."
She fell silent, looking away from both Mello and Ryuzaki.
After a moment Ryuzaki stood, "In any case, I think we can all see the beauty in some ice cream. Besides, you'll both catch a cold being out in the rain like this."
It was true too, rain began to pour heavily.
Both Mello and Layla stood and Ryuzaki stood in between the two of them, clasping both of their hands in one of his own as they began walking towards the large house.
Ryuzaki lead them to his private office and after a moment Watari came in with three bowls of chocolate ice cream.
Mello almost immediately delved into the ice cream, as did Ryuzaki. Layla however looked troubled and had only eaten a few spoonfuls.
"What's the matter Linda?" Ryuzaki asked, glancing up from his own bowl of ice cream. "Don't care for chocolate?"
She looked up at him, and smiled a little sadly. "Is nothing, just..."
Mello pinched the bridge of his nose sharply between his fingers, "Its nothing." he corrected. He pushed his empty bowl of ice cream quickly away from him and stood. "Come on Layla. Thank you for the ice cream L."
"Leaving so soon?" Ryuzaki asked, tapping his fingers in front of his nose. "I'd like to talk to you both for a little while longer."
Mello sat obediently down and looked up at Ryuzaki through widened blue eyes.
Ryuzaki smiled at the two of them before scooting Layla's ice cream over for Mello to eat.
"Linda, are you enjoying it here?" he asked, his voice gentle.
She glanced sharply between Mello and Ryuzaki as if trying to determine what answer both of them wanted to hear.
"Linda, please answer honestly."
She raised her finger up to her mouth and let out a tiny sigh, "Sometimes."
This captured Mello's attention and he stopped eating the ice cream, his sharp blue eyes focusing on Layla's face.
"Wh-what do you mean sometimes?" Mello snapped, "I thought everything had gotten better after I stopped you from running away!"
Ryuzaki raised up a pale slender hand to stop Mello from speaking.
"Why only sometimes Linda?"
She looked afraid now, and Ryuzaki watched her rub her small stocking covered feet together nervously. "I seeing more than just Sidoh now..." she said quietly, her tiny hands clenching onto the edge of her ruffled black dress.
Now Ryuzaki stood, and ambled over to Layla's side, crouching in front of her so that he could peer into her eyes. "Linda, look at me, please."
She raised her head up and looked at Ryuzaki, slight fear glossing her pupils.
"Did you see something the night of Until's death?"
"Yes she did!" Mello blurted out, "That night when Watari had called us all inside, in the drawing room after Zion bumped into her, she saw something and started screaming."
Ryuzaki looked at Mello and nodded, then turned back to Layla, placing a spider-like hand on her shoulder. "What did you see Linda?"
She shook her head, refusing to elaborate until Mello jumped down from his chair. "Layla, tell L what you saw! He can help you!"
She glanced suddenly at Mello, watching his blue eyes shimmer with emotion and she looked back at Ryuzaki who was peering owlishly into her eyes.
"I saw...a monster." she mumbled, unable to look at either of the two males in the room. "Told me what Zion said was true."
Now Ryuzaki turned to Mello, "What did Zion say to her Mello?"
Mello scowled suddenly, "Zion said that the ink that stained her hands was red because of blood and that she had demons in her eyes. B-but, it can't mean anything..."
Ryuzaki placed his thumb in his mouth, chewing mildly on his fingernail. "I see, thank you both. Why don't you go downstairs and play a game? It'll get your minds working and help you focus on other things."
The two children stood, and Mello led Layla down the stairs and into the drawing room where several children played with toys and puzzles.
"Mello," Layla said suddenly, staring up at Mello while he dug through boardgames that were stacked in the corner of the room.
He turned to look at her, his long blond hair falling in his eyes, "Yeah?"
She bit her lip sheepishly, then spoke, "How you get to be here?"
Mello stopped suddenly, then sat quietly on the floor. He pulled at his rosary, then sighed.
"I was born in Russia. My mother was a famous ballerina and...my father...he was in the russian mafia. My father owed money to some men, and one day, they came into our house..." He faltered slightly and his voice seemed thick when he spoke again.
"They came into our house, and my mother shoved me underneath the bed. She gave me her rosary, and told me to shut my eyes and pray as hard as I possibly could. I prayed, but...I could hear the men shoot my father. They killed my mother afterwards. But, they never found me, and I was put in an orphanage in Moscow soon after. A year later Watari found me, and now I'm here."
Layla winced in sympathy for the blond boy. No wonder his temper flared up so much. For a moment, she considered her own situation. Even with all their flaws Layla's family was still alive, and she still had a brother who cared very much for her. Mello had no one.
"I'm sorry, Mello." she said, staring at him as he drew his knees to his chest.
Without thinking she reached over and squeezed his hand, much like he had held hers during the funeral. He smiled slightly at her, then resumed staring out at Until's newly formed grave.
Their slightly peaceful silence was broken by Near and Mello glanced up, "What do you want?" he snarled.
Near twisted a lock of white hair around his finger and ignored Mello, preferring to speak directly to Layla. "Last night when you were afraid, what did you see?"
She found his voice quite monotone and opened her mouth to speak. She jumped suddenly and glanced over her shoulder, nodding, then she fell into a sharp terse silence.
"She doesn't want to talk to you." Mello sneered, "She only talks to me...and Matt...sometimes."
Now, Near addressed Mello, in the same bored, monotone voice, "Perhaps Mello, is only misinterpreting silence into loyalty."
Mello's face flushed a hot crimson and he stood, knocking the chair backwards, "She is loyal to me! She knows I don't like you and that's why she's not talking."
Near gave the blonde boy a quiet look, then turned back to Layla who was staring determinedly at the ground, gnawing on her lip like a starving animal.
"I see." He said quietly, then turned to amble off into his corner of the room where he finished a puzzle at a rapid speed. He took small glances at Layla every now and then.
"Freak." Mello snarled after him, he then turned his gaze on Layla and his blue eyes softened minutely. "T-That is why you didn't talk to him right?"
Layla glanced over her shoulder again, then turned to smile gently at Mello, "Yes. Mello is my friend only."
It was hard to tell, but Near noticed Mello's shoulders relaxing ever so slightly and he filed it away in his mind underneath the cabinet labeled Mello.