Chapter 12: Death

"What's going on?" Julia asked quietly upon entering the room. She had gone to the motel lobby to get some more chocolate for Mello from the vending machine, and when she came back she saw Mello talking on the phone with someone. Matt was sitting in the chair near him, completely absorbed in his video game, but he looked up when he heard the door open.

"Talking to Lidner," Matt told her after she sat down on the arm of his chair. She had been smiling down at him, but when she heard the name Lidner she crossed her arms over her chest angrily and huffed.

"Have that "eye-clawing" urge again?" Matt asked with a chuckle.

"You could say that." She then shifted her attention to the conversation Mello was having with Lidner.

"I'm planning on kidnapping Kiyomi Takada. If she really is close with Kira, then she might use the notebook to protect herself. I'm sure she would know who I am."

Julia's eyes widened at what he was suggesting. Even Matt looked up from his game console to give him a surprised look. Didn't he realize how dangerous that plan was?

Mello was continuing his conversation. "I'm the only one who can do it and this has to be done." He talked with Lidner for a few more minutes before hanging up, bowing his head down, like he couldn't believe what was going to happen.

Julia couldn't believe it either, so she openly voiced her thoughts. "Are you out of your fucking mind?" she yelled. "You can't kidnap her! You'll be-!" She stopped herself from finishing that statement and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Look, I know you're very reckless and you never think things through, which is fine 'cause you always make things work for you, but this time, I really feel like you should rethink this. This isn't a game, okay? If Takada is working with Light Yagami, who you assume to be Kira, then she probably knows your name and could easily kill you. Do you have a death wish?"

"I'm with Jules," Matt added. "This is one hell of a plan."

Mello shrugged. "It's the only thing we can do now."

"Stop it!" she commanded. "Just-please, stop…" She held her face in her hands and silence soon filled the room. Julia was frustrated with Mello. He just seemed so willing to do something dangerous like this. The Mello she knew would try to be extra cautious about things so he could stay alive long enough to crush Near into the ground. "Can't you just think of a different plan?" she asked. She lifted her head and made eye contact with the blonde.

"No, Jules," he said simply.

Julia's eyes started stinging and she knew she was about to cry. She couldn't start crying though; not in front of Mello and Matt. Instead of saying anything to his response, Julia just got up from the chair and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut in the process.

She moved away from the door and leaned against the wall next to it, sliding down onto the floor while the tears flowed down her cheeks freely. She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly.

She knew that there would be no good outcome from this plan. He would die. Simple as that. She just didn't understand why he was so adamant with this plan. They would act during the next day and then she would never see Mello again. She didn't even get the chance to make him love her back, and that was all she ever wanted.

Matt stared at the door Julia had just stormed out of. He felt bad that she was taking the situation so hard, but he knew where she was coming from. In fact, he knew that if he were in Julia's place and Julia was going on about an outrageous plan that was sure to kill her, he'd be upset as well. Heartbroken, even.

Although Matt put up a front for the sake of his friend, he actually cared deeply for Julia. He wouldn't want anything to happen to her and felt that when it came to it, he would risk his life for her.

He turned to his best friend to see that he was in bad shape as well, whether it was for his own safety or Julia's reaction to his plan.

"You're not gonna go after her?" Matt asked.

"There's no point," Mello replied. He had his head in his hands and refused to look at his friend. Matt didn't like his response. Even though he was his friend, Matt felt that he should be more considerate of Julia's feelings. "I don't think I want Julia helping me anymore. It'll be too dangerous for her to be involved. Lidner was right. I should have let her go before we both got too attached."

Matt stared at him for a few seconds before rising up from his chair. "It's about time you realized that," he told him while heading towards the door.

When he opened it and stepped outside, he saw Julia sitting on the floor crying to herself silently. Matt wasn't sure what to do to help but he kneeled down in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him in surprise and quickly brushed the tears from her cheeks. "You don't have to be upset," he told her comfortingly. "I'm sure Mello's got a full proof plan."

"Don't kid yourself," Julia replied bluntly. "He's going to die and you know it." A fresh, new wave of tears sprung from her eyes, and she looked at the man in front of her. "I love him and I don't know what I'd do if he got himself killed."

Matt felt a slight stab in his heart but he ignored it the best he could. "I know," he replied.

"Just try not to be so negative. This could work out." He moved to sit next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, grabbing a fistful of his shirt as comfort.

"Thank you Matt…" she said quietly. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself the best she could as Matt embraced her.

Julia spent the whole day with Matt, not wanting to look at Mello, for she knew it would upset her even more. When nightfall arrived however, she knew she couldn't avoid him any longer and eventually made it back to their room.

He was sitting on his bed, watching the TV, although Julia could tell he wasn't entirely focused on it. His mind was elsewhere. He looked up when she entered, but then turned back to the screen.

"My plan doesn't have to involve you," he said.

Julia was surprised to hear him talking to her, since she figured he'd be giving her the cold shoulder until tomorrow. "What do you mean?"

"My plan is dangerous and I don't expect you to go through with it. I usually command you to do anything but this time, it's up to you."

Julia didn't have to think about this for one second. "As much as I'm opposed to your plan, I told you the day you saved me that I would be devoted to you, and I'm sticking to that promise. I'm not leaving you now."

Mello then lay down on his bed, and stared up at the ceiling. Julia figured he was ready for bed, and she was too. She was exhausted from all the crying.

As much as she wanted to sleep, however, she still had that nervous feeling, almost making her nauseous. Tomorrow, they would take a plane to Japan and the following day was the day they would kidnap Kiyomi Takada, and she wasn't sure she was ready yet. The last thing she wanted was for Mello to be killed. She wanted this night to last forever so tomorrow would never come.

She watched Mello for a few seconds, contemplating on whether or not this was the best time for a final heart to heart. If this would be it, she would feel better with herself if he knew everything.

"What is it?" Mello asked, noticing her staring at him. She walked over to his bed and sat on the edge next to Mello, looking down at him as he now lay beside her.

"You know I love you, right?"

Mello didn't respond so Julia continued.

"You're the most important person in the world to me. But I screwed up. It was when I was mad at you after we were together and you said it meant nothing. It killed me to hear you say that so I went and…" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes and looked at Mello's bright ones she could see that he looked intrigued. "Well I don't know if you've noticed but Matt and I have gotten pretty close."

"I've noticed."

"Matt and I had sex," she blurted out.

Mello sat upright in the bed and just looked at her incredulously. "You and Matt…" She could see that he was starting to shake uncontrollably in his anger.

Seeing him this angry caused tears to spring to her eyes. This wasn't how she pictured her discussion with him to go.

"It was all my fault," she explained. "I forced myself on him. He was kinda hesitant to begin with and then after he was all guilty thinking about you. Don't be mad at him."

Mello's angered expression fell off his face. He stared down at her fidgety hands that were in her lap. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to look at her face and continued to stay at her hands.

"Do you love him?"

"Are you stupid?" Julia almost yelled. Mello jumped and watched her again, almost as if he was unsure of what she was going to do now. "After all we've been through you have the nerve to ask me that?" She wiped her tears furiously and glared at him. "I do feel something for him but you're the only one for me! Why is that so hard for you to understand?"

There was silence between them as they stared at each other. The only sound was Julia's sniffling every few seconds.

"Lidner never meant anything to me," Mello confessed. "I didn't want you to get too close to me and she always seemed to rub you the wrong way so I took advantage of that."

"To hurt me." Julia didn't say that like a question because she knew it was the truth. She had finally managed to calm herself down as they conversed but she could feel herself tearing up again. "You've hurt me a lot in the years we've been together Mello but I've taken it because I'm crazy about you. Or just crazy, who knows? But when you told me your plan today, I think that's the first time you've hurt me bad enough to cry."

Before Mello could stop himself, he lifted his hand and rubbed Julia's cheek, taking a trail of tears with it. She leaned her face into his hand and closed her eyes, content that he was showing some sort of emotion. He then placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her closer to him. He moved over in the bed making room for her.

They were now lying on their sides facing each other. Mello kept his hand on her waist and was rubbing small circles with his thumb.

"I don't know what made me save you that night, but I'm glad I did Jules."

This was the day. The plan was being put into action today and everyone was anxious. Things could go according to plan or things could fail miserably.

The trio was outside the motel discussing the details one last time. Matt and Julia were to cause a scene which would allow Mello the opportunity to take Kiyomi Takada.

"So, are we ready?" Mello asked them.

Matt nodded and gave him the thumbs up while Julia just gave him a look.

Mello rolled his eyes. "Don't start, Jules." Instead of saying anything or arguing, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his slim figure. She held on tightly, taking in his scent and the feel of his body.

Matt pointedly looked away and walked off to give them some privacy. Mello figured he was probably going to the side of the building to spy on them.

Mello wasn't exactly sure what to do. He felt, for some reason, that it was his last time to say or do something right for Julia. He lifted his hands and placed them on her hips as he spoke. "You have Matt."

"I love Matt," she agreed. "But I love you more." She then pulled away from him and started to make her way to the car she and Matt would be taking until she felt a hand on her wrist. She turned around to see what it was that Mello wanted, and was surprised when he pulled her into him and placed his lips on hers. This wasn't like any of the kisses he had given her before. They were usually rough, but this one was tender and soft.

The kiss didn't last as long as she would have hoped and soon they broke apart. Mello gazed into her dark blue eyes. "I do care," he said simply.

Julia looked at him, wide-eyed, before smiling. "Mello…"

He sighed and stepped away from her, increasing the distance between their bodies. "Just don't get caught on me, okay?"

Julia giggled. "Only if you promise me the same thing."

Mello nodded and she made her way to the car where she would wait for Matt. He came from around the corner and stood in front of Mello.

"Nice," Matt commented.

"I knew you were spying," Mello said with an eye roll.

Matt shrugged. "I'm an expert in espionage. What can I say?"

Mello's face grew solemn. "You can say you're gonna protect Jules with your life. I mean it."

"Don't worry. I would have done that, even if you hadn't asked me to," Matt told him.

"Good," Mello said. He then decided to change the subject. "I know you lied to me, Matt. Julia told me you two were together."

Matt's cigarette almost fell out of his mouth. "Shit…listen man, it just kinda happened. Trust me, if I had known you loved her then I wouldn't have touched her!"

"Take care of her," Mello said cutting of his friend's apologetic rant. "And don't go and get yourself caught."

Matt, stunned about Mello's change in demeanor, could only nod. "Good luck."

Both men shook hands one last time before turning around and walking to the vehicles they would be taking for this mission.

Julia gripped the handle of the car door tightly as the red car they were in pealed through the streets. They were being chased by Takada's bodyguards and Matt was trying hard to lose them.

"Persistent bastards aren't they?" he asked. His cigarette hung limply from his lips as he drove.

Julia shut her eyes forcefully and almost screamed when they nearly hit another car. They were going at an incredible speed and Julia was starting to feel queasy.

"Do this often?" she asked sarcastically.

Matt turned to the side to look at her and saw her nervous face. "You alright?"

"If these guys don't catch us, we'll surely die in a car accident," Julia said.

Matt laughed heartily. "What are you talking about? This is fun!"

Julia didn't even respond to his absurd comment. She changed the subject instead. "I hope Mello's okay."

"I'm sure he is," Matt told her. It didn't exactly make Julia feel any better since there was no way he could be one hundred percent sure. "Listen Jules," he started. Julia looked at him. "Mello loves you."

"What?"

"He's completely in love with you." He paused for a moment. "I just felt like I had to tell you that for some reason." Upon seeing her disbelieving face he added, "He told me himself. He even threw a fit over it."

Before Julia could say anything, Matt noticed a circle of black cars blocking off his exit. It was those damn bodyguards!

"Hold on!" he barked. He then punched down on the brakes, sending the car grinding and swirling until it finally came to a complete stop. They were completely.

"Damn it…" Matt mumbled.

"This can't be good," Julia said fearfully. "What are we gonna do?"

"We go with what they want," Matt replied. "They shouldn't shoot or anything. Maybe just arrest us." Julia highly doubted that as she watched the men raise their guns and point the weapons at them. Her heart was practically pounding out of her chest, and she leaned into Matt for comfort.

"It'll be fine babe," Matt comforted. He placed a hand on her cheek and brought her face closer to his, closing the space between them. His kiss was just as soft as Mello's had been, and she tried her hardest not to cry. Things definitely weren't going according to plan. They were caught and she was sure something bad was happening with Mello as well.

When they pulled away, Matt smirked. "I know I don't compete with Mello but I didn't want my feelings to be the only ones left in the dark." He then pulled out a gun from underneath his seat and placed it behind him in his vest. Julia was thankful the windows were tinted or she was sure they would have simply killed them right there. He then grabbed another gun and handed it to the brunette. She looked at it dubiously.

"Just in case," he said.

She took it carefully and wondered where on earth she could put it on her. Matt's gun was visible only from behind so she figured her back pocket would be her best bet.

Matt grabbed her hand with his right hand after she had hidden her gun and opened the door with his left. He stepped out first and then helped Julia out from his side of the car. Then he raised his hands above his head and hinted at Julia to do the same.

"Hey, come on, give us a break!" He yelled loud enough for them to hear him. "Since when were the Japanese allowed to carry around such big guns? You got us, we're part of this whole kidnapping incident. That means you'll have a lot of questions to ask."

Julia's eyes widened. Why was he testing them like that? She looked over at Matt and saw that he was moving his hand ever so slightly for the gun. If they had a shoot out here, the two of them versus the men, they would surely lose. It just made sense to go along quietly, but apparently Matt was going to try for it anyway.

"You won't shoot-" Matt didn't get to finish his statement because as soon as the words left his mouth, a rain of bullets shot down on the two of them. Matt stood in front of Julia, trying to cover her the best he could from harm, but it was no use. Some of the bullets would pass right through Matt and hit Julia as well.

Julia slid down along the car onto the asphalt. She was still alive, but just barely. Her body felt completely cold and she couldn't shake away the tired feeling that was threatening to take over her body. She had to stay awake.

The bullets stopped and finally Matt collapsed on the ground, already dead. His cigarette fell from his mouth and Julia's eyes followed it to the ground. Her mind was too fuzzy to think clearly anymore, and she could feel her eyes growing heavier by the second. She leaned her head against Matt's shoulder, who was also leaning against the car.

The last thought she had before she finally succumbed to the sleeping feeling was of Mello, the man she had loved until the very end.

Mello was surprised at how well things were going. He had been successful in apprehending Kiyomi Takada, and had gotten rid of all her clothes and any other possessions she might have been carrying with her. He still wasn't one hundred percent certain that she didn't have a piece of the notebook with her, but he decided to take that chance.

As he drove along, he watched the progress of the recovery of Kiyomi Takada on the small screen of the TV he had placed on the dashboard. Matt's totaled car suddenly flashed onto the screen.

"As for the suspects who were gunned down earlier," the anchorwoman announced, "we're still unable to identify them. The police are tracking the remaining suspects…"

Mello's eyes widened. Gunned down?

Suddenly, he was overwhelmed by a rush of emotion. He couldn't believe that they had been caught! He clenched his fists and slammed them against the steering wheel in frustration. This wasn't supposed to happen! The two most important people in his life were not supposed to be killed!

He shut off the TV before he could hear more and turned his eyes to the road, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. He was pissed that things hadn't worked out for him, but for once he wasn't thinking in the context of beating Near. He was angry, more so, that there was no shot at a life after the battle. There would be no Julia to come home to, and no Matt to visit, so then what? What purpose would his life have after the competition with Near was over?

Finally, his hands loosened on the wheel slightly and he sighed. Maybe it was for the best. For some reason, he didn't think he would be apart from them much longer. He was filled with the feeling that he wasn't going to last much longer, and for some reason this didn't worry him. At least this way, he wouldn't leave Julia on her own, and maybe he could finally treat her the way he should have treated her all along; the way he should have loved her all along. All he could hope for now was that wherever Julia was, she was waiting for him. Waiting for him to come to her, and waiting to forgive him.