Baka: Hot damn! 57 hits in less than 24 hours?! I feel special! Oh, and disclaimer, we don't own Monopoly, though we did play it recently.
Kyoka: I've only taken part in editing this chapter... Baka worked on it, for the most part. I've been losing sleep over a few of my own projects. (Warning: This isn't advised, as it causes dark circles under the eyes. And regrettably, only L can make that look attractive.)
Baka: Kyoka-chan... EVERYTHING looks attractive on L... We're just biased. Oh, and, Kyobaka will be striking again with a one-shot in the making!
Kyoka: Coming soon to a theatre near you!
Baka: You said Near... *drool*
Kyoka: As you might understand, I've recently given her a Near t-shirt for her birthday. Please excuse the obsession. Now, off with the ranting and on with the story!
The inevitable complaint that appears whenever Monopoly is present, came from Mello, who was still extremely miffed about his loss to Near. "Monopoly? That game takes too long!"
"It can be made shorter with more rules," Near murmured, his voice as monotone as ever. He didn't often play board games, as he would often prefer to play with his toys or complete a blank puzzle than play with the other children. He had, however, observed others playing Monopoly in the past, and noticed that there were many different rule variations.
Mello glared at Near, annoyed, "I know that, Near," The younger boy's name was said in a tine dripping with malice. "I know all of the variations, but no matter how you play it, it's always long!"Mello tapped his foot impatiently; he wasn't like Near, obsessed with puzzles, or Matt, obsessed with all things related to video games. He was obsessed with chocolate. It didn't take any patience to eat chocolate. He liked things to happen immediately. He glanced over at Matt, hoping for a bit of backup, and almost instantly received it.
"Mello's right," The redhead mumbled, knowing that Mello wanted him to speak without even looking up at him, "It is long, but the turns are short, so there's no time for Mario in between." He sighed and glanced up. It was clear that he didn't want to play either, but he didn't want to do anything that might question Watari's authority. Besides, what was left unspoken was that there wouldn't be time for other games--they'd be at it for hours.
"This game," L said softly, placing his thumb against his lips, "Is an excellent strategy game… I think this was a wise choice." If Monopoly had anything to do with team-building, only L was able to figure it out, and even for him, it was too hard to explain.
Misa began to slowly reach for the box, which Watari was in the process of organizing, but withdrew quickly when Light said, "Misa, drop it." She floated back to her place at his side.
"Ryuuzaki's right," Light agreed as everyone, with the obvious exception of Watari, ignored the girl, "Monopoly's all about strategy. Selecting what you do or don't want to buy, and whether or not to build houses or hotels-" Well, maybe Light understood L's logic-- a little bit --but still to the others, it was a little bit of a stretch to imagine that Monopoly involved too much strategy. Whomever landed on the Boardwalk and Park Place usually won, anyways.
L cut him off by stating, "I assume that, if Kira were playing Monopoly, he would probably attempt to gather all of the properties and build hotels on all of them." Of course, Kira would want to seek power. Kill everyone through the power of debt; that was the most logical strategy, at least for a mass-murderer of Kira's status.
"No offense, Ryuuzaki…. But isn't that the point of the game?" Matsuda questioned, glancing at him.
"It's a simple matter of-"
L was suddenly interrupted by Misa screaming, "I call the dog!" She grabbed the small, silver dog from within the box and held it up to the light, studying it in admiration. She jumped up and down in glee. "Yay! I got the dog~"
"What?! No fair! I wanted the dog!" Matsuda protested as she drew the small metal figure close to her chest. Matsuda made a grab for it, but she slipped away so that she stood beside Light, yet again.
"Matsu, I got the puppy first." Misa stated, trying to act mature. Matt had put his game away, finally interested in the conversation.
"But-"
"Matsuda, just let her have it," Light mumbled, "There are plenty of other pieces to choose from."
"Yay! I knew you loved me, Raito-kun!" Misa exclaimed happily, snuggling into her 'boyfriend's' arm.
Light began to reach for the jockey as L began to speak once more. "Kira would most likely also choose the jockey. The thought of being in control of something, even just a horse, is tempting to Kira."
Light glared at him, "Ryuuzaki, it's not a real horse."
"I'm aware of that fact, Raito-kun," He said quietly, "But the concept in itself is what is important." Despite this, Light plucked the jockey out of the box.
Matt began to reach for the car, but, when Mello got to it first, he took the iron instead. There was no point in fighting over a Monopoly piece. Near took the thimble as L lifted the money bag awkwardly with two fingers, "Watari? Will you be playing this time?"
"No," The senior replied, "I will play as the banker." With this, he began passing out the colorful cash.
Several turns passed, and finally, the entire group (with the exceptions of Mello and Light, who were in jail) reached the final stretch of the board. Naturally from this point until they got to the "GO" square, everyone was silently competing for the Boardwalk and Park Place monopoly. As it turned out, Matt was the one to land on Boardwalk, though he was pretty much indifferent to the fact that he had. He bought it anyway, deciding that, if nothing else, someone would want to trade it for something valuable. As the group began their trip around again, Mello landed on Park Place. Naturally, he purchased it, then instantly turned to Matt. "What do you want for Boardwalk?"
Matt considered this for a moment before shrugging, "I'll take Mediterranean Avenue, five bucks and a pack of cigarettes." Everyone in the room stared.
"Umm… Matt? There aren't cigarettes in this game." Matsuda stated somewhat confused by the request.
"I know that, I want real smokes... Mello?" Matt locked eyes with his friend, who was contemplating whether or not to agree. Smoking was one of Matt's flaws, in Mello's eyes. For a moment, the boy paused, an angry glare forming in his eyes--he always hated it when Matt smoked, but... Well, he really wanted the Boardwalk. The idea was tempting.
"Fine," Mello consented after a few minutes of thought, "I'll get you some later." He handed a grinning Matt the deed to Mediterranean Avenue and took Boardwalk from him.
"Eww! Aren't you a bit young to smoke?" Misa asked, looking a bit disgutsed by the thought.
"Aren't you a bit young to be a slut?" Mello countered. Though he didn't approve of the habit either, he still felt the need to defend Matt. Nobody else was allowed to insult him, especially not somebody as air-headed as Misa Amane.
"Hey! I am not! I only have one boyfriend, and that's Raito-kun!" Misa snapped, clinging onto Light's arm again. She pledged her allegience to him, and Light looked slightly horrified at the idea of spending 'forever' with the clingy girl.
"That's not what your outfit says." He mumbled defensively, taking a bite of chocolate as he watched Misa look over her skin-tight leather outfit.
"It's no different than yours!" She argued, "And at least I don't have a boy's haircut!"
Matt sighed, deciding that this wouldn't go anywhere good. "Mello-"
"What are you trying to say? I-"
"Mello, please refrain from bullying Amane-san." L murmured, taking the die from Near's hands. (Near was playing with them.)
Mello fell silent, averting his gaze to the floor. Being scolded by L was one of the worst possible punishments he could think of. Next to the banning of chocolate, of course. "Sorry, L…" He mumbled. Matt glanced over at his friend with a grateful smile.
L didn't seem to acknowledge the apology as he cast the die back down to the game board. As he moved the moneybag across ten spaces, Mello began counting his colorful money, obviously trying to figure out how many houses he could buy with it. When it was finally his turn again, Mello purchased one house for each property, and decided that he would save the rest by nor buying any more properties. He knew that if he did this, he would be able to purchase more houses later, and, eventually, hotels. By the third time that Mello went around the game board, he had earned enough money from rent, passing go, and the one time that he landed on free parking to buy two hotels, which he placed on Boardwalk and Park Place. Matt, who's piece had been the closest to the new danger zone, landed on Boardwalk, the same property he had traded to Mello earlier. "I'm out," Matt mumbled, not bothering to count his money as he passed all of it, along with his property deeds, to his friend.
Mello accepted the payment, though he was clearly quite unhappy about it, and organized all of it in his row of money. On that very same turn, Misa landed on Park Place, and also went bankrupt, though she, unlike Matt whe had simply gone pack to playing Mario, began to whine. "Mello, that's not fair! You shouldn't even have Boardwalk! You and Matt were cheating!"
Watari, after glancing over the directions, stated, "The rules state that, as long as the trade is accepted by both parties, it is legal to make a trade."
Misa frowned, pouting, "But not for real items! That's unfair!"
"There is nothing against the use of real items." Watari said quietly, rolling the die for himself as Misa handed all of her money and properties to Mello. After Light, Matsuda, and L all met the same fate, Light finally glanced over at L, noticing that Mello's pile of property deeds was steadily growing.
"Ryuuzaki, according to your theory, isn't Mello a Kira suspect now?" Light asked, rather elated to be able to use L's weapon against him.
"No, Raito-kun," L said softly, "Mello is not Kira. If he were, he wouldn't be killing criminals..." He let his thought end there, assuming that Near would be his first victim rather than an actual criminal.
Near rolled the die for the last time, as he finally landed on Park Place. Mello grinned, glaring at his enemy, "I win, Near." He growled as Near passed Mello the money.
Matt glanced up from his game at last, a small smile coming to his lips. He'd been able to help Mello beat Near... Even if it was only at a children's game, he had still been useful. That in itself was better than the deal for cigarettes.
"Congratulations," Near murmured, not really caring. He neglected to see the significance of this minor feat.
Mello's glare became even more prominent as he growled, "You lost, Near." He pointed at the boy gleefully.
"It's rude to point," Misa muttered under her breath. Everyone ignored her, including Mello.
"I am aware," Near confirmed, "It was implied when you announced that you won."
Mello bit down on his chocolate, annoyed. He wanted to say something witty in reply to this, but, unfortunately, he realized, even though he had won, he had lost. Near would always win arguments, and that would never change.
"So, next" L said quickly, hoping to relieve the tension (there was an obvious electricity in the air), "We'll play Battleship."