Yo. So I don't have much of an excuse for the lateness this time. Distracted, as usual. I mean, I would very firmly tell myself that I was damn well going to sit down and actually write… then read web comics for hours. I suck, I know. Also, I've developed a strange obsession with Kingdom Hearts. One of my friends has been playing it and talking about it nonstop and then finally had me watch some cosplay spoof. Friggin' KH. You've taken over my… soul, or something. Damnit, how can I fangirl over something I've never actually played!? Anyway! Right! Chapter Twelve! Aren't y'all excited!? It's almost done! Woot!
Defenesized, bi-atch! …Respect.
Disclaimer: Don'townitdidn'tdoityoucan'tproveanything'kaybye.
.XII.
"Linda says that you have tragic, unrequited boy love for Near," thirteen-year-old Matt sang as he waltzed into their room, mischief glinting in sapphire eyes.
"Linda has shit for brains," Mello replied without missing a beat, not even bothering to glance up as he carefully turned the page.
Matt laughed, collapsing bonelessly onto his roommate's bed and allowing his head to loll over the edge of the mattress as he studied the blond. Mello barely seemed to have even noticed his presence beyond the obligatory I-fucking-hate-Near-why-don't-people-get-that? retort; he was perched rigidly on the very edge of his chair, his nose hovering a mere several inches over the case files from the Manhattan murders L had brought to a close the month before. Matt frowned slightly, minute details about his friend's appearance that he hadn't noticed at first glance starting to jump out at him.
The honey-blond hair tied in a messy knot at the base of Mello's neck had traded its usual healthy shine for the more off-putting gloss that comes with several days without introduction to a shower; he was pale—not fashionably pale, but worrisome pale, like he was going to have to develop sonar because he hadn't set foot in natural light for so long; his wrinkled shirt—from the day before the day before yesterday—was so big on him it wouldn't be surprising if the blond had an entire refrigerator of chocolate stashed in there… when had he lost all that weight…? The bags under his eyes, though… they'd gotten so dark, Matt was sure even L would be more than a little perturbed by the sight of them.
"Mel," the redhead murmured, his brows furrowing. The older boy waved him off testily, lunging anxiously for a packet that had been about to slide off the far edge of his desk. "Mello," Matt repeated more sternly, getting to his feet to accentuate that he was serious.
"What?" the other boy snapped, whipping around to glare at his friend.
"Mel, how long have you been reading that stuff?" Matt was quickly piecing things together, remembering that Mello had been nose-deep in files when he'd gone to bed the night before, and had barely moved two centimeters when he'd woken up—he had assumed that his friend had gone to bed at some point… but, making assumptions around Mello couldn't be considered the most exact of sciences. The blond's refusal to answer his question only confirmed his suspicions and he sighed. "Mello, you're never going to actually beat Near if you kill yourself in the process."
A preoccupied growl was his only response and he rolled his eyes irately. "Damnit, Mel, you're a genius. You're not going to find anything new—you got everything the first four times." He bared his own teeth mockingly in reply, stomping over to his closet to riffle through his shirts.
"Where the hell are you going?" Mello groused after a moment, the tips of his bangs twitching as he made to glance over his shoulder and quickly stopped himself.
"Have a date," Matt shrugged, yanking out a black "GAME OVER" shirt and clutching it between his knees as he ripped his sweater off.
Mello's jittering slowed, though never quite halted, and his eyes flashed emerald in a quick glance over his shoulder. "I thought you guys broke up?" he finally said, yanking his laptop forward thoughtlessly.
"Hmm?" Matt hummed absently, lazily overseeing the patting down of his static-tussled hair and cursory running of his tongue over his teeth in the mirror above the dresser. "Oh? Sarah? Yeah, we did. Serves her right, wanting me to give her my Gameboy for her birthday. Seriously. What the deuce? She doesn't even like videogames. Said it would "prove my sincerity." What-the fuck-ever, I say. Anyhoo. Abbie 'n' I're going on a double date with An and Justin. Apparently, Justin has Roger's explicit permission to go to town on his own, and that encompasses whoever he's with… lucky wanker. But—hey, you okay?" He blinked at the reflection of his roommate's tensed shoulders curiously for a moment, then winced. "Oh, right. Justin. Sorry, man. I forget, sometimes…."
Mello rolled his eyes. "Fuck, Matt, not everything is about Justin, okay?" he growled irritably, "Damnit, I'm not obsessed with him."
In fact, he didn't really feel much of anything for Justin one way or the other anymore. He was just a friendly face sitting across from him as L lectured. Eyes of molten amber had faded to normal run-of-the-mill brown, glossy midnight curls that had once beckoned Mello to succumb and run his fingers through them had somehow been replaced by plain—albeit very shiny—black hair, the million-watt smile had dulled, burnt-sienna skin that used to be so exotic now held no fascination. Yes, the crush was officially over, and Mello couldn't deny that he was more than a little relieved—he had too many other things to deal with. Matt didn't have to know, though—the younger boy had somewhat easily accepted Mello's orientation… but that had been when Mello had eyes only for Justin; now that anyone was fair game, would that change? He really didn't want to find out.
"Yeesh, okay! Touchy. Sorry." Matt pouted at the blond imploringly.
Mello made no attempt to reply, so Matt silently rooted out his jacket, casting one last glance at his friend as he headed for the door. "Mel, are you sure you're okay? You look dead tired, man."
"Look, I'm fine," Mello sighed exasperatedly, throwing down his pencil in irritation, closing his eyes, and rubbing at the bridge of his nose, "I just… haven't been sleeping very well lately, that's all."
The redhead across the room made a sympathetic sound, shifting back toward the blond at the desk instinctively. "Have you been having nightmares, again?" he asked worriedly, "Still about your parents? D'you need me to stay? You know I'll cancel if you want me to. I… could sing you a lullaby! …Uh. Or… hum the Imperial March for you or something."
Mello didn't even have the energy to scoff at his friend, settling instead for a long-suffering glance over his shoulder. "Matt, just go. Bring me back a chocolate-covered something," he muttered, turning back to his laptop evasively, hoping that Matt would drop the subject—that he wouldn't realize just how close to the truth he was. The image of Near smirking at him over a pajama-clad shoulder, leading a compliant L and Matt away drifted through his mind. He wasn't sure when his nightmares had morphed from his parents' horrific murders to being left alone—watching, helpless, as his mentor and best friend turned their backs… but it scared him. And he couldn't tell Matt. The redhead couldn't see this new weakness. He'd already seen too much.
Matt grinned, oblivious to the inverted glaze in Mello's stare. "Right-o, boss. Contraband sugar, it is. Not making any promises with L around, though. If he catches me with it, I'm dropping the chocolate and high-tailing it, 'kay?" He gave Mello the thumbs up, which was ignored, before backing out the door and around the corner.
Mello sat silent for a moment, elbow propped up on the back of his chair as he stared helplessly at the spot where Matt's scarlet head had disappeared, before turning back to his research with a sigh.
"Matt. Turn the damn volume down! Too much conflicting noise!"
The redhead sighed, throwing his friend an ignored baleful look as he obligingly muted his Gameboy. Mello grunted in what may have been interpreted as thanks before turning back to his analysis, content now that the rambling news report was his only distraction.
The Common Room was relatively empty as most of the orphans were still at dinner; the sounds from the television were all that broke the silence, and Justin and Anya were the only ones paying attention anyway. Mello sat in the back of the room, pouring over the files from that old case of L's in L.A.; Matt, as expected, was slouched against the corner of the couch, absorbed in his game, with Abbie cuddled up to his side, reading; Anya and Justin had taken over the rest of the cushions as they watched the news, wrapped up in a comforter to stave off the winter chill.
The blond glared at the paper-clipped files spread across the table in front of him, tapping the side of his laptop irately, somehow unable to concentrate even with the diminished distractions. He growled softly, shoving his chair back in frustration and glancing at the TV over Matt's bowed head. The news report was nothing more than a garbled jumble of sound and images in his irritated state, and distracted emerald eyes slid slowly to focus on the auburn head resting contentedly against Matt's shoulder. He scowled.
He hadn't really thought about it when Matt had first casually mentioned Abbie's name and "date" in the same sentence… after all, Matt's relationships were notoriously short-lived. The Wammy's girls were quickly realizing that the redhead, while a very delightful thing to look at and fawn over, wasn't really all that good of boyfriend material, what with nearly everything else being more important to him than his flavor of the week—his games, whatever he was off doing whenever L was around, that annoying, high-maintenance Mello kid…. The few who still had the conviction to try rarely lasted more than two weeks anymore.
But he and Abbie had been together for several months now. Matt had shrugged it off, saying that she was nice and they were friends and she actually liked video games and comics and stuff and it wasn't really all that serious, so why not? He'd waved him off when Mello had pointed out that Abbie had had a crush on him for at least a collective three out of the past four years. So what?
Mello frowned. He really didn't like it. Everything about the girl was starting to grate on his nerves—from the slightly too-wide, maniacal smile to the far too… brown hair. She'd even had the gall to usurp Mello's rightful seat at Matt's side during meals. She was always there. Always. Damnit, he was supposed to be the most important person in Matt's li—
"…The bodies of Winston Reed, Alexander Jameston, and Rodney Phillips were found in their cells in Wincester prison this morning—" Mello blinked distractedly at the names, glancing at the television. On the couch, Matt had jerked up, leaving Abbie to topple, unsupported, to the cushions with an indignant squeak. "Matt!" she hissed, "What the—" He slapped a hand over her mouth, not even bothering to shush her as he focused on the news report. "The coroner has cited a heart attack as the cause of death for all three of the inmates. Reed, Jameston, and Phillips had just recently been found guilty of three counts of vehicular manslaughter, as well as the battery and assault charges brought on in December of last year. The memorial will be closed to immediate family only and will be held next Tuesday. …Authorities have requested that we address the suggestion that the recent rise in heart attack mortalities is some form of "divine judgment." They ask that—"
"Holy shit," Matt whispered, turning wide cerulean eyes to stare at Mello over the back of the couch, "They're dead?"
The blond returned the stare blankly, blinking under the scrutiny from Anya and Justin from the opposite end of the couch as well. Dead…? Heart attacks? What…? He hadn't even heard about the most recent charges, nor the stint in prison….
"How could three young, healthy boys all die of heart attacks?" Abbie asked quietly, "Simultaneously?" Matt put a gentle hand on her forearm, silently thanking her for taking the attention off of Mello, though it was doubtful she realized she was doing it.
"It's been going on for a couple days, now," Justin answered quietly, "the number of heart attacks worldwide has drastically increased."
"By "drastically" he means an increase of nearly 70 percent," Anya cut in, "there have been more heart attack-induced deaths in the last four days than in the last year."
"What's causing it?" Mello asked, glancing from Matt to the two across from him.
"People have been saying that it's God's divine judgment," Anya replied, shivering slightly and shimmying closer to Justin's side, "Everyone who's died has been a criminal."
Mello's brows furrowed. Glancing from face to face once more, he lunged from his chair and quickly gathered up the research scattered across the tabletop. "I've gotta go," he said hastily, snapping his laptop shut and glancing pointedly at Matt as he left it on the table.
The redhead nodded in confirmation. "I'll take it back to the room, Mel."
And then he was out the door.
Mello nibbled his lip, shifting his folder of L's paperwork from hand to hand for a moment before finally reaching out and tentatively knocking.
"Come in," L called absently, and Mello quietly pushed the door back on its hinges. The detective's private room was dark, the floor lamp in the far corner hadn't been turned on, but that was hardly unusual—Mello was nearly 96 percent certain that it still had its original bulb. The only source of light was the laptop open on the desk, where L sat hunched at the edge of his chair, munching thoughtfully on a handful of cherries.
Silently, the blond crept up behind his mentor, setting the folder unobtrusively on the edge of the desk as he came to a halt at L's side, eyes automatically scanning the screen in front of the detective.
Name: PHILLIPS, RODNEY. Age: 20 Sex: Male Date of Death: 12/01/2003 Time of Death: 12:16 P.M. Date of Autopsy: 12/02/2003—
The autopsy report was accompanied by a smaller window in the top right corner of the screen displaying a scanned newspaper article written in Japanese. At the moment, L seemed more preoccupied with the news clipping, muttering the content under his breath as wide beetle-black eyes darted down the columns of kanji before quickly maximizing a word document and typing something at lightning speed. Mello glanced down at the papers strewn about the desk, newspapers with headlines all centering around "Kira," a map of Japan—the different regions traced, outlined, and numbered—and some of the detective's own handwritten notes, though Mello could only make out a small percentage as they were mostly in kanji.
"You think the murderer is in Japan?"
L picked a cherry stem out of his mouth, dropping it into the waste bin next to the desk before scrolling further down on the autopsy. "Yes," he replied simply, snatching up one of the loose papers on his desk and comparing it to the article on the computer speculatively.
Mello blinked. "So, you do think this is actually a murder case? The news was saying—"
"Mello, you are far too intelligent to believe a situation such as this could be natural, let alone "God's judgment." Be rational." L didn't bother to look at him, which Mello was thankful for, as the detective wouldn't notice the light blush painting his cheeks.
"W-well… it's unnatural, of course, but… are you sure it's human? What if it's a worldwide epidemic, or—" L moved to turn and Mello caught himself, "no, that can't be. An epidemic affecting only criminals…" He shook his head disbelievingly. "No, of course not."
L nodded approvingly, carefully selecting two pages from the clutter in the right hand drawer of his desk before swiveling in his chair to present the papers to his protégé. "What is the connection, Mello?"
Curious emerald eyes squinted at the proffered papers in the light from the computer as L held them carefully between thumb and forefinger. Two pages of names in neat columns, all in different languages, in order by date beginning on the twenty-eighth of November… convicted criminals… a list of deaths… a list of worldwide television and newspa— "Every criminal that's been killed has been broadcast in the media... usually high-profile," he murmured wonderingly, "Except that first one. That one was only aired in a small area of Japan. And that's the only one listed on the twenty-eighth… after that, the deaths began to occur in other countries!"
"Exactly." L nodded at him, a tiny smile stretching his lips as he reached for a third sheet. "Then, look at this: this is a list from the FBI database—all similar crimes, but kept out of the media. And…?"
"They're all still alive," Mello answered immediately, his eyes drawn wonderingly to the blank column extending beneath the header Date of Death.
"So…?" L prompted, setting down his papers and his thumb jumping to his lips as he studied the blond.
"…Kira… needs to have visual confirmation!" Mello beamed excitedly, looking to L for approval.
L smiled softly, swiveling back to his desk. "That is the conclusion I came to as well," he said thoughtfully, "But in order to prove that theory—" He was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"L," Mr. Wammy's kindly face appeared, silhouetted in the light from the hallway. "The plane tickets have been booked for tomorrow morning. INTERPOL has been scheduled to meet on the fourth at three o'clock p.m."
The detective nodded. "Thank you, Watari, that should work perfectly."
Mr. Wammy proceeded to report several other dates, times, and locations as Mello's gaze drifted curiously across the desk. He blinked down at the name Lind L. Taylor, midway down the FBI file, circled messily in pencil. He bit his lip uneasily, an uncomfortable feeling settling itself in his stomach. Visual confirmation...
L turned back to him when the door had once more clicked shut behind Watari, giving his protégé an appraising glance and blinking. "Mello, are you all right?"
The blond swallowed uncertainly. "I…" If L's speculations were proven correct, then this Kira… whatever it was… could kill a person by glancing at their face. How did you fight that? How did you protect someone from that…? "L, this is—I mean—this is really dangerous… even for you. I know you never show the public your face, but that doesn't mean there aren't people who've seen you…." That dream viciously reasserted itself, and Mello saw the detective's hunched figure disappearing down a darkened path where he knew he couldn't follow. "And what if, in that one second between the plane and the car or… the car and your hotel—" He gasped, his eyes widening.
"Mello," L murmured soothingly, reaching out to place a cool, bony hand gently on a trembling shoulder. Golden hair whipped away from a pale face in a frenzy as large, frantic forest green eyes met his own. L blinked owlishly, meeting Mello's gaze with his own calm, ever-certain one, and he felt the sudden, foreign impulse to take this boy who had come to mean so much into his arms and relieve him of all his fears.
Mello's breathing hitched as L drew him forward, pulling him against a bony chest as a sharp chin perched itself on top of his head. He swallowed, uncertain—he had never seen L involve himself in physical human contact beyond the occasional brush of the shoulder or hair... and now, to be wrapped in a surprisingly warm and human embrace…. He reached out trembling hands, his fingers digging into the white material of the detective's shirt as he clung to him frantically.
"Mello, there are many things that could happen in that one instant you speak of. Just living is a constant risk. There has always been the possibility that I will not return from a case, why are you worrying now?"
The blond mouthed wordlessly as L pushed him back slowly to meet his gaze once again, unable to answer.
L took pity on him, sighing as he reached for the nearly-empty bowl of abandoned cherries. "Mello, I promise that I will do everything in my power to discover the truth of this matter. I promise you that Kira will be brought to justice. However, you know I cannot promise you that I will return, for there is always the chance that I will not. That is what you have been studying for, after all. But I will try. There are still many things I wish to teach you."
Mello bowed his head, swallowing to steady himself, his fingers bunching in the dark material of his pants. "We… we can still email you, right?" he finally asked anxiously, "You'll still tell us how the case is going… like you always do, right?"
The young detective's wide, merciless eyes softened ever-so-slightly. "Of course. Whenever I am able."
Mello nodded jerkily, fighting valiantly to stave off the feeling that the gap between him and L had just widened beyond his ability to cross… that the detective had started down that dark road that he could not call him back from. "Right…" He smiled shakily. "See you when you've caught Kira, then."
The room was mostly dark when Mello crept in, easing the door carefully shut behind him. He had spent quite a while hunched up next to the door of L's room after bidding him goodnight, unwilling to walk away from his mentor just yet. But it was L, he had chided himself… nothing could beat L.
It seemed that Matt had tried to wait up for him, but had drifted off at some point, propped against the wall in the middle of his bed, the pause menu of his new copy of Kingdom Hearts casting the redhead in a soft light. Mello felt the corners of his lips twitching into an affectionate smile as he picked his way over to the bed and carefully plucked the controller out of limp hands.
"Nyuh…" Matt grunted in his sleep, toppling over to sprawl across the mattress, "Why would you do that, Riku—" He rolled onto his stomach, burying his face in his comforter.
Mello rolled his eyes, having experienced Matt's videogame comas many times before—the time before last had been particularly memorable, with the gamer having fallen asleep in the middle of a cut scene from the end of Ocarina of Time, his third or fourth time through. Mello had laughed his ass off upon glancing at the screen and seeing the words "Thank you, MELLO, the Hero of Time!" blinking beneath the pink, pixilated image of Princess Zelda. Matt had blushed, stuttering that Link reminded him of Mello, what with the blondness and strange affinity for pointy things and bizarre sound effects. And the guy love—'cause really, there's no way Link didn't have the hots for Sheik…. Mello smiled fondly at the memory, yanking the blanket unceremoniously out from under his friend before draping it over the sleeping boy far more gently. The redhead sighed contentedly, squirming his way up to the pillow.
He stood at his friend's bedside for a moment, watching as the younger boy floundered about looking for a comfortable position, finally flailing to a halt on his back with the comforter half thrown over the edge of the mattress. After a moment of silence, Mello leaned over, brushing crimson bangs aside before pressing a gentle kiss to Matt's forehead.
Straightening up, he strode across to his side of the room, hitting the power button on his way past the television.
L would leave tomorrow… he would catch Kira and be back in a couple months… and everything would still be the same when he got there, Mello would still hate Near… Justin and Anya would still be holding hands under the table in the mess hall, thinking no one noticed… Matt would have finished his game and be whining for the next one… and L would just smile patiently, and inform them that they would have a lesson the next day, after he'd had time to recover from the jetlag….
He rolled into bed, curling himself up into a ball in the corner of the mattress, clenching his eyes shut desperately.
Everything would be fine. It would.
To be continued.
L! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! (Sobs) Why!? Why must it come to this part of the story so soon!? God knows I hate writing you, but I just love you so much!! Ahhhhhhhhhh! Oh, and on a side note: Mello kissed Matty on the forehead! Everybody now: D'awwwwwwwwwwww. …And no Near. He's being a bitch to write, so he's been banned from the story for a while.
Man, I hate this chapter. A lot. I was so looking forward to writing it… and now, it just seems so disjointed and nonsensical and OOC and… I can't even fathom why I'm posting it like this, but I am. So sorry! D:
Um, so… a valid point was made that my review replies really just take up space and now I'm all self-conscious about it. (le sigh) So what do you guys think? Should I keep doing the review-y stuff like I usually do, or actually be normal and just use the Reply function? I'm just used to doing it this way! Wahh! So, lemme know. But, of course, I FRIGGIN' LOVE YOU GUYS! You rock my world. And other things. So, please KEEP REVIEWING! I love them so, so much.
Kaze Kimizu: coughStaytunedforboy-lovin'nextchaptercough Ahem. Wow, have something in my throat. Thanks for the review! aya: lol, see my coughing fit in the previous reply. Woot. Glad I could distract you from school for a while! camikaza: I guess we'll see, eh? I think the next two chapters'll come faster, 'cause I'm gonna love them so much. 'cause I'm sick and twisted. Ehh. Thanks! Carrot The LuvMachine: Hee. Development ahoy! I hope this chapter was decent. I dunno, it feels really choppy and weird to me. GAH. thinlimitation: lol! Wow, thanks. I can only imagine the "WTF?" looks. Haha. Glad you liked the mafia thing… that was one of the first things about the story ever developed, so it's been pretty long lasting. Anyhoo, thanks for the review, as usual! Melii Aile: I do love me that angst. "Sad is happy for deep people." Quite. Glad you liked it! Thanks for the review! Raea.In.Eden: Gah! Sorry you waited all excitedly for this. I have let you down! T.T Hair-Noodles: Haha, I really kinda shaped the format of the chapter around that last line. 'cause I thought it up at random and was all "OMFG, I love that." So I'm glad you liked it, too! Thanks for taking time out of your busy school schedule to read my junk! Much love! Trinny Dream: Glad you liked it! Stay tuned for more gay! winkwink Charlie O.: …just wait a little longer, and I promise I'll deliver! Promise! Thanks for reading! kira-kira: Thanks! Man, Near kinda dropped off the planet. I tried to put him in this chapter, but he just refused. It was terrible. Ugh. Damned Lolita: She is the kitten from Hell. Broke my porcelain mask. Grr. And don't worry. So did I! lol. AXENATION: Man, I love your reviews! They make me laugh so much. I'm trying to limit my rambling in these replies… (pout) But I love the relationship you seem to have with your mum. It cracks me up. It really was emotion-vomit. Mel's getting quite good at it. Justin!loves FTW! Thanks for the review, as per usual! Loverly Lawliet: Yup. Hee. The Chaos Apple: lol! I hope you continue to not be disappointed… 'cause I'm really disappointed with this chapter… ugh. And huzzah for sexual-tension-induced-imbecil…ity? Huh. twentyfiveraven: Ha! I'm confusing so many mothers with this story! It's hilarious! I'm glad you liked it, and I love that you randomly quote stuff, too. I do it all the time. I know that perplexed look well… we're involved. Woot! BitterxSweetxApathy: Oh noes! I think your review got cut off! There was only an "I." But thanks so much for taking the time! I really appreciate it! Therkin: Chapter after next. And the next, of course, includes: "RAWR! I'm a vampire!" …oh, god, I love it so. SlvrSoleAlchmst1: Gah! See!? It's so ingrained! Grrrrr. Near the Kazekage: Thank you! I'm glad you like it! I hope this chapter wasn't off-putting, 'case it gave me a lot of trouble. Ugh. Thanks for the review! Demon Hiei's Girl: Gigglesnort lol, indeed. Exactly that. Hope this helped, sorry there was no hardcore tension, had to emo it up. Next chapter for sure. Cross my heart. In fact, it's already written. Bwahahaha! Momijik: …Near!Sim was impregnated by aliens. O.o I know, wot? But anyhoo, write it, and I'll deliver it to them! Heh. Get your sexual tension knife ready for the next chapter! Wicked Lovelace: Thanks for the review! Hope you continue to like it!
…bwoff!