DS
Disclaimer: lol disclaimer what's that?
Me: Special thanks to kate avalanche, LynLin, and dragontwister for their responses to my college question! Also, thanks to Danielle Anderson for not eating me. So anyway, I was reading through my reviews on ffnet, trying to see if I missed anything, and I noticed a nice, little button off to the right of each one. It said 'abuse.' Like a command. So every time I see one, I think about clicking it and abusing you.
Chibi Raito: -abuse, abuse, abuse-
Chibi L: D:
Chibi Misa: Like always, sit back in your office chair and enjoy! Read, review, and relax!
D S 18
In the past, Raito Yagami frequently fantasized about his future. He envisioned himself as a CEO or an infamous private detective like A or W. His fame and fortune would gladly accommodate a gigantic house, complete with multiple collector vehicles and a smokin' hot wife. He would have his own private mountain range and enough money to pay for ten more houses and five-hundred more cars he would never visit in his life. He would be so rich, famous, and stunning, that women would come from the other side of the world just to faint at his feet.
And yet fate was cruel.
Raito brooded as he stood at the entryway to Mikami's apartment building. He always imagined himself as a big-shot. Never attached to anyone. Women clinging to him like starved, crazed, beaten wolverines.
But there he was, stuck living in his parents' house, stuck using the public transport system, stuck between not one, but two human beings, and to top it all off, he was surrounded completely by men.
Men.
Men.
Teru loomed a few stories above, Matt lurked inside of the public ashtray to his right, and Ryuzaki whistled off to his left. Teru, Matt, and Ryuzaki in one room all at once could be likened to playing catch with a bottle of nitroglycerin. In fact, Raito didn't fully understand why he had agreed to this meeting in the first place.
Trusting Little Teru had called him last night, asking to get together with him for lunch. Well, Raito felt ridiculously sorry for him, and 'No' would have been a horrible thing to say.
Since when did Raito experience guilt anyway?
Christ on a cracker.
Anyhow, Raito's answer was a playful 'why not?'
This, as the brunette soon concluded, was the wrong answer. Ryuzaki, who had been rolling around on his bed with nothing else to do, suddenly announced that he was no longer invisible. Raito understood this. Ryuzaki also stated that he would not allow Raito to abandon him in favor of two-timing with an older man, of whom the ex-mini-death did not approve.
Raito had a perfect plan of action at first. Flawless, really. He would drag Ryuzaki over to Teru's flat, introduce him as Hideki, and mention offhandedly that this was the friend he had fallen out with a while ago. Granted, this was not normal protocol to follow when invited to someone's house, privately, for a private date and some private romance afterward. Teru was quite the hopeless romantic. He would probably assume that Raito was bringing a friend over for emotional security because he wanted to slither past another heated make-out session.
This was only partially true.
Ryuzaki made the casual, offhanded, dim-witted remark that Teru's evening would end in tears and Raito didn't want that because he felt sorry for the poor bastard.
Politely, Raito asked him what the fuck he was supposed to do about it.
Ryuzaki hummed and sidestepped the question for a while before muttering in a very roundabout way that it would not be in Raito's best interest to make an enemy of Mikami, who was currently being possessed by a Shinigami.
Duh.
Raito communicated this to Ryuzaki.
'Pity I couldn't hide somewhere,' the ex-mini-death said.
Raito rolled his eyes and informed Ryuzaki that he probably couldn't get away with spying. After all, Panda Boy's middle name was definitely not 'Stealth.'
This, of course, lead to an entirely pointless conversation about what Ryuzaki's middle name would be.
'This is not the point,' Raito had observed.
'But I think Sasha is quite a nice middle name,' Ryuzaki nibbled.
'Shut up and eat your cookie,' said Raito.
Eventually, the brunette decided that he would simply pretend that the mini-death was a nuisance to his love-life. That he had to drag him along for some reason or another. The ex-mini-death would play the part of Raito's annoying personal tagalong.
This was good.
He relayed this information to Ryuzaki and Matt, the latter of whom could not contain his snickers. Panda Man ignored him and droned his unenthusiastic agreement to Kira's strategy.
Whilst glaring into the glass doors of the apartment building and willing them to spontaneously shatter, Raito grumbled to his audience, "Let's get this over with."
"Agreed," mumbled Ryuzaki.
"Fine," said Matt.
And so they blew into the building, all three of them, not quite like a trio of musketeers. More like stooges, actually. Raito's annoying subconscious informed him of this, but he blew it off just like any other undesirable figment of his imagination. He strolled up the stairs, tugging on Ryuzaki's horribly large sleeves as he did so. Ryuzaki had flat-out refused to wear anything else. This was another grievance of Raito's.
Raito managed recently to squeeze Ryuzaki into his room. He admitted Ryuzaki into his household by undermining his father's authority and playing the sentiments of women against him. Sayu, naturally, squealed and insisted that Ryuzaki be housed in Raito's room until he managed to buy an apartment of his own.
('What's this about buying him a bed? Why waste all that money when Raito's got one already? They can shaaarrre…')
Sayu's crumbly, gooey, sugary lovesickness floated about the room in a communicable haze. Soon, Sachiko's natural sympathy for the unfortunate kicked in.
('It's only until he finds a home of his own. Soichiro, you don't want him to starve all alone out there, do you?')
That evening, Soichiro relented and allowed the ex-mini-death to stay a while.
Soon after the family had Ryuzaki comfortably situated, they took him shopping. It was only a matter of time, after all, until they noticed that he only wore one outfit. Out of the courtesy of his heart, the ex-mini-death allowed his surrogate family to buy him some cheap clothing. When Ryuzaki didn't select a wardrobe nearly big enough, Raito suggested that the mini-death could wear some of his old clothes. After all, Raito and Ryuzaki were both about the same size.
'You mean you're going to let me get into your pants, Raito-kun?' Ryuzaki had mused.
Sayu laughed so hard, she nearly exploded.
That night was the first night Raito and Ryuzaki spent in the same bed; equally human, equally aware, and equally tense. To say that the night was awkward was like saying the sun was warm. Understatement of the year. Raito didn't know whether to be worried or curious. He laid awake, muscles so tense, they ached in the morning. His eyes wandered his wall until three in the morning, unaware of what else there was to do. Raito listened for any movement from Ryuzaki. Any twitches, any sighs, any creaks in the mattress.
And yet he heard nothing.
He wondered what his panda-eyed bed buddy was thinking. Was he feeling nearly as strange as Raito was? Was he waiting for the right moment to jump the brunette's bones and fulfill Raito's end of the bargain for him?
Raito asked him what he'd been thinking about once they ate breakfast the next morning.
Bizarrely, Ryuzaki had been asleep all night.
('Well, fuck me.')
('Is that an invitation?')
('…Shoo.')
Raito waved his nostalgia away as he stood before Teru's door. After he knocked, it took only a moment for the eager mortal to answer. He swung the door open, lips wide in a half-formed greeting.
And then he noticed Ryuzaki.
"Who is this?" he asked much too politely.
"Baggage," Raito answered.
"Oh indeed? Does this baggage of yours happen to have a name?"
"Ryuga," muttered the displeased ex-mini-death, "Or Ryuga-kun as you may call me."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," remarked Teru after a millennium of acidic silence.
"The pleasure is all mine," droned Ryuzaki.
Teru glanced down at the poised and casual brunette with his entourage in tow. "Certainly you could have called me. I am afraid my pantry is ill-equipped to serve three people."
"I could have called you," stated Raito factually, "but I didn't."
Teru nodded his head sagely. "Well, come in anyhow. Make yourselves at home." He stood aside as Raito, Ryuzaki, and Matt all paraded into the room. The brunette could tell that his not-quite-love-interest was quite put off by having an extra passenger on his love boat. Teru sagged a little, hanging onto the side of the door with the most perplexed look on his face. Raito felt ill at ease upsetting the poor bastard like this. However, if Ryuzaki kept his mouth shut and let Raito do the talking, all would be well.
Raito should have known better.
"White," muttered Ryuzaki, "I hate white."
Oh, he did not. Now he was just being ridiculous.
Teru pulled Raito aside with a pleasant 'can I speak with you for a moment?'
The brunette considered saying 'no,' and then thought better of it. He allowed himself to be tugged into the kitchen, where he was cheerily and unassumingly interrogated. "Who is this?" the dark-haired man asked with a pleasant smile.
"You'll have to excuse him," Raito shrugged. "I can't exactly get rid of him. He's a mental patient. My dad pawned him off on me at the last minute and I haven't managed to find anyone who will take him off of my hands."
"A mental patient?" Teru asked incredulously.
"Yeah. Trapped in a box for the majority of his life. See the way he's always hunched over?"
Teru nodded.
"Yeah, so he's kind of strange, if you catch my meaning. Sits funny and chews on his thumb and only eats sweet things."
('Only sweet things like you, Raito.')
('Seriously, shut up.')
"Oh," Teru blinked dumbly. "Well… how long is he going to… Is he living with you?"
Raito chewed on his lip. "Uh… sort of."
"Well, how are we going to get rid of him?" Tall, Dark, and Geeky asked with a puzzled frown.
"If we just ignore him, maybe he'll go away," Raito chirped.
"I suppose," mused Teru.
And while Raito was bullshitting the hour away… "Don't be surprised if he starts talking to himself, either. He's schizophrenic."
Teru nodded slowly. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, this completely ruins my day."
"Sorry," said Raito more than half earnestly.
Teru eventually decided that he'd make Ryuzaki an extra bowl of instant Udon noodle soup. While Teru was at it, Raito decided to relay the ex-mini-death's predetermined personality to him. He stalked over to the recliner, which had always been Ryuzaki's favorite haunt. "You're a schizophrenic mental patient who's lived his entire life in a box," stated the brunette. Ryuzaki tilted his head at him and nibbled on his thumb. "Understood," he said.
Raito then returned to the kitchen and apologized profusely to his not-boyfriend. Teru replied curtly that it was no big deal. He could schedule a date later. Despite his words, Teru seemed much more on edge than usual. He positively despised Ryuzaki's company.
…Oh.
Oh, wait.
Oh shit.
Teru did not like Ryuzaki. Now, Raito considered Teru to be a rational individual, but if Ryuzaki made him too angry, he could do something drastic.
Like write his name down in a death note.
But…
All of the tension flowed out of Raito's shoulders and left him feeling wobbly and breathless. Relief knocked him over like a foaming breaker.
Teru did not know Ryuzaki's true name. Neither did Raito, for that matter. Therefore, Ryuzaki was completely immune to the death note.
For the time being.
Unless Ryuk's eyes could see…
Wordlessly, Raito stalked out of the kitchen. He located Matt, who was bemusedly doing handstands on the opposite wall in the living room. Raito could not yet trust Matt to follow his exact orders like Ryuzaki had, but he was desperate.
"Matt," Raito mumbled under his breath.
The mini-death goggled at him through his sunglasses. "Yeah," he droned.
"I need a favor."
Matt's eyes lit up and he grinned mischievously. He hopped off of the wall and landed in a crouch on the floor. "Want me to raid his panty drawer for you, chickenshit?"
"No," deadpanned Raito.
"Fine, fine," waved Matt. "Just tell me what kinda' dirt I have to dig in."
"If you go through that wall, there," Raito pointed, "you should get to Teru's bedroom."
"You do want me to raid his drawers." Matt not-squealed, "Oh you little devil you."
Raito took a deep, calming breath and focused. "There should be a shinigami lurking somewhere in there."
Matt's sparkling eyes took a turn for the curious. "Shinigami? Like the ones with the fancy stationary?"
"Yes," Ryuzaki chipped in from his recliner.
"Ah," mused Matt. He pointed to the kitchen and muttered, "This dude's possessed?"
"Yes," Ryuzaki chipped in again.
"I want you to ask him if his eyes can really see names. I want you to ask if they can see anything else as well, like whether or not I'm Kira," Raito demanded.
"Uh huh," mused Matt. "I'll just report back to mister Sad Panda over there, then?"
"Yes," said Raito.
Matt stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants for a second or so. "Awright," he drawled, "I've never talked with one of those weirdoes before. This should be fun."
"Great," grumbled Raito. "Now get in there."
"Sir yes sir," grouched Matt with a floppy salute. After that, he vanished through the wall.
--
Mikami's affections only ventured as far as an arm around Raito's shoulders, a smooch, or a snuggle. His hands never ventured lower than Raito's chest and his eyes followed suit.
L was very satisfied.
He sat there in his darkened corner, scheming with a merciless, blank look on his face. Once every few minutes, Mikami would glare daggers in L's general direction. L would stare calmly through him and slowly grin in the creepiest way he thought possible.
L was not afraid of Mikami's death-notey wrath. Mikami did not possess a name to scribble in his notebook. Even if Ryuk could see his name with those bulbous eyes of his, he would not disclose it to Mikami. Though the dusty black shinigami was not on Kira's side, he made it perfectly clear that he was not on Mikami's either.
After all, it would be much more fun to watch the mortal struggle.
Wasn't that what Ryuk fell to earth for?
Fun?
Besides, even if Mikami decided to write 'Ryuga Hideki' in his notebook, the famous actor would inevitably pop into his mind. He would inadvertently kill the wrong person. Being the justice lover he was, he couldn't allow that, could he?
Unless he were like Kira, who didn't give a damn one way or the other.
L's arch-nemesis and his one and only love interest were having a pleasant conversation about something or another when Matt bounced out of the wall and made a beeline for L. "L," Matt said, looking much more serious than he usually did, "That thing scares the hell out of me, but it's so fuckin' cool."
L raised an eyebrow. "Did he tell you anything?" he asked just quietly enough.
"Well, yeah, since I'm much more interesting to talk to than you guys," Matt shrugged.
"Did he say that?" L asked dryly.
"Schizophrenic, schizophrenic," Raito laughed airily in the distance to his staring comrade.
"Yup," the brunette mini-death elaborated. "Anyway, so he and I get into this whole spiel about eyes, right? So he tells me that he can see a human's given name and lifespan, and that's all. No 'Kira' or anything like that."
Ah. Well, that was good.
"But wait, there's more," hummed Matt sagely. "He also said that, in return for half of a human's lifespan, he could give that human his eyes. Which means that Handsome over there could possibly see your name. So he could write it in his little black book."
(Oh really?)
"Did he tell you?" L hinted, trying to be as ambiguous as possible.
Matt got the hint. "He wouldn't tell me whether or not your boyfriend's boyfriend had them or not. Likes to keep people guessing, y'know?"
Damn. L should have expected that. Well, this certainly made things more complicated. Maybe if Raito convinced Mikami that he would be dreadfully sad if L died, Mikami would reconsider.
Hmmm… perhaps L could find a loophole somewhere if he tried.
In the meantime, the ex-mini-death opted to assume that Mikami was armed and dangerous. Therefore, he took the appropriate action. The next time his arch-nemesis glanced curiously over, L managed a disgustingly sweet smile and a dainty little wave. This confused Raito, who mouthed a confused 'what?' while his not-lover's back was turned.
L continued to smile.
"Hey… by the way, L," Matt suddenly interjected.
Once Mikami muttered to himself and turned away, L grumbled, "What?"
"Why would a shinigami have two death notes?"
L quirked an eyebrow. "Spares, I suppose?"
"Yeah, well he seemed awfully proud of the one he had on him. You don't suppose he could be writing stuff down in it without anyone else's consent, do you?" Matt quizzed.
"And why would he need someone else's consent?" L mumbled in excessive silence.
"He said he wasn't going to help Mikami. That doesn't mean he's not gonna' help himself."
Interesting point.
And yet, the argument stood that if Ryuk really wanted Raito dead, the brunette would be rotting six feet underground by now. While the shinigami was not harmless, he wasn't that malicious either. "I do not think we are in any particular danger," said L pointedly.
"Oh, that's really common in schizophrenics," Raito whispered to Mikami. "They're really paranoid."
Mikami nodded.
Anyhow…
"Well, okay. I'll take your word for it," Matt grumbled.
A few more minutes passed and it was high time for Raito to leave. L was feeling increasingly uncomfortable in his enemy's household. Both Raito and L waved their awkward goodbyes. Raito leaned in for a smooch just before marching along down the hall. L and Matt followed him.
Once all three of them were safely on the sidewalk, Raito asked L, "So. Figure anything out?"
"His eyes can see names and lifespans and he can give these eyes to anyone he pleases in payment for half of this person's remaining lifespan. However, his eyes cannot see whether or not anyone is Kira," droned L.
Raito handled the information well enough. "Ah. That's fine."
L, however, knew that Raito had something else on his mind. His suspicions were confirmed when Raito suddenly asked, "He couldn't see your name… could he?"
"Yes," L admitted carefully. "Though the name he would see wouldn't be Ryuzaki."
Raito was morbidly curious as ever. "So… if Teru had the eyes, he could basically kill you. Is that what you're saying?"
"You don't want to know my real name?" L blinked astonished. Really, he had expected Raito to ask about his name. It was obvious whether or not Mikami could kill him if he were equipped with shinigami eyes (The answer to which, sadly, was 'yes').
Raito glared. "Different degrees of importance right now, Ryuzaki."
Ah. So his life was important after all. Made him feel all tingly inside.
"Well, the answer to your question is 'yes,' of course," L stated factually. "If he wanted to kill me, he certainly could."
Raito cringed.
"Oh, stop worrying," muttered L, "You'll make me sad."
"You guys are hilarious," Matt chimed in suddenly. He kept in stride with them, musing for a moment. "I've been thinking about that little proposition you guys made. I agree to tell you about Mello for such-and-such amount of time once I've played god-knows-how-many hours of video games. Sound clear?"
L raised an invisible eyebrow. "You agree to Raito-kun's terms explicitly?"
Matt searched his head awhile. "Yes."
"Well, that was easy," Raito whistled.
Matt smiled amicably. "Well, you did promise me a closet and a bunch of video games. I'd have to be crazy to pass that up."
"You are crazy," L pointed out.
"Out of my fucking mind," Matt agreed enthusiastically, "but not insane enough to say 'no.' So, when do I move in?"
"Well… I have to clean out my closet first. That shouldn't take long," Raito replied.
"And you have to buy me a DS," Matt demanded gravely. "Otherwise, I'm leaving."
L glanced at Raito, whose expression straddled the fence between frustration and relief. He sighed dejectedly, ran his hand through his hair, crossed his arms, and made a general scene of himself before saying "I suppose…"
"Score," Matt jabbed the air smugly.
Raito slunk darkly down the sidewalk like an oozing cloud of quiet desperation until he came face to face with his favorite haunt, the electronics store. L happily followed him in, genuinely curious about why Raito enjoyed the little shop so much.
It was a quaint little shop, and L got the general impression that most shops of the quaint variety had a homey, personal atmosphere. This shop in particular did not lack in warm, happy, friendliness, but it didn't overdo itself either. The air smelled very sterile and artificial. Every Plexiglas and stained-steel shelf in the store was kept meticulously spotless. The place was run almost exclusively by middle-aged men with their hair combed carefully over their bald spots.
Friendly, yet coldly businesslike.
In short, L could see why someone with such high regard for small-talk would enjoy browsing its shelves.
Televisions, cameras, computers, MP3 players, and even handheld video games. L glanced at them all. Raito glared into the case displaying Nintendo merchandise. Matt poked the black one in the middle and droned "That one, that one, that one, that one, that one…" over and over and over again.
"That one," said Raito to his friendly neighborhood sales representative.
"Ah, the black one?" clarified the balding man before detailing that for only so-much-more, he could purchase a package containing two complimentary games and so on and so forth. L lost interest. He never had seen the appeal of video games. He found even his life-or-death Wii Play Tennis match a bore.
After watching Raito being bullied into buying countless useless accessories for Matt's DS, L left the store with the penniless brunette in tow. Matt fawned over Raito's heavy shopping bag and Raito ignored him. L was about to inform him about the dangers of granting a small, naïve child its every wish, when the brunette's hold around his shopping bag tightened considerably. His expression became dangerously uninvolved and his gait evened out into something much too normal to be normal.
L's eyes impassively scanned the crowded street until they came to rest on something that was entirely too out of place.
Directly on the other side of the street, looking much too casual for his own good, was a man who looked disturbingly like Raye Penber.
And he was headed straight for Raito.
--
It was really no use pretending to be surprised.
Raito kept his eyes forward as the FBI agent neared his target. Ryuzaki read the brunette's actions perfectly, adopting his usual, stooped posture and empty stare.
Once Raito reached the other side of the street, he calmly continued walking until his stalker caught up. Penber, like Raito, gave no sign that he'd been caught off guard. The agent kept in stride, politely keeping outside of the brunette's personal bubble.
Politely? Coldly? Unusually frigid for a screw-up like Raye Penber. He must've improved as an agent since Raito last saw him.
He was close as ever, and yet he kept silent.
Hadn't counted on having an extra bystander, huh? Raye looked like he wanted to speak with someone about something. Otherwise he wouldn't have dreamed of walking that close. Incidentally, Raito wanted to hear what he had to say.
All in good time, however. The brunette struck up an easy conversation with Ryuzaki, who slipped into character effortlessly and babbled back about something or another. Matt, who was much more perceptive than Raito usually gave him credit for, observed the scene quietly and never interrupted.
For two breezy blocks, the charade continued. Then, the brunette spotted a vending machine inside of an open arcade. Bashfully, he announced, "Hey, Ryuga, I'm going to go buy myself a drink really fast. You want one?"
"No, thank you," Ryuzaki declined. "I'd like to try my hand at that pinball game there, though."
Just like that, Raito dropped some change into Ryuzaki's hand and the two of them entered the arcade. The brunette broke away and headed for the vending machine while Ryuzaki meandered off toward the other end of the room. Matt glanced warily at both of them before deciding to haunt Raito. Penber followed carefully behind Raito. The brunette stopped and rifled through his pockets for spare change, just waiting for Penber to make his move.
"Raito Yagami."
Perfect.
Raito glanced carelessly behind him and quirked a knowing eyebrow, expecting to see Raye Penber's quirky blue eyes staring back at him.
Wrong.
Disturbingly wrong.
Stalker-man had covered his eyes with a pair of shiny, black shades. From this close proximity, Raito could see that his hairstyle closely resembled Raye's, but he looked a bit younger. He carried himself powerfully and discreetly, surrounding himself in an aura of authority. He was poised, quiet, calm, and deadly.
This was not Raye Penber.
Raito's look instantly dissolved into something less playful. "Yes, that's me," he answered after sizing his opponent up.
Silence. And then…
"Gevanni. CIA."
…Oh?
"CIA?" Raito chuckled nervously, nearly unsure of how to react. "You're joking, right?"
Okay. What on earth were the FBI and the CIA doing in Japan? Did the NPA know they were here?
Gevanni, or whatever his name was, merely stared coldly through his glimmering glasses. "I need you to come with me."
Raito asked the one nagging question in his mind. "Why?"
"I need you to come with me," repeated Gevanni.
"Why?"
"If you will not cooperate, I will use force."
Him? Force? Raito would break him in half. He swore he would. Just in case, though… he wanted Matt to inform Ryuzaki about this. He glanced conspiratorially at Matt, who took the hint and flew off to find his ex-mini-death friend.
Ryuzaki was smart. He'd find a way to help Raito.
…Hopefully.
Just in case, Raito stalled for time. "Listen. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I'm not going anywhere. My father is the Chief of the NPA. He'll have you arrested in the blink of an eye."
"The NPA no longer exists," deadpanned Gevanni.
No longer… exists?
What?
Raito glared at his stalkerish enemy. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"The NPA has been dissolved," stated Gevanni. He would give no further information.
"You're insane," spat Raito.
Gevanni ignored him again. Instead, he murmured something into the lapels of his jacket. Raito was really starting to hate this guy's attitude. He thought he was such a badass. Thought he was God. Sitting there, all snooty and silent… Honestly, he couldn't have been much older than Raito was.
God spoketh. "You will allow me to escort you out of this building or you will be dragged out of it."
Never should have misjudged his enemy. Never should have assumed. Never should have wandered into the secluded corner of a crowded, loud, dark, noisy arcade.
Never should have headed for the pop machine.
Stupid pop machine.
Raito was about to make a smart comment about how someone as puny as Gevanni could hope to drag Raito anywhere, when what to his wondering eyes should appear, but the man who would do the dragging. A large, tall man with a buzz-cut marched quietly through the crowd. He stopped just behind Gevanni and crossed his tree-trunk arms in a foreboding manner.
God spoketh once more. "Please come quietly."
"I'm calling my dad," Raito threatened, whipping his cellular phone out.
Tree Trunk Man disarmed him almost instantly. And when Raito said 'disarmed,' he meant it in every sense, literal and ridiculous. Tree-Arms nearly tore Raito's limbs off. He was much like Mogi in the way he could move. In a second, he had Raito's arms twisted behind his back. The brunette thought he felt a little prick on his shoulder somewhere and the first thing that came to his mind was a monotonous, unexcited, 'Oh, no, you don't.'
Here we go.
The instant the edges of his vision went blurry, Raito furiously gave up and let the grossly ridiculous bullshit of his life take over. Stubbornly, Raito growled that he didn't want this to happen. It was too stupid to happen.
Seriously.
What kind of normal person went out and got himself sedated by the CIA on a daily basis? The odds were preposterous! Why him? Why now? Why in the most unreasonable Hollywood fashion known to man?
Oh, Raito supposed angrily, he would probably blink his darkening eyes blearily, say something along the lines of 'I don't feel well,' and then faint in a fantastic swoon for the floor. Trees-For-Arms would nod at Gevanni, Gevanni would nod resolutely back, and they would haul Raito's slumbering body out into the Russian Mafia's company car as if nothing ever happened.
Calming drugs, shmalming drugs.
Raito was furious.
Furious and afraid. He didn't like losing control. He didn't want to be put to sleep. In fact, one of his top fears in life was being put to sleep. One second, complete awareness. The next, nothing. This fear only served as fuel for the fire of his divine rage and he found himself hating the detestable duo more and more each second.
So incensed was he, that he refused to adhere to the film industry's Surprise CIA Attack guidelines. He refused to do anything except glower at Gevanni's sunglasses. He expected to see at least a little surprise cross the CIA agent's face as Raito stubbornly clung to his consciousness.
But noooo…
Gevanni stood there, calmly, patiently. Waiting for his charge to pass out.
Raito managed to flip him the bird once before his vision tunneled completely and blacked out.
--
Beep…
Beep…
Beep…
Oh, bucket of shoes. Wouldn't someone please answer the phone? It would be so kind. L swore that if someone didn't answer soon, he was going to… break his arm off… or something.
He was improvising.
The second Matt told him the news, L had abandoned his pinball game. Instead, he got chummy with the pay-phone. Raito's father would know what to do. L needed to call the house. If Soichiro wasn't there, L would demand his personal cell number.
Because this was very, very important.
Bee… "Yagami residence, Sayu speaking. May I ask who's calling, please?"
Oh, thank… cows, or something. L was in no mood for pointless thought. He needed talk. Now, now, now!
"This is Ryuga," said L. "May I speak with your father?"
"Ummm… he's at work right now. Sorry. Can I take a message?" Sayu bubbled happily.
"I'm afraid I must speak to him personally. Does he have a cellular phone number, perchance?"
"Um, yeah, but it's kind of reserved for emergencies," said Sayu.
"This is an emergency," said L.
"Oh… well, um, here…"
L memorized it. "Thank you, Sayu. Goodbye."
"You be good to my brother!" she squealed.
L was in no mood. So he hung up and dialed Soichiro's cell number.
Beep…
Beep…
"Come on, come on…" Matt urged under his breath. He took his glasses off of his face and gnawed on them. "It's gettn' bad, L. Some gigantic ex-marine dude just walked in, and he doesn't look friendly."
L silently willed him to shut up.
Bee…
"…Yagami here."
Oh, wow. And now L was out of breath. Struggling to catch up with it again, L gulped, "Yagami-san. I am sorry to bother you. This is Ryuga speaking."
"…Yes. What do you want? My cell is reserved for emergencies only."
Hmm… echoes. The call was being monitored, obviously. Oh well. The more, the merrier.
"This is definitely an emergency, Yagami-san," assured L.
Yagami began to lose his composure. "Well, what is it? Is something wrong?"
So L flat out told him. "Your son is being kidnapped by the CIA."
Astonished silence.
"…The CIA?"
"Yes."
"That's ridiculous. How do you know?"
"Well, considering he's being cornered and interrogated by two angry men and there is a strange-looking Cadillac parked outside… Do not ask me how I know. Your son is being kidnapped. Isn't that enough?"
"You… where are you?"
L named the street and the arcade. "I do not think we will be here much longer, though," he added.
"Why not?"
"Well, your son just collapsed and they're carrying him out the door-"
The phone went dead. Damn. Either Soichiro hung up or L was in deep trouble.
Raito was being spirited away, bridal style, and no one in the entire arcade seemed to care. L was at a loss for action. There was absolutely no way he could take either of the two agents out. Even if he did, they probably had backup waiting just around the corner. If he ran and hid, he would lose sight of Raito, but he would be able to communicate with Raito's father once he arrived. Choices, choices.
Luckily or unluckily, depending on L's state of mind, the smaller agent walked back into the arcade and made his mind up for him. "You," he said sternly, "Who are you?"
"Ryuga Hideki," stated L.
"Please come with me."
"Why?"
The agent seemed as though he'd been through this scenario before. "Please come with me," he repeated coolly.
Well, L really had no choice in the matter. He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Fine. But I am not being put to sleep."
So, Ryuzaki was escorted to the car, being conveniently black and inconspicuous in nature. The cab of the vehicle was a matching shade of black. All of the windows had been covered in something dark. As if that were not enough, L was blindfolded as soon as he got comfortable. The large man who carried Raito off was seated at his left, so Raito must've been on his other side.
Hmmm…
L didn't really like being shoved into a dark cab. Nevertheless, the car rumbled into action and lurched forward.
And then, without being asked to do so, good ole' Matty got to work. "Okaayyy…" he began with a deep breath and a puff of air. "It's really dark in here and I have a funny feeling you want to know exactly what's going on. So. Little skinny prick up here in the driver's seat is named 'Gevanni.' The big dude in back with you is 'Rester.' They're probably driving you guys to some deserted place near the pier. I don't know exactly what he's saying, but I'll tell you guys the address when we get there."
Ah, good old Matt. L felt better already.
"May I ask why we are being detained?" L made an attempt to gather more information.
"No," said the one called Rester.
Shot down.
L sighed to himself. "Well, alright. The movies certainly don't lie. You CIA people are not the most personable bunch."
"Shut up."
"Yes, yes," grouched L, "If you haven't got anything nice to say…"
Rester snorted.
L was surprised how the trip dragged on. Minutes became hours, hours became days… So he may have been exaggerating a little, but he wondered how in hell Raito could have slept through it. He began to wonder whether or not they were in Tokyo anymore.
Matt spoke.
"Heyyy… I can see the Tokyo Tower from here! We're going to Roppongi! Guess they aren't gonna' let you rot in a shipbuilder's warehouse after all!" Matt was silent for a while, and then he whistled appreciatively. "Daaaammmnnn… I can see why they took you here, too. There are foreigners everywhere. Sober foreigners and drunk foreigners. Wow. You guys aren't going to be conspicuous at all. There's probably a military establishment nearby, too, if all the flat-tops are anything to go by…"
Well, shit. So Kira was surrounded by foreigners and US military personnel. This did not make L very happy.
The car slowed down and the muted babble of cheery voices died down. The car slanted as if it were going downhill. L heard the sound of something like a garage door creaking shut. Darkly, L mused that he would be doing no clubbing with Raito that evening.
"Man, you will not believe where we are, right now," chuckled Matt disbelievingly. L was in no mood for the mini-death's good humor. He was currently being rudely shoved out the door and led somewhere. A door closed, the blindfold was taken off, and L found himself to be sitting in a storage room with a small surveillance camera set in the corner of the ceiling. He glared queerly at his escorts, who were decked out in dark jumpsuits and visored riot police helmets.
Odd.
They said nothing.
They merely left him there and locked the door.
Angry and worried, L wondered what had become of his Raito. He glared at Matt for answers.
"Want me to tell you where the hell we are yet?" Matt quizzed.
'Why not?' said L's glare.
"We're in the basement of the fuckin' Ritz Carleton. Isn't that a riot? Wonder if you get room service down here…"
'Where is Raito?' glared L.
Matt quirked an eyebrow. "Want me to find out?"
--
Raito awoke… and it was bright.
Very, very bright.
He was quite uncomfortable, too. Irritably, he glanced at his surroundings and found himself to be sitting in a metal fold-up chair. What a bad taste in imagination these people had. The walls were not white, he gave the CIA credit for erasing that stereotype. The walls were actually a rather depressing shade of grey. He gave them no points for their distasteful choice of fluorescent lighting though. The white light seemed only to exaggerate the gloomy smoothness of the walls.
In front of him was an impeccably centered table, colored a starchy shade of white, and sitting patiently across its surface was Gevanni. His hands were folded primly under his chin and he stared into Raito's eyes with two impassive, dark eyes of his own.
"Raito Yagami," he stated. Then, he waited as if for Raito to confirm that he was, indeed, himself, and not some polymorphic, space-alien impersonator.
The brunette glanced warily at the shiny surface to all sides of him. It formed a reflective band across the grim, grey walls. One-way glass. Hmm… "Where the hell am I?" grumbled Raito.
"You are not at liberty to know," said Gevanni.
It was not Gevanni Raito listened to, though. It was a more frank, less guarded voice that came from behind him. "You're in the basement of the Ritz Carleton, my friend. Relax and enjoy, because this is about as close as you're going to get to the real thing."
Ah. Matt.
…Where was Ryuzaki?
"Where's Ryuga?" Raito demanded.
"Elsewhere," replied Gevanni.
"About two rooms behind you," said Matt.
Well, well. The hotshot at the other end of the table thought pretty highly of his nondescript remarks. Raito triumphed in the private corners of his mind. Gevanni had his ambiguous words, but Raito had Matt, who knew more or less everything.
Eat that, CIA.
Raito sighed to himself and leaned forward, stretching his back. Guardedly, he said, "Are you going to tell me why I'm here, or not?"
Gevanni blinked his eyes slowly, purposefully. "You have been arrested for the murder of FBI agent Raye Penber."
Wait, what? Raye Penber? He… died? Someone killed him? Raito had absolutely nothing to do with it! Unless he sleep-killed, Kira was completely innocent.
"What?" Raito growled with a quirk of the eyebrow.
"You murdered FBI agent Raye Penber. How do you plea?"
"Innocent!" Raito stammered. "How could I possibly kill an FBI agent?"
Gevanni gave him an odd look. "He was part of a top secret mission involving ten other FBI agents. Of those ten, he was the only agent to come in contact with his target. He is also the only one that died."
Raito cast Gevanni an equally odd look. "How did he die?"
"Spontaneous heart failure."
Well, fuck me seven ways to Sunday.
"You mean a heart attack?" Raito clarified.
"…Yes."
Im-fucking-possible.
Some other Kira had gotten to Penber before Raito had. An Anti-Kira.
No…
X-Kira.
That one. The one who broadcast his views so publicly over Sakura TV. That stupid little bastard. Why did he kill only Raye Penber, though? Surely, he must've known about the other ten agents? Even if he didn't, why Raye?
…He knew.
He knew who Kira was. He killed Raye Penber to lead Raito's enemies to his door! But… how? Why? X-Kira's videos suggested that he was a Kira supporter! Then… did that mean he killed Penber…
…To protect Raito?
Holy shit on a shit sandwich.
With shit on top.
And a side-order of shit.
Raito was in a deep pile of shit. He needed to dig himself out of it. Fast.
"You… how could I give a guy a heart attack?" Raito asked uselessly.
"You should know that by now."
Shit.
But Raito didn't actually kill Penber. That meant that there would always be evidence to prove it.
Raito groaned and sank in his chair for dramatic emphasis. "You guys don't… I mean, you're not… You can't be… serious."
"We are very serious."
"Seriously?" Raito grumbled just for funsies.
Gevanni was not amused.
"Look," Raito groaned, "I'm not… Kira. How the fuck could I be Kira, anyway? I mean, do I look like Kira to you?"
"We do not know what Kira looks like," stated Gevanni.
He was doing that 'God' thing again. Sitting all holier-than-thou on his little cast-iron throne.
"Well wh- Obviously he's not a normal person! What kind of normal person could just give people heart attacks like that?" Raito yelled.
"One with an extraordinary mind," quoth God. "Like yours."
"Like mine," hissed Raito. "I think you're crazy." He was beginning to feel much more threatened now. People were probably recording his every move from all sides of the glass. Matt's presence had lost its importance. Raito wanted Ryuzaki.
Stat.
"Where's Ryuga?" Raito bit, rising out of his chair and slamming his palms on the table.
"Elsewhere," spoketh God for the second time.
"Don't bullshit me," hissed Raito. "Where is he? What the fuck did you do to him?"
"I can assure you that nothing has been done to your friend," Gevanni pacified.
Incidentally, this did nothing for Raito's contained panic attack. "Where is he? Are you interrogating him too?"
"You care a lot for this friend of yours," said Gevanni.
Okay. Okay. Calm. Deep breaths. Raito Yagami was not emotional. He was poised, calm, and collected under pressure. He sought Matt for answers.
The mini-death spoke. "He's just fine. They've got him stuck in a storage room with a camera in the corner, but he's fine. Bored, I imagine, but healthy."
Okay. Good emotional boost there. Raito thanked Matt silently. And now, the brunette was able to reel his emotions back in. Slowly, he slumped back into his chair. "Y-yeah," he not-stuttered, "He's just a good friend of mine. That's all." Raito not-cursed himself and not-stared at the floor. "I… He never should have gotten mixed up in all this. This isn't his fault…"
Gevanni observed quietly.
"And whose fault is it?"
"God, I knew you were going to say that." Raito growled, "I'm not Kira, okay? I'm not a goddamn mass-murderer-" God, it stung to say that- "and I haven't killed anyone! I'm just… trying to live a normal life!" The brunette rambled onward, reaching his arms into the air. "He attacked me, for fuck's sake! I thought I was going to die! He attacked me. Don't you get it? I'm a victim too!"
Gevanni was silent.
And then, God spoketh.
"You have presented this argument before."
"What argument?"
"That you were attacked by Kira."
Hmmkay. There was absolutely no way for him to know that. Then again, he claimed that the NPA had been dissolved. Maybe… Halle and Soichiro and everyone else were working with the CIA? Were A and W members of the CIA?
Highly unlikely.
They were definitely working together, though. The world was just one big rubber-band-ball of conspiracy, wasn't it?
Suddenly, Gevanni sighed softly and rose from his chair. Raito leered distrustfully and asked him, "Where are you going?"
"Raito Yagami," Gevanni addressed the brunette while suspiciously reaching behind him, "You must understand that I cannot allow you to leave. You are Kira. If you confess, you can get away with a lifetime of solitary confinement. Either confess…" Gevanni slid a shiny pistol into view, "or die."
(Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.)
Was this even legal? No, but who cared? The CIA? Certainly not. They were Americans. They didn't have to obey anyone's rules but their own!
…But he wouldn't shoot Raito, would he?
Would he?
No. No, he wouldn't. He couldn't.
"Confess now, Kira, or I will shoot you," quoth God solemnly.
"I'm not Kira!" Raito yelled and surged upward, sending his chair clattering to the floor. "Why won't anyone listen to me?"
"Confess."
"No!"
"Confess."
"I'm innocent, dammit! I swear! I swear!" Raito fell into his begging act. He sidestepped into a corner and cowered there, the line between his acting and reality steadily blurring. As much as Raito hoped he wouldn't shoot, Gevanni was a government operative, and a foreign one at that! Raito had no idea what his morals were.
But he would not snap.
He could not snap.
If he did, his victory would last all of one second. The observers behind the glass would lock him in the interrogation room until they could safely drag him out and execute him themselves. Either way, Raito would die.
But he would not let Gevanni get the best of him. He adhered to his act, groveling and begging and proclaiming his innocence.
"You leave me no choice," said Gevanni.
Well, fuck.
The agent cocked his gun and aimed.
He wasn't seriously going to-
BLAM!
And then… nothing.
…
…
…
Dead, thought Raito. Was he dead? No… he could hear himself breathing. He could feel his pulse jerking his body left and right. Raito realized that he had only closed his eyes for a brief moment in time. Cautiously, he opened them.
Gevanni stared back into Raito's eyes, looking slightly vexed and relieved all at once.
"…A blank," observed Raito.
Things happened very quickly after that. The heavy door at the far end of the small room burst open and Gevanni allowed an astonished glance to pass through his eyes. He stepped away from the door, almost submissively, and stood ramrod straight against the back wall, eyes set stonily on an invisible horizon.
Through the open door, someone walked. Slowly, casually, heels thumping demurely on the floor. A man in a tailored, pinstriped suit swaggered into the room, intense blue eyes blazing and a lazy smirk curling its way from one side of his face to the other like a snake in the sun. He fiddled daintily with the pair of designer sunglasses he'd pushed up onto his forehead.
"Stevie, Stevie, Stephen," he tutted mirthfully. "Shooting people again. What am I going to do with you?"
--
L had been sitting there, holding a rather one-sided conversation with the camera in his room, when something slightly less boring happened. He'd begun to feel a bit uneasy being separated from Kira. He knew Raito would be fine on his own, of course. After all, L could no longer help him and Matt had set out to find him. But…
Anyway, so there he was, discussing firearm engraving more or less to himself, when someone knocked first, then shoved the door aside. L glanced over, very surprised.
Everything about Halle Lidner was unusually bright in that dark room. She waltzed in, straight, platinum blonde hair swooshing this way and that as she walked. Her lips were a dazzlingly bright shade of red, and her eyes were… yellow? Odd. A very bright version of Raito's richer eyes, he supposed.
Well.
Raito really must've been gay after all if he resisted that for the longest time.
She walked only a short way into the small room before she asked, "Ryuga Hideki-kun?"
"Yes," L replied.
"Would you follow me, please?"
L did not understand why Lidner was here. Perhaps she had some business with the CIA? Was she affiliated with the organization? "Perhaps," he answered skeptically. "And where would I be following you to?"
Lidner sighed. "I'm very sorry this happened to you. There has been a misunderstanding…"
"Well, of course there has!" scoffed L. "You CIA folk really don't give much of a reason for your actions, do you?"
"I'm not with the CIA. I'm… I'm here to help. Chief Yagami wanted me to accompany him here. I'm busting you out."
L could have made many crude puns with that last statement… Instead, he replied, "Oh good. It was getting awfully lonely in here without Raito-kun. He is such good company. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"
Halle sighed crossly and glared into the hallway. "Gevanni is probably interrogating him…"
"Well then we simply cannot waste time making pointless small-talk," harped L as he got to his feet and, without much ado at all, bumbled out the door. He was met by Soichiro's afroed cohort. Halle caught up to the both of them and hurriedly guided them through the maze of basement halls.
Not much later, the trio happened upon the rest of Yagami's expedition. The two agents who dragged Raito and L to this decrepit dump sulked in the most dignified manner possible in one corner of the room. A woman with silky blonde hair and stylish sunglasses leaned casually alongside them and examined her nails as if nothing in the room interested her at all. A tall, smiling, blonde man in a suit discussed something with her, waving meaningful circles in the air with his hands. Soichiro's remaining agents arranged themselves randomly across the room and the Big Boss himself was softly interviewing his son.
Upon the trio's entrance, Raito looked up from the cement he'd been previously staring at and his eyes met L's. Relief sparkled there for a moment and a small smile crossed his lips.
Albeit, a Raito smile.
Meaning it was a calmer variety of smirk. The ex-mini-death welcomed Raito's grin. Well, at least they hadn't beaten him up or something. That would have been terribly tragic. His face wouldn't have been nearly as pretty to look at…
"Ryuga," Raito sighed. "Where were you?"
"I haven't the faintest idea," L muttered and crossed his arms irately across his chest.
"I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding," the wavy-haired, blonde man addressed the room. "Terribly sorry to have inconvenienced you all."
"Hm," snorted the blonde woman with the unreadable sunglasses.
"Just what sort of misunderstanding are we talking about, here?" Raito muttered toward the blonde duo.
"My cohort here made the mistake of assuming, based on minimal evidence, that you were Kira," explained the man with a placating gesture of the hand.
Ah. Minimal evidence, but still evidence. Hmm…
Raito slouched sourly and glared. "What evidence?"
"First of all," interjected the blonde woman, "It was no mistake. This was a test." She pushed herself gracefully away from the wall and made a slow, deliberate round about the room with her fingers raised thoughtfully to the side of her face. "I was fairly sure that you were Kira, Raito Yagami, and so I sent my two best agents to apprehend you and bring you here. I was interested in forcing you to reveal yourself when your life was in danger, but…" She stopped dead center on the floor and glared through her glasses at Raito. "It seems I have failed."
"So then… I passed your test?" asked Raito uncertainly, eyes wandering from the blonde lady to the relaxed man with the fox-like grin.
"I didn't say that," the woman remarked frigidly. "I merely said that I had failed. You may be Kira, but I haven't succeeded in proving it yet."
Raito closed his eyes and let his shoulders droop. "So… The NPA thinks I'm Kira… The CIA thinks I'm Kira… Does everyone think I'm Kira, or what?"
"I have my suspicions," stated the woman.
"I had mine once," shrugged the blonde man innocently, "but I have… delayed my investigation, as it were, due to your lack of suspicious activity."
Lack of suspicious activity. Huh.
"So it was you who put the cameras in my room," accused Raito acidly. So he and L both held the same wariness.
"Yes. I suppose it was!" the blonde man laughed it off. "No hard feelings, right? Being the Chief's son, you must understand the importance of investigation, no matter how invasive it may be. In any case, I apologize for my intrusion. Please accept my deepest of sympathies, and I hope you will forgive me."
Certainly had a way with words, didn't he?
Wait… A-ha! L knew this game!
Good cop, bad cop!
"Hm," the blonde woman huffed again. "It was because of your lack of evidence that I decided to try my hand at your 'investigation.'"
"Well, you certainly weren't very nice about it," the blonde man chided like a father to a disobedient daughter.
"Hm. You should know by now that I never do anything halfway," she retorted. "I had hoped that you would kill Gevanni once he threatened you with that gun-"
"Wait!" Raito interrupted in a fiery burst, "You wanted him to die? You were willing to kill your own agent to prove that I was Kira?"
"He was well aware of the dangers of his mission before he accepted it," remarked the Ice Queen. "He understood that by putting his own life on the line, he was saving countless others. I call that valor."
"I call it stupidity!" raged Raito.
Gevanni waited quietly against the wall, staring more or less into nothingness, and calmly allowed the conversation to pass straight through his ears.
"Now, now," pacified the suited man, "Raito's life was in serious danger and Gevanni did not die. Are you satisfied?"
"No."
"Good girl, good girl," the man patted his dissatisfied associate on the shoulder as if nothing had happened. He then glanced kindly over at L and smiled, "I suppose this is all terrible news for you, Ryuga-kun, and on such short notice."
"Actually Raito-kun informed me that the NPA suspected him of being Kira. I am not surprised," replied L.
"Not surprised by the drastic steps taken to prove his guilt?" asked the man.
"I am only surprised that the CIA is in Japan and they would have the nerve to kidnap two people in broad daylight, from a crowded arcade, no less."
"I see, I see," hummed the man. His cheery, intelligent smile broadened a little as he addressed Raito. "Now then, Yagami-kun. I cannot assure you that you've been cleared of suspicion. I can, however, give you the opportunity to clear your name."
Raito narrowed his eyes imperceptibly to anyone but L. The brunette calculated his options and the two strange people before him for a split second before sighing dejectedly for the umpteenth time that evening. "I… I'll do anything to prove to you guys that I'm not Kira. Just tell me what to do and I'll catch him for you!"
The blonde man smiled. "Very well, then. Since we're business partners now, I suppose introductions are in order."
Raito, eager as always to keep allies from becoming enemies, stuck out his hand and said, "Raito Yagami, and despite the circumstances, pleased to meet you."
"Likewise," rumbled the man as he shook Raito's hand firmly. "Raito Yagami, I am Aiber, and this is Wedy."
--
Me: Bwahahaha! I just love turning minor characters into major ones. Lets me invent their personalities.
Chibi Raito: OCs without the annoyingness.
Me: Nevertheless, I tried to stick to their original personalities, scarcely mentioned though they may be. I hope I did a good job, yes?
Chibi L: How's our writing? Call 1-800-LOL-CATS.
Chibi Matt: I can has cheezburger? :3
Chibi Misa: Swirl thought that this chapter could use a little plotty-plot-plot action to go with all the fluff. Has she done well? Let her know! Review, review, review!