A/N: Okay, before I get jumped, let me say, this isn't THE chapter, but seriously you guys, you should all be able to TASTE it, it's that close! It was going to be this chapter, but surprise surprise, I had an epiphany, and just keep in mind, everything that is introduced plays a role in the plot, so please don't be too mad at me!!!
And to those you who think that I'm NOT actually pulling a chapter out of my ass everytime I sit down to write and have spent hours planning every little detail out - awww, thanks! But really, I only have a vague idea of the final destination. Very little planning has gone into this story. I'm more of a write now figure out things later type of person, but the fact that I've fooled people into thinking I've planned all the shit that's been happening maketh me blush! :D
I keep thinking about how precisely I want Light and L to meet again. Truthfully, I really wanted to have Light running down the streets, somehow mysteriously naked, and Watari pull over to offer assistence, but neither of them really recognizing the other because of the dark. Can you imagine the scene where Light jumps into the back only to be face to face with L? How awkward and shocking to be faced with your presumably dead friend/love interest --- who just happens to be butt ass naked?! Whee! And can you imagine Light's face?! Gah, I really want to write that! But no, it wouldn't fit with where I'm going. Le sob. That's why I mentioned it though, because I just couldn't keep that mental scene to myself!
And thanks for reviewing, seriously, everyone's support is amazing and beautiful to me!
OH, READ THIS!!
The wonderful amazing awesome fantastically super great Ileranerak has done ANOTHER fanart! It's absolutely precious, and I seriously almost cried at how awesome it was! It's another young Light and Lawli, so all of you go here to check it out!
http: //ileranerak. deviantart. com/art/The-art-of-Drowning-123626573
And not only that, but Ileranerak has expressed an interest in translating this story into Spanish!!!!! WOW! I am unbelievably flattered! Like Ileranerak said, hopefully the people who stick to Spanish fics here on can discover the joy of AoD too!
And this goes without saying, but OF COURSE this chapter is dedicated to Ileranerak!
Okay, enough of my blabbing. Here we go again folks!
The Art of Drowning
The Vengeful Cosmos
Light was correct in his assumption that his day would prove interesting
Actually, interesting was an understatement.
His day started at roughly 4:47AM. Light knew this because he later found (when he was trying to fix the blasted thing so he wouldn't be charged for the damages) that was what the old motel clock stopped at when it was brutally thrown against the motel's concrete wall, which was disguised under yellowed, peeling wallpaper.
But before any of that happened, Light was sleeping peacefully, if not a little uncomfortably on the springy motel mattress and stale sheets, when an unimaginably huge man slammed into his motel room, ripping the flimsy chain that locked the door right off its hinges.
Light jerked awake, bleary and disoriented, sitting up only to be faced with a raving mad man of African decent wielding a baseball bat.
"GOD DAMN IT, BEVERLY!"
The man's angry yell was punctuated by him swinging his baseball bat towards Light's head, and Light wasn't so disoriented that he didn't know when to duck. Instead, the baseball bat hit the old clock sitting on his bedside table, slamming the clock into the wall.
The man threw the baseball bat aside, jumping onto the bed and punching Light square in the face.
"Oof!" gasped Light, his head snapping back.
The man grabbed him by the front of his shirt, straddling Light so he wouldn't be able to escape, and brought Light nose to nose with his frothing, manic face.
"WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?! WHERE DID THAT TWO-TIMING BITCH GO!?" yelled the man, spittle flying across Light's face.
Light blinked rapidly, panic coursing through his veins, as he tried to find his voice. "Wh-what?! Th-There's no one here! Why are you in my room?!"
The huge man shook him roughly. "Stop playing games, punk! I know she was here! You've been fucking her behind my back for two weeks now, and I'm going to fucking kill you, you sorry son of a-"
"I don't know who you're talking about!" interrupted Light, desperately. This crazed psycho was threatening to kill him?! For what?! Having sex with someone he'd never even met before?!
The huge man was strong, and much, much bigger than Light. The man looked like some sort of mad wrestler pumped up on steroids, and Light felt safe in his assumption that the man could crush his windpipe easily.
The man drew back his fist, an angry expression twisting his features, and Light cringed.
Nothing happened.
Light cautiously opened one eye.
The man was squinting his eyes, studying the smaller man in the dim light, before his eyebrows shot up in shock.
"Hey, you're Asian!" exclaimed the man, sounding honestly surprised.
Light just stared at the man, his jaw slack, and head pounding painfully from the first punch.
"H-huh?" stuttered Light.
The man grinned abashedly before setting Light back gently against the lumpy pillows. He scratched the back of his huge head in embarrassment as he carefully extracted himself from Light.
"Uh, damn, I thought you that white punk bitch. This is pretty embarrassing," muttered the man, looking at Light apologetically.
Light just continued to stare at the man.
What the hell?
The man chuckled awkwardly. "Hey, man, I'm - real, real sorry. See, I thought you were this punk that's been fucking my girl for the past two weeks, but I must have gotten the wrong hotel room. Sorry, man."
Light really didn't know what to say, so he just nodded dumbly.
The man picked up his baseball bat, swinging it casually to rest on his shoulder. The man's muscles bulged underneath his skintight black shirt, and Light was alarmed to see how truly huge the man was standing up straight.
"Should probably get some ice for that," suggested the man, gesturing to Light's face.
Light cautiously touched his swollen cheek. Luckily, the man had managed to hit the cheek without the slashing cut. Well, at least he didn't look lopsided. Now he had two injuries on his face to balance him out.
The man walked out the door, closing the it softly behind him.
The dim lighting from the street lamp across the road cast the room in an eerie glow once more. The sun hadn't even risen, but Light knew that he wouldn't be getting his full eight hours of sleep today.
The door suddenly opened again, causing Light to yelp in surprise, flinching away from the man sticking his head back through the door.
"Again, I'm really sorry about all that!" said the man, before shutting the door.
Light tried to catch his breath. Damn. How the hell did he even wind up in these kinds of situations? It was like some angry, vengeful spirit was purposefully trying to make his life a living hell by throwing him head first into fucked up situations that called for Light's life to be threatened in some way.
Well, considering all the Kira business, Light wouldn't be surprised if some vengeful spirit was after his blood. He supposed going through crazy, life-threatening situations like these were all part of some cosmic revenge for Light trying to play God. This was probably his retribution.
Either that, or Light had developed horribly rotten luck.
Light flopped back onto the bed, rubbing his swollen cheek gently while trying to comprehend what had just happened.
Unbelievable.
Would he ever catch a fucking break?
Thirty minutes later, Light was up, bathed, dressed, and determined to leave the motel before something else happened. He stuffed his duffle bag back underneath the bed once he had changed clothes, as he really didn't want to go lugging the thing around when he went and met with his relative. It didn't hurt to keep the motel room, just in case Roger Ruvie didn't offer him a place to stay like Greg had.
Light grimaced as he gently dabbed some of the left over antiseptic cream he had on his cut. At least it didn't look like it was getting infected. He really didn't need to deal with that right now. He put some on his mostly healed fingers for good measure.
He sighed, noticing distantly that the sun was coming up.
Light opened the door to his motel room, only to be met with the raised fist of the man who had attacked him earlier.
"Gah!" gasped Light, throwing himself back and tripping, only to land on his rear.
The huge man looked surprised. "Oh, sorry, man! I was just about to knock."
"Uh, that's - fine. Did you, erm, want something - else?" asked Light, his voice stilted. He rolled to his feet, cautiously taking in the other man.
"Heh, well, I really am very sorry about what happened this morning -" started the man.
"Yes, you've let me know that," interrupted Light curtly, beating himself up as soon as the words passed his lips. He made a valiant attempt to curb his anger, trying to forget the circumstances of their meeting. This man looked like he could put Light in a world of pain if he wanted to.
Luckily, the man didn't take offence. Instead, he laughed.
"I wanted to make it up to you," he chuckled, leaning casually on the door frame, his bulk taking up the entirety of it.
Light raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "You do?"
The man nodded. "How about some coffee? It's the least I can do."
Light hesitated, but the man looked genuine. Oh, fine. If the man really wanted to hurt or kill him, he'd had plenty of opportunity earlier when Light had been straddled and defenseless.
Light shrugged easily. "Sure. Sounds fair."
The man grinned, before sticking out his hand. "Name's Tank."
Honestly, Light wasn't surprised that the man was called Tank. He was sure built like one.
Light grasped the other man's hand firmly. "Tsuki."
Tank laughed. "Man, you've got one of those weird Asian names, too!"
Light smiled in response. "Well, I am Asian, and thank God for that, otherwise I'd probably be dead by now."
"Yeah, no shit. I probably would have murdered you if I hadn't noticed," said the man with an easy smile.
Light chuckled nervously. "Comforting to know I'm right."
"Well come on, Asian guy. Let's go get some coffee," said Tank, moving out of the way so Light could exit the motel.
Light locked the door behind him before following Tank to the small diner across the road from the motel. It was one of those places that stayed open all night and had sub-par food, but Light didn't have the energy to be picky. Coffee was coffee.
This whole morning had been decidedly odd, so Light chose not to ponder on how he had ended up accepting an invitation to coffee with some guy who tried to kill him earlier.
Really, he should expect stuff like this to keep happening.
Angry spirits and the cosmos had it out for him, after all, but at least this situation seemed to have ended favorably for him. So far, at least. Free coffee was favorable, no matter who it was from, right?
After an elderly lady with an alarming lack of personal hygiene sat them down at a booth, Tank took the initiative and started up a conversation. Light let Tank lead the conversation, surprised to find that Tank was easy to talk with, until the conversation took a more personal turn.
"So what brings you here? You're obviously not from around here, otherwise you wouldn't be staying in a motel, and I didn't notice any women in bed with you," said Tank, biting viciously into a piece of bacon.
"I'm visiting a relative," he responded easily.
Tank nodded. "Fun. Always enjoy seeing the family now and again. Hey, how'd you end up with that nasty cut on your face anyhow? I know I didn't do that."
Light hesitated. "Well, let's just say that the situation I came from went a little something like what happened between me and you this morning, and my visit was cut short."
"Someone attacked you? Well, you don't look too bad off," said Tank.
Light smiled ruefully. "You should see the other guy."
Tank laughed. "Man, your week hasn't been good, has it?"
"That's an understatement," agreed Light heavily.
"So what did the other guy want with you?" asked Tank.
"Other guys really. Apparently my uncle owed them money. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," shrugged Light.
"I'm glad I don't have your luck then, because that seems to happen to you alot - being in the wrong place at the wrong time," commented Tank, grinning at Light.
Light stifled a sigh. "You can't imagine how right you are."
"So, Asian guy, you don't look all Asian," commented Tank, changing the subject around a bite of eggs.
Light shrugged before sipping his coffee. "My father was English."
"Was? Sorry man. My old man's gone too. Croaked from lung cancer. That's why I never touch the stuff. So how did your old man die?"
Light hesitated, but he really didn't see a reason to lie. "He and my mother were murdered when I was a baby."
Tank whistled. "Murdered? Nasty business, I should know. So you're an orphan?"
Light nodded. "I was adopted though."
"Well, that's something at least. They ever catch who did it?" asked Tank.
"No, they never did. It's a cold case," said Light pausing as he went over what Tank had previously said.
"And how do you know murder's nasty business? I'm still here, aren't I?" laughed Light, taking another sip of his coffee.
Tank grinned easily. "Only because I saw who you were, or weren't in this case. I'm a killer for hire."
Light spat his coffee on the table, before starring at Tank in horror.
Killer for hire?!
Tank laughed. "Hey, it's not such a bad profession! Don't knock it 'til you try it!"
"Wh-why are you telling me this? Aren't you afraid I'd tell somebody?" whispered Light in disbelief, looking around to see if anyone had heard the huge man. Tank was pretty loud, but the restaurant was fairly empty, and they were fairly isolated in a booth at the back of the room. Those who were there took no notice.
Tank shrugged, still smiling. "I don't think you'd tell. Besides, you know first hand how easily I could kill you."
Light nodded dumbly, taking the veiled threat to heart. "That's a good point. I'm just surprised at your honesty. That's the kind of information I would expect a killer for hire to keep to himself."
"I'm a surprisingly honest killer for hire. Really, killing people is one of the only thing I'm good at. Well, I take that back. I'm pretty good at just about everything illegal. I'm just not good with cubicles or nine to fives. Terribly boring. And I never kill people who don't honestly deserve it, no matter how much someone tries to pay me. I'm very popular, you see," said Tank, once again shoveling eggs into his mouth.
Light desperately tried not to see the parallels between himself and Tank, but it was too hard, so he let himself brood on them for just a moment. Damn. Who was he to judge?
Light nodded. "Right, well, I'll be sure to hire you if I ever need someone dead."
Tank laughed loudly, slapping the table. "Oh, man, Asian guy. You're alright!"
Tank insisted on paying for everything, even when Light tried to leave a tip for their smelly waitress, and Light decided it would probably be best if he accepted Tank's offer graciously. He had a new appreciation for life in general after almost dying - here Light had to stop and mentally count - three times within the past few weeks. So he most definitely wouldn't go out of his way to upset a killer for hire.
Tank was chatting away aimlessly as they left the diner, and Light listened with one ear, stopping for a moment to peruse the newspaper stand, as he was thinking about buying a paper. However, it was at that moment that Light noticed that Tank had kept walking, straight into the street, and had paused when he saw Light hovering around the newspaper stand. What Tank didn't see was the ice cream truck barreling down the street, and Light's eyes widened in horror.
"TANK!" yelled Light, running to the larger man and tackling him, pushing themselves out of the way of the ice cream truck just in time. They both landed with a grunt on the opposite side of the road.
"What the hell? Did you not hear the damned ice cream bells?" gasped Light, sitting up.
Tank blinked, staring at Light in something akin to wonder. "Little Asian guy . . . you just saved my life."
Light bristled slightly. So he was Little Asian guy now? Well, next to Tank, who had to be pushing six foot seven, at least, Light grudgingly supposed the other man had reason to see him as such. Didn't mean he had to mention it though. Despite all the stuff he'd been through lately, Light still had some pride left, after all.
"What were you thinking?!" growled Light, standing up and brushing off his pants. He held out his hand to the stunned man on still lying on the ground. Tank took his hand gratefully.
"My hearing's not too good and my eyesight's worse, Asian guy. I couldn't even tell you were Asian until I had you inches from my face," explained Tank, heaving himself up with Light's help.
"And you're a killer for hire? Don't you think you'd need to see for that?" asked Light in disbelief.
"Eh, I get by," smiled Tank.
"Why don't you get glasses or contacts?" asked Light, joining Tank as they made their way back to the side walk. It was still too early for there to be many people out and about, and the area was thankfully deserted.
Tank shrugged. "Just haven't found the time to go and get them I guess."
Light chuckled, somewhat giddy from the adrenaline rush. Unbelievable. This whole fucking situation was unbelievable.
Tank suddenly stopped, causing Light to stop with him.
"Asian guy . . . you seriously just saved my life back there."
"It wasn't that big of a deal. Anyone would do it," mumbled Light, slightly embarrassed at how Tank was looking at him.
Tank shook his head. "No, Asian guy, it was a big deal. I tell you I'm a killer for hire, threaten to kill you if you tell anybody, actually tried to kill you earlier, and you still saved my life, despite all the shit I've said and done to you."
"Yeah, well, you bought me coffee," said Light, as if it explained everything.
Tank threw his head back and a great booming laugh burst from him. Light took a moment to note that his head only came up just below the other man's shoulders.
"I knew I liked you," grinned Tank. The man reached into his pocket, and Light was relieved to see Tank pull out a card rather than a knife or a gun that he had half way expected to appear in the other man's hands. He really was paranoid, but not without reason, he supposed.
"Here, Asian guy. This is my card. I want you to call me anytime you need me, for whatever reason. I seriously owe you one. And I mean any reason too. You need anything - drugs, hookers, a car, a place to stay, someone to disappear permanently, someone to be mauled - I'm your man. Whatever you need, Asian guy, I've got your back," explained Tank, handing over the card.
Light blinked, taking the card. He looked down. It simply said 'Tank' and a phone number.
"Blunt and to the point," commented Light.
"Yeah, that's usually how I roll. If I hadn't of been so angry when I burst in on you, the whole affair probably would have been blunt and to the point, if you get my drift. It's just that fucking punk Beverly's been screwing around with on me gets me so angry -"
"Thank you, Tank! I will definitely call you if I need anything," interrupted Light quickly, afraid the man might work himself up to that terrifying anger Light saw earlier that morning.
The huge man chuckled, cuffing Light roughly on the shoulder. Light coughed, staggering a bit underneath the man's gigantic hand.
"I got to get going Asian guy, but I hope I hear from you soon. Even if you're bored, call me," said Tank, his good humor returning.
"Yeah, I'll call you," agreed Light, and they shook hands before going their separate ways.
"Hey Asian guy," called Tank suddenly.
Light turned around.
"My real name's Carl. Don't let it get around, okay?" said Tank.
Light hesitated, but smiled, coming to a decision. "I won't, and mine's Light. Don't let it get around."
Tank laughed, before nodding and turning away.
Light regarded the huge man as he walked away. He felt like he'd just made a friend, which was odd in and of itself. Light didn't make friends.
He sighed before shoving his hands in his pockets, letting his mind leave the matter alone. He would go and buy a paper, but he didn't quite feel like reading just then. So Light walked until he came upon a park not ten minutes from the motel.
He sat himself down on a bench, and appreciated the nature surrounding him. The English countryside was beautiful compared to the smog filled streets of Tokyo, and Light breathed in deeply.
Light felt like he needed to center himself before meeting with his next relative. Besides, he checked his watch, it was only pushing seven. He doubted many people would be up at this hour.
Well, if not for the events of this morning, he'd still be asleep too.
Light tilted his head as a pigeon landed a few feet from him. He didn't have any bread, and the pigeon must have concluded this also, because it hopped away to peck at the grass, another pigeon joining it soon after.
Light stared at the two pigeons, his mind mulling over the idea of friendship, before inevitably bypassing Tank and heading straight to Lawli, his oldest and best friend.
What was Lawli doing right now? Which ever time zone he was in, he probably wasn't sleeping. Maybe he was eating cake, his fingers pecking at blinding speeds on his laptop. The soft glow would be illuminating his face, highlighting the deep circles underneath his eyes. His hair would be in its usually messy state, his clothing rumpled.
Light closed his eyes. It was easy to pretend he was still chained to the detective, trying to sleep, but giving up and just watching the man work until all hours of the night instead. Light had spent many sleepless nights just watching the other man, fascinated by him, entranced.
Light snapped his eyes open, but Lawli wasn't there, and he never would be again.
Matt opened the door to his room, shutting it firmly after him, his attention focused solely on the Gameboy. He had made it to level 79.
He heard shuffling, and looked up from his game, surprised to see Mello pushing their one window open.
"I thought you went to the library to work on that paper," said Matt, trying to figure out why Mello was opening up their window.
Mello didn't say anything, only grunting to acknowledge his friend.
"You aren't going to jump, are you?" asked Matt, joking.
Mello shot him a nasty glare. "Shut up Matt."
That was when Matt noticed what Mello was holding.
"Hey, isn't that Near's?" asked Matt.
Mello scowled at the name, holding up the toy robot before chucking it out the window. "It was."
Matt shook his head. "Roger will figure out it was you. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together when they find it smashed outside our window."
Mello's eyes widened comically in anger. "Fuck! God damn it, why didn't you stop me!?"
Matt shrugged, but was grabbed by Mello and dragged from the room, presumably to fetch the pieces of the robot and plant it underneath someone else's window.
However, when they got outside, something much more interesting caught their attention.
"Hey, it's that guy from yesterday," said Matt, pointing to the man walking through the opened gate.
Mello stopped. "Let's go see him."
"Yeah," agreed Matt.
The man saw them and waved. "Hey you two. I wasn't expect you to here when I came back. I figured you would be in school or something."
"We don't go to the local school. They teach us here since this is an orphanage specifically for intellectually gifted orphans," explained Matt.
The man laughed. "I should have figured that. The orphanage I grew up in schooled us there, but it was because we were too far from any other schools."
Mello cocked an eyebrow. "You're an orphan?"
The man nodded, and Matt saw that the older man wasn't going to elaborate. Mello noticed this too. The other boy took out a chocolate bar, pulled back the foil, and took a bite.
"What happened to your face?" asked Mello. Matt noticed it then too. Geez, looked like someone had clocked him good.
The man brought his hand up to his cheek. "Er, I ran into a doorframe?"
Matt frowned. "Is that an answer or a question?"
"Sounded like a question to me," said Mello, taking another bite from his chocolate.
The man shrugged. "Doorframe had a pretty mean right hook."
Matt laughed, and Mello gave a small smile.
"You want us to take you to Roger?" asked Matt.
The man nodded. "I would appreciate it."
"Well, then follow us," said Matt, and him and Mello both turned to the mansion, the man following.
Matt would have to remember to ask him for his name.
EDITED: 7-4-09
A/N: Can you TASTE it?! Because you know what is SO CLOSE!
I love writing, really I do. And I love getting reviews too, so go ahead and SAY SOMETHING, and I'll go ahead and start on the next chapter (after I sleep! It's 2AM!).
Oh, and you know that vengeful spirit that keeps on making Light's life a madhouse? Yeah, that's me. Go me. XD