--The Angel's Descent--
It was on one of those dreadfully cold mornings that they found themselves in front of the Lourdes Cathedral. The sky overcast but with strains of sun pushing through so behind many clouds, halos bloomed.
Looking up at the soaring structure before him, Raito felt the cold wind of early morning ruffle through his hair and play with the dark scarf around his neck.
There were three white conical spires looming up from the church, each their own length, but all capped with simple crosses. The graceful, sculpted wood contrasting with the dark-fortress-like foundation from which it sprung up, like doves soaring high above black trees.
Raito immediately caught the movement on the roof and was not surprised to see familiar dusty-white wings spreading out, the death god appearing as if it were a gargoyle come to life.
L noticed Rem, but he did not comment on her choice of migration.
There were many people on the Lourdes grounds, even after pilgrimage season was over. Raito and L moved along with the bustle towards the west-end, where the morning sermons were about to take place.
When they entered into church through two beautiful oaken doors, thin grape vines carved into the panels and sprawling into a design over the handles, they took the pews in the far back and were quickly book-ended by an elderly man and a boy.
"Raito-kun," L whispered over to him, his voice blending in with the drone of chatter that was steadily rising as more churchgoers entered the room. There really was no need to whisper with everyone so involved in their own affairs and the noise level jumping back and forth between different scales, but L seemed to enjoy being difficult.
In obvious mockery of L, Raito leaned over and whispered back unnecessarily, "Yes?"
L had a very serious look on his face (well more serious than usual) and Raito sat up straighter in his chair and waited for L to inform him of whatever he seemed to be suddenly bothered by.
"You look very nice in your suit."
Raito eyed L very carefully and told him flatly, "I actually thought you had something important to say."
"It's important that Raito-kun looks good," L defended. "It makes me look good in turn, since Raito-kun is representing me." L paused and got a thoughtful expression on his face. "Although, you might make me look too good." L did not appear conflicted over his last remark. He actually looked pleased.
Raito smiled despite himself. "You think so?" he asked, and playfully brushed a finger along the sleeve of the dark suit jacket that L was currently wearing. "I think you pull off a suit better than you say."
L lowered his gaze and scratched behind his head. "Raito-kun is embarrassing me."
Raito highly doubted anything he said could ever embarrass L, but it was amusing that he could fake it so well.
"Well if you need me to knock you back down to earth, I'm more than happy to recall that you caused me nothing but trouble this morning."
It would seem that L was not picky about what he wore, since he walked around in jeans and a t-shirt all day, but actually he was very particular about his clothing. The main adjectives they had to include were baggy and unrestricting.
"But this is very uncomfortable. Can I loosen the tie?" L slipped a finger in the knot, but Raito nudged the hand away with his elbow before any loosening could be done.
"I spent some time dressing you this morning. You can hold on a bit longer." If Raito didn't know any better, he'd swear he was talking to a child.
"But not too long; I'm positive this is what asylum lock-ups feel when they're put in a strait-jacket." L then passed his hand through his hair. "Also, Raito-kun has upset the ecology of my head by putting gel in it."
Ecology, Raito thought with a roll of the eyes.
Did L think he was some type of habitat now?
"You know it's church formal. I can't believe you wanted to come here in jeans."
"It wouldn't have mattered. I'm not the one who needs to impress Mr. Ignatius."
"Yes, but it would have made L look bad if he had such a sloppily dressed employee following him around."
L contemplated this for a moment. "I don't want to make myself look bad."
"Exactly, as I said this morning. Were you even listening to me?"
"Not if you have to repeat yourself now," L told him and rested a finger on his bottom lip.
Raito paused and then frowned at the detective when understanding dawned on him.
"So you completely tuned me out when I was changing in front of you?"
There was a small smile on L's face. "So really if we look at it from that perspective, it's all Raito-kun's fault."
"I like how you explain away all your short-comings on me. It's very convenient."
"Yes, I think so too," L rejoined and glanced over to the persons who were making quite a little commotion. "There's a child seated next to me," he stated, "Raito-kun, quick switch seats with me."
"No," Raito replied and faced front so he would be spared the stupidity that plagued L when he was he was in the mood for it.
It was easy for them to fall back into their almost domestic cat and mouse routine after their fight, and over the past two days, this is what Raito had been aiming for. However, Raito had found that his usual easily pacified temperament was being stubborn.
Outwardly, he was trying to be nicer, but irritability would not be long in coming for him when he did, and so instead of being nicer to L, he was actually doing the opposite.
It was not as if L did not entirely know that side of him. They had fought enough and exchanged some not-so-nice word in the past, but that had been while Raito was not acting his role.
Back then, he had not seen any reason to hide his true feelings over anything -- certainly not his temper. Nothing had been masked.
But when he had regained his memories, he had wanted L to slowly forget that side of him and focus on the kinder parts. It might seem like a personality change, but L might take it as Raito slowly warming up to him again.
He had not been thinking about it, but it was a poor act of judgment on his part to slap L and then fight him over it. He did not want to portray himself as that kind of person, but it was too late to try to rework his personality. It would seem like he was trying too hard to be nice and that would not do.
The sudden abatement of chatter had ripped him away from his musings, and the sound of soles connecting solidly with the wooden floor made him focus on the person dressed in black and moving across the lectern.
L's head had perked up like a hound, big eyes staring forward to catch the expected Father in his sights and zoom in on him.
They were pretty far back, so the man's features were not very clear, but after studying his movements through a camera lens for some days and memorizing his face from the photograph, they were more than confident this was Father Ignatius.
They heard him clear his throat, the natural acoustics in this church working to carry the sound all the way to the backbenches. He shuffled papers, flipping through his sermons for the today until finding his place.
He began on an awkward note, right when someone had coughed, but he did not pause or let it pass, but carried on louder than the coughing woman, and was easily able to drown her out.
He dove right into the Book of Joshua and talked about the Canaanites' destruction by God for their sins.
Raito had thought it a strange place to start from, since his discussions for the week had been centered on New Testament stories. He wondered if he should take it as a sign.
After fifteen minutes had passed, the sermon began to lose its novelty and he started to become impatient. He had liked that some parts kept his philosophy in mind, but other than that, he found nothing enjoyable in sitting here and waiting for the end.
He was utterly bored out of his mind by the time they hit the 30 minute mark, but he knew he looked attentive, which was more than could be said for L, who had gradually began to slouch, like the stages of evolution were working in reverse and L was turning back into a Neanderthal.
Nudging him in the arm, Raito whispered, "I told you not to do that. It brings attention to us. You want to blend in, don't you?"
"I'm sitting with my legs on the floor; the least Raito-kun could allow was some slouching," L grumbled.
"You're worst than that kid sitting next to you," Raito told him and glanced over at the child, who had boxed what seemed like his brother in the arm.
Curious, L also turned in their direction, wide black eyes scary to anyone that was not used to them, and one of the boys actually made a cross sign at him.
Raito felt the corners of his mouth twitch and had the sudden urge to tell the child he was definitely on the right track.
L looked at the children closely (possibly to stave off the boredom he was feeling) before hunching down towards them and whispering, «Savez-vous ce que Dieu fait aux petits enfants qui se moquent du prophète Elisha?» (Do you know what God did to the children who mocked the prophet Elisha?)
Both boys looked at L warily and then shook their heads.
«Il envoie des ours pour les dévorer» (He sent bears to eat them,) L replied matter-of-factly.
One minute later, L was sitting next to the grandmother of the two children.
She smiled pleasantly at both of them in apology for her grandchildren's suddenly strange behavior.
«Oh, est-cevotre première visiteici?» (Oh, is this your first time coming here?) she started up despite services going on in the background. Raito wondered if she was senile.
«Je ne vousai encore jamais vu ici -- et je le sauraissivousétiez des régulierscela fait bienquatre-vingtansqueje viens à cetteéglise» (I've never seen you two here -- and I would know; I've been coming to this church for some eighty good years.)
L put his hand out to shake hers. «Nous sommesvenus de Russiejusqu'ici.» (We've come all the way from Russia.)
Russia? Maybe L could pull off Russia, but his features were not going to let him get away with that one. If the detective was going to fabricate a land of origin, he could at least try a little harder to fit their stories together. He swore L had too much fun fucking around with people sometimes.
The woman glanced over at him and he smiled warmly at her.
L directed her attention back to him with another set of bullshit. «J'aieuune vision de la Mère Marie dans un Clafouti aux Cerises et j'airessenti le désirsoudain de venirvoir le fameux temple de Marie.» (I had a vision of the Mother Mary in a Cherry Clafouti and I was inspired to visit the famous Marian Shrine here.)
The Mother Mary in what?
«Oh doux Jésus! Vous avez eu une vision! La Vierge vous a personnellement donné sa bénédiction. Êtes-vous allé voir la grotte?» (Oh my! You've had a vision. The Virgin, she gives you her blessing directly. Did you visit the grotto yet?)
«Oui, l'incarnation était jolie.» (Yes, the incarnation was lovely.)
«Avez-vousbul'eaulà-bas? Elle peutsoigner les malades. J'avais une amie qui souffrait d'un horrible cas d'arthrite et elle est allée boire cette eau. Et maintenant, à toutes les fois où je lui rends visite, elle me dit tout le temps à quel point elle se sent mieux. Mais j'ai aussi entendu dire quel'on ne peut toutefois guérir les malformations physiques.Toutefois, je n'y crois pas, cette eau bénite guérit tout selon moi.» (Did you drink the water at the grotto? It can heal the sick. I had a friend that was suffering from a horrible case of inflamed joints and she drunk the water there, and now every time I see her, she tells me how much better she feels. But I also heard it doesn't just cure physical ailments. Oh no, it helps with everything.)
The chatting woman and L were currently getting very dirty looks from the people sitting around them. L noticed, but he did not seem to care one bit, as he continued to speak about his made-up nonsense.
«Vous avez tout à fait raison.» (That's very true,) L agreed with the woman. «Mon ami ici est alcoolique.» (My friend here is an alcoholic) he started up somberly.
Oh no, do not bring him into this. Why L could not just shut up and ignore the old woman was beyond him.
«Nikolai souffrait beaucoup lorsque l'on résidait toujours dans notre mère patrie. Je croisque la Vierge Marie a entendu mes prières et m'a envoyé un signe pour que je puisse l'amener ici afin qu'il guérisse.» (Nikolai was suffering over in our mother country. I think the Virgin Mary heard my prayers and sent a sign so I could bring him here to get her healing.)
So apparently, he was a Russian named Nikolai, who was also an alcoholic -- L, you bastard.
«Il n'est toujours pas retourné à ses vieux démons alors je crois qu'il est bel et bien guéri.» (He hasn't gone back to the demons, so I have good reason to think he has been healed.)
«Comme c'est merveilleux! J'espère que tout va pour le mieux, Nikolai.» (How wonderful! I hope things work out for you Nikolai.)
Raito nodded his head. «Ah, tout va bien. C'est vrai, Grigoriy?» (Ah, everything is working out just fine. Right, Grigoriy?)
L turned to him, made a funny face, and then turned back to the woman. «Mais Koyla n'est toujours pas sorti du bois!» (But Koyla is not out of the woods yet) L said, Russian pet name in tow.
Well two could play at that game. «Grisha s'inquiète beaucoup trop pour moi.» (Grisha worries too much about me) Raito interrupted. «Même lui a ses propres problèmes et il se soucie quand même des autres.» (He has his own problems and he worries so much.)
The current problem that Raito was alluding to was his shoe mashing down on L's foot.
«Ah, mais Koyla me fait tant mal aux pie – eh -- coeur.» (Ah, but Koyla causes me so much foot – eh -- heartache.) L suddenly slapped his hand down on Raito's thigh in what was supposed to be a good-natured pat between friends, but was really a strategy to get Raito's shoe off his foot.
«N'est-ce pas vrai, moya milaya?» (Isn't that right, moya milaya?) L asked, as the other's foot retreated from whence it came.
Raito forced a smile. «Oh, oui; rien qu'un coeur douloureux, dorogaya» (Oh, yes; nothing but heartache, dorogaya.)
The old woman cooed something about the lovely bonds of friendship.
Fortunately for L, he did not need to resort to another game of violent footsy as the service came to an end, a succession of noises at the front pews heralding the lining up of parishioners to leave the church.
Raito rose up from his seat; his eyes darting towards the front to make certain the Father was still there. He cleared his throat to get L's attention, but the detective seemed to want to go at his own pace as he turned towards the elderly woman and held out his hand to help her up. «Madame, je n'ai jamais eu votre nom.» (Madam, I never got your name.)
«Oh. C'est Émilie. J'espère que nous nous verrons au sermon de la semaine prochaine. C'est toujours bon que les jeunes gens restent près de notre Seigneur. Ils ont temps d'obstacles à surpasser de nosjours.» (Oh. It's Émilie. I hope to see you two at next week's sermon. It's always good for young people to stay in touch with the Lord. They have so many hardships to go through nowadays.)
L waved her off with her two (still horribly scarred) grandchildren, and turned towards him. "She was nice."
Raito gave him an exasperated look.
"Are you finished?"
"Yes, I'm quite done," L replied. He held out his hands so Raito would know to walk ahead of him, and the brunette stepped out into the nave, his fingers straightening out a tie that did not need fixing, but would get it anyway.
Without a backwards glance, Raito began to stride forward, and L keeping to the rear watched him as he moved ahead.
The sunlight outside had began to filter in through the stain glass windows on either side of them, the glass magnifying the light as it passed through until it was simmering along in wavy streams on the mosaic ceramic floors.
Raito was caught in that flood of light, fair skin and hair aglow, and completely oblivious to how it seemed to transport him from the human realm and into a world of his own making.
Anything resembling a humble spirit was vanquished in that revealing light, and the only thing remaining was the brazen and upright confidence of a boy who seemed divine by some cruel whim on humanity.
L felt his breath catch. It always surprised him just how -- perfect Raito Yagami was. He'd never believed men should be called beautiful (compared to woman, they lacked the innate gentleness and delicate features for the term) but Raito… there was just no other word fit to describe him when all that pride and strange outer purity came together and formed into an almost tangible shell of presence.
L shook his head and thought how funny it all was. It seemed that even the heavens themselves wanted to prove Raito innocent. Everyone was against him in his judgment, and really could he blame them -- not when that face swayed him more than he liked to admit.
It was hard for it not to. When thinking about absolute evil, Raito was the farthest thing from anyone's mind, but that was the exact reason why L was so convinced:
Raito Yagami was far too perfect.
By the time L had made it to the base of the few steps it took to ascend the lectern, Raito was on the platform. He finally looked back at him, eyes gleaming like polished glass and bodily outline suited to the backdrop of religious imagery painted on the pulpit.
L stared up at Raito and smirked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think Raito-kun was an angel."
Raito smiled down on him, but what he probably deemed as a benevolent expression, L saw nothing but condescension.
"Then what does that make you?"
/I'm the person that's going to drag you down from your pedestal/
L smiled. "A secret admirer."
He heard the quiet laughter meant for his ears only, and then Raito was walking away from him and towards Mr. Ignatius.
When L mounted the top step, Raito had already caught the Father's attention.
«Bon matin, Père Ignatius.» (Good morning, Father Ignatius) he heard Raito's pleasant voice say. There were people standing around the man and wanting an audience with him, but Raito had just cut in without even an attempt to placate the waiters. It was ridiculously rude, but the congregation let him in without a word in otherwise, admiration for his grace perhaps, or possibly more at work, an innate warning signal that said to back down from this one.
Some people were very sensitive to evil, after all.
The Father nodded his head in greeting. «Ah, bonjour. Quepuis-je pour vous, mon enfant?» (Ah, Good morning. What can I do for you today, my child?)
Raito smiled politely. «Ce n'est pas une question de ce que vous pouvez faire pour moi, mon Père, mais plutôt de ce je peux pour vous. Je suis venu pour vous délivrer d'un certain fardeau, après tout.» (It's not a question of what you can do for me Father, but more of what I can do for you. I did come here to release you of a certain burden, after all.) Raito was cutting right to the chase. Nevertheless, it was a strange thing to say to a priest, considering what the Father's job maintained on a regular basis.
It sounded very pompous, but L knew Raito was confident that he could spout such grand words and have people accept them.
«Fardeau?» (Burden?) The Father froze and dropped the Bible in his hands. The thud made a few of the churchgoers flinch and alerted a nearby colleague dressed in the same black robes, the man scurrying towards the Father and on his way looking at Raito carefully.
Raito did not give the other man a nod of apology, but kept his watch on the Father. It seemed his level gaze was sufficient to break the man away from his shock and collect his thoughts.
He stuck out a hand for Raito and grasped the teenager's firmly in his. «C'est vous?» (You -- are you him?)
Raito shook the hand gently, the motion more reassuring than any response he could have offered. «Pourrais-je avoir un moment avec vous, mon Père?» (Could I have a word with you Father?)
«C'est -- est-celui?» (This -- is this the man?) the other priest asked, cutting in on Raito's request. «Comment est-ce possible? Il ne semble à peine plus vieux que dix-huit ans» (How can this be? He's doesn't look a day over eighteen.)
«Je vous en prie René.» (Please René.)
«Mais Père Ignatius» (But Father Ignatius) the man persisted. He glanced over at the people still mulling around for a word with the priest and he excused both of them. He then walked the man over to the far end of the stage and started whispering.
The people on the lectern began to dissipate, seeing as they were not going to get any brief words from Mr. Ignatius. Raito calmly stood there, looking none fazed by the brush-off from the other priest. He even turned his head slightly so he could catch L's eye.
L noticed there was a smirk at the corners of Raito's mouth, quirking up one side and summarizing how quaint he found all this to be.
Rarely did L enjoy having Raito so blatantly smug with him, but it was oddly reassuring to have all that confidence staring back at him and practically saying 'everything was in the bag.'
L came over, settling near him.
After another minute of harsh whispers, Father Ignatius broke away from his confident and crossed the stage. «Mes sincères excuses pour vous avoir fait attendre, mais veuillez comprendre…» (My apologies for making you wait, but please understand...)
«Bien sûr, je comprends parfaitement.» (Of course, I understand completely) Raito echoed. «Il est bien normal d'avoir certains doutes.» (It's only normal that you have doubts.) He paused to smile. «En fait, j'aurais été inquiet si vous n'auriez eu aucune réticence.» (Actually, I would be worried if you didn't have any suspicions against me.)
Raito was extremely good at spouting lines that would be difficult for anyone under suspicion to say. He elaborated with such good-humored ease that it was almost as if he hypnotized himself into believing it was the truth.
His ability to lie was truly a powerful and frightening thing.
«Mais s'il-vous-plaît, mon Père;comprenez que je me montre toujours quand dernier recours. Vous m'avez demandé en personne, Je ne suis pas du genre à révéler mon identité si facilement, toutefois, vous avez quelque chose qui est vital pour ma cause.» (But please Father; understand that I am coming to you in a bargain of desperation as well. You asked me to come here in person. I am not usually the type of person that would give my identity away like this, but you have something that is vital to my cause.) Raito looked at the ground in a humble gesture that would have done any holy martyring saint proud.
Good. He was appealing to the priest's sense of urgency. When both sides were desperate, which they were truthfully, it would be easier for them to accept each other under such conditions.
It would be useless for "L" to come in and calmly bargain for an item that had so much political and religious stigmas placed on it, so the Father would understand the grief that Raito was acting out.
«Mais ne prenez pas mes paroles pour acquises.» (But please don't take my word for it) Raito said, and he looked directly at the dubious friend, suddenly in business mode as he held a hand over his shoulder, elegant fingers outstretched to accept the object that would prove his existence.
«Grigoriy, s'il-te-plaît.» (Grigoriy, if you would.)
L did not like to be bossed around, but it was all in the role, so he untucked his shirt, pulled it up, and revealed the black strap around his stomach, the deathnote confined against it.
He slid the deathnote from its hiding spot and handed it over to Raito, who accepted it graciously.
«Désolé pour ceci, mais sachez que nous devons le garder sur nous en tout temps.» (Sorry for the display, but you understand we must keep it on us at all times.) Raito handed it over to Father Ignatius and the man's eyes went wide.
«C'est -- c'est ça. C'est le même.» (This -- this is it. It's the same.) The father quickly handed it back to Raito. «En toucher un est déjà une malédiction en soi; je crains d'aggraver ma cause en entrant en contact avec un deuxième.» (Touching one is enough of a curse; I fear the retribution for holding another.)
Raito shook his head solemnly. He caught Father René looking at the notebook and without hesitation held it out to him. «Il est mieux que tous sachent ce que ce cahier signifie exactement.» (It's best to have all those who are participating know exactly what this thing is.)
L would have preferred only the necessary persons to touch the deathnote, but since the man already knew and his opinion counted to the Father, they would have to share vital information with him. Although it was a disaster waiting to happen if one of these priests caught sight of Rem on the rooftops.
René stared at the notebook and then took it into his hands. He did not dare to look inside, but only glimpsed at the back cover and handed it back to Raito.
«Vous êtes --» (You are --)
Raito put a finger to his lips so Father Ignatius would see that he did not want him to finish his sentence.
«Je vous demanderais de ne pas mentionner mon nom à haute voix. Si vous devez absolument me nommer, appelez-moi Nikolai.» (Please do not utter my identity aloud. If you must address me, please call me Nikolai.)
«M. Nikolai.» (Mr. Nikolai.) Father Ignatius began, looking a bit embarrassed to be ordered by someone younger. «Si vous et votre ami voudriez bien vous asseoir. J'aimerais discuter un peu.» (If you and your friend would take a seat, I would like to discuss some things with you.)
L thought it best to pick a closed-off room to discuss these matters, but the Father appeared most comfortable in the place where he preached, so he assumed Raito would not suggest something to him.
After Father René had come back with chairs, they all sat down together.
Raito took the seat placed down for him, sat up straight, folded his hands in his lap, and crossed his ankles together.
L slouched forward in his chair and didn't give a damn how bad it looked. Raito was more making it up for the both of them with that pristine, Catholic schoolboy impersonation.
«Excusez-moi de ne m'être proprement présenté, ainsi que mon associé,» (Excuse me for not properly introducing myself and my associate,) Father Ignatius said, as he took a seat next to René. «Mon nom est Ignatius Corentin Boucher et voici le pasteur de cetteparoisse, René Louis Godard.» (My name is Ignatius Corentin Boucher and this is my parochial vicar, René Louis Godard.)
Raito held his hand out for René and the man, who looked like he was in his late-twenties, took his hand and shook it tersely. Raito turned to L and then said with a completely straight face, «Voici mon garde du corps, Grigoriy.» (This is my bodyguard, Grigoriy.)
«Salut» (Hello) L said and waved at them.
Both priests looked as if they were struggling with the concept of someone as small as L being able to bodyguard anything. L did not fault them for it. He was actually counting on this reaction.
When he had told Raito what to say when introducing him, Raito with his almost nonexistent sense of humor had actually laughed at him… for a minute.
An entire minute.
So it was pretty safe to say that no one, including these men, would take him seriously after that. But that was fine. He did not need them to believe him, or notice him, or think he was too bright. His presence here should not affect the outcome of this meeting, or how many meetings it took to get that deathnote. Raito would be the sole determining factor and he did not want the priests to think that he was in some way Raito's advisor. That would lessen Raito's credibility as L.
And like L had predicted, it did not take long for both priests to forget he was even there, and turn their attentions back to Raito.
«Je ne pensais pas vous rencontrer si tôt. J'étais quelque peu surpris lorsque M. Alixandre est venu me voir et m'a demandé un rendez-vous. Bien entendu, j'étais très heureux de vous voir prendre cette cause au sérieux Je ne savais pas trop quels liens il y avait entre ceci et votre demande – j'avais l'impression de marché dans le noir total» ( I did not think you would meet me so soon. I was somewhat shocked when Mr. Alixandre came to me and suddenly asked for an appointment. Of course, I am overjoyed that you have taken me seriously. I did not know if this and that had anything in common, so all of this has felt more like grasping at straws.)
Raito nodded his head and let the man continue.
«J'ai parlé à l'évêque de cette église à propos de ce… livre, même si je savais, je risquais de perdre mon travail en faisant cela. Il m'aprié de rien dire» (I talked to the Bishop of this church about the… book, even though I knew I could lose my job for sharing a confessional with another. He told me to keep quiet about it) the Father said in a small voice. «Mais plus j'avançais dans la lecture de ce livre, plus je réalisais que je ne pouvais rester muet au sujet de tout cela. J'ai donc commencé par m'informer par-ci, par-là. Je crois avoir créer une vraie commotion – il pourrait avoir plusieurs rumeurs qui circulent à mon propos présentement…» (But the more I read through that book, the more I realized that I could not keep quiet. I started to ask around. I made some horrible noise about it – there might be some rumors floating around about me now,) the Father said with a laugh.
«Si ce n'était de votre franc-parler, j'aurais manquer ma chance. Mais Père Ignatius,» (If it were not for your outspokenness, I would have missed this important chance. But Father Ignatius,) Raito said, looking troubled, «Vous avez mis votre vie en danger en tentant de trouver quelqu'un qui voudrait bien vous écouter et je croisqu'il faudrait considérer vous placer sous protection --» (You've put your life in danger for the sake of getting someone to listen, and I think you should consider letting me take you into protective custody –)
The Father shook his head. «Je vous en prie M. Nikolai, je suis un prêtre. Si je dois quitter mon église, je n'aurais alors plus rien. Ma vocation est celle de servir Dieu et c'est la seule chose qui me donne une raison de vivre.» (Please Mr. Nikolai, I am a priest. If I am taken away from my church, then I have nothing left in my life. My calling to God is the only thing that gives my life purpose.)
L suspected as much. If the Father would not even come to meet him, then there was no way he was getting him to leave this church for a longer period. Raito knew this as well, but offered anyway, to show how charitable "L" could be.
«C'est vrai,» (That's right,) Father René agreed. «Père Ignatius a un bien grand dessein pour cette église. L'obliger à s'en aller nous affecterait tous, surtout pour ceux qui sont venus spécialement pour le voir prêcher.» (Father Ignatius has a greater purpose at this church. To take him away would rob us all, especially those who come to see him preach.)
«Bien sûr. Je ne voulais rien imposer par ma proposition.» (Of course. I did not mean anything by it) Raito said to René, more than he did to the Father, for it seemed the younger man had taken great offense to even the idea of the Father leaving.
«Je ne sais pas trop à propos du grand dessein, mais je ne veux point quitter ma maison; et j'en suis sûr, surtout depuis que ce monde est devenu un tel chaos.» (I do not know about greater purpose, but I do not want to leave my home; even more so now, since this world is in such chaos.)
«Malgré le chaos, vous avez plongé tête première et offert une assistance. Je dois vous avouer, Père Ignatius, bien peu aurait fait autant que vous.» (But despite the chaos, you have stepped in and offered assistance. I have to commend you Father Ignatius, not many would put everything on the line as you did.)
And the flattery commences.
L had been waiting for it and Raito surely did not disappoint.
The Father looked like he did not know how to respond, so he laughed and dusted his knees as if he suddenly did not know what to do with his hands.
Hmm, humans really were predictable creatures. Give them a compliment and they were suddenly at a loss for worlds. L was thankful that he was immune to Raito's silver tongue. It appeared as if he was the only one sometimes.
«J'étais plus apeuré que brave,» (I was more scared than brave,) Father Ignatius admitted. «Il est difficile de rester calme quand je pense à tout ceux qui ont péri à cause de…» (It is hard to stay calm when I think how many have died because of…) He looked over at L and the gesture was meant to show that he was alluding to the deathnote. «Je n'ai aucun doute que ce livre est une pure invention du Diable.» (I have no doubts about that book being a thing of pure evil.)
L thought that he and this Father would get along just nicely.
«Mais» (But) the Father added, «Je ne peux m'empêcher de me penser que nous sommes tous sujet à un test de Dieu. Ce pourrait-il qu'Il nous teste afin de voir si nous sommes réellement dignes de Son royaume?» (I also find myself wondering if we are being tested by God. Could it be that God is testing us to see if we are truly worthy of His kingdom?)
«Je me suis demandé la même chose. Il semble trop cruel que Dieu n'agirait point là-dessus, mais je ne peux que souligner à quel point nous avons été odieux à Son propos.» (I've wondered that myself. It seems too cruel to believe that God would let this happen to us, but I cannot overlook how cruel we've been to Him.)
Those were some pretty bold words for a Kira suspect to say so easily. He could take it as Raito not wanting to dismiss the Father's opinion, but L wanted to believe that this was Kira finally speaking his mind.
«Si c'est un test, je dirais que ça fait longtemps que nous en méritions un,» (If it's a test, I'd say we were long overdue,) René said, but his tone made it hard to distinguish between sarcasm and seriousness.
«Nous avons tous un penchant à faillir aux épreuves de Dieu» (We all have a penchant to fail the Lord's trials when given) the Father agreed, even though he may have been reading René's tone all wrong.
«Laissez-moivous demander une chose, M. Nikolai, pensez-vousque c'est une personne qui commet tous ces crimes?» (Let me ask you something, Mr. Nikolai, do you believe that someone out there is committing these crimes?) Father Ignatius asked frankly.
«Oui, sans le moindre doute, je croisquec'est un humain» (Yes, without a doubt, I believe that it's a person) Raito answered firmly.
«Je suis d'accord avec vous alors» (I agree with you then) the Father said. «Le péché originel est en chacun de nous et je ne peux voir qu'une répétition par toute cette folie.» (The original sin is within us all; and I cannot help but see a pattern to all this madness.) He took a breath and wrung his hands together.
«Comme il est écrit dans la Genèse, Ève, quand tentée par le serpent, a cueilli la pomme de l'arbre interdit. Je crois que l'homme produisant ces horribles crimes fut aussi frappé par la même curiosité qu'Ève. Il a touché le pouvoir de la connaissance qu'aucun humain ne devrait avoir et, maintenant, utilise ce pouvoir contre tous ses compatriotes humains. Cette personne, peu importe qui elle est, a été corrompu par le Diable lui-même… elle est ensuite devenue le Mal, le serpent même de l'arbre. Peu importe son identité, je peux juste prier pour son âme maudite.» (As it is written in Genesis, Eve when tempted by the serpent plucked the apple from the tree of knowledge. I believe the person committing these horrible crimes -- they too have been stricken with Eve's curiosity. They have touched that power of knowledge that no human should have, have taken it inside themselves, and now they use that power against their fellow man. This person, whoever he or whoever she is, have been swept away by the devil himself. They have become the devil, the serpent on that tree. Whoever this person is, I can only pray for their damned soul.)
L watched Raito carefully throughout the priest's monologue, but of course, not a flash of guilt or anger betrayed the attentive features. If Raito was Kira, it had to sting a bit to be likened to the Devil. And considering how Kira was so passionate about his ideals of "justice," it made L wonder what was under Raito's cool exterior.
L Do You Know Gods of Death Love Apples?
He had once thought it was a code. If they were looking at it from the context of the parable "Adam and Eve" then the word "apple" could be switched out for "sin" and interpreted as "Death loves sin" or "Death comes for sinners."
But the more he thought about it from that view point, the more he thought he was missing something. It was far too simplistic. Kira did not want to state the obvious. Rather he wanted to taunt him with knowledge that he did not have. Taunt him with information that would not be readily accessible to him unless Kira himself explained it.
L turned his attention towards Raito again, composed in his chair and patiently listening to the Father.
In the Old Testament, it was innocent Eve, assailed by curiosity that brought destruction upon humanity by taking a simple bite out of an apple. If that were case, L had to wonder, what would seemingly innocent Raito bring upon humanity with an IQ of over 200 and the strong intention to kill anyone in his way?
L was not a person easily frightened, but if Raito turned out to be Kira, there was a good possibility that his death would be waiting around the corner for him. For that, he could not allow Raito a moment's respite. Kira was a plague on humanity. He was a dictatorship. And even if L himself had to descend down into that metaphorical Garden of Eden to uncover Evil, he would not relent.
«Père Ignatius! Mon Père!» (Father Ignatius! Father!) A man suddenly shouted, voice booming inside church and footsteps becoming louder as he ran towards them.
«Ah, Père Loring, que puis-je faire pour vous?» (Ah, Father Loring, what can we do for you?) René greeted.
Father Loring did not mount the steps, but stood at the base and shouted, «Père Ignatius, le cardinal voudrait s'entretenir avec vous. Il m'a prié de vous dire que c'était urgent.» (Father Ignatius, Bishop Avice wishes to have a word with you. He says it is urgent.)
L noticed Raito watching the messenger closely.
The Father got up from his chair «Est-ce que cela pourrait attendre, Père Loring. J'ai des invites--» (Can't this wait, Father Loring? I have guests --)
«Mais c'est de plus haute importance pour l'Église du Vatican. Je vous prie, Père Ignacius, le cardinal désire vous parler immédiatement.» (But it is of utmost importance to the Church of the Vatican. Please Father Ignatius, the Bishop wishes to speak with you now.)
Father Ignatius turned despondently towards Raito and the boy smiled in understanding. «Je ne voudrais pas vous retenir de vos devoirs plus longtemps, mon Père, nous allons donc prendre congé.» (I do not want to hold you back from your duties, Father, so we will be taking our leave now.) Raito stood up and L followed behind with a last glance at the messenger.
Even with the great inconvenience it placed on them in terms of importance, they had to pass themselves off as common visitors. Still… L had never been bumped down on anyone's appointment sheets before. He thought snidely that he should naturally come first.
«Père René, pouvez-vous accompagner nos invités jusqu'à la porte?» (Father René, can you please escort our guests to the main gates?) Father Ignatius ordered, despite the other priest's insistence for him to hurry.
«Je m'excuse pour tout cela, mais s'il-vous-plaît, revenez à n'importe quel moment, quand vous aurez un peu de temps. J'ai peut-être parlé un peu trop et à cause de cela, je n'ai pu vraiment entendre votre point de vue. Je suis reconnu pour être un vrai jacasseur, mais je suppose que les prêtres le sont tous un peu.» (I apologize for this, but please come back whenever you have the time. I talked a bit more than I should have and because of that, I was not able to hear your side of things. I've been known to be a bit of a yammerer, but I suppose all preachers are.) The Father laughed at his own joke and Raito put his hand out to shake his.
«Je viendrai donc avec la foule» (I'll be coming in with the crowds then) Raito said, so the Father would understand that he was coming in at the same time next week, without actually have to say it aloud.
"Dominus tecum," (The Lord be with you) the man bided.
Raito smiled and answered back, "Et cum spiritu tuo." (And with thy spirit.)
When the Father had left, René turned stiffly towards them, but Raito dismissed him with a parting, "Pax tecum, Servus Dei." (Peace be with you, Servant of God.) The words seeming cold in comparison to the warmth Raito had shown Ignatius.
Without even a glance backwards, Raito left. It did not take rocket science to figure out that René did not care to escort them, but Raito's behavior towards the man was something that L had never witnessed him use on someone. It was certainly frigid and a bit mean-spirited.
L did not know why, but he thought he kind of liked it.
"Raito-kun has left a very good first impression on Father Ignatius."
Raito continued to stride along, appearing deep in thought. The scarf around his neck was whipping around him, the cold wind snapping the ends in synch to his stringent steps along the pavement.
"I'll leave a better second impression," he promised after L had thought he was not paying him any attention.
"What poor luck we have to get interrupted," L commented, waiting for Raito to add his own thoughts.
"I have a feeling the church doesn't want us to have the notebook," Raito said waspishly, thinking along the same lines as him. "It's quite funny. How did they know the Father was there? He doesn't stick around for services after it's over, only for about five minutes, and then he always goes to pray at the grotto."
They knew this because of their own surveillance and Aiber's collected Intel from colleagues and churchgoers. With the Father such a long-standing figure at the church, his routine was commonly known.
The messenger had been hurrying to find the Father, as if he had no idea where he was, and yet the first place that he should have looked was never checked.
It was late November. Snowfall was heavy, and to not be speckled with snow, or track in any mud and slush from the grotto would be impossible if he was hurrying, as it seemed.
So the question was, how did that Loring fellow know where to find the Father if he had not checked the grotto? L remembered René had slipped out to go find chairs. It was conceivable that he had told someone and asked for the message to be passed to the Bishop about his "guests." Considering the Bishop had asked Father Ignatius to keep quiet about the deathnote, he was probably very unhappy with their presence.
"Mr. René was hostile towards us, don't you think?"
Raito snorted at that. L felt his mouth quirk up. Those brown eyes turned on him, almost black without the softness that Raito's gaze could offer. "Not even one meeting and we already have trouble."
L kicked a tuft of snow absently with his shoe. He watched a small pebble roll out, his eyes straying after it and to the side…
"Then Raito-kun won't want to hear what I have to say next?" L said funnily.
Raito gave him a weird look. "What?"
"It seems we are being followed."
"What?"
A/n: There goes the cliffhanger. All stories need at least one. I am currently looking down at the list of definitions I have. Why do I always have so many? I might as well start assigning homework for this story. And currently off in the distance, I hear some readers screaming in agony…
1. Book of Joshua – The controversial topic in this book is God commanded Joshua to kill "anything that breathes" in the lands that would be inherited by the Israelites, and because of this, the Canaanites, who practiced sexual idolatry and sacrificed their children to the gods were conquered on the basis that they were seen as immoral.
2. Grotto – In Lourdes, it is an open cave where the statue of Mary is kept. The spring water that comes from the grotto is said to heal people, and the Catholic Church has officially recognized 68 healings. There have also been 18 sightings of the Mother Mary at this shrine by about 12, 000 people.
3. Nikolai – (Russian) name derived from the Greek goddess Nike (goddess of victory) Koyla is the pet name or nickname of Nikolai or Nicholas.
4. Grigoriy – (Rus.) this name means watchful or alert. It's derived from Grigori, which are a group of fallen angels that God sent down to watch over humanity, but ended up failing in their task, because they fell in love with mortals. God sends the great flood to wipe them out because the offspring begins to corrupt humanity. Grisha is the pet name of Grigoriy.
5. MoyaMilaya – Russian for sweetheart or darling
6. Dorogaya – (Rus.) Dear
7. Parochial vicar - an ordained priest assigned to assist the pastor.