A/N: I scraped the original chapter and started all over, thus the time it took to post this.
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note.
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Chapter 11
He gently messaged her scalp. Warm water was rushing over his hands as the chemicals ran off his skin and through the deep, brown locks of hair. Tangles collected at the end of his finger tips, locks of hair looping through his fingers in a mass of chemically saturated curls.
He hadn't been expecting things to move this fast, but it didn't matter. There was never a wrong or right time to commit murder as far as he was concerned.
When the original hair color had bled away, permanently damaged by bleach, he turned faucet off and picked up a towel. Deciding not to dry the woman's hair, he mopped the moisture from his own hands. He was rather partial to the look of drenched hair, it always made things look glossy and clean. Quite the contrast to the dirty, purple bruises riddled across the woman's tan flesh. It was striking; made him regret not bringing a camera.
The hair complete, he gently lopped a thick rope around the woman's slim neck. The pulley system he'd run the noose through extended in a spider web of rope and nails across the ceiling of the cramped warehouse. Letting the dead body flop to the floor, lifelessly staring across the room with a milky, accusatory glare, he sauntered to the other end of the room and gave the rope a sharp tug. Suddenly, the body was hoisted into the air like a broken marionette, slowly turning in circles. The corpse was dancing for him, spinning in lazy circles like a broken dradle.
Yes, he thought, lips quirking upwards in accomplishment, a camera would've been a good idea.
3B
"You requested my presence?" Light stalked stiffly into the room, taking his customary seat. Beyond sat in the steel chair bolted to the floor across from him, a crisp straightjacket binding the murderer's arms to his chest. The killer rocked unsteadily, swaying side to side like an erratic grandfather clock. The image sent perturbed chills across Light's skin.
Three panes of bullet proof glass sat between the two of them. On either side of the glass sat a steel desk, permanently secured to the floor. Staring through the glass Light couldn't help but feel it was like looking into a mirror. Everything on the other side of the glass was a reflection of its counterpart, two sides of the same coin, utterly symmetrical. Only, the mirror didn't reflect Light's visage, instead it showed Beyond.
B smiled at Light, leaning forward to rest his elbows against the table, trying to get as close to Light as the barriers between them would possibly allow. A gentle rustling of chains alerted Light to the collar wrapped around Beyond's neck, restraining the man from moving out of his chair.
Beyond's eyes twinkled as he caught the stare. "Do you like it?" he asked derisively. "The doctors are such dirty people, all that sexually repressed energy. It's not good for their medical practices."
Light couldn't bring himself to comment on Beyond's troubled thoughts. It was all an act anyway. He'd had an inkling upon his first meeting with Beyond that B was the furthest thing from insane, now he knew it was true. Beyond Birthday was saner than any human being Light had met before, and it was perhaps that which made him the most dangerous human alive. Beyond saw the big picture, he knew the end to the story and he'd memorized everyone else's lines in the drama. The world didn't exist in black and white to B, as it did to so many other people, it wasn't even gray. Beyond saw things in color, and compared to B, Light couldn't help but think everyone else was a dog.
"You're thinking too hard Sweetie Jam," B sung out softly, crimson eye's boring into Light's amber orbs. And suddenly, Light felt more vulnerable than he had the evening before.
Light straightened, folding his hands uneasily across the desk and letting his bangs fall messily over his face. It was useless to hide the emotion, turmoil, and more importantly, the injuries, from Beyond. Light simpered as Beyond's eyes widened joyfully at the appearance of Light's gauze wrapped arms, but he reined in the discomfort.
"I'm thinking about you."
B blinked, that wasn't the answer he'd been expecting. "Do I really require that much thought?"
Light grimaced, the eagerness poisoning Beyond's voice spurring his body's adrenaline factory to life. He hated himself for being this on edge around Beyond now. But the man had tried to kill him. "Well after you tried to maim me last night I figured some heavy reassessment was in order."
"This tête-à-tête is not about my desire to skin you with a shoe," B stated blankly.
"It's not? Then why did you call me here Beyond, because honestly, I really don't want to talk to you today. Kishli has me on prescription painkillers and they make me irritable."
B pouted, cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk with too many nuts. "You didn't like my game."
"You tried to kill me with a stiletto," Light returned conversationally. "Where the hell did you even get one of those?"
"Bob had one in his locker, as well as a sequined bra. I have it here," B tilted his head towards the mound of wrapped toilet paper he'd mummified with athletic tape. "I thought it would look good on you! Though I apologize for the lousy wrapping. I couldn't find any Christmas paper."
"You tried to kill me," Light reiterated. "And it's the middle of august, no one has Christmas paper."
Beyond sighed, a look of disappointment cascading across his face. Light just wasn't getting it. "We are animals Sweetie Jam, you and I more so than others. It is our nature, when faced with things of beauty, to conquer and eat them. It is unfortunate however that you proved to be the stronger beast than myself."
A wolfish grin splayed across Beyond's face, leaving Light with no response other than a deep seeded feeling of disgust. Yet, he was incredibly proud of himself, proud that he'd beaten Beyond, outsmarted the only individual he had ever looked upon as an equal. At least in terms of mental fortitude, in every other category there was no comparing Light to Beyond or Beyond to Light. But Light had won, he just wasn't sure he wanted the prize.
"You're thinking again Sweetie Jam…"
Light glanced up at Beyond, amber eyes petrifying in their hardness. "Would you like me to stop thinking?"
B chuckled, jolting his head back and forth so his overgrown hair fell all over his face and splayed across his shoulders. "No no, that would be a tragedy, if you ever stopped thinking."
"Then what would you have me think about Beyond?" Light asked, falling into their regular pattern of inquiry. It'd only been three days since he'd first met Beyond, now he couldn't help but think he'd gotten a little too close to the serial killer. There was an attachment somewhere between the two of them. The question was, who was attached to who?
B tilted his and glared at the ceiling. "You shouldn't think about me."
Light's eye brows rose, startled with the response. Light had expected Beyond would be pleased to know Light spent the majority of his time obsessing over him. "But that's why I'm here Beyond, to think and discus you."
"But I'm not the important one!" the murder snapped meaningfully, wiggling in his chair with the need to flail about. "Detective is important."
Light leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing to slits. "What does L have to do with anything?"
A smile of yellowing teeth and burning red eyes leaned over the desk on the opposite side of the glass, leering delightedly at Light. "Everything."
Light rolled over with a groan. L had left two hours ago, though it had only been half an hour ago that Light had been able to fall back asleep. Mentally, he cursed L for the thousandth time that night.
It wasn't an entirely logical train of thought, but Light was quite comfortably able to blame L for his recent insomnia. Without L, there would have been no Beyond Birthday, and thus, Light wouldn't be waking up at unholy hours of the night in a cold sweat. He wasn't entirely sure when he'd begun reliving his interviews with Beyond. It had been sometime before he'd left San Francisco for London that the dreams had begun. At the very least, the dreams only had him putting off sleep and the psychological havoc they were wrecking on his mind was minimal. Light couldn't help but be thankful his sanity remained unthreatened.
He stretched his arms over his head, languidly rising from the thick mattress and leaving a trail of sheets in his wake as he made for the living room. Coffee was the main focus of his mind as he mentally comprised a list of everything he'd need to do that day. Sayu was intent on having brunch with him that day, why the girl was so obsessed with fusing Breakfast and Lunch into one giant unhealthy meal Light had no idea, but he aimed to please.
The young profiler paused suddenly, turning back to face the door to the bathroom. It was shut, and he was pretty sure he hadn't left it that way. Quizzically he appraised the door before shrugging it off. It was a door, nothing threatening about it. And then he heard it. Humming, a joyful, rapid beat of humming was filling the bedroom, slithering into the bedroom through the small crack between the bathroom door and the floor. Someone was inside, humming. The voice was familiar too.
"Goddamnit L," Light grit his teeth together, stomping over to the door. "Get out of my bathroom!" he shouted, rapping his knuckles against the door heatedly. "Why the hell are you even still here?"
He'd only met the detective a few days ago and already the man was fraying Light's patience. At this rate Light's fuse was withering away faster than was healthy. L was about to have a rather volatile explosion on his hands.
The familiar tenor augmented in Light's ears, gaining in volume and speed. It was practically gleeful now, and nauseatingly so. That was, until it stopped.
Light knocked against the door again. "L?" Fingers falling over the brass handle, he pressed his body against the wood and listened through the door for a sound. There was nothing.
With an awkward grimace Light turned the knob and pushed the door open. It swung inward, revealing a darkened space of porcelain. The empty bath glistened against the morning's sunrise, the frosted window splaying the orange light awkwardly across the cold surface. The fluffy white towels hung undisturbed in the soft glow, opposite the sink, its gilded handles sparkling welcomingly. The room was empty. Slowly Light crept into the spacious lavatory, his bare feet padding softly against the icy marble flooring. Steadily his gaze swept across the room, looking for the source of the sound. He was sure it had been L's voice.
Light came to stand right in front of the tub. With a perplexing glance he inspected the interior of the bath but found nothing, not even a drop of water. And then a new sound filled the clean room.
Scraping. The sound was as irritating as a diamond running along a chalk board. Reluctantly, Light turned away from the bath tub to face the mirror hanging above the sink. Light's hand extended, shaking towards the light switch with the full intent of illuminating the bathroom, but that meant facing the mirror. He knew what he'd see when he stared into the glass. He'd see himself staring back, unsure and more than a little disturbed. But he'd see himself.
With a slight gulp Light rested his hand against the light switch and faced his reflection. But his reflection wasn't there.
Scarred skin, molten from fire and skin grafts smiled serenely from the other side of the glass. Red eyes blinked slowly and leaned forward, a pale forehead resting against the crystal barrier. Think lips pursed together and a melodic sound vibrated from behind them, filling the bathroom and wrapping itself around Light's own throat.
"B…" Light breathed, staring in unveiled terror at the apparition sitting before him.
Beyond's smile grew. "Little piggy, little piggy, let me come in…"
Light didn't pause to think, he wasn't even sure he had given way to thought. Swiftly he whipped around and sprinted from the bathroom right as an explosion of glass erupted behind him. And then he was eating the floor, Beyond's weight pressing heavily atop his back while thin fingers probed against Light's cheek and neck. A tongue flickered out from B's lips and tasted the flesh of Light's neck. A happy little hum filtered into Light's ear. "Yummy little piggy…"
3B
Light sat up, his heart hammering against his rib cage, praying for a heart attack so the adrenaline of fear would cease its aggravation on the organ.
Scrambling from the sheets Light thundered towards the bathroom door. Wrenching the offensive piece of solid wood open Light stared into the bathroom. It was empty, save for the gentle glow of morning. With a heavy scowl Light faced the mirror head on. Anger, frustration, and a slick layer of sweat stared back at him. With a heavy breath Light stared back into his own haggard expression.
So much for his sanity.
3B
Mello sat despondently beside a growing pile of chocolate wrappers. The miniature mountain had been steadily gaining in elevation for the better part of an hour. Melted chocolate stained his fingers as he absently fumbled with the chain B had fastidiously wrapped around his wrist and torso, binding him to the marble floor of the ballroom. The blonde's eyes fell closed, blocking out the harsh glow of the golden ceiling and leaving him to focus, undistracted, on his thoughts. Doing so may or may not have been a productive idea, but Mello needed to gain some perspective. He had just committed murder after all.
Murder. The word ran down the length of his throat like engine sludge, polluting and clinging to every winding intestine that spanned beneath Mello's skin. He'd killed someone. There was one less human being on the planet because he'd taken events into his own, adolescent hands. Granted, the corpse now occupying some city morgue belonged to a child abductor. Growing up in an orphanage, Mello's opinion of vial beings like rapist and pedophiles placed them far below history's most noxious tyrants. Was it justice though? Unconventional, if not harsh, the notion concerned Mello more than the thought of committing murder. It was vigilantism in its finest form, staking out an infraction of the justice system and personally dealing the hand. And it was exactly what L did. He tracked criminals down and brought them to justice by his own terms.
But he didn't kill them. The rational side of Mello whispered into his mind, knowing it wouldn't need to shout to be heard. L gave the death penalty when the system called for it, yes, sometimes he even pushed for it. But there were moments when L didn't, instead he'd do the unthinkable. He gave criminals second chances. Such was the reason for Beyond Birthday's continued existence. Though that may not have been the best example of a second chance, Mello thought, his face contorting at the chain chafing against his wrist. In Mello's opinion, which the boy knew was decidedly biased, he was the victim after all, Beyond Birthday hadn't deserved a second chance. He hadn't deserved to be left alive. There were some people in the world that had abused their right to live. Beyond Birthday was the ruler of those people and the pedophile Mello had gunned down was a court jester. Now, Mello supposed he had joined their blood thirsty ranks.
He liked to think he'd made the decision on his own, without any suggestive words from Beyond. It was a happy island named denial that Mello was currently gorging himself with chocolate on. And sadly it was taking on some heavy flood waters. It would've been easier to just place all the blame on Beyond, but the deranged, cross-dressing killer hadn't been the one who pulled to pull the fucking trigger. That had been all Mello and his cute little finger.
Another piece of chocolate broke off onto Mello's tongue, slowly melting in his mouth. Chocolate was something Mello understood, 78% pure cocoa, and the rest was just smooth cream and sugar. Chocolate was simple. Figuring out why he'd murdered a child rapist, that was more confusing than when Mello had first underwent puberty.
He was dejected. He'd killed someone and he honestly couldn't bring himself to care.
Fuck the world.
It was too much, and he didn't have enough chocolate to think through it all. B needed to get him more. Slowly opening his eyes Mello glanced over at where the man sat, unresponsively in front of his game board. Mello was pretty sure he'd been there all night. The two of them had returned from the park, after which Beyond had immediately set out and didn't return until well into the night, waking Mello from his uncomfortable slumber on the couch. The murderer had then proceeded to crouch atop a stool in front of his game board, intently studying the amalgamation of game pieces like they were holding his best jar of jam hostage.
"GGRAHHHHHH!"
Mello jumped, his neck cracking as he whipped to stare at Beyond. The murderer was flailing about on the floor, limbs all wiggling around in the air. He reminded Mello of a dying beetle, only the man was skinner than a spider. B flopped over, looking across the floor at Mello, a coy grin on his face.
"Did you see the paper today?"
Mello blinked. "I was unaware we got the paper."
B sat up, nodding happily. "I had the hotel staff send out for a paperboy, jacked all twenty eight of his newspapers so we'd have extra copies!"
A subtle feeling of unease washed over Mello as Beyond wriggled across the floor over to him, a worn newspaper sticking out of the back of his jeans. "And what did you do to the paperboy?"
B paused, a slender finger resting against his lips in thought. "I think he'll live… seemed like a tough kid. Anyway, listen to this! Mysterious sniper shoots serial molester. Isn't that a stunning headline?"
Mello took the paper from Beyond, eyes scanning over the large, front page picture of the park they'd visited the other day. Adjacent to the photo was an unattractive mug shot of the man he'd shot, and beneath that was the shy smile of a little boy, thumb firmly lodged in his petite mouth.
Mello's last piece of chocolate disappeared into his mouth. "I killed someone B."
Beyond snatched the paper back from the teen, pouting minutely at Mello's lack on enthusiasm. "So? Loads of people have done that! Consider it an initiation rite into the folds of humanity," he waved the sentiment off, casually lifting himself from the floor to go back and stand before his board game.
Mello stood, but with the chains binding him to the floor it was about all he could do. "That was a highly sensitive piece of weaponry," the boy said levelly. "What would have happened if I didn't know how to use the damn thing?"
"You would've shot your eye out," The murderer replied flippantly. "But you did know how to use it. Ever wonder why?"
Mello frowned as the question jammed itself in his ears with all the grace of a semi-truck. "Wammy's has a ballistics course. You're an Alumni, sort of, you should know that."
"Yes, but why ballistics? Why advanced weaponry? As a kid do you really need to know how to identify the world's one hundred deadliest poisons by sent, aesthetic, and their physical effects on the victim?"
"You certainly seemed to benefit from it," Mello said dryly, falling back on the floor, legs crossed.
B grinned, a reminiscing smile capturing his eyes as he bit his lip. "That earned you a gold star Little Dear! Not many have been able to recognize that as my work. In fact, only one other person did."
Mello pursed his lips, but conceded the point to Beyond. Experimental poison didn't exactly fit with B's usual modus operandi, so it wasn't that surprising no one else had recognized that small string of murders as the work of the LABB killer. "L?"
"No." B gently flicked a black, chess piece over, causing it to tumble across the board, skidding to a halt right in front of a red candyland piece. "He was," B pointed to the chess piece he'd knocked over.
"And who is he exactly?"
The murderer's attention moved abruptly away from the board game and onto the blonde teenager, eyes widening as some previously unseen realization materialized before him. "I have to go."
Mello watched, his eyebrows rising as Beyond flew from the room, the doors leading out of the ballroom slamming shut with the echoing click of several locks falling into place. The teen sighed in irritation, falling back on the floor, spread eagled, the ceiling once more the only thing to keep him company.
3B
Matt gingerly shuffled through the hallway from his bedroom. The light filtering of intellectual conversation and what smelled like cherry pie pulling him out of bed by the ear. Sleep was a god given right and waking up at six in the morning was a heinous infraction of that right. Unfortunately, L didn't seem to have a religion, or a sleeping pattern for that matter. For Matt this equated to a rather unpleasant morning.
"Good morning Matt," the detective said from his swivel chair, not even bothering to turn around and look the boy in the face as he greeted him.
"Meh," Matt replied, stiffly running a hand through his brightly colored hair. He'd gotten dressed, they should be proud of him for that. Conversation this early however, that wasn't going to be happening so soon.
Near glanced up as Matt fell gracelessly onto the couch, swiping a biscuit from the tray of sweets occupying the center of the room. "Did you not sleep well?" the white haired kid asked cordially over the roof of the large, wooden dollhouse he'd set up before him. Meticulously Near was arranging sets of tiny, toy furniture about the rooms of the house.
"I was making a list of ways in which I could maim Beyond Birthday once we found him. It took up a good portion of the night," Matt responded dryly.
L hummed in tune to the clacking of his keyboard keys, mind flying through police report after news article, eagerly searching out any red flag that would illuminate Beyond's whereabouts. It was one thing to have an idea of where B would leave his next victim, but L would much rather prefer it if he knew exactly where Beyond was staying. It'd make things so much easier. Speaking of easier…
"You should have been assisting Near," L said sharply.
Matt glanced up, a scowl firmly in place. "You never asked, besides, I was working."
"Doing what?"
"Same thing you're doing now." Matt sat up so he had a better view of the back of L's head. A part of him wished he had something to throw into the detective's rat nest of hair, a spitball would suffice. "I was searching over areas Beyond would likely take up residence within. Unfortunately, all crypts and graveyards have reported no disturbances."
L spun around to face Matt, brows scrunched together in confusion. "Why would Beyond choose to live in a crypt? It'd hardly be hospitable to any life form other than vermin."
Matt blinked and then sighed, not knowing if he was meant to take the comment seriously or if L was mocking him. His money was on the latter. "Well, I also checked out abandoned houses, buildings, and the like but nothing came up as suspect. He's covering his tracks well." Matt huffed, blowing a lock of pink bangs out of his eyes. "Which means I'm still stuck with this damn hair."
Near nodded as if he finally understood something he hadn't previously, another piece of the puzzle making its way into his hands. "You're not changing it back until we find Mello."
L's eyes widened in horror. "But I had Watari book you an appointment with Andrew Jose this afternoon for a hair coloring."
Matt gaped at the thin man crouching before him. "You did what?" AN appointment at a hair salon? L had booked him an appointment at a luxury hair salon. The notion wasn't quiet making it through Matt's mind in one piece. It was unlikely L had ever seen a comb, let alone a hair dresser.
L ignored Matt, instead picking up his cell phone and speed dialing Watari. The phone rang from the kitchen, five paces away and Matt had to toll his eyes.
"We'll need to cancel Matt's appointment for today," L said quickly before hanging up and turning back to Matt and Near. "If this is the case then I'll need you two to begin work immediately. Our newly discovered lead, compliments of Near, should set us on track to apprehending Beyond."
"And locating Mello," Matt interjected pointedly.
"Precisely, and in so doing we can ensure the days we're exposed to your newest form of visual assault are limited," L grouched before snapping his attention back to his TV monitors.
The corners of Near's lips quirked in dry amusement. "You mean you're not a fan of the hair?"
"No one is a fan of the hair," L bit back. "Anyway, I'd like you boys to begin work on finding the carpet retailers that supply this particular brand of carpeting," the detective motioned towards the blue fiber, enlarged on the center monitor.
"You mean there's more than one type of carpet?" Matt asked in disbelief.
L nodded, nibbling on the tip of his thumb nail. "Yes, and it helps us greatly. This is an incredibly uncommon type of carpet fiber. The forensics reports collected on it were virtually useless in identifying the origins of the fiber, but the erroneous report Mr. Yagami left us with was most insightful."
Matt nodded along, his laptop firing up atop his lap. Within minutes Matt had a virtual copy of Light's report smiling up at him from his computer's screen. "Comprised of the organic compound ethane?" Matt blinked, rereading the report's abstract to be sure he hadn't tripped up somewhere. "You mean it's vinyl? The carpet's made from vinyl?" He glanced up at L. "They can do that?"
L's toes fumbled against the leather upholstery of his swivel chair, discomfited. "It doesn't sound at all comfortable. But yes, the carpet fiber was vinyl."
"Okay then," Matt breathed, cracking his knuckles. "What's the lead Albino Boy over here got us?"
The petite teenager in question glared sharply at Matt but answered nonetheless. "It's simple enough really, and I have no doubt that if L hadn't been preoccupied with Light Yagami's case file, he would have unearthed sooner than I had. Either way, it was the first part of Beyond's note that clued me in. He said the carpet was being removed from the room, as in no longer there - "
"Hold on," Matt interrupted, rapidly clicking through computer files. "I'm bringing up the note… okay, got it." The words of the note appeared atop the computer page, After removing the carpet from the room, he plays a vinyl record before placing a crown atop his head and hanging himself, he then gets stabbed in the back.
Near nodded and continued speaking. "Obviously, Beyond is saying that the next crime scene will be an area where there is no carpet. It falls nicely in line with his last known murder case, where he often removed something from the crime scene as a hint towards where he'd strike next. Only this time, I'm fairly certain he didn't remove anything himself. It's not easy to remove carpet. So I brought up a list of every carpet retailer in the London area, there are seven hundred and sixty two." Matt drew in a sharp breath but Near ignored him. "However, I spent the night cross referencing them with those that are being remodeled and hence, have had their carpeting removed. It required building a database of all current construction jobs around the city, as well as carpet orders and exchanges, but I got it."
Matt frowned. "Not that that doesn't make sense, but how do you know it a carpet store? I mean, it could just as easily be a home right?" Near looked up at L from behind his doll house, apparently he'd been thinking along the same lines but had yet to broach the subject with their mentor.
L spun in a slight circle, a rather large, pink frosted cookie pinched between his fingers. "I'd originally considered that when I saw the carpet fiber, but then, the murder would have been a reported crime and we'd hear about it immediately. That's not what Beyond's after. He wants us to work through the puzzle ourselves now, not be led right through it by the police. Thus, he'd pick an area where a body wouldn't readily be discovered, some place large or only rarely visited. A warehouse."
Matt didn't have much time to contemplate the brilliance that comprised L. He could do that once he was back at Wammy's. Now he was pulling up the extensive list of Carpet Warehouses Near had emailed him. What had begun as a list of over seven hundred locations had been narrowed down to three hundred. Three hundred carpet stored were currently without carpeting of their own, the irony did not escape the pink haired youth. With a few clicks of the mouse he was shuffling through the list, seeking out the one store that had what he was looking for.
"The Unnatural Flooring Company," Matt proclaimed proudly as the result flashed across the screen. "That's the next crime scene."
L sprung from his chair like a frog, moving swiftly to hang over Matt's shoulder. "How did you find that so quickly?"
Matt mentally danced in the glow of L's awe as he answered. "I built a search engine, it's pretty damn fast. Plus, it enables me to input certain parameters, like a normal search engine would, but I can manipulate it so the search only checks over what I tell it to. In this case, I hit a quest to analyze Near's list for any stores selling Vinyl carpet. One result came up."
"The Unnatural Flooring Company," L stated, black eyes flying across the page. "They specialize in a woven, vinyl type of flooring. Their King Street location is currently closed, an unfortunate remodeling accident causing half of the roof to cave in." A slow grin stretched over L's lips, the detective's eyes widening in anticipation. "I need to make a call. Get ready to leave."
"What?" Matt turned to L but the man was already shuffling towards Watari's quarters, cell phone in hand. "What do you mean I need to get ready to leave?" Matt cried over the back of the couch, but L wasn't listening.
Near stood from the dollhouse, bracing himself on one side to push it towards a corner of the living room riddled with toys. "It means we will be leaving."
Matt shot the younger boy a rather displeased glare before snapping his laptop shut and carefully placing it in his bag. "Just let me get my shoes …" he grumbled sarcastically.
As Matt was lacing up his sneakers L came shuffling back into the room, a microphone and several chords in hand. Watari trailed after the detective with another monitor in his arms, ready to set it atop the dining table already surrounded by three large, LCD television screens.
"Watari, I'd like you to escort Matt and Near to Unnatural Flooring," the raven haired barked quickly, dumping his electrical equipment across the finely polished wood. "Once there Watari will supervise both of you as you monitor the area," he nodded to his wards over his shoulder, simultaneously connecting the microphone to several chords and handing them to Watari. The elder man to expertly attached the mass of wiring to the television screen he'd brought out. "Near, you will be on surveillance from inside the vehicle with Watari," L continued giving out orders. "Matt, I want you to go into the warehouse itself, see if Beyond's left anything behind, mainly a body."
"And if he hasn't?" Near asked, delicately fumbling with a Decepticon he'd selected to accompany him on the trip.
"Then you'll just watch the area. Hence the term surveillance."
Matt sighed, leaning his back against the door, PSP already beeping in impatience. "You're staying here?"
"Affirmative," L responded tartly. "I'll be watching everything from this hotel room. So, while you're out there please do exactly as I instruct. I don't much fancy going outside today. It's hot."
3B
When Light finally removed himself from his bedroom it was to the harsh scent of strong coffee percolating out of the kitchen, up the wrought iron staircase, and into his nostrils. The gentle sound of voices was carried around the hotel suite, riding on the back of the caffeinated perfume and nudging him into the living room.
"Afternoon Light!" Sayu chirped happily from her perch on his loveseat. Her fiancé was seated beside her, an apologetic smile marring his features.
Tiredly Light fell back on the couch, dress shirt and black, designer jeans rumpling as he slumped over. The uncharacteristic action brought a frown to the faces of the engaged couple and if Light noticed their sudden stillness he didn't comment.
"Are you okay Onii-chan?" Sayu asked, worriedly offering a cup of coffee to her brother.
"I'm fine," was the curt reply she got. Light didn't take the coffee either.
Sayu rose stiffly, moving to stand over her brother. "If you're going to lie to me I'd appreciate it if you used something a little more original than that."
Light snorted but opened his eyes to stare into his younger sibling's concerned visage. "I've been dreaming about Beyond."
"So you know it's Beyond doing this then?" she asked, her concern quickly transforming into an expression of grave discontent.
Light grinned candidly at her. "Never had any doubt to begin with."
Sayu huffed and sat back down aside her future husband, hand seeking to interlace with Hachirou's. "Why?"
"Why what?" Light shot back. "Why did Beyond kill the most hated individual of your bridal party or why am I actively seeking him out?"
"Neither," Sayu sneered, her brother's antics doing nothing to calm her nerves. "Why are you working with L?"
Light's eyes rolled over to her, sobering immediately. "What makes you think I'm working for L now?"
"I found this," she turned to the unbranded computer sitting on the table between the couches. "It's not yours and I'm not an idiot."
Light knew that, and it was one of those things that he both detested and loved about his younger sister. As a child she may have been innocent and often silly, but she'd grown up, discarding the childish antics most teens didn't shed until well after their early twenties earlier than most. Though she'd never be as intelligent as her brother she had more common sense than the average individual, which made her smarter than average. It also made getting information past her eyes harder than Light thought necessary. She was too perceptive and it often gave way to squabbles between the two of them.
"I thought you were staying out of this Sayu," Hachirou whispered from his future wife's side.
"Wha- you mean," Sayu glanced back and forth between her brother and fiancé and then the realization hit her. "Oh my god you two!" she shouted, rising from her seat, eyes blazing in uninhibited fury. "It's not enough you're chasing after a homicidal maniac but working with L? I can't believe this! "
"Why?" Light asked with a grin, clearly mocking her.
Sayu glared at him.
Hatchirou sighed, reaching out and pulling the young woman back into her seat. There was no getting between siblings. "At this point it's all according to plan."
"Save that he knows who you work for," Light said blithely, completely ignoring the wide-eyed, alarmed looks his sister was sending him.
"I figured he would," the younger, Asian man responded heavily.
"And what?" Sayu snapped. "That's fine? He's L! The man is the personification of justice, not to mention his morals are twisted and warped!"
Light sat up fully, moving to take the coffee cup his sister had left for him atop the table. "He won't be an issue as long as I work with him, which is what I wanted to do anyway."
"And what about after this is all over? What then?" Sayu shook her head furtively. Light could already see her deep, brown irises begin to shimmer with water. "He'll have something on Hatchi Light, and I don't like that!"
Hachirou seemed to also sense his girlfriend's oncoming duress for he gently wrapped an arm around the petit woman's waist. "Sayu, it doesn't matter what L has on me. It's as you said, his morals are skewed. If he truly had an issue with me he'd have brought it up already. But he hasn't, there's nothing in it for him. Okay sweetie?" He nudged the side of her head with his forehead, trying to instill some amount comfort into her being.
A soft vibration shook Light's left thigh and he glanced away from the couple on his couch to the pocket of his jeans. The vibration came again and Light dug into the pocket, fishing out the thin, cellular devise. Sayu wasn't going to be pleased.
"Hey guys," Light interrupted his sister and her future husband's tender moment, his lips drawn in a grim line. "I need to take this." Not pausing to glance at his sister and her confused visage Light picked up his coffee and headed back towards his bedroom for some privacy. Moments after an enraged shriek ruptured through the solid, wood door, drawing a slight chuckle from Light's lips as he flipped the phone open.
"I HATE THAT MAN!"
3B
It was not hot outside. In fact, the temperature wasn't even in the seventies. Either L was extremely sensitive to heat or he was full of bullshit. Matt was fairly confident in the bullshit answer. Pocketing the PSP he pulled his goggles over his eyes, tinting the sunlit street in orange, and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible when crossing the street. Of course, one can only be so nonchalant when exiting a bright, pink truck with the worlds Angel Crepes embolden across the side in a flowery font. Only L would choose a mobile bakery as his personal batmobile. Though the truck wasn't merely a front Matt supposed as he dashed across King's Street. The brightly colored van was outfitted with a surveillance system more advanced than anything Interpol could ever dream up as well as an oven, refrigerator, and shelves upon shelves of different types of crepe fillings. It was rather awe inspiring, L's ability to tote artery clogging food wherever he went. Only issue was the detective wasn't present as that moment.
The Unnatural Flooring Company on King's Street ended up being a rather small, black hole in the wall, sandwiched between a contemporary art gallery and a scooter store. The scent of cheap pizza and Thai food had polluted the entire street, causing Matt's nose to crinkle, nauseated. The street was splattered with people here and there, milling through the worn down, antique brick buildings, window shopping. No one paid the teen any attention as he bent up against the front window of The Flooring Co., cupping his hands over his face to peer inside.
"I don't see anything inside L," Matt whispered into the microphone concealed upon the collar of his shirt. The same pink ribbon pin from a few days ago was adhered to his chest, providing both the detective and Near with a visual of everything he saw.
"Go inside," L ordered, a scruffy tone of boredom permeating his voice.
Matt rolled his eyes but glanced over the entire building complex. Like most of the area, the edifice was brick, three stories tall with high arched windows showcasing the two stories above the shop. Matt found his way into the structure directly to the left of the Art Gallery where a small alley way extended towards the other side of the building.
Quickly he stepped into the shadow of the shop's building and the building adjacent to it. The alley way was just barely wider than he was, but it allowed the teen enough space to move comfortably. Crumbling asphalt crunched beneath Matt's sneakers, damp from lack of sunlight and putrid with the decay of garbage. A series of large, plastic trash cans lined both sides of the narrow through space. But other than that Matt saw no alternative entrance.
Frowning, he strode down the length of the alley, pausing as he heard the unmistakable crunch of glass under the sole of his shoes. Drawing his attention upwards he grinned as the minute, broken window glared down at him.
Grunting the teen hoisted himself up onto the trash cans, stretching so his finger tips just barely gripped the window's ledge. Jumping up he gripped the ledge, hand slicing open across broken glass. Wincing, he scrambled up the wall, wiggling through the small opening. Shards of glass still jutted out from the shattered window pane, tearing and snagging at the fabric of his shirt and jeans as he squirmed and writhed, pushing himself into the building. Unceremoniously Matt tumbled from the window and into the building, a cloud of dust flying into the air around him and settling in his hair. Thin scrapes opened along his arms and cheek as he rolled over another layer of broken glass
"Okay L," Matt hissed into the mic, pushing himself up off the littered floor. "I'm in."
"Yes I can see that," the detective's monotone voice filtered through the ear piece Matt was plugged into. "You're rather limber, though I suggest you get something to stop wrap around your hand."
Matt ignored L's words of wisdom, instead wiping away the dust from his goggles and glancing about the room. It was entirely vacant, save for several rolls of heavy duty plastic wrap crammed in the corner of the room. A door was leaning against the wall opposite him, seeming to have been ripped clean off its hinges. Beside the broken door panel was the blank space the piece of wood had previously occupied, leading into a hallway with bright sunlight streaming directly inside.
Poking his head through the door frame Matt could easily see why the entire building had been closed down. The roof was missing, as if some massive crater had blown clean through the shingles. The ceiling now consisted of several large, clear pieces of plastic supported by bungee cords and painter's tape. A chilly breeze wafted through the exposed hallway, carrying the scent of fresh paint and primer through the area. The corridor's floors seemed to have been completed before the roof caved in. Matt slid easily across the lightly dusted floor, leaving a trail of shinny, polished wood in his tracks. Slowly the boy crept down the stairs, keeping sure to have the camera on his chest swipe over every inch of the house for L. Within minutes he'd descended down a fine wood staircase into another hallway of polished wood. The walls here were still striped with the neon blue of tape, half of the right length of wall painted while all other surfaces were the stark white of primer. The end of the hall was framed by two doors, one labeled with the name of the art gallery on a golden plaque, the other with Unnatural Flooring clearly stamped across the surface.
Not expecting much, Matt tried the bronze door handle, eyes widening slightly as the knob turned easily, the door swinging open and beckoning Matt onward.
"Careful," L barked over the connection, his voice stern with a warning Matt didn't need to hear. He already knew.
Someone had been there. It was why the window glass had been broken in both ways, the glass falling on either side of the brick wall, signs of entrance and escape. If that wasn't enough, the fresh foot prints walking across the floor through the thick layer of powdered plaster and wood shavings was. Matt followed the impressions through the cramped office space situated in the back of the store and into the main, selling area where they turned off behind the register, halting before a closed door.
Matt started to reach for the door handle before pausing. "Hey L, I know you said you wanted me to do a recon on the whole building, but I don't think that's the best idea here."
The response Matt got was static.
"L?"
"…"
"Fuck it," Matt groaned. "Near are you there?"
"Yes…" the albino teen's voice came over the line.
Matt pursed his lips in annoyance. "Where the hell is L?" he demanded.
"Getting a snack I imagine."
Matt's lips pursed farther, aggravated by the fact that Near's assessment was actually a logical answer. "Fine, I'm going down."
Without waiting for his childhood acquaintance to add his own opinion Matt opened the door. Darkness engulfed the plywood stairs, nails sticking up off the side of the step at odd angles. With a breath Matt braced himself against the thin, metal railing offered to him and took his first step, praying he wouldn't fall. His confidence grew when a second later he found his weight supported by the step and he ascended further into the shop's lowest level. As he came to the last stair a small chain brushed against his face. Blinking stupidly Matt reached up and gently pulled the chain downwards. A soft click came out of the depths of the basement's darkness and a dim, yellow glow was brought to life, doing little to illuminate the space.
There was absolutely nothing Matt could make out from the room. Only the lone light bulb, suspended in the air, was distinguishable through his goggles. But Matt didn't want to remove them. There was something about the space, the very air he was currently breathing into his lungs that urged him to turn around. Escape, the atmosphere was whispering against his skin, licking at the back of his neck and telling him to leave.
The danger of the situation was palpable despite the evident lack of threat. Matt treaded further across the concrete floor. Coming to stand beneath the swaying light Matt turned full circle, eyes peeled, ready to make sense of the dark perimeter caging him in.
Something flew through the corner of Matt's eye, yanking his attention back towards the front of the basement. Matt stiffened, not moving from his position in the light, afraid to abandon the safety of the light bulb and become lost to the darkness. And that would have been great if the bulb hadn't clicked off.
Matt's spine froze over, trapped in an inch thick layer of ice. He could feel the eyes on him, kept from looking straight into his own by the orange lenses he'd strapped around his head. They were the only barrier between himself and the invisible figure standing before him.
Matt stopped breathing; every cell in his body straining to hear that sound he knew would be there. Eyes peeled wide open he waited for the quiet clicking that had haunted his childhood. He didn't have to wait long. From the black wall curving before him came the gentle, melodic sound of a muted chuckle.
And then the music started.
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A/N:
Shizuka no Taisho (who you may or may not know for her delightful BB/Kira fics) and I recently got together and created a new group on DeviantArt entirely dedicated to Beyond Birthday and Kira. I know quiet of few of you guys are partial to these boys (why else would you read this fic) so if you have a DA account please come and join! If you don't have DA account then make one and join. XD
You can find the group here: http : / murderousjustice . deviantart . com
Just delete the spaces. You can also find it by going to my profile and clicking on the link to my DA page.
As always, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!