Kat gazed on as she came to the quaint Chinese Karaoke bar. It was a curious thing, the fact that Suture would recommend a Chinese establishment instead of any of the other Japanese ones in the area.
Lawliet and Watari had insisted on picking up the boys then heading to the Karaoke bar, leaving one of their acquaintances (and by 'acquaintances,' she meant one of the criminals that had trusted K, an odd thing in itself) to monitor the security cameras after sending everyone in the task force home, saying that they needed a break just as much as anyone else.
Kat brushed her hair to the side, waiting silently outside of a building called "Báisè Laohu" Or, in laymen's terms "The White Tiger." Kat's mind idled on why they would name a karaoke bar that of all things: senses at a dull roar (Since she obviously did not feel like clawing people with the chimes above doors rang…).
She waited patiently outside, on occasion chatting with the bouncers in Mandarin. But nothing terribly significant, and if and only if the topic of Kira would come up, she just directed it to some other subject.
Kat was twirling her hair absent mindedly, nodding at the words the bouncer told her of his home in China when she noticed the Rolls Royce pulled up. "Hm, my friends have arrived, Mr. Xu. I hope to see you again, zài jiàn!" (Means "goodbye" pronounced "zai" like Japanese 'ai' but with Z and "ch-eh" all strung together) She bowed, to which Mr. Xu returned, a smile on his face.
She turned around and made to walk up to the car, but thought better of it when she of all people noticed how conspicuous they looked. But of course, the personas were all battling out about something fairly different that she paid little to no heed to.
About damn time they got here. K swore at their lack of time management. Don't blame them! We were the ones who brought them here! Hee hee! Kit retorted, practically bouncing with glee at the fact that they were going to a karaoke bar. SHUT UP, KITTEN! And with that roar, went K's last shred of tolerance. Kat winced violently, bringing to her hands to her temples blindingly fast, muttering foully about headaches and stupid arguments.
Lawliet was the first to spot her naturally, having lived with her seventeen years; he would be able to pick her out anywhere no matter howmanypeople. But something was off about her.
"Sis!" Matt cried out, breaking into a run towards the woman who was still wincing in pain. Her eyes wrenched open when she heard the voice, spreading her feet apart and catching him in an embrace before he could bulldoze her over into the throng of people. A small huff of air escaping her lips when he impacted against her, literally robbing her of air.
"Woah, Matt, would it have mattered if you had waited till I had my eyes opened?" She questioned jokingly, a grin on her features.
"Yes! Because then Mello would have hogged you!" He exclaimed, backing up and pulling out his Play station portable.
Said blonde came stomping up, giving her a quick hug then proceeding to colorfully tell Matt off for nearly killing people. ("We are supposed to save people, for god's sake! Not kill 'em!")
The last of the five-some idled up casually, the smallest walking over to give her an equally brief hug. "Hello, Near, how have you been holding up with my overzealous successor?" She asked, motioning with her hand for the others to come as she pulled Mello into the building by his ear, his complaints very vocalized. If she did not know any better, she would say he acted more like a hot headed parrot then anything else.
"Hm, fine, and how has Kat-nee-chan been coping with L-sama?" He asked, twirling his hair, in a fashion that was eerily similar to hers.
"Fine, though the tedium of paperwork is completely revolting, ah, wait a few minutes; I must get the directions to the room." She said, letting go of a disgruntled Mello and asking in rapid Mandarin if they might show her where the room she had rented out would be. Then she quickly switched to Cantonese when they looked at her oddly and said in English that they came from Canton.
She flashed a bright smile when a Japanese attendant came to help them to the room. They walked through what seemed like a million corridors, (though Lawliet and Near only counted seven, why they were counting in the first place remains to be seemed) Lawliet and Mr. Wammy ushering from behind and Kat in front, glancing back every once in a while to laugh at the argument Matt and Mello were in. They acted so different from Lawliet and herself yet they, too, were best friends.
She gave a nod to the attendant and spared her a smile when they had arrived. Of course, the girl then seemed to have realized something and practically started hyperventilating the name "Tomo-chan" barely being decipherable. Kat inwardly groaned as Kitten took over, winking and putting a finger to her lips as a sign to stay quiet about it. It was the first time that the other four people had seen Kit out in the open so they were sort of in a momentary stupor over the change of persona. Though Mr. Wammy more or less stood less surprised, knowing that her personas were going to keep dividing if his theory was correct (the boys were wondering why she was acting different in the first place, unaware of the her multiple-personality disorder).
Kew quickly took over all of the personas, walking into the Karaoke room she had rented and walking straight over to a booth, ignoring the other humans whom were sharing.
When Lawliet walked in with the rest of them, he was completely overwhelmed by the iridescent azure walls, flashing lights, and the boisterous talk of the people in the booth across the room. The complete ambience of the place was more of a club than anything. He shook his head and followed his successors and Mr. Wammy to the booth, making sure his seat was next to Kat. "Hm, you chose a singing bar…so…out of character of you." He mentioned numbly, watching her with keen eyes as she ordered drinks for everyone in Chinese.
When she turned back to him, it was with a brilliant smile, "Well, I thought it would be good to have a change of place, only Watari knows that we scarcely ever get a chance to leave, and if that happens, he is usually pulling us along forcefully."
"Hm, touché," He said, brandishing a small grin on his features.
Kew leaned back, scanning her eyes over the three young boys then randomly switching to English. "So, what has been happening at the orphanage with you three? You are not raising too much hell for Roger, I hope."
They turned their heads away from her sheepishly, bowing their heads in ominously simultaneous. The three adults shook their heads, of course. Mayhem and the rivaling trio were like L and cases or K and missions; inseparable.
"So, Sis, any missions we can help you with?" Mello asked hopefully, even if it was not visible on his physical countenance, it was obvious to Kew.
She shook her head softly, strands of ebony and silver hair scattering all over the place. "Not a chance, the day I give you one of my missions will be the day that Ryuuzaki quits sweets permanently," And everybody knew that loosely translated to, 'Not even when hell freezes over, kiddo.'
They chatted comfortably, the epitome of calm with the soft singing of the girls in the background chorusing. And when the actual food came, Kew grinned slightly at the predictable pallets of her companions. She had guessed correct for every one of them…
"Hey, Sis, we're at a karaoke bar, why don't you sing?" Matt asked, taking a sip of his virgin piña colada, eyes shining with curiosity. Mello rolled his eyes at his friends choice in words. "Are you kidding, Matt? She's part you-know-what,haven't you ever heard of caterwauling? She might make our ears bleed!" He said, the playful tone apparent to everyone save Kew who immediately retorted with a, "At least people do not wonder if I am a homosexual person or have no gender when I walk into an establishment." That of course, was courtesy of K, what with her short temper.
Mello rose to the chance at arguing, not at all wanted to be made a fool out of. "Excuse me, but you've obviously mistaken me for someone who gives a damn," He began tersely. "At least I'm not afraid of the shower!"
"For your information, I take them daily! My, if your brain was chocolate it wouldn't fill an M&M!" She spat back, the little playful atmosphere sinking rapidly into a full out argument consisting mainly of insults. Near said something into Mello's ear quickly and he repeated it without thinking about it. "I'm blonde, what's your excuse?"
At that a silence went over everything when they noticed that Kew was no longer there, instead she was up next to the Chinese girls that were singing, asking something. When she turned back around she had a microphone gripped tightly in her hand, licking her lips anxiously (Causing a strange shiver to go down a certain somebody's spine, not at all unpleasant). The apprehensive twitch in her fingers and the slight barely visible flutter of her hair gave way to the fact that she was nervous. But when her head turned to the booth at which her companions were sitting at, a flash of arrogance flitted through her eyes, slight smirk accompanying it.
But no sooner had she opened her mouth to speak did she hear the other table of humans speak hurriedly about one of her façades. The one that loved to disguise herself as "Tomo-chan." The solitary female at the table rose, making a bee-line towards Kew. "Hi there, mind if I sing with you?" She asked pleasantly, smiling an outright grin.
Kew nodded, handing her a microphone, then turning herself about face so that she was looking straight at the small group instead of the screen words, wanting to show off for some reason she did not even know…
The recording of the guitar began with a simple string of chords in succession before the second guitar and the drum set jumped in, both females bobbing their heads to the music unconsciously.
"When I was darkness at that time
Furueteru kuchibiru
Heya no katasumi de I cry
Mogakeba mogaku hodo tsukisasaru kono kizu
Yaburareta yakusoku hurt me Both females ended it strong, stomping the ground with the last note hit and rung in the air. A round of applause was heard from both booths, another smirk arising to Kew's lips as she bowed to her singing partner (though a partner was not needed for the song) then turned towards her table, seeing Matt exchanging money with Mello.
Nobody can save me
Kamisama hitotsu dake
Tomete saku you na my love
I need your love. I'm a broken rose
Maichiru kanashimi your song
Ibasho nai kodoku na my life
I need your love. I'm a broken rose
Oh baby, help me from frozen pain
With your smile, your eyes
And sing me, just for me
I wanna need your love...
I'm a broken rose
I wanna need your love...
When you are with me at that time
Anata no kage wo oikakete
Hadashi de kake nukete stop me
Tozaseba tozasu hodo motsureteku kono ai
Odayaka ni yasashiku kiss me
Nobody can save me
Kogoeru bara no you ni
Yasashiku nemuritai my tears
I need your love. I'm a broken rose.
Kare ochiru kanashimi my soul
Kuzureteku kodoku na little girl
I need your love. I'm a broken rose
Oh baby, help me from frozen pain
With your smile, your eyes
And sing me, just for me
I wanna need your love...
I'm a broken rose
I wanna need your love...
I need your love. I'm a broken rose
Maichiru kanashimi your song
Ibasho nai kodoku na my life
I need your love. I'm a broken rose
Oh baby, help me from frozen pain
With your smile, your eyes
And sing me, just for me
I wanna need your love...
I'm a broken rose
I wanna need your love..."
"See? No caterwauling. Simply singing." She said, a smug tone in her quiet voice. That was met with a chorus of laughs as Mello grumbled under his breath about something or another.
The night wore on and when it came time to finally go, Kew sent the half asleep boys in one of their many chauffeured cars to one of the estates Lawliet owned while they went off in another.
It was dark and quiet as they made their way back to the latest hotel, Kat kept on seeing flashes of herself over one of the boys beds or a crib…it was a given. Lawliet and she had practically raised all three boys since they were toddlers.
Lawliet gave a start when something touched his shoulder, but quickly relaxed when he saw a familiar head of ebony and silver. Ears twitching and out of hiding, the all too common sound of her soft purrs reaching his ears. At that precise moment, an odd churning filled his stomach…a feeling he had been feeling for a long time.
A/N: OOC chapter I believe…and a transient moment of peace between all…The song wasRose by Anna Tsuchiya, purposely from the film Nana. Here is the English translation of the song:
When I was darkness at that time
Trembling lips
In the corner of my room I cry
The more I struggle, the more these wounds stab me
That broken promise hurt me
Nobody can save me
God, I ask just one thing
Stop this love of mine that's tearing me up
I need your love. I'm a broken rose
The sadness of your song falls down on me
My life is lonely and I've nowhere to go
I need your love. I'm a broken rose
Oh baby, help me from frozen pain
With your smile, your eyes
And sing me, just for me
I wanna need your love...
I'm a broken rose
I wanna need your love...
When you are with me at that time
I chased after your shadow
Running barefoot, stop me
The more I try to shut it away, the more twisted this love gets
Kiss me softly and tenderly
Nobody can save me
Like a frozen rose
I want to sleep tenderly, my tears
I need your love. I'm a broken rose.
The sadness in my soul withers and falls
I'm a little girl, lonely and crumbling
I need your love. I'm a broken rose
Oh baby, help me from frozen pain
With your smile, your eyes
And sing me, just for me
I wanna need your love...
I'm a broken rose
I wanna need your love...
I need your love. I'm a broken rose
The sadness of your song falls down on me
My life is lonely and I've nowhere to go
I need your love. I'm a broken rose
Oh baby, help me from frozen pain
With your smile, your eyes
And sing me, just for me
I wanna need your love...
I'm a broken rose
I wanna need your love...
White Alchemist Taya: Yes, that makes perfect sense ^-^. Human emotions can be so confusing, in all aspects that sometimes you wish you did not have them or had no clue what they were in this case. But understanding and having emotions is one of major points of being human. Completely understandable. I'd sooner volunteer to teach my math class than give up my emotions or loose understanding of them. But life is like that, ne?
Yuru Neko: Hm, yes, the precise reason why I put a cat girl in my fic. Because it is unique and has not been done. So I suppose it was one of my rare strokes of "brilliance" as one of my friends say. (she's British, and has the posh accent and all) I do hope you liked this chapter.
Timekeeper101: Well, nee-chan, even if I already replied, I can't help but write you down and give you credit for reviewing. ^-^ Just the same, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And I can't respond publicly to the last comment you put on your review or else I'll spoil it for people whom do not like to have their stories spoiled.
Please review and HAPPY BIRTHDAY L LAWLIET! THIS CHAPTER WAS UPDATED IN REMEBERANCE OF THE WORLD'S SMARTEST AND SMEXIEST DETECTIVE!