P.I.S. Chapter 17: No Mistakes
There was no doubt anymore that this world was a fake, a hoax. How he came here he did not know, but he did know that whoever was setting this up must have attended Whammy House at some point. There were no girls at the academy and the school had become co-ed the same year Mello joined. The fact that Linda and the other girls he remembered were not present and the girls' dormitory was missing proved to him that these were not just his memories but were fabricated by someone else. The identity of that person was still a mystery.
Near made several attempts to upset the balance of this artificial world and to pull it into his favor. He purposely gave false answers on tests; he never got a score of less than perfect at Whammy House so ruining his credit had to create a ripple of some kind. However, when the tests came back, his answers had been changed and the perfect score laid before him.
He picked up the paper delicately and reread the answers. They were correct and his quickly pulled together plan to get the teacher's attention of his false answers quickly fell just as fast as he thought of it; they were not the answers he gave. Behind him he heard a snicker and knew it was Mello without having to look back.
"Another perfect score," he heard the blond teenager say, "Perfect Near is always so perfect. I bet your white world would come crumbling down if you made one mistake."
"I can't make a mistake," he muttered.
He could actually feel Mello's anger. Mello spat something and turned on a heel to join Matt and compare scores. Near continued to gaze at the red curly numbers of the '100' and a note of 'Great Job' from the instructor. This wasn't right. He had purposely wrote wrong answers. Why could he not make the mistakes he wanted to make? Because he wouldn't have before?
This was not his first attempt to create some kind of change. He had done several things to get the attention of his professors. He gave false information, broke his toys, and attempted to throw his grades and chances of being L's subordinate down the drain. However, everything was swept under the rug and forgotten by administration. His toys returned to his closet unharmed and looking brand new. His grades never suffered and he remained number one.
He picked up the test and tossed it in the trash on his way out. In the hallway stood Mello with a half wrapped bar of chocolate. He was talking to Matt about something when his brown eyes looked over at Near. He bit off a chunk of chocolate as he left Matt halfway through his sentence to torment his rival.
"Perfect little Near," he teased, "Always number one, right? Well, one day I'm going to surpass you. You'll make a mistake and I'll be the one to gain the glory. Remember that."
Near's blue eyes looked up at him. Mello had a smudge of chocolate on the side of his mouth. They locked eyes for a minute, Near thinking on the irony of Mello speaking of the same mistakes that Near had purposely attempted just a few minutes before. The hallway was empty now as kids were hurrying to leave the school to play. It was just the three of them, Matt keeping his distance; he never got in the middle of their encounters.
"Excuse me, Mello," Near said, trying to get past him.
Mello's body rippled and his body disappeared, only leaving his clothes seemingly to float with no body. Near felt hands on his back as he was pushed down and landed on his stomach, making and 'oof' sound as he hit the floor. The blonde's body rippled again and he reappeared, laughing hard as he watched Near climb back up to his feet and dusted his hands off.
"What's the matter, Near? Can't keep your balance?"
Near twirled a piece of hair. "I seemed to have tripped over nothing." It was a jab, an insult at Mello's part, and the blond had picked up on it. His face twisted in a scowl at being called nothing. He grabbed the albino by the shirt and spun him around.
"While you little-!"
"Mello!" Roger's voice yelled out as he brusquely walked over when he heard Mello's shout. Mello let go of Near but the scene had already been caught. "What do you think you are doing?" he scolded.
As Roger was about to go into his lecture about how important it was not to use their powers during class time and not causing a public scene, Near saw his opportunity. This could not be ignored when Roger was right there. It would be very out of character of him and would raise many eyebrows. He would get in trouble and his perfect record would cease and Roger was right there to witness it.
Near, pacifist and perfect, took a step forward and with all his might pushed Mello as hard as he could. The blond stumbled over and hit the adjacent wall, a look of shock on his face. Near held his breath. He waited for Roger's voice to fill the hall as he yelled at Near. He waited for Matt to step in. He waited for Mello to retaliate with violence. He waited.
But nothing happened. Mello straightened and looked at Roger with the same bored, whatever expression he wore before Near's sudden bout of violence. Matt continued to watch from the background with his hands in his pockets. Roger continued his lecture. It was like Near's stunt didn't happen. Because it never really would happen.
Roger issued Mello a detention and the blond tsked and stalked off. Roger, feeling his headmaster duties had been fulfilled, walked in the direction of his office.
"Sucks that you got a detention," Near heard Matt tell Mello.
The chocolate loving boy shrugged one shoulder. "No big deal. It's not a real punishment."
"Don't let Near hear you say that," Matt said as one green eye looked back at him.
Mello laughed out loud. "What's he going to do? Psychically track me down and stalk me?" He laughed harder as they rounded the corner.
Near stood in the middle of the hall, head reeling. His heart fluttered. Of course! If this time line was correct, his telekinetic ability had yet to be discovered at this point. His only ability known to them were his aura readings and tracking. But did that mean he possessed that ability in this strange world? It was physical, not mental, so would it not work in this strange realm?
He had to find out. He had to do something, something big to get their attention, to create a problem that couldn't be fixed right away or ignored.
Left. Left. Right. Left. Uppercut. My hands swayed in front of me without my command, knocking Mello's fists away. My feet continued to step backward and Mello kept coming for me but I had been blocking every one of his attacks. My mind was blank as was his so I couldn't concentrate on his thoughts. It was pure impulse and instinct. My brain was reading his movements before he knew what to do.
My arms were bruised from blocking his strikes. I couldn't continue to stay on the defense if I wanted to survive the upcoming battle. I needed to search for an opening.
He's planning a fake. It came to me instantly just when he pulled back his fist, ready to strike me. Only I knew he wasn't going to. It only came halfway before his leg cocked, ready to kick me in the side of my head. He was fast but my arms, on their own accord, grabbed his foot. My hand holding his leg jerked him towards me and my fist made contact with his chin. That was the first time I had actually landed a blow on Mello.
He rubbed his chin and smiled at me. "That's what I'm talking about. Now, come at me with everything you got!"
I got into stance just as Mello did. We continued our sparring but as the minutes passed along with the fists and kicks, it became increasingly difficult to read into Mello's impulses as well as I had. Every once in a while a flash of a white haired boy would block my concentration.
Crack! I rocked backwards, my right cheek burning from his last punch.
"What's the matter, Light-kun?" came L's voice as he strolled across the lawn, hands in his pockets and hunched over, "You were doing so well."
"I'm fine," I said.
Mello had stepped out of stance and crossed his arms. "C'mon, read my thoughts like you were before."
"I'm trying to," I answered, trying to catch my breath. "It's a little more difficult than before."
"Why's that?" L asked, cocking his head to one side.
I answered L's question to Mello. "You're thinking about other things that are distracting me."
Mello's brown eyes slightly widened and his cheeks turned into an interesting shade of pink after he registered what I was saying; he obviously realized I could see exactly what he was thinking. L scratched the back of his leg with his foot. "Perhaps it would be best if Mello clears his head," he said, "I'll be Light's sparring partner in the mean time."
I swallowed as Mello nodded and walked off. I looked over at L as he stretched his legs. "You're going to spar with me?" I repeated.
He looked up at me from his stretching. "Yes, and I'm a much different opponent than Mello. He trains in Karate whereas I am more talented in Capoeira and Muay Thai."
"But this exercise is to help me read instincts. I can't read your thoughts."
His wry smile met my eyes. "Are you so certain you will face someone who will be easy for your abilities? As far as you know, I'm the only one whose thoughts you can't read but there millions of other things out there we don't know."
"I've never had any problems with anyone else except you."
"How about animals?"
I blinked in surprise. "Animals? It's very unlikely that my opponent will be Scooby-Doo."
L's cat-like smile didn't falter. "Some men are very much like beasts, Light-kun." He stood in stance, legs far apart and arms lock. "Now then, come at me."
Sayu squinted her eyes as she pressed her face against the glass window. Inside the building was dark and empty. She had just come by here last month. How could they be gone so soon? She brought out the business card of this office again and stared at it, hoping it would give her answers to all of her questions; one being why she found this in her brother's room.
She didn't believe her parents' excuse to her brother's long absence to camping. Knowing Light and his mannerisms about his looks and hygiene, he would not spend one weekend, let alone an entire month, out in the woods. He was hiding something and doing a pretty lame job of doing so. Their mother and father were acting strange, too. Her mother always set his place at the dinner table until she suddenly remembered he was camping when Sayu brought it up. When she asked her father when he was coming back, he avoided the question and made excuses about work. She was tired of getting the runaround. After snooping in her brother's room, she discovered the business card of the 'Paranormal Investigation Squad'. She had come looking for answers for her brother's involvement with such a strange group, especially when her brother's beliefs meant such things as "paranormal" did not exist.
Except it was empty now. There wasn't even an out of business or change of address sign anywhere. They just ceased to exist. Perhaps their business had been so bad they didn't want to advertise their failure to the world; she couldn't see many people interested in being their customers. So why was Light interested in something that he seemed too bored and critical of? And the day she came by, too. She could hardly remember details about it. It was cloudy and sketchy, like a distant dream. Orimo could not remember anything, either. She was doing much better, though, so Sayu did not think much about it other than being grateful to have her friend back to normal.
She tried to open the door once again but its lock would not budge.
"Grr," she growled, exasperated, "This is going nowhere."
"Is there a problem?"
Sayu started and turned around to see a blond, foreign woman and a young child a few years younger than Sayu staring at her oddly. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Haha," she laughed nervously, "I was just wondering if they were still in business or not."
The woman read the outline of the painted door. "Are you into the paranormal?"
"Er, not really. I'm just curious."
"I see." A beeping sound came from the woman's purse. She brought out a cell phone but did not look at the screen. Instead, her blue eyes never left Sayu's face. She pressed one of the buttons and the beeping ceased. The corners of her mouth turned upwards in a smile. "Well, let me introduce ourselves to you. My name is Halle Lidner and this is Linda, my niece." Linda gave a meek wave. "If there's anything you need, give me a call."
Sayu took the business card Halle offered her from her breast pocket. "Er, what do you mean?"
Halle's smile widened very slightly, showing brilliant, white teeth. "You're interested in the paranormal, right? I might be able to help you. To quench your curiosity, I mean."
Sayu blinked at the card. "Thanks?" she said, sounding unsure.
"C'mon Linda," Halle said to the young girl, "We've still got lots of errands to run." She gently led the girl down the sidewalk towards the bus stop. Sayu watched them for a minute, puzzled at such strange people.
"Weird," she muttered. After some thought, she put the card in her pocket.
The pain in my abdomen was so intense I could not hold myself upright. My lungs felt like they would collapse, and something so easy as breathing was very painful. All because of a kick L had launched into my stomach. My body was bruised and my ribs felt close to breaking. My lip was bleeding and my head was throbbing. And L had barely broken a sweat. I had not been able to land anything on him, absolutely nothing. He contorted his body to odd angles and did strangle flips and curves to block my attacks. I had never seen capoeira fighting in front of me, and seeing L bend this way and that and flip like a dancer was more than bizarre; he just did not look a person capable of doing things like that with his horrible posture.
But my thoughts weren't on L at this moment. They were on trying to breathe. I was gasping heavily from being winded. I saw L's toes in front of my face as he stood over me.
"We're done for today," he said, "You're getting much better."
I said nothing, feeling his statement was untrue since I was still clutching my gut in pain. He bent his knees to see me face to face. "Perhaps I hit you too hard," he noted.
'You think?' I thought sarcastically, glad he couldn't hear my thoughts. I pulled myself up, ignoring the throbbing my intestines were making from having to move. A drip of sweat dribbled down my chin. I swallowed hard and took in deep breaths and was just about to tell L I could continue when we both saw Mello running towards us. His face was pale and grave looking.
"We got a message," he said when he caught up to us, "From Beyond. Came in just a minute ago."
L and I both glanced at each other and then the three of us were sprinting to the manor. Matt was setting up the computers to the flat screen just when we came through the front door.
"How did he send it?" L asked hurriedly.
"From an email," he said, "He hacked into Near's account and sent it from there."
L sat down in his usual chair and we gathered around. "Is it possible to find the location of where the email was sent?"
"Just got it," Matt said, typing hard at his laptop, "I can't trace it's exact location but it's from a Dell laptop, series 1520."
"Find out what name the laptop is under," Mello commanded.
"On it."
"Go ahead and play the message," L said, scratching the denim on his knees.
"Okay, just got the results back," Matt said. I could see the reflection of the screen in his goggles. "It's under the name of Yorashime Takami."
I chewed on the inside of my lip. "Why does that name sound so familiar?" I asked.
"She was killed three months ago," L answered me, "It was one of the homicide cases your father and I butted heads against. She was killed by a Rogue and her body was infested with eggs. We had to exterminate them without raising suspicion, which made your father angry seeing as how we could not give him sufficient information."
"If Beyond's posse has her laptop, they must be related to the case," Mello noted.
"I'm playing the video," Matt said.
The television showed a gray screen until it blinked and a picture of Beyond Birthday showed him sitting in a chair. "Hello hello," he said, smiling wickedly, "The day is fast approaching, L-sama, and we have found a sufficient location for our reunion." He disappeared and was replaced with a picture of a half built building still under construction. "This is the Kawasaki factory five miles outside of Tokyo, or at least soon to be. Unpaid funds kept them from finishing until next season, making it the perfect spot," Beyond continued the voice over, "There are security cameras and alarms but I'm very sure you'll be able to avoid any unnecessary attention." Beyond reappeared. "There are only three days left. In three days, you will meet us here at midnight. Bring no weapons outside your abilities, and if you decide not to come...well, that won't be good for your little prodigy here, will it?"
The camera, a camcorder it seemed, moved to the left to show the man in the glasses I remembered holding a knife to Near's throat while he held his head back by his hair. Near's mouth was open slightly and his eyes were closed, showing he was still asleep. Beside me I felt the burning anger emanating from Mello.
"I can't wait to see you again, Ellie," Beyond continued, "I hope our reunion will be as fun as last time. Ta ta for now."
The clip ended and the gray screen appeared. None of us said anything as the information sank in. Three days. Finally, I couldn't take it.
"What do you do now?" I asked.
L leaned his head against his hand. "We wait. Tomorrow we will travel back to Japan. Light-kun, you will not contact your family under any circumstances. We cannot allow any of us being traced. If you survive you can reunite with them afterward, but never mention any of this, not even to your father."
He stood up from his chair. "Get plenty of rest," he told us, "We're leaving early tomorrow. In the mean time, Matt, I want you to gather any information on the security of the Kawaski factory outside of Tokyo. Make sure there's nothing rogue going on in there." Matt nodded. "Good night everyone."
We all muttered our good nights and separated into our rooms. My face paled and I felt sick as I replayed Beyond's message and L's instructions. If... Such a strong yet fragile word. If... Would my training be enough? L was able to kick my ass, did that mean I would be easy prey to my next opponent? Would the next time my parents and sister see me be at my funeral, not knowing how I died?
"Enough about that," I told myself, splashing my face with cold water in Near's bathroom, "Thinking like that will only get you killed. You can't make any mistakes. No mistakes."
If...