In Charge

Chapter 26 – Missing Pages

By Threshie

AN: I give up—this isn't the last chapter either. I know I've been saying the next chapter will be the last for three chapters now. x.x; The plot WILL end at some point, I swear. I don't want to conclude things in a rush, though, when the plot seems to need more time. Hopefully the new developments in the story are still interesting enough that the fic is enjoyable for you to read. XD;

Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.


Clackclackclackclack...

Near awoke to the distant sound of a keyboard...someone was typing. Besides the soft, constant clacking, for the moment his whole world consisted of stiffness and pain; now that he was rested enough to pay attention to it, he could feel the bruises and marks that had been visible from the start. That, and this was the first time he'd been without an IV dripping pain relievers into his system in days...

Opening his eyes, the white-haired boy glanced around as the room slowly came into focus. Bedroom, he realized, blinking sleepily. We are back at the apartment. When did we leave the hospital? I remember going to see Matt in his room, and then... He frowned faintly at the vague recollections of being carried by Mello, assessing correctly that he must have fallen asleep before they could even get out the doors of the hospital. He had been exhausted...it wasn't surprising. It was a bit frustrating, though, since he'd been trying to maintain a strong front for Matt, who was obviously still pretty worried about him.

I wanted to prove by walking there myself that I was all right, and it backfired. He sighed; Matt was probably extra worried about him after seeing him fall asleep on his feet. Well, I assume I fell asleep on my feet—if I'd fallen over it would have awakened me...right? Then again, if someone had carried him to the car and driven him home and he hadn't awakened from that...

Now that he thought of Matt, where was he? We are safe at home, so leaving me alone here is all right, but I wonder what he is doing? I wonder how long we've been home... Matt had scarcely left his bedside all week, and when he hadn't been able to do so, Mello had sat with Near; after that kind of vigilance, it felt a bit odd to wake up in a room alone. Matt was probably resting, himself, Near decided.

Maybe Mello was busy watching over him instead, then.

The white-haired boy sat slowly up onto his elbows, frowning at the twinge that went through his right wrist. Matt lost a lot of blood, he thought, ignoring the fact that he had, too. He must have been pretty exhausted when we last saw each other at the hospital. He deserves to have Mello take care of him for once. I hope he is all right... Leaning back onto both arms, he shifted into a sitting position and winced. His hip must have really been bruised from the falls off of the cot and table at Mikami's house to still hurt this badly...it throbbed so much that the pain made its way into the opposite hip as well.

The passing mention of Mikami's name made him tense, like a sudden bad taste in his mouth. That name now reminded him of being helpless; he hated to admit how helpless he'd really been, even to himself.

I don't want to think about him right now... He pushed Mikami from his mind, trying to focus on the present.

It was all right to get out of bed, he decided; whether it hurt or not, he had to move sometime, and besides, he wanted to find Matt. I will be fine if I am careful, he told himself, crawling gingerly out of the bed. Putting weight onto his hip made him wince worse than before, but he stubbornly refused to sit down again.

Near needed to move for himself, walk for himself again. This week people had been caring for him nonstop; he had needed the help, but it was still uncomfortable for such a solitary person to have others suddenly decide what he wore, what he did, what he ate, who he spoke to, where he slept... The simple act of walking on his own in his own room was surprisingly satisfying after doing virtually nothing on his own for days.

Control.

He had control of his life again.

"I am not helpless—see? I am not," he said quietly, looking down at his feet planted on the carpet.He wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure himself or the world in general, but he felt like it had to be said.

Cautiously, he took a step, gritted his teeth against his hip's immediate throbbing response, and wobbled a little. Another step or two and he'd confirmed that he had a definite limp with his left leg. It will go away when I heal, he told himself firmly, and thought nothing more of it. Everything would be fine now; he could take it easy until he healed. No more having to run or fall off of furniture anymore. No more trying to escape anyone...

His mind whispered the beginning of Mikami's name, but he banished it again before it could even finish. No. Think of something else.

Clackclackclack--

Abruptly, the typing, which had continued almost constantly since he'd first awakened, had stopped.

Glad for the distraction from his thoughts, Near glanced at the door, wondering abruptly who was typing and on what. Perhaps L...this was his base of operations, after all, and he was a very busy detective. The voice that came through the door a moment later, though, was not his idol's.

"Alright, that does it."

Matt, Near realized. He sounded very far away; he was saying more, but the first sentence had been louder, and so the rest came out as only murmurs. Still, Near was glad to hear his voice. He isn't sleeping after all. If he is up and about, he has to be feeling better, too.

Padding softly to the door, Near opened it a crack as quietly as he could and peered out into the living room. Immediately his nostrils were assaulted by the strong scent of cigarette smoke; he cupped a hand over his nose and mouth, now expecting more than ever to see Matt...so when his eyes landed on Mello, he blinked in surprise.

"You're sure you got rid of everything? Even your blood types could give somebody who's investigating you or Near clues about you," the blonde was saying grimly, snapping off a chunk of the chocolate bar in his hand. He was seated on the back of the sofa, one leg propped up across it sideways and the other hanging down the front. They must be talking about our medical records at the hospital, Near realized; he followed Mello's gaze to the right, and sighted the familiar stripy shirt and red hair right away.

Matt was sitting at L's computer, slowly spinning himself in circles on the office chair with his good arm and casting a swirling smoke trail upward from the cigarette that dangled out of his mouth. His other arm was in a sling...Dr. Lidner must have put it on before he left the hospital at some point. Some point that I was asleep for, Near thought, again frustrated with his own exhaustion.

"Yeah, got that," Matt said flatly, watching the ceiling slowly rotate from his vantage point on the spinning chair. He didn't look very happy for having just finished a hacking job; he usually took pleasure in editing official records to his liking, but probably had more pressing things on his mind right now. "L only gave 'em the police station's number to forward through to his phone, but I deleted it too, just to be sure. As far as their records are concerned, we were never there."

Mello only nodded, chomping on the edge of his chocolate while staring thoughtfully off into space. A long moment of silence passed between them, and Near remembered suddenly that he was standing there eavesdropping. I want to talk to them, he frowned, peering out through the crack again, But if I do, they will start treating me differently again. It was frustrating to be treated gently; even after telling them over and over that he was fine, they persisted in acting like he'd undergone some heavy dose of emotional trauma.

Never mind the fact that he immediately changed the subject of his thoughts every time Mikami came up, or that he couldn't think back on what had happened during the kidnapping without starting to shake. I must accept it. It happened, and it wasn't pleasant...but now it's over, so I must move on. Thinking about it more will only make me act in ways that verify their theories that I need to be treated gently—and I am sick of being treated gently! I just want everything to go back to normal...

"L said he's gonna do the report about all of this." Matt's quiet voice stirred him from his frustrated thoughts; the redhead was looking down at the carpet, cigarette dangling between two fingertips now and his mouth set into a grim line. His eyes were hidden by the yellow lenses of his goggles again; it was like wearing a mask, concealing his eyebrows so that to some degree his expression was unreadable.

"Yeah," Mello sighed, snapping off another piece of chocolate with his teeth. "I don't like making Near think about it again so soon, but it's better than letting the cops question him. I'm sure Near would agree if we asked him."


"If you asked me what?" Matt looked up quickly at the quiet voice and saw that a certain white-haired boy was stepping through the bedroom door, looking at him and Mello seriously. His eyes didn't hold any confusion at all, nor did his tone. It was obvious that he already knew the answer to the question. Matt paused in his chair-spinning to take a nervous little puff of his cigarette. Eheh...how long has he been listening?

"Near, how are you feeling?" Mello asked, hair draping across his shoulder as he glanced back at the smaller boy standing behind him. "You okay?"

Near blinked at the questions, which for once held no sarcasm or bitterness, and directed his dark eyes to the carpet at his feet.

Tangling the fingers of his right hand in his tousled hair, he answered a bit shyly, "I feel much better...thank you."

"That's good..." Near's reaction must have driven the point home that this was a strange way to be acting, because now Mello sounded a bit awkward himself. Frowning, he chomped on his chocolate again and said no more.

Matt watched the exchange with a mixture of amusement and concern. They're not used to talking to each other except to fight...I wonder if they'll ever get used to it? What's weird is that when he thought Near was upset, Mell didn't have any trouble talking to him. Now that he's back to normal somewhat, I guess it's harder to justify being so nice to him...?

It would have seemed bizarre to see Mello and Near speaking to each other civilly for Matt, too, but he and the blonde had sat talking about Near for hours the night before, and he could tell that Mello was sincere about wanting to be friends.

"It's so weird, Matt," he'd said, "I don't even understand it myself. Last week I hated him, positively hated him, but now somehow he doesn't seem so bad. I don't get it, but...you feel the same way, right? You want to protect him from people like Mikami, too." He said 'Mikami' like a curse word, practically spat it out every time he said it now.

Matt had agreed, of course.

It seemed like Mello was struggling to understand his own emotional u-turn where Near was concerned, and trying to make him explain why didn't seem like a good idea at the moment. At least there wasn't a conflict over whether Matt could be friends with both anymore, the redhead had concluded.

He seemed to be putting on a brave face, but it was obvious to him and Mello both that Near was disturbed by this ordeal. What was more worrisome was that he himself didn't seem aware of it yet. He writes it all off as nothing just because he only got a few bruises out of it. Doesn't he realize some injuries aren't physical? And that's true even while assuming he isn't hiding something else that happened to him during the kidnapping like Mell keeps saying.

"What was it that you wanted to ask me?" Near ventured after a long moment, slowly coming over to stand beside the couch. Matt noted in concern that he seemed to be limping with his left leg. That's right, Doc said his hip was bruised pretty bad... He sighed, sticking the cigarette back in his mouth and inhaling a long, hot stream of smoke. Smoking was kind of a nervous tick of his; he didn't do it constantly, but he'd noticed a long time ago that he tended to smoke a lot more when he was stressed out. At least now that he was back at home he could smoke to relief the stress; at the hospital he hadn't even had that.

Mello was shooting Near a skeptical look for pursuing the question when he obviously already knew the answer, but shrugged a little and waved him over. Turning, he slid down the back of the couch and landed with a slight bounce on the cushion nearest to the arm.

He patted the seat beside him, "Come here, Near, sit with us for a bit."

It must have hurt to limp around like that, but Near didn't seem keen on the idea of staying in bed, so the redhead decided not to mention it as the smaller boy slowly made his way around to the front of the couch. Maybe he needed to get back to his normal routine as much as Matt did... Or maybe he's just trying to pretend nothing happened. That's not good...but when Mell or me asks him if anything's wrong, he says he'll be fine. Maybe L can get him to open up...

Climbing onto the seat beside Mello, Near sat normally rather than hugging one knee to his chest as was his usual habit. It probably hurt his hip too much to bend like that right now... Even sitting this way, Matt noticed, his white socks didn't reach the floor.

The younger boy started to twirl a lock of his hair again absently, not looking at either of his friends, and as far as his expression was concerned he looked just like he had always looked before any of this had happened.

He looked okay. Okay...except that Matt caught a glimpse of red marks and bruises on his wrist when raising his hand made the sleeve fall to the side. Okay, except that he still looked tired and pale.

He looked okay, except for the fact that he wasn't okay.


"We weren't gonna ask you anything," Matt answered the question at last, heavily. He sounded upset, as hard as he was trying to hide it, and Near had a feeling that it had to do with him. Please don't make that kind of face at me—I am all right, why are you acting like I will get upset if you say the wrong word to me? Ironically, it seemed more like he had to be careful what he said for fear of upsetting Matt at the moment...

"Yeah, I was just saying you'd rather give L a testimonial about what happened than explain it to some strange police officer in a strange police station," Mello explained, finally playing along and explaining even though he and Near both knew that Near had already known the answer. As obvious as it is, I still don't feel like admitting to eavesdropping, though...thank you for humoring me, Mello.

He hadn't thought of it until now, but of course he had to describe what had happened—he was the sole witness for most of the crimes that Mikami had committed, and with Mikami himself in a questionable state of sanity, he was probably the only person capable of explaining it, too. And to be given the option to explain it to L instead of the police... L must have pulled rank on the police who handled this case to be allowed to do that. Of course they will let his "Ryuzaki" persona do whatever he wants, with the name L backing him up. It was kind of L to do this for me...

"Correct," he murmured, still twirling the same lock of hair he'd been fiddling with since he'd sat down. He wasn't sure what to add; it felt odd to be sitting here at home with Mello and Matt like this. It was an ordinary enough thing to sit with other people, but to be sitting peacefully with Mello in particular...that felt strange. At the hospital Mello had said that they were friends, but he'd half-expected the blonde to stop being so nice as soon as they were back home and trying to get back to their normal routine. Resuming his rivalry with Near would be going back to normal for Mello, wouldn't it?

Another long moment passed; Near was beginning to wonder if it would have been kinder to stay in the bedroom, as his presence seemed to bother Mello and Matt into silence. They were only worried about him, and he knew it, but even that was tiring in and of itself. I am sick of people being worried about me. He wasn't used to spending so much time talking to other people, having people sit with and watch and worry over him.

It was kind of overwhelming.

"Matt...and Mello," the white-haired boy ventured, glancing at the two quickly in turn. Mello was staring at his chocolate bar, frowning distantly. Matt was watching Near, and smiled a tiny bit when their eyes met, sending his chair into another spin to break the gaze. He smiled... Near blinked, a bit taken aback. It was a quick, subtle expression, but most definitely intentional. Maybe he was trying to prove that he wasn't as worried as he seemed.

"Yeah?" Mello answered for both of them, glancing at him. His frown had softened, but still lingered.

"Where is L?" Near looked down at his toes again, quieting as he added, "He isn't worried about me, too, is he?"

A crunching sound to his right told him that Mello was back to chomping his chocolate.

"He's in the computer room," Matt answered, apparently pretending he hadn't heard the second question. Near kind of expected that, though—it had been rhetorical, as it seemed that everyone was concerned for him at the moment. I wish that they would consider this over. We are back at home...it is over, isn't it? Well, after he explained things to L it would be over, anyway.

Calmly, he stood.

"Then I will go talk to him so that it's finished," he said, forcing a little smile even though he didn't feel particularly cheerful at the moment. Mello and Matt seemed to be watching him intently for any hint of trauma, so he figured that seeing him smile might help ease their minds a little.

If it did, they both hid it well.

Sighing a little, the white-haired boy slowly made his way across the room and toward the computer room door. His hips were throbbing worse from moving around and placing weight on them again. The left hurt worse than the right, but both were definitely hurting now. He stubbornly ignored the throbs—it was minor pain, relatively speaking. They are only bruises...I can imagine that Matt's injury is a lot more painful than this, and he is handling it without any outward sign of pain. I can do it, too.

He turned the doorknob, peering inside to the welcome sight of L's messy black hair stroked by the white glow of the monitor in front of him. The lights in the room were out, not a big surprise really, and the monitor cast shadows across everything.

This was the first he'd seen of L since he'd gotten back; he was glad that the great detective wasn't hovering over him or acting much different than usual. At least somebody understood that getting back to living normally was the best thing to do.


"L." The single syllable was soft, solemn. It said everything that needed to be said for L to know why Near was here. He's finally awake...it's been almost twelve hours.

"Please come in, Near," the great detective said, not turning away from his monitor or the bowl of marshmallows that sat on the desk in front of it. He plucked one of the soft white candies from the stack, squishing it idly between a finger and thumb as he listened to Near's faint footsteps getting closer and closer. The white-haired boy seated himself on the chair beside L's a moment later, looking at the marshmallow he held a bit dubiously. L observed that he sat with both legs hanging down rather than hugging a knee to his chest as he usually did.

"Hello," the boy said nonchalantly. It wasn't a greeting, 'hi, how are you?' kind of hello; more like an expectant one. Of course he knows why he's here. L glanced at him solemnly, figuring he ought to explain anyway for the sake of clarity. Near looked much more awake than he had been back at the hospital; his dark eyes had that sharp intelligence behind them again that exhaustion had dulled before.

"Near, I told the police that I would question you about this incident myself," L explained, knowing full-well that the white-haired boy already knew this. "I assumed that you would prefer to relate the experience to me rather than to a police officer you don't know. If you'd rather tell the police than me, it's your choice, of course..."

Near's dark gaze traveled from the marshmallow to L's own wide-eyed stare.

"I trust you more," he said simply.


Mello couldn't stand this.

This is stupid—why won't he just admit that he's not okay?! Nobody goes through all of that crap and then comes home and goes back to normal without looking back! He glanced at Matt, who was glumly putting his cigarette out in the ashtray on the desk, and gritted his teeth. Maybe he'll tell L something he's not telling us. Maybe he's already telling him... He hoped so.

The blonde stood abruptly, turning toward the door to L's room. It would only take a minute or two to see if Near's account to L was the same one he'd given them...

"What are you doing?" Matt asked half-heartedly, watching but not following as the blonde started across the room. He'd been pretty depressed since they'd returned home...Mello knew that part of it was thinking of what could have happened to Near during this ordeal. I guess talking about it for hours hasn't really helped him think about something else...but if Near's lying, we've got to figure it out and make him talk about what really happened. I won't let anybody hurt my friends, even themselves... Frowning, the blonde teen snapped a chunk off of the chocolate bar in his left hand and nodded toward the door.

"I'm going to see if he says anything to L that he didn't tell us," he said grimly, stalking over beside the door and pressing an ear to it. As soft murmurs drifted to his ears, a head of red hair leaned right in front of his. Matt pressed his ear to the door as well, an intent look on his face and trouble shining in his eyes. I knew you were wondering, too, Mello thought, smiling faintly. It was just like old times, he and Matt up to something they weren't supposed to be doing. If L knew why we were eavesdropping, though, this time he'd be okay with it. I'm sure he would.


"Mello and Matt have already told me the parts of the incident that they witnessed, so I would like you to elaborate mostly on the parts that only you saw." L watched Near intently for any visible reaction, but the white-haired boy only nodded calmly at the request. He looked composed enough...

"All right...what would you like to hear about first?" He asked quietly, not looking up from the desk.

"Just after Matt's shooting," L murmured, stacking another marshmallow onto the growing tower of candy on the desk in front of him. "Matt told me that he saw Mikami leave carrying you, but only you could tell us about anything after that." Near frowned slightly at mention of the nurse's name, he observed. Hmm. It could be nothing—Mikami can't be a name he's fond of at any rate...but still, it did get a reaction out of him.

While Near slept, Mello had come to him and admitted his concerns that Mikami had abused Near in ways that no one was admitting yet. That was part of why L was watching the white-haired boy's reactions so intently now...but he wasn't sure that Mello's theory was right yet. He needed to see how Near handled talking about this first, and what story he had to fill up the time he was alone with Mikami.

"Mr. Mikami," Near said after a long moment, "Picked me up from the bed and carried me away. I was too shocked by what he had just done to Matt...to even put up a fight." His voice got softer with each word, and in a very subtle way, he sounded ashamed of himself for not struggling. I doubt struggling would have helped...although screaming would have helped to call attention to them.

"After he carried you out of the hospital, what did he do next?" L prodded calmly, pressing a thumb to his bottom lip and surveying the remaining marshmallows in the bowl as if they were the most important thing in the room. Really, he just didn't want to make Near uncomfortable with his staring.

"He carried me to his car," Near said flatly, "And locked me inside the trunk."

L frowned at this. The thought of someone locking Near in a trunk was bad enough, but the thought of Mikami locking him in one while he was injured and still in shock from, as far as he knew, having witnessed Matt die in front of him...it was enough to make L feel angry. He didn't betray it in his expression, of course, but if he had met Near's eyes the white-haired boy would have known.

To hear that all of this happened in the short time that I was gone...it makes me wonder if being their guardian means that I have to be near them constantly or fail at my job. It's troubling... If what Mello suspects is true, though, this is nothing compared to what he may tell me soon. I'd best try and stay detached.

He nodded to himself, reaching for another marshmallow.


"And then?"

It took an awfully long time for him to continue, Near thought, glancing up at his idol curiously. The black-haired man was selecting another marshmallow from the bowl delicately with one finger and thumb, the other thumb pressed to his bottom lip. He looked as calm as ever...

"And then the engine started, and I felt the car begin to move," Near sighed, dismissing the pause. He was still tired; it was probably nothing at all. "It was dark inside...I felt around to try and undo the latch to the trunk, but it wouldn't come undone. I..."

He trailed off, staring down at the table as the memories of cramped quarters and darkness washed over him.

It was very dark—pitch blackness, in fact. If I was claustrophobic, I would have been terrified. Now that he was intentionally summoning them back, the memories of being locked inside of the trunk were a little scary. He was sure if he were put back into the same surroundings again he would be scared, or at the least a bit uneasy...but his memories contained no such emotions.

I was thinking about Matt and about his murderer kidnapping me, so I suppose I was too distracted to be scared...

"I wasn't really scared," he said, figuring that explaining why wasn't really important—that was what had happened, plain and simple. "I remember that my dinosaur was with me; I was holding him when Mr. Mikami picked me up, and I guess I just held on to him when I was put into the trunk, too..."

"Yes, Mello said that he found the dinosaur when he retrieved you," L said patiently. "So, Mikami drove you somewhere. What happened when you arrived?"

Near opened his mouth to reply, and then closed it again.

What had he done next?

I...don't remember, do I? He realized, stunned. He really didn't—when he tried to think back on that day, one moment he was fumbling with the latch to the trunk, the hardness of the dinosaur pressed sharply into his ribs where he was partially laying on it, and the next...nothing.

A complete blank space.

What do I remember next? He asked himself, shaken. ...The cot, in the house. I remember waking up...but nothing before that except for the car trunk! This was a disturbing realization...how could he have overlooked a gap in his own memory? I just hadn't thought about it yet, or I would've noticed earlier, he reasoned, frowning slightly.

"I don't remember what else happened in the car," he admitted uncertainly, "The next thing that I remember...is waking up in Mr. Mikami's home." L glanced up at him, and the white-haired boy met his eyes, staring back as if to prove that he wasn't lying.

Inside, he felt like panicking; if there was one thing that he had always been able to be ultimately confident in, it was his mind's ability to do whatever needed to be done. His mind was reliable, logical, reasonable—so what was this feeling of it blurring things out? It made no sense that he would hide anything from himself...

"You lost consciousness while in the car, then," L said, more a conclusion than a question. His wide eyes were so intense that Near had to look away again; he stared at the table as he'd done before.

"I don't think that I did," he confessed, "But I can't remember what happened during the time between the car and the house. There...is just a gap there." It was true—it was more like the missing memories made a big blank space than like time went directly from the car to the house. Something had happened in that time, he knew that it had...but as hard as he tried, he couldn't remember anything about it at all.

L blinked, tucking the marshmallow he was holding into his mouth instead of adding it to the stack.

"Interesting," he said thoughtfully around it. "All right, please explain the next part that you do remember." Near nodded, biting his lip. I wonder if he thinks I am lying about something. I wonder if he thinks the same thing as Mello and Matt...

Now, without being able to say with certainty that he was right, he wondered if their suspicious were really wrong...


Mello caught Matt's eyes with his own, frowning. He's skipping part of the story—how much more obvious can it get before somebody makes him talk about it?

Matt seemed to understand, for he nodded once, looking very troubled. Mello couldn't decide whether he was worried about Near as a new friend of his, or angry at him for being stubborn enough to hide things even from L. Of course, this is L, the blonde reminded himself, He'll see through this kind of lie if anybody will. All we've got to do is wait...right?

Trying his best to believe it, he stepped away from L's door and made a beeline for the front door instead. I hate waiting...the best thing is to try not to even think about it.

"Where are you going?" Matt asked, already on his way back to the computer chair. He looked as troubled by what they'd just heard as Mello felt.

"Out," Mello said shortly, snagging his boots from the shoe shelf and shoving his feet into them one after the other. I've got to get out of here...this place is smothering me.

The house had such a heavy atmosphere since Near and Matt had finally come home from the hospital that it was unbearable. Ignoring Matt's irritated look at his answer that really didn't explain anything, the blonde boy retreated to the garage and opened the door, wheeling his motorcycle outside. He wasn't sure where he planned to go, but he knew one thing—he couldn't stay there.

A few minutes later, even with the roar of the engine and the whoosh of the wind in his hair drowning out the world around him, Mello found that he couldn't keep his mind off of what he'd just heard. There were only a few possible explanations...none of which he liked.

Near didn't hurt his head; why would he have memory loss? No, it makes a lot more sense that he's just lying. The only problem is, I know Near's way of working well enough to know that he'd never make up such a conspicuous lie! Who the hell would believe him if he said he had a memory gap? It's way more Near-like to make up a fake scenario to fill in the time space...so why?

In short, Near couldn't really have memory loss, but he couldn't be lying in any Near-like sense...so what was going on? Maybe the pressure of everything had finally gotten to him and he wasn't thinking when he told L the story about memory gaps?

Dammit, why am I even thinking about this?! L's a genius—if anybody could make this situation work out, it'd be him! Distraction, I need a distraction... Maybe a destination was what he needed. He was out of the house anyway... Chocolate. I haven't been to the store in awhile, so what the hell.

Revving the engine, he took the turn to go to the store, planning on taking his sweet time while he was there. It's not like there's anything at home that I'm in a rush to get back to.

--End Chapter 26


AN: Sorry for the weird ending. =/ Mello, ever the scene-hog, kept adding more and more info to the chapter, but I finally distracted him with the prospect of chocolate. LOL; hope you enjoyed this latest chapter of "In Charge", and be advised that the next will be a lot faster in coming than this one was. I'm writing around a full-time college schedule with heavy homework of my worst possible subject (math), though, so please be patient with me. ^^;

Trivia: This chapter's title refers to the missing section of Near's memories—missing pages in the story of the incident, so to speak.

-Threshie


In Charge Akugi! Volume 26

Akugi #102

The passing mention of Mikami's name made him tense, like a sudden bad taste in his mouth.

Near: (Wrinkles nose) "Black licorice..."

Mikami: T_T "I'm not apple-flavored?" (Wonders if Kira likes black licorice...hopes he does...)

Akugi #103

Near: "He carried me to his car, and locked me inside the trunk."

L: (Frowns, reaching for marshmallow) "And then?"

Near: "I got to the wiring in his taillights, which are accessible through the trunk, and disabled both brake lights. He was pulled over for not using his blinkers, and that's how the policeman found me in the trunk." (Smirk)

Akugi #104

Mello: Distraction, I need a distraction... (Sees something shiny off to side of road) Ooh, shinyyyyYYY!!! (Crashes into side of a semi since he was, a-hem, DISTRACTED)

Akugi #105

Narrator: Revving the engine, he took the turn to go to the store, planning on taking his sweet time while he was there. Take his SWEET time, buying CHOCOLATE. Get it, get it? Hahahaha...sweet! Chocolate!

Mello: (Twitch) "...If you're THAT bored, make yourself useful and narrate me some REAL chocolate."