Hi everyone, welcome back! Exciting times!
IMPORTANT MU WORLD CHANGE: Earlier in the story, it was established that when people enter Houses in Mu BY THEMSELVES, then they start seeing ghosts around the house. The ghosts increase, appearing more and more, but do not disrupt or do anything bad. We're going to change that: from now on, we will say that if a person in Mu enters a house ALONE, then they will see ghosts...and if they stay in the house for longer, the longer they stay, the more hostlie the ghosts become...until finally. the Ghosts start chasing / harming the person. We will keep the idea that if two people enter together, as Raito and L did in an earlier chapter, then most probably the house will shift into some kind of replay of a Trial - at least this is what our protagonists believe.
I will have to go back and make edits to previous chapters to reflect this change...but for now, I will push forward because I REALLY want to get to continue the narrative ASAP.
Happy reading!
KA-BOOM!
"Shit!" Raito spat out, shielding his eyes and turning his face away from the explosion. A few feet away, L mirrored his actions.
The comet storm in front of them showed absolutely no signs of abating, with the boulder-sized rocks continually pelting the ground and pulverizing everything in their wake - be it trees, benches or any piece of decrepit Mu infrastructure- including humans - in sight.
BOOM!
Hiding behind the wooden scaffold had kept them safe so far, but it sure as hell wouldn't last forever. Raito could already see tiny burning embers flying near his eyes and smell the characteristic smoky stench of scorched hair - unclear whose, at this point…and Raito would not be waiting around to find out.
"We gotta move!…" he shouted, over the deafening blasts..
"I think it's building something!" L shouted back, and Raito only barely registered the content of the words.
"What?"
"The rocks! They're forming some structure!"
Had he had half a mind to check what L was talking about, he'd notice that the boulders had actually started falling directly on top of each other at the bombardment site, as though joining to form a wall of sorts.
As it was, he was slightly preoccupied with their survival.
BOOM!
"L, MOVE!" Raito shouted again, unceremoniously pushing the other toward the far end of the scaffold tunnel. L finally took the hint and started crouching, with Raito directly in his tracks and thinking furtively: If we stick close to the walls, maybe we can shimmy all the way around to the other side of the street and then-
"Keep right!" Raito called, though L probably knew it already. Sure enough, the detective turned right straight upon exiting the tunnel. Raito followed suit, rounding the corner and immediately standing up with his back glued to the wall. He peeked gingerly around the corner to the left–
BOOM!
– and promptly drew back in again. Nope, definitely not stopping. He whipped his head around, searching for any exit route that wasn't already teeming with people or being smashed to smithereens.
"The Houses are already full, damnit… " he muttered to himself under his breath, auburn eyes narrow and jumping frantically from place to place. If the Houses around them were a no-go, then where could they hide? They'd have to go out to the outskirts and find a Hut - far away from the High Street. But how to get there, when-
"It's definitely making a building." Raito was momentarily shaken from his febrile tacticizing, as L's voice echoed from below. The detective was crouched down, curled in his signature slavic squat, with his huge eyes peeking from around Raito's legs - like a cat hiding behind a corner - to watch the 'battlefield' where the comet blitz was afoot. L had a point: the boulders had now coalesced to a wall the height of a small fortress, and they only seemed to be building up higher…. but at the moment, Raito was unable to appreciate this oddity beyond a vague acknowledgement. This stuff was all very 'fascinating' but, at some point recently - probably when he'd seen B choking the daylights out of L the other day - he'd given up on trying too much to decipher the workings of the 'Muniverse', as liked to call it. Instead, he'd been focusing more on just frigging dealing with it. Somebody around here had to, if they were to make it through this place - at least relatively - unscathed.
And indeed, speaking of making it through, Raito had detected the entrance to a dark, narrow alley…but it was all the way across a wide, open space from where they were standing.
An open space where fragments of wood and concrete were flying everywhere…
…not to mention human body parts …
…but Raito very decidedly did not think about anything apart from escape right now. Running across that open space and to the safe zone seemed like their best bet.
"Urgh!" a groan came from below, as L retreated back deeper behind the corner, dodging a projectile. Raito shot him a glance to make sure he was ok, the idiot.
"I think we have to make a run for it." he said, just as L finally stood up to full height next to him and stuck his own back to the wall. "Don't see any other way" the young man finished, nodding his head toward the small alley opening about 200 meters away. L turned to follow his gaze: The alley was definitely full to the brim with people…but judging by the record speed the crowd was moving deeper and deeper inside the narrow street, they should be able to fit in and flee to safety too, from there.
L turned back to Light and nodded curtly in acknowledgement, for once swift to acquiesce.
"All right, " Raito started, with gritted teeth "On three. Ready?"
"One." They focused their eyes on the small entrance to the alley, while at the same time trying to stay aware of everything that was happening in their peripheral vision. The goal was to time their run optimally between the falling fireballs, so they could avoid the worst of the flying debris, which was coming almost incessantly from the mayhem nearby.
"...Two…" both their bodies tensed up, L's hunched posture suddenly looking more like a coiled-up cheetah waiting to pounce, rather than the usual disingenuous crippled-old-man persona.
"THREE!" Raito shouted, and they broke out sprinting as fast as they could. On his right flank Raito could both see and sense L matching his speed, and up front he could see the dark crevice of the alleyway coming closer and closer by the second. There were a couple of decimated structures in the way - a collapsed cart here, a wrecked bench there- and a couple of elisions playing out in their own nightmare quantum dimension, but Raito always dodged to the left and it seemed L had caught on always to dodge to the right - so they avoided the obstacles and now, they were closing in…so close…just a little..
Almost there…!
"Woah!"Raito suddenly yelped, feeling the ground betray him as he slipped backwards, falling down unceremoniously and hitting first his back and then his head on the ground. Shit! In all the speed, he hadn't noticed a stray piece of canvas lying on the ground–
"Raito-kun!" the voice came from the right, and Raito was too dazed to shout back what he wanted, which was 'I'm fine, keep going!'. He heard the sound of L's footsteps approaching and he shook his head, trying to snap out of it and get back up fast. These were precious few seconds being wasted! 'No you idiot, go go go!' he thought, but just then his biggest fear came true: the horrible thunderclap of another comet making impact on their left. He shook off his dizziness and finally raised his head, but it was only just in time to see L's face above him change from an expression of worry to one of excruciating pain.
"AHH!" The black-haired man screamed as a tennis-ball-sized piece of debris hit his thigh, with the speed and commitment of cannon fire. Raito's eyes widened impossibly in panic, unable to stop himself from shouting at the same time; "RYUUZAKI!" - apparently name-related old habits would die very hard.
But the incorrectness of the name 'Ryuuzaki' was the last of Raito's worries at the moment. Just as L fell to his knees in front of him, his leg very definitely deformed and broken at the femur, a volley of smaller projectiles came - much smaller and sharper - to finish the job. One of them hit L on the side of the head, and Raito watched in horror - true, unadulterated horror - as L's eyes immediately rolled back and his thin body fell to the ground like a …a broken mannequin.
"FUCK!" Raito couldn't stop the expletive from bursting out, as he grabbed a nearby placard to fend off the shrapnel that was still flying at them. He shielded L's…corpse?...as well as he could and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping and praying it would soon stop. Then, glancing at L's seemingly lifeless blood-soaked body, he made a rapid executive decision: Save what's left now, think later - Raito would not sit and ponder the complications of dying in Mu at this point.
When the commotion died down a bit, and it looked like there was another reprieve from the meteor fall, he threw away his flimsy shield and lunged forward, grabbing L's limp body as fast as he could. He put one arm under L's back, the other under his knees and, in Herculean effort, lifted him off the ground bridal-style. This was made all the more difficult by the fact that L showed absolutely zero signs of life, his whole body limp and dragging down. His black hair was thrown back completely, for once revealing the entire forehead…which was completely covered in blood. Raito obstinately did not allow himself to focus on this, repeating to himself constantly like a mantra: 'It's Ok, this is Mu, we're already dead, he'll come around, just get out of here, It's Ok, this is Mu, we're already dead, he'll be ok…"
This was the only way he was able to literally shut down his brain and keep going, jogging the thirty-odd meters left to the entrance of the alleyway. It was tougher than it seemed; L was not a light man, packing high muscle density in that slim body of his, and Raito was dizzy from his own fall…but he just about made it - finally, finally - reaching and passing through the threshold, narrowly missing a huge chunk of flying debris that may have otherwise smashed into him.
The moment he landed safe, he let out a huge breath of relief - 'phew, that was close....' - and ran a few extra meters deeper into the narrow street, putting himself well and truly out of ballistic range. Gingerly, he laid L on the ground and then spent a few seconds kneeling over the other man's body, just catching his breath.
Of course, in true Mu style, the crowds that had gathered to watch his and L's sprint to safety - and to sate their sick curiosity - slowly started dispersing. Yup, that's how it was in Mu - people were so used to seeing others suffer, they just let it go on without lifting a finger; no help, no care… a bit like a Roman Colosseum. And now that the spectacle was over and there was no more chance of witnessing something extremely 'impressive' - like perhaps a gruesome decapitation or an amputation of the worst sort - they all started leaving, avoiding both Raito and L as though they were carriers of some deadly plague.
This place is disgusting. Raito thought in utter repugnance, as he fought to catch his breath. People are disgusting. And so without expecting help from anyone, he slowly pulled Ryuuzaki - yes, he was too tired not to call him that in his head - as close as he could to the side of the street, propping the man's upper body against the dark alley wall. The detective's head bobbed forward lifelessly, droplets of blood dripping down from the tufts of wet black
hair, irreversibly staining the white shirt below.
"Oi…Ryuuzaki…" Raito started, very slightly shaking L's shoulders - but to no avail. The man looked, for all intents and purposes, completely unconscious….if not worse. Raito put a finger under L's chin and lifted the head up, revealing the bloodstains on the entire right half of the alabaster face - a river starting from under the black hairbed.
Damn… Raito gritted his teeth, gingerly moving the black hair to see if the projectile was still lodged somewhere. Of course, the moment his fingers made contact with that particular hair texture, combined with the smell and sight of blood on it, he was accosted by some of the worst memories of his Trial - and the nausea directly connected to it. Pushing it down as best as he could, he told himself to persevere: even in Mu, physical recovery would probably be hindered if a foreign body was allowed to stay inside a wound. So he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, trying to ignore what he was touching and focusing solely on whether he could feel anything sharp….
…and sure enough, he could.
Alright, here we go…. He pursed his lips as he carefully pinched the metallic shard between his fingers and pulled it away, doing his best to ignore the squelching sound that ensued. He tried to think of anything, anything except what he was doing - be it the thunderclaps far away, the footsteps of the receding people or his own hoarse breathing.
Finally, he opened his eyes and looked down. There it was, in his hand: a flat piece of scrap metal, bathed in a pool of L's blood - could be anything, from a piece of tuna can or computer screen to a piece of car door - who the hell knew, in Mu?
Raito tossed it to the side, registering with mild satisfaction the metallic clang it made upon hitting the ground.
Good riddance. Then he looked at L again, only to notice that there was now even more blood cascading down his face, pooling up in his collarbone, and seeping through the white shirt, all the way down to the waist, changing its color almost completely. Lovely. Just lovely.
Well, that would probably take a minute to heal, all right. Best tie it up and stave off the blood flow as soon as possible. Raito grabbed his own dirty blue shirt and started tearing at the sleeve in order to create a tourniquet. As he fought with the rough fabric, he surveyed the rest of L's mauled body, remembering something had hit his leg pretty badly as well. Sure enough, his trousers at the right thigh sported a really big tear, with dry blood caked all around it. A short investigation of the skin underneath, however, did not yield any other lingering intrusive objects - whatever it was that had hit L was gone. Unfortunately, however whatever it was had obviously been quite large - enough to break bone. Raito did not want to think about the completely distorted shape of the other man's thigh bone, realizing that he did not have the first idea what to do about it. No hospitals in Mu… he thought bitterly.
In the meantime, the fabric of his own shirt was definitely not being co-operative, refusing to tear up even a bit. So Raito grabbed one of L's sleeves instead - probably the only parts of that shirt that were still white. Thankfully that fabric was much flimsier, so he had torn it to long strips in no time. Soon he was able to fashion a type of gauze out of it, which he used to wrap around L's head like a bandana. With a sense of the macabre, he watched the white fabric turn fully red immediately as he set it in place, and he swallowed dryly. It's Ok, this is Mu, we're already dead, he'll come around…he repeated again, refusing to admit to himself that it sounded suspiciously like a prayer, even in his head.
Soon he had done the same for the leg wound, cutting up the other sleeve of L's shirt and using it as a gauze. This fabric was genuinely very weak, though, it wouldn't do for long - especially to keep broken bone in place. If only he'd been able to tear up his own shirt, for god's sake! He definitely needed to get himself a knife in this place, he decided. Any small knife - a pocket knife would do.
But now that the wounds were dressed at a basic level and the crowd in the alley had finally narrowed down to a semblance of normalcy, he was faced by another, more pressing quandary:
How the hell am I gonna carry him all the way to a Hut now? Raito wondered, immediately discounting the surrounding houses as viable options for haven, both because they were most likely already occupied by panicked members of the throng, and also because, in any case, when visited by two people at the same time, houses seemed to fill up with the kind of nightmare material Raito was not sure L would actually want to wake up to.
Guess I'm just gonna have to stay here until he recovers… he thought, watching L's face again for signs of life. It was thankful that the passerby couldn't comment on the situation, otherwise someone may have pointed out to Raito that he looked disturbingly similar to a dog watching its master, at that time - wagging its tail morosely as it waited for him to awaken.
The auburn haired man sighed, massaging his own head, which had enjoyed less-than-favorable treatment throughout the whole ordeal, truth be told. He was tired, shivery, hurting pretty much everywhere…
Just as he had started vaguely succeeded in calming himself down, however, a new thought suddenly hit him like a brick.
Oh no! B! What about B?
In all the kerfuffle, Raito had totally forgotten about that guy. Was he still stalking them? Was he around now?
Raito stayed kneeling in front of L and looked around hoarsely, not even bothering to disguise his thoughts or employ any kind of subtlety at this point.
Shit! I need to at least find a better hiding spot! He couldn't detect anything or anyone in the shadows right now, it was true… But should one - or could one - take any chances around here? That 'B' guy had been able to slip under their radar before…
All right, no other option! Raito determined. Better safe than sorry. He was not in a state to handle any sort of fist-fight at the moment, so fleeing and hiding was the best he could manage. He'd have to carry L to a safer place, somehow. He looked around and, in an exceedingly rare show of emotion, tried to catch the eyes of some passerby. A little help over here…? He gestured, motioning to L and indicating he needed someone to give him a hand.
Of course, it being Mu, ninety percent of the people did not even meet his eyes and the ten percent who did would pointedly ignored him - maybe they thought he was an elision again. Truly, being ignored was a pretty awful feeling. Raito made a mental note, if he managed to get out of this, that from now on he would help every elision he could. Even if they were just hallucinations and they had no feelings, even if they did not realize they were being ignored by thousands of people all the time - on principle, he decided, from now on I will always, always help them. At least they could acknowledge when they were being helped - this he knew for sure.
Around then, thankfully, and just when he was starting to give up on ever finding some help, a middle-aged man with a gangly beard - the kind of 'tramp' that Raito would never have associated with back when he was alive - stopped and observed his eager pleading motions. Without words, the man came to the wall and grabbed L from beneath the armpits. Raito thanked his lucky stars and quickly turned around, kneeling and motioning for the stranger to deposit L's body on his back. He stood up, holding the detective in piggy back position - a stance much more conducive to trekking while loaded with heavy weights - and nodded a heartfelt 'thanks' to the good Samaritan. The stranger gave a small grin, and Raito was a bit struck at how touched the small kindness made him feel at that moment.
Well, at least not everyone is horrible…
But no time to waste - he had to get moving right away if he was to put as much distance as possible between them and B. The kind stranger had already started walking away, his back becoming smaller and smaller in the distance - Raito couldn't dream of keeping up with his speed. He followed slowly, walking as quickly as he could, deeper into the narrow street and towards the outskirts. He was using his hands to keep L's thighs bent at his sides, and could feel L's lifeless head drag down over his right shoulder.
This is Mu. We're already dead. He'll come around. Let's just find shelter. He'll come around. He always comes around.
As he proceeded deeper and deeper into the long silent pathway, the sound of the falling meteors became more and more muffled. Now there was very little noise. The footfalls of other people also faded out, since there were not so many of them around, or most of them were sitting huddled against the alley buildings.. Sometimes there was the sound of a running dog or the yowl of a cat. Otherwise, silence again. Deadly silence.
Come around dammit!
It must have taken only about thirty minutes or so for exhaustion to set in. Although there was no coat, no bucket and no blankets to weigh him down, L''s body was more than enough to do a brutal number on his back. There was only so much heavy-loaded hiking one could handle, before his heart was about to burst and his knees about to give out beneath him. If L had at least been awake, he'd doubtlessly help keep Raito's adrenaline high with some insufferably pedantic comments and verbal sparring… but as it was, L was about as useful as a sack of potatoes - literally - and mental stagnation combined with physical fatigue to generate a perfect cocktail of utter debilitation.
Ok, next water source, I stop. Raito thought, feeling a sense of desperation gnawing at his insides. There was no way he could make it like this all the way out to the Huts. It was dark, getting cold, and he was still in urbanized territory, although the house structures were not as dense or high as in the High Street. If he didn't find shelter soon, he'd be caught walking in the dark - and that was definitely not optimal. This area of Mu did not feature electric lights as far as he could tell, and night-time was dead-time for all intents and purposes - except maybe in the High Street, which was always illuminated with some otherworldly light… tonight, apparently, light from fireballs.
Well, at least it isn't raining. His brain mirthlessly commented, and he silently shook his head at the uncreative attempt at self-merriment. If he were honest with himself though, he really was quite glad that it wasn't raining like it had the last few nights - he could definitely imagine how much worse it could have been if he'd had to deal with wetness and mud, along with everything else right then.
It wasn't long before he noticed a small dirt pathway that ran perpendicular to the long winding alley he was walking in. It was the last pathway next to the urban area - beyond it there was only the chaos of fields and desert, leading out to the Huts. He narrowed his eyes to see better in the darkness and could make out a few human shapes sitting and walking along the small alley - not abandoned, then. Good. Abandoned would have been a bad sign - perhaps evidence of criminal or rabid elements in operation. Since people and animals were around, that meant there must be a water source nearby - maybe even a source for what passed as food around here. This narrow byroad ran along the back side of some house structures, and it was in this kind of area that he'd been finding water lately, in the form of spigots coming from pipes, apparently originating in the buildings.
Is this consistent with plumbing in Victorian England? he vaguely mused, considering that most of the house structures in this 'district' of Mu had been of the 19th century British persuasion. But once again, now was not the time to start pondering or questioning the workings of Mu, including sudden meteor storms, haphazard geography or suspicious hydraulics. This place is just a mishmash of nightmares and memories, he thought, as he took the turn into the byroad without further ado. No sense trying to find logical consistency in anything about it. He groaned a bit as he felt L slipping slightly to the right, throwing off their delicately preserved balance. Damn…At this rate, he wouldn't make it more than a few dozen more meters.
Ok, this is it. He thought with some relief upon recognizing a quiet spot some small distance ahead. It was the back wall of a short house-shaped building, and it was currently unoccupied. He walked up to it slowly, trying not to let his exhaustion completely color his judgment; at this point, in his tired eyes, the Ninth Circle of Hell might possibly look like an oasis.
Don't even joke about that. He thought wryly, having recently passed through quite a few of those Circles and not wanting to revisit any of it - but indeed he had to admit that, upon inspection, the place did look safe and sound: the wall of the building insulated it on one side, there was a wooden awning-type thing to serve as shelter from above and, although opposite the wall there was only a wire fence and a seemingly endless open field, Raito could barely see beyond the tall wild weeds that were overgrowing everywhere. The street itself - more like a dirt garden path, really - was so narrow that it would be exceedingly difficult for any intruder to approach unnoticed. And at least there are some people around…not that this was any guarantee that they would help him in case of crisis, but at least it could serve as a tiny bit of a deterrent.
Was it absolutely perfectly safe? No. But it'd have to do. There was no way Raito could make it all the way out to the Huts at this point, with L in potato-sack condition on his back. Was B still prowling? Had they lost him? At this point, Raito was willing to take his chances; even if B was somehow still around and managed to ambush them, Raito would still have better chances of defending them if he took a proper rest and replenished his strength a bit.
He stopped next to the wall, propping himself against it and using it to very slowly and carefully unmount L from his back. He turned around and snatched the other man before he collapsed in a heap, instead guiding the body to slide down the wall as delicately as possible, until it was sitting limply at the base of the building. He inspected the wounds as best he could in the darkness, doing his utmost to ignore L's completely vacant expression, which had not changed even a smidgeon since the moment he'd first been struck. Resolving to keep himself from checking if the other man was breathing or not - he didn't feel like getting the answer and he wasn't sure it mattered anyway - Raito went about tearing a new strip of fabric from L's shirt and re-dressing the head wound - trying to occupy himself with some dark humor the whole time.
Oh but just imagine if B tried to attack here. Heh… What would he do? Crawl through the sewers, like a rat? That fits his profile. Or maybe dig a tunnel under the fields? Or, or– ha, imagine him trying to cut his way through the shrubs with a scythe - he'd sooner chop himself up than the weeds, his legs look like cattails anyway!
It was with petty mean-spirited thoughts like these that he amused himself as he went through all the motions. Changing the dressing of L's wounds, scavenging the nearby junk heap for anything resembling a water container, going to the nearest spigot - thankfully only a few meters away - and filling his little tin can with water, coming back and trickling a bit of it over L's face in an attempt to wash some blood away.
Finally, as he started to settle in the safety of the surroundings, unperturbed by the other miserable denizens of the alleyway, he felt the weariness finally start to set in his body. As the adrenaline died down, he started feeling the coldness of the temperature again. He had no coat on him and there were no stray fabrics or blankets left around - he had checked the junk heap for those too - but at this point he had absolutely no energy left to search further. Cold or not, he would just lie down and, hopefully, pass out.
He plopped himself against the wall next to L's unmoving, unconscious - dead? - body and very slowly went about taking off his shoes and socks, letting out audible sighs of relief as he felt the constriction release, at least in that small way. He laid his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, hearing the sound of the spigot being used by someone else nearby. Oh how good it would feel if he could wash the gunk off his face, or at least drink some water to sate his thirst right now…He opened his eyes and sent a longing look at the remainder of the liquid in the small tin can. Could he risk it and try to use the water for himself…..?
Nah…not worth it. He firmly decided and closed his eyes again, realizing that no matter how thirsty he was, it was still preferable from experiencing woman-faced cockroaches crawl all over him with horrible screeching voices - enough crazy stuff today, seriously. Not to mention that suddenly hallucinating and acting stark raving mad in the middle of the silent street - a type of behavior that would surely draw a lot of attention from people who could hear his voice…. which B apparently could - was not exactly the best way to keep a low profile.
Thinking of B and wishing to avoid troubling thoughts, he diverted his mind to the previous mocking train of thought, finding it somehow comforting to return to. What if he comes from the roof, like 'Batman'...More like Ratman. These silly musings were the closest thing he had to amusement at the moment, so he simply indulged in them without paying much attention. Besides, if he didn't, then his mind would inevitably slip to reality, where he could see and sense L's body on his left, sitting there, motionless and cold. Raito brought his left hand to clasp L's right palm. Yup, still cold. It was all cold….the night was dark and freezing… what if L never woke up? What then? Raito had a moment-long flash of an image of himself, sitting there with long hair and a long beard, with L's rotting skeleton right next to him, staying there for all eternity…
Shut up. Come on. This is Mu. We're already dead. He thought. He'll come around, just wait. And then, once again very deliberately, he turned his mind back to the previous, much more pleasant, track of humoring the 'Blustering B''s possible escapades. What if he jumps over the whole building with a giant pogo stick? He pondered, recognizing the exhaustion had finally reached his mind and welcoming its telltale irrationality with open arms. He looked up with half-closed eyes to see the top of the three-story building he was currently leaning against. Not that tall, but not that short either. Mm…won't need a pogo stick. Won't be hard to scale. Maybe he'll just crawl on the walls. Can totally see him as a spider...an overgrown fuzzy black spider, with a crazy grin and red eyes…
He hadn't really landed on the funniest of thoughts, but he was way too exhausted to even be disturbed by it. The mental image of red eyes was the last thing he registered, the picture in his mind morphing for a few seconds into the face of a pretty blonde girl, smiling at him with loving reverence…
That silly girl… sweet and innocent…
…so innocent…
Then the fatigue finally overtook him, knocking him completely and blissfully unconscious.
He hadn't realized, as he let his tired head fall on L's right shoulder, that he had fallen asleep still holding the other man's hand.
KI-KI-RIKI-KIIIIIII!
"Ugh…" Raito grumbled, knocked unceremoniously out of his unsettled sleep and momentarily disoriented by his surroundings.
KI-KI-RI-K-
I swear if I ever find that rooster… he thought with true vitriol, not conscious enough to find his bearings yet, but definitely conscious enough to register his hatred for this offensive, this apprehensive, this absolute foulest of fowls.
He shook his head and blinked quickly, bringing his hand up to rub his misty eyes.
Urgh…where the hell am I? But it only took a few seconds for it to all come crashing back to him: the awful fruit, B stalking them, the meteor blitz, running for their lives and then-
He turned immediately to his left, and sure enough, the sinking feeling in his heart was proven right: L was right there, exactly as he'd left him last night - sitting lifelessly with his hands limp at his sides, the face still with the same empty expression, the eyes unmoving under the closed lids. Only now, in the light of dawn, the contrast was even starker from how Raito had gotten used to seeing him lately - animated and expressive, with the big eyes always open and looking at hi-…
He'll come around. Come on, Raito…Get over it. Get up now. He'll come around.
But no matter how much his brain tried to assuage him, in the light of day these thoughts only sounded like empty promises; baseless palliatives. Now that he could see clearly, the bloodstains on what remained of L's white shirt seemed even more expansive and more pronounced than they did last night, the now-red gauges on his wounds contrasting starkly with his white skin to create a disturbingly artistic patchwork of gore.
Is that it then? Is he dead?
Just like that?
Raito clenched his jaw, squinting his eyes and bringing his face close to L's, to see if he could make out at least any kind of change. He put a finger under L's nose to see if he could sense anything…but no. No breathing. He touched the cheek on the far side of L's face, softly pulling the head towards him. But it was no use; it didn't hold itself up, falling back against the wall. Unmoving.
Dead.
I don't understand….we always healed before…How does this work? He refused to acknowledge the weird lump in his throat. He refused to acknowledge the weird sting in his sinuses, which reached up all the way behind his eyes. And he refused to acknowledge the juvenile frustration in his own mental voice, as it screeched loudly in his head: Does he re-sprout back into some Hut or something? Is this a damn video game? , he thought with a mixture of ire and exasperation.
Oh how fed up he was with these little stupid laws and oddities that governed this realm! What was the point of being able to get injured and 'die' in the afterlife, anyway? What was the point of any of this? Why couldn't they just die and be in 'Nothing' as Ryuuku had promised? 'Nothing' seemed like a whole lot of 'something' to him right now! Why all this pain and suffering? Why? Why was 'nothing' not truly 'nothing'...but instead it was just filled to the brim with meteors and murderers and wounds and bloo-
Wait! Hold on… It suddenly struck him. Until now, every single one of the many times they had beaten each other up with Ryuuzaki - L. L. Name was L. - despite the wounds they had always inflicted on each other, and the pain they had always felt due to those wounds… the injuries would always, always, always, without fail…. eventually just heal. Sometimes it took many minutes, sometimes hours - depending on the severity of the wound…sometimes it could even take days. Raito remembered a particularly unpleasant instance when L had actually smashed his nose with a Gazelle punch, and he'd had to endure almost a full twelve hours of horrid suffering until it automatically 'healed.'
So if that's how it works, maybe…
He moved frantically, crouching around to face L's body, kneeling over it and starting to un-do the tourniquet on L's leg as fast as he could. That was the more obvious wound, where he could see more clearly…
Maybe, maybe…there's a chance…if it's just very very slow…
He was caught in such trepidation that he wasn't even aware of the feverishness of his own movements. With trembling hands, and a heart thumping painfully in his chest, he finally unwrapped the leg wound. He threw away the fabric - completely red and seeped through with blood at this point - and gingerly slipped his hand through the tear of the trousers, feeling around - not knowing exactly what to hope for, except for a sign that something - anything - had changed.
He was so ridiculously anxious that, when his trembling hand was met only with the soft smoothness of skin, he didn't immediately register what he was actually feeling, or that it was a good sign. Then, like a sequence of tidal waves hitting an unsuspecting swimmer, relief suddenly cascaded over him with unrestrained abandon:
Skin. Smooth skin. No jagged edges. No bones jutting out. No blood.
He's healing.
The relief, in fact, was so strong that it caused him to fall back from his kneeling position, couching himself directly on the ground and letting out a huge exhalation that he didn't know he'd been withholding. He felt his lungs literally depressurize, his adrenaline crashing down so hard that he actually started feeling sleepy again within a few seconds.
But are we sure there was a wound to begin with? Maybe the stone broke his leg bone without touching the skin- His overanalytic brain nagged neurotically, but he shook his head to block it all out.
Don't be stupid, bone was coming out, for crying out loud. There was definitely a wound. He opened his eyes, not realizing he'd even closed them to begin with, and stared at L's quiet, motionless face.
He's healing.
Raito just sat there, taking deep, long breaths.
I'm tired. He thought simply, out of nowhere. Without any further thought, he simply crouched back to L's side, setting himself against the wall again in a semblance of comfort.
The damned rooster had stopped.
He didn't remember about B. He didn't care about the cold.
He just leaned back for 'just a moment', feeling his own heart beat steadily, feeling his breath coming in and out. In and out.
He was back asleep in seconds.
No, mom…cmon, what are you doing? Cmon, you know I don't take milk…
. . .
Mom, seriously, what the…? Not on my hand! The cup is right there!
…Why is she — are you blind, already?
What is her—…? Wait.
Mom?
This time when he opened his eyes, the disorientation didn't take as long. He looked at his right hand, only to see a small dog, a fluffy little white Schnauzer, lapping at his fingers.
Ah… Well, that explained the wetness.
Then, as he slowly came back to his waking senses, he registered the scene a bit better. About a meter away behind the dog, funnily enough, were two little kids - boys - staring at him with the kind of overt inquisitiveness that only children can express so openly.
Hey kid…stop staring… Raito thought a bit self-consciously, forgetting in his grogginess that he and Ryuuzaki - L, damnit - must make quite the gory tableau, lying there covered from top to bottom in dirt and blood, as though they'd just survived a nuclear holocaust.
But then, as one of the kids pointed at the ground near his foot, it all made sense: he looked down and saw a mangled frisbee lying there, obnoxiously unmissable in its neon lime green color.
Ah…kids will be kids, eh?
Without a word - not that they'd hear him anyway - he picked up the frisbee and lightly threw it to the boy closest. The little Schnauzer - of course - immediately went mad, chasing after the object with the customary ludicrous fervor. Raito shook his head a bit to shake off the ridiculousness of it all, almost believing he was still dreaming, as he watched the boy catch the deformed toy with a smile and immediately run off with his friend - fluffy white Schnauzer eagerly in tow.
Raito blinked emptily for a few moments, temporarily dazed and amazed at this innocuous instance of absolute humdrum. It was so strange to have such a simple occurrence of normalcy in a place like this; kids smiling, cute little dogs running…. and all this immediately after he'd been dreaming about his own mother…. For a few moments, he literally was confused about where he actually was.
Weird. He thought with mild amusement, and shook his head lightly again, running a hand through his hair to massage his scalp. Super weird.
He wouldn't admit it to himself of course but, somehow, this simple little moment of unadulterated joy he had witnessed…combined with the recent memory of L's healing wounds…and then topped off as well by the fact that the 'sun of Mu', foggy as it was, had finally deigned to show its face to its pathetic inhabitants for a bit….had lifted his mood, just a tad.
All right, let's see how we're doing here… he thought, reluctantly bringing his awareness once again to the bleak realities he was dealing with. He didn't realize how, in his own thoughts, he had started using pronouns as though he was actually talking to L out loud. Of course he wouldn't realize, or even admit, that he - the Great God Kira of the New World - was also subject to such basic human coping mechanisms. But still, for some reason, he very much felt a lot better when he used the plural 'we' in his head.
He turned to L, taking stock of the other man's visage. No big changes to be sure, definitely still unconscious…although…was that a little bit of healthy color returning to his cheeks? Hard to say….
Raito brought his hand to gingerly touch the red gauze around L's head, carefully slipping his finger underneath to see how the head wound was doing. Although it was not a pretty sight or a pleasurable investigation to conduct, this time his movements were slow and unhurried. Now he was calm and collected…now that he knew for sure that - sooner or later - L would wake up.
And - yup - sure enough, under the fabric, the hair and the skin on L's head was intact. Normal. Nothing like what it had felt like yester- ugh. better not think about that. Raito wondered if there would ever come a time when he could look at L's hair and not think about the worst moments he had ever experienced in his…well, afterlife.
Hnn, but it's not always bad, it looks good in the light…especially when it shines blue, it's really nice… he mused absently, not even bothering to filter his thoughts now that relaxation had spread a bit deeper into his system. Just as he was looking at the hair in fact, and regretting the sad reality that it was currently too clumped-up to reveal its nice blue shine, he noticed…was that a small rise and fall in the detective's chest? He lost no time, putting two fingers under L's nose and, sure enough, there it was – a very, very, very faint exhalation.
But it was there.
" Ufff…." Raito turned forward again,leaning back against the wall and breathing in deeply.
What a nice breeze there was today in Mu, wasn't there? The air almost feels fresh, even. He arched his back off the wall and let his arms stretch up gloriously toward the sky, hearing the joints give off some very satisfying cracks. Wow - that was a long, long night he'd just gone through. He brought his hands down to his head and ran them through his hair again, breathing deeply and massaging his head, letting it droop forward and sliding his hands all the way to the back of his neck.
Ahh…. good to be…un-alive today.
Finally he let his arms come down loosely and looked up and around. There really was a nice breeze, wasn't there? He turned to check right and left down the narrow alley. It was pretty quiet - a few people here and there, scavenging the junk heaps or using the water spigot…but otherwise peaceful.
Water…good idea! he thought, but his enthusiasm was stopped dead in its tracks. Oh. Wait. He couldn't really use the water without another person, could he? He glanced over at L quickly. Hm. Yeah, no chance of that right now… Seemed like he'd have to wait a while yet.
Well, I can at least find a bucket and fill it. Hell, maybe I can even find a coat! he thought with unusual optimism, not willing to recognize that both of those items were extremely valuable and hard to come by in this world.
Nevertheless, this was the good cheer and the sprightly attitude that finally brought him to his feet this morning. As he stood up and walked off the last of sleep's dizziness, he kept noticing unusual things with unusual frequency, such as how nicely warming the 'sunlight' was, how funny the stray cats as they fought over a silly piece of plastic - especially that ginger one, that's a proper acrobat - how nicely calming the foliage was in the field as it blew in the wind - even though it looked rather withered and dry. It's not that these things weren't always around, it's just that usually he didn't bother to notice them…but today he did, for some reason.
And soon, L would finally come around again and they could move on, maybe check out what on earth had happened to that place after that Meteor Storm… Now calmer, Raito did vaguely remember and acknowledge that the asteroid-like rocks had seemed to be forming some cohesive structure. And also, what was up with the weather in this place? Was it officially now Winter in Mu? Did it go by topography? …Was there any topography here?
It was with these kinds of deep and insightful musings that Raito spent the majority of his …afternoon?...walking around the alleyway and observing the surroundings like a tourist, for perhaps the first time since he had arrived here. Not even on his first day had he enjoyed this kind of careless exploration, since that had been fraught with fear and confusion about what was happening. But now…now he could observe the cats and dumb pigeons as much as he wanted, knowing that there was a High Street nearby and a Hut he could always hide in… oh, and also, the small fact that L should wake up soon. That too.
After some exploration, he had indeed found a water container, although only a small metallic pot - nothing as luxurious as a plastic bucket, heaven forfend. He filled it up at the spigot and brought it to sit next to L, waiting for his inevitable awakening…
Anytime now…
Then Raito went around some more, searching the heaps of 'stuff' around the pathway and finding some broken bottles, some broken bicycles, some broken playground swings… some broken abacuses - of all things! - but sadly, nothing useful. Definitely no warm clothing or fabrics of any possible use - apart from what looked like torn-up canvases from street advertisements. Most probably everything had been taken by other people before he'd even had a chance
He must have spent a couple of hours going up and down the alley like this; scavenging stuff, kicking rocks at the odd pigeon, observing the piping that led to the water spigots and still failing to understand how they worked - always keeping the unconscious L in his line of sight, in case he suddenly woke - before he felt he had totally exhausted the possibilities of this place.
In the meantime, the day seemed to have already reached its peak, and the weather was starting to grow chilly again. He threw another glance back at L. He didn't want to leave the other man out of his sight, for multiple reasons: first, the confusion that might ensue if the other randomly woke up, second, the possibility that if L woke up and left….well then, that wouldn't be great, Raito would definitely not be able to drink water in that case….and Raito was really really thirsty by now. And third - and perhaps most importantly - the nagging worry of B's whereabouts was still plaguing Raito from last night. He hadn't seen that…creature…after the Meteor Storm broke out, but he wouldn't be surprised if it had somehow found its way and managed to follow them again. He wasn't so much afraid of an ambush at this point, since he felt his strength was replenished enough to hold his ground in a fight…but he was wary of leaving L alone while unconscious. What if that thing was lurking around, waiting for the chance to find the detective alone? Raito didn't want to take that chance…
…but at the same time, he didn't have anything to do now, did he? He wasn't sleepy anymore… He could use the spare time, maybe, to try entering one of the houses, see if he could find some clothes or other supplies…. but no, he couldn't leave L like this.
C'mon, L…. He thought with some impatience, coming back to what he had deemed as 'home base' to check on the 'situation', as he euphemistically deemed it in his head. Sure enough, L was right there, just as Raito had left him…still unmoving.
Anytime now…c'mon…
He kneeled down to see from up close if there were any changes. The head gauge had become looser, too heavily steeped in blood to serve its purpose anymore. Raito carefully unwrapped it - since it was no longer of use - and watched L's face for signs of life, in case the movement would cause him to wake up a bit, maybe…?
But no, no change. The eyes were still shut, the expression blank.
But he's definitely breathing better…Raito noticed the smooth rise and fall of the other's chest. It was certainly more noticeable than before. He narrowed his eyes a bit, thinking of the possibilities. Honestly, at this point, L looked like he'd just been very heavily knocked out in a fight or something - Raito should know, he'd seen it happen live…been the cause of it at multiple points, in fact ...Although at those times, he'd been much happier to observe the results than at present ..
Maybe if I gave him some water…? Might speed it up?
He picked up the pot of water from where he'd placed it nearby, and slowly, very warily, let some trickle on L's face.
Aha! There! A muscle in the cheek definitely spasmed!
Ok, we're on the right track! Raito thought, encouraged, and tried being a bit faster with it, letting more water pour over the other man's face…
…but no further response.
Dammit…you bastard! if only you knew how lucky you are… Raito thought begrudgingly, feeling his own dry mouth cry at him with the awful taste of thirst, which had only increased exponentially since last night. It was taking a very big portion of his willpower, in fact, and a whole lot of mental repetition, to remind himself that 'No, I shouldn't try to drink it. Bad idea. Bad idea. Cockroaches with woman heads. Do not drink. Do NOT drink.'
With that thought plaguing him again, he gave up the water offensive on L's face. This wasn't helping anymore, clearly. He put the pot back down and stood up, putting one hand on his hips and looking down, rubbing his chin with the other hand. Now what?
I doubt there's any medicine that could help, let alone something I could find in one of the Houses. He mused, letting his foot tap the ground in restlessness. Suddenly, just as he was lost in thought, a loud noise echoed from the far end of the alley. In a split second he'd whirled around, tensed up in fight position and ready for the worst - the worst at the moment being visions of a giant spider-shaped B, for some strange reason… but no, thankfully, it was just another cat, jumping over something and knocking it down.
Feline grace my ass… Raito thought resentfully, his former appreciation for cat acrobatics apparently very quick to evaporate. Truth be told though, he knew his annoyance was aimed more at himself, for his childish jitteriness, than at the poor hapless creatures.
But hold on a second…hmm… Now that he was looking at the far distance, he remembered he'd seen a tree there. Food! Maybe food could help L get better? It wasn't of great taste, truth be told, but it was better than nothing, right? And although Raito sincerely doubted there were any actual micronutrients extant in these disgusting pulps they all used for sustenance here, he thought it might be worth a try. He, himself, was hungry, for one thing. Now that the opportunity presented itself… he might as well.
Besides, he thought to himself, as he briskly walked down the alley to the tree, at least it's something to do. And whether he admitted it to himself or not, that was probably the biggest reason why he decided to go for it. Whether or not it would actually help Ryuuzaki- L, dammit! God, this is getting old! - was actually impossible to know. The rules of the living world didn't seem to apply here; or rather, sometimes they did and sometimes they didn't. It seems that people in Mu could get hurt, even die, like they did on Earth…but then they healed and lived again. They could get thirsty or hungry or cold and suffer those sensations, for sure…but in reality, Raito knew, they could all persevere and withstand everything here: the thirst, the hunger, the hail…none of it was a real threat. they could feel these things and suffer for them, but there was no real biology to support the urges - they could all actually do without. anything. They were all already dead, for crying out loud.
It's all cosmetic here, isn't it… he thought with renewed resentment for the place, as he promptly wrenched off a metal rod from a broken chair nearby and tested his grip on it as he approached the unsuspecting tree stump. Stairs that lead to nowhere, benches stuck on building walls, doors that open into chaos…all a god-damn labyrinthine shithole, designed to hurt and confuse you at every turn.
It was quite handy that he was currently having this revival of spite towards his environment, actually, since he was able to take it out immediately on the tree. With practiced expertise, and a fury that had been simmering in his veins for quite a few days now, he landed a good five or six savage blows on the stump, wielding the metal chair leg with genuine glee for the opportunity at hands-on brutality. And sure enough, that's all it took - both for his anger to vent out and for the tree to yield its 'treasures.' By the end of it all - like hitting the jackpot - several pieces of fruit came falling.
Ahh….now that felt good to a guy, Raito thought with wry self-amusement. Channeling anger in productive ways…a true win-win! Most of the fruit had simply smashed to the ground and turned into mush, of course. But there was at least one good one left…'good', of course, being relative in this context.
He picked it up and, in his current animalistic mood, immediately brought it to his lips for a ferocious bite - more as a feral show of power than any will to actually eat it. Crushing it between his teeth was satisfying - and if those were maggots he could feel in it, so much the better. Case in point, no sooner had he taken the bite than he spit it out on the ground, walking slowly back to L's resting place. Somehow, that action made him feel even better, as though he was taking revenge on it for looking so good - yet tasting so bad.
And just for good measure, he also threw the metal rod to a garbage heap on the side, hearing it land with a satisfying clunk. Well, at least if there is one good thing about this place, he contemplated as he took another harsh bite, intentionally ignoring the disgusting sensation of chewing what could be, very possibly, a worm, it's the fact that everything is always disposable. Nothing here had inherent value, except at the time and for the purpose it was used.
No use amassing wealth in Mu, he thought with a twisted sense of poetic justice, all the riches in the world won't save you when the Meteors hit, or when someone kills you and robs you of everything you have, only so that you can wake up again and start from scratch the next day. Although to be certain, knowing humans as he did, he was sure there had been at least one 'brave cavalier' in the history of Mu who had attempted, with resounding lack of success, to become Lord of the Junk.
Well good luck with that. He could almost hear the sneer in his own head, just as it materialized on his face. I'm done being the Judge of Moral Character. I paid my dues. Now let the Muniverse sort them out.
Just as he was concluding his philosophical musings, he was also coming to L's spot. The black haired man showed absolutely no new signs of life, but Raito was not disturbed, having expected as much.
In fact, now that he'd actually expended himself physically - and also emotionally, to be fair - he felt overall rather calmer and more grounded than before. What was the big rush, anyway? Everything was fine. L would wake up eventually, one way or another…and they'd get back to their trek in good time. It's not like he had a set appointment with Misa after all, was it? In fact, if he was being honest with himself, the percentage of possibility that he would actually ever run into her amongst trillions of people was….well, unimpressive.
But oh well. Seems like, at the moment, after having taken it out on the unsuspecting tree, he couldn't be too bothered. Even if B suddenly popped out from somewhere, be it the roof, the open fields, or even the friggin spigot… at the moment Raito felt pretty balanced and capable of dealing with it, whatever it may be - a balanced mental condition that he was not very accustomed to, lately.
Maybe I should beat up trees some more. He thought rather sardonically. Makes me feel all manly.
But once again, all in good time. First thing's first, he focused his mind as he looked down at the unresponsive man on the ground in front of him. Must sort out this situation.
He took a look at the fruit in his hand - as always, it looked juicy and innocent enough. But of course, he knew very well its true nature upon meeting one's mouth, hence his serious misgivings about its possible efficacy as a remedy. But once again, oh well, there was little Raito could do about that. Worth a try at least. Something to do.
He kneeled in front of L and promptly furrowed his brow, belatedly realizing that he actually had no good way of feeding this thing to an unmoving actor. Should he crush it into a pulp? Would that work?
God damn, I really need to get that pocket knife. He thought to himself with a sigh, as he went about digging some of the fruit innards with his fingers. There was only half of it left anyway, after Raito's valiant attempts at crushing it with his teeth until now.
It was fortuitous that, although the thing tasted completely disgusting upon biting, at least it looked pretty 'natural' - if not picture-perfect, in fact - so at least he was spared from seeing any of the mold or still-moving maggots that he sometimes believed he was chewing.
Don't need too much, Raito dug out a small chunk of flesh from the inside of the pear. He probably won't react to it anyway, let alone chew it, he reasoned, glancing rather distrustfully at L's completely motionless face. Nevertheless, he crushed the flesh of the fruit between his fingers for good measure, making sure it was as close as possible to complete mush.
Ok….Here goes…. he proclaimed in his head, seeing the whole situation as more of a funny experiment than anything else. Nothing would probably happen anyway, but he might as well make an event out of it - why not?
That's probably the main reason why, when the events that actually followed occurred, he was completely stunned - caught halfway between freezing up totally and jumping out of his skin.
First, he placed the mushed-up fruit on his finger on L's lips and kept it there. For a second, nothing happened. Then, in the next few moments, he actually felt the lips part - so far so good. Juicy mush was going in.
And then, in the count of five seconds, all hell literally broke loose: L's formerly lifeless eyes suddenly shot open, as though someone had literally put them in a plug. Raito's jaw dropped in shock, both from what he was seeing and from what he was feeling, as L's lips - until now barely moving and completely pliant - suddenly started sucking mercilessly at his finger, like a tiny vacuum trying to absorb every last bit of pulp it could find.
What the– ? Raito didn't even have time to think, as L's whole body literally came back to life in one fell swoop, the detective's hand coming up to keep Raito's fingers in place at his mouth - as though he was desperate not to have the fruit taken away from him. The black eyes were open and staring straight into Light's, but whether or not they could actually recognize him, he wasn't sure. L was definitely acting pretty feral right now, so it wouldn't be surprising if he wasn't thinking straight either. In fact, Raito thought with sudden alarm, it would not even surprise him if Mu had had some kind of Mephistophelian ace up its sleeve in store for him - some kind of underhanded trick where L would back to life but…not have his memories. Or be a wild beast.. that kind of thing.
But then, as the seconds passed, and Raito made no sudden moves to remove his hand or otherwise change his position, the intense mania in L's eyes seemed to abate as well. Gradually, the tension in L's body seemed to wind down, the shoulders relaxed, the bulging eyes came back to their normal size and , most of all, the rabid vice-like grip on Raito's hand - from both his lips and from his hands - started to loosen.
Cautiously, still without making any rapid movements, Raito pulled back his hand, and L let it slip away, not without a momentary expression of confusion. The blank eyes looked down at his own hands, which had just been grabbing Raito's like all life depended on it, and blinked with total incomprehension. Then he looked back up at Raito again, a mix of confusion and amazement in his face. Raito felt very much as though the other man's face was expressing his own thoughts at the moment. What the heck had just happened?
…But does it matter right now? Who cares?! He's awake!
"..." L's jaw was still lax, and Raito could not help a small smirk from forming on his face. Well well well, so the Great Detective can be rendered speechless after all.
"Morning, sunshine." Raito said in a sing-song mocking voice, as he bathed in the invisible question marks on L's face "...did you enjoy your beauty sleep?"
"..." L kept blinking, looking up and down between Raito and his hands. Poor guy, Raito couldn't help but think, watching the utter befuddlement and vague exasperation that persisted on the other's face, as though he was silently pleading for some guidance.
"Didn't know you liked this crap so much." Raito commented to lighten the mood, looking skeptically at the remaining fruit in his hand, as though he couldn't believe that it could ever, under any circumstances, taste good "Let me tell you, you're definitely alone in that."
L didn't answer, just looked at the fruit at Raito's hand with a lost look for a few moments, trying to comprehend what Raito was referring to, as though he didn't remember what had just happened. He probably doesn't, Raito mused, watching the other man slowly bring a hand up to the side of his head - where the caked blood had now become a brown color - and pat his hair a bit aimlessly. Lets just hope he remembers anything at all...including how to use language. Raito added in his head, really trying not to imagine other bad-case scenarios.
He waited patiently as L slowly caught his bearings, moving his hand from his recently-recovered head to his recently-mauled leg, looking down at the huge bloody tear on the trousers. He bent his knees and sat up a bit, the energy apparently starting to come back to his limbs. He raised his arms and looked at them, obviously confused by the fact that the sleeves were missing.
Finally, the normally-black hair - which Raito was trying to avoid looking at, mixed as they were with the dirt and blood combo that would inevitably trigger his nauseating memories - bobbed up: L was looking consciously at him. Awake. Aware.
"...how long have I been out?" the raspiness of the voice was quite… something. L coughed a little to clear his throat, flexing his fingers and his wrists, shaking his head a bit and blinking his eyes, very intentionally and repeatedly.
"Long enough to make me hate carrying you."
L glanced at Raito with a slight hint of annoyance, and that's the moment Raito knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the detective was absolutely, one-hundred percent, ok. Well thank fuck for that. he thought, indulging some wry commentary in his head as he waited; That would suck pretty bad, if I ended up having to retell our whole life story that I don't want to remember. He watched as L dropped his hands loosely in his lap and just sat there, looking at them for a few moments.
"...not that long, then. " the snide response finally came, and, once more, Raito couldn't help the small snort that came out of his mouth. Definitely ok, he thought, for once very much aware of the distinct feeling of …joy…in his chest. Although, of course, it was because he would finally get to drink water and have a shower with a second person's help…nothing as pedestrian as Yay he's ok!, or Yay for the banter!…that cutesy stuff was for Hollywood fans only, and Raito was a pragmatist.
Finally becoming aware of their surroundings, L looked right and left down the street.
"…where are we, actually?" the questions Raito had been waiting for inevitably started coming. He continued smirking at the other's total disorientation. Here we go…
"wasn't there some…asteroid shower?"
Raito pocketed what little remained of the disgusting fruit - never know if L will want more later - and got ready to stand up. L followed the offensive piece of food with his eyes, watching it a bit pensively as it disappeared into the folds of Raito's trousers, but seemed to forget about it almost immediately. Instead, he scratched his dirty cheek, causing speckles of dry blood to peel away and looking at them with mild curiosity."...what happened?" and then, noticing his arms again, with "...also, to my sleeves?"
Raito shook his head at the other's pathetic state, a bit like he had always done to Sayu when she'd managed to scorch the simplest of omelets in the kitchen. "Why don't we get to the showers first? I'll tell you on the way." he said, and finally started getting himself off the ground. "As entertaining as it is to watch you fumble on the dirt like a chimpanzee toddler," he quipped, not bothering to hide the sneer in this voice "the smell is getting rather offensive."
He bent over and made a big deal out of patting away the dirt off his own trousers, hiding his cheeky smirk into his chest, as he saw L glare at him openly from the corner of his eye.
"...Good thinking, Raito-kun. ..Thankfully you know all about 'attacks' on the senses."
Raito kept hiding his smirk in his chest.
Yay for the banter!
By the time they had finished washing, with the help of the nearby water spigot and the small pot Raito had found, the Mu sun was already on its way to setting. Showering had not been as thorough as Raito would have liked, since they were both - especially L - covered in dirt and blood from top to bottom, and there was only so much the little pot could do. But if they wanted to hit the High Street with at least some daylight left, they'd have to make do with sub-par showers for now and hope they found a bigger container later.
L wasn't talking or reacting with his usual alacrity, still quite dazed from the whole episode, and seemed quite happy to let Raito take the lead for now. This was a task that Raito picked up without missing a beat, bossing L around with gusto as they went about their shower routine. "Lean forward", "sit up", "take off your shirt", were all commanded curtly and efficiently, and Raito would be lying if he claimed he didn't enjoy the chance to tell his lifelong nemesis exactly what to do. The pleasure of it was a bit hollow, however, since L was currently more of a walking zombie than the usual strategic mastermind - and would probably have taken orders from a blind garden gnome if it had sounded commanding enough. So Raito went about the process relatively quickly, thinking instead about the practicalities of their situation and how he could solve them.
Now that L was awake, it was a big help. Raito could let him actively hide away from prying glances - especially red-eyed ones - while he himself went about a scavenger hunt for new clothes and supplies. As they were walking to the end of the narrow pathway, which had served as their hideout for last night, it was time to make a choice: left for the High Street or right for the Huts.
It still wasn't night-time though; there was still something to be done with the day. They turned left by tacit agreement, entering the larger street - the one that Raito had initially fled to last night during the Meteor Storm - which was busier both in people and in architecture. There were buildings on both sides of the road, Victorian-type communal houses, and Raito was amazed at how different and detailed they looked in the daylight. To be fair, they were probably also discernible at night, but yesterday he'd been so distracted and exhausted he never would have noticed.
As they neared the High Street and passed by a few people, Raito noticed how all of them shot glances at L's blood-covered clothes. Slowing down his pace, he walked to the side of the street where he could see a dark alcove - L following in his stride without comment. As they neared the building wall, Raito pulled L closer by the upper arm - noticing, somewhere in the back of his mind, the softness of the skin over the other man's solid tricep muscle. He quickly let the odd observation slide, however, as L looked at him with mildly questioning eyes. Raito waited for an old woman to pass by them before speaking up:
"Maybe it's better if you wait here." He said, keeping his voice low. " I'll go find some clothes and come back. Then we can keep going."
Woozy or not, L's suspicious nature would not be so easy to curb. "Why?"
"...your current fashion..." Raito looked pointedly at the bloodied shirt and the shredded trousers "...is pretty eye-catching."
Raito was close enough to recognize the micro-expression of surprise that crossed the other's features, followed almost immediately by realization, and then what Raito could only interpret as embarrassment - probably at having missed something so blatantly obvious. L bit the inside of his lip slightly as he glanced down at his own clothes, and Raito found himself momentarily fixated at the way the supple flesh dented inward. Seems like those lips can suck real hard. He blinked quickly at his own thoughts. What the hell am I– he jerked his head up rather violently, forcing himself to look higher up on L's face.
L immediately mirrored his movement, onyx eyes shooting up, wide and chasmic as ever.
"B…?" he uttered, in sudden realization.
It took a moment, but Raito was glad for the ready distraction to his - clearly exhaustion-addled - thoughts. He smirked in plain mockery "Oh you remembered, did you?" Once again, no one would be blamed for claiming he was rather enjoying L's temporary befuddlement. "Was wondering when you'd ask."
It was either that Raito had overestimated L's 'poker face' when they were alive, or he had simply become so used to it by now that it appeared, in his eyes, easy enough to read so as to be deemed borderline expressive. At this moment, the slight narrowing of the eyes notified him immediately of L's irritation.
"It's fine, don't worry. " Raito said, in a tone that he meant to sound mocking, but instead came out suspiciously soothing, as though he was talking to a small child that had just scraped their knee. "We lost him during the Storm, I think. Haven't seen him since."
L narrowed his eyes a bit more and glanced aside, scanning the environs as much as possible - suspicion, inspection - Raito automatically interpreted. Really, this was almost too easy…
Eventually, L lowered his husky voice even more as he turned back to Raito - computation - "Of course that doesn't mean he's not around…" he said, and Raito did not miss the implication that his own reconnaissance skills might leave something to be desired. Nevertheless, he chose to ignore the barb, since L continued, driven by what seemed to be anxiety rather than derision. "I wouldn't underestimate Beyond…" L glanced to the side again "He has a way of getting around unnoticed."
"Insects usually do." Raito shot back the ostentatious sneer without losing a beat, perhaps allowing a glimpse of his former "Punisher God" self to peek through - something he usually kept in check, but at the moment couldn't be bothered enough to filter. L looked at him quickly and with a rather…strange expression, obviously noticing the shift in tone as well, but Raito couldn't bring himself to be too sorry for letting his true thoughts show - B clearly was awful, and had been the source of constant worry for days on end by now. He deserved a bit of Raito's arrogant dismissal…
Raito dropped the arrogant stance soon enough though - he didn't want L to keep looking at him quite like that for much longer…as though he was back to analyzing him again. "Anyway, you're right." he started, bringing the conversation to the here and now and taking away from…the past. "Better play it safe…. So let me go get you some new clothes first - at least to stay low profile."
L stood thinking for a few moments - evaluating if I'm trying to deceive him or not, Raito thought, with no small amount of bitterness. Here I am saving his life, dragging him around when I could have just dumped him in the dust, trying to help him out…and he thinks I'm out to get him with new clothes, of all things.
But Raito bit his tongue - best not start up the same old fight again. At least not right now; not when they were in full public view and liable to draw attention. He patiently watched as L carefully inspected the people around them. Finally, apparently having reached a new conclusion in his calculations, he turned back to Raito: "All right." he simply said, nodding a bit, and Raito was rather surprised at the slightly…warm… feeling that he seemed to experience upon seeing the other's agreement. It felt rather… good…to have the…acquiescence? Agreement? Power? Yes, that was probably what was happening - he liked having control and power over L. It validated his ego, and probably always would - no matter how the rest of his principles changed. Makes sense.
"But-" L started, and Raito almost snorted, figuring it wouldn't have been so easy to convince the other. Instead of the big conditional statement he was expecting, however, L came up with something simpler…and more laced with worry: "Where will you go?"
A group of people passed by them at that time, talking to each other but completely mute to Raito and L. Raito turned away from the street a bit more, forcing L to stand a bit closer to the wall. Truth be told, most other people couldn't hear what they were saying anyway, so maybe there wasn't strictly such a need to stand quite so close or whisper to each other… but Raito, again, would rather be safe than sorry, he thought. B might be nearby and, if he was, he could hear them - or even lip-read. That's why he pushed L a bit further back against the wall, and bent his head close to the other man's, enough so as to feel the warm, soft air from L's exhalation on his cheek.
"The Houses. Where else?" he almost whispered, looking at L's eyes, which widened imperceptibly with realization. They both knew what 'Houses' meant…and the fact that it wasn't a pleasant experience, not by a long shot.
L stayed silent, keeping their eyes connected - he seemed rather frozen, in fact. Raito looked away, for some reason feeling a bit remorseful.
"It's fine." he continued, even though L hadn't said anything "I'll be quick."
"...I'm the one who needs the clothes… I can go." L said, and Raito shook his head in the negative immediately.
"No. You can't go anywhere looking like this. Plus, you're still not one-hundred percent." he said with finality, looking at a spot a few inches beside L's face. Finally, he focused his mind and made eye contact again "Look – just stick around here and lay low, ok? See if you can find us a bucket, maybe." he gave the last bit of directions, and didn't stick around long enough to hear further objections: He pushed himself away from the wall and took a couple steps away, watching L's rather neutral expression.
"Good?" his voice rang loud and clear, a stark contrast to the furtive mutters they'd exchanged until now.
He kept his eyes on L, long enough to get the confirmation nod that he wanted. When he did, he gave a short nod in return and slowly turned away, heading to the High Street. All right, here goes., he psyched himself up. Entering a House was never a happy task - he better focus...
As he walked further and further from where he had left L standing he tried his best to center his attention on the mission at hand: watching the buildings, assessing which might be the easier and smallest to take on… and the one where he might find clothes most readily. But still, the further he walked, somehow…the more uncomfortable he felt. Will he be ok on his own? is he strong enough?
Finally, unable to help himself, he slowed down a bit and shot a brief glance over his shoulder…There it was, L's figure in the far distance - still standing close to the wall where he'd left him, bloodstained, silent and watching him - waiting.
He'll be fine. Raito thought. And then, with copious self-disgust at his own uncertainty: Get over yourself, Raito. You'll be back in a few minutes.
Upon reaching the end of the street, however, Raito was in for a surprise. As expected, the horrible destruction that the Meteor Storm had wreaked last night was still evident all around - pieces of broken benches, chairs, tables, door frames and the like - were lacing every side of the small 'town square' .
Also expected were the scores of injured people around, most of them propped on building walls, some of them lying down and cradling injured limbs in pain. Some of them, he noticed, had their limbs blown off completely and were missing an arm or a leg. What happens in Mu when your hand is blown off? He wondered, but he was currently in no mood to stick around and watch these people until he could learn the answer. Anyway, I have a job to do, he reminded himself, and scanned around for what would be a small enough, manageable enough building to treasure-hunt in. Hopefully some of these had already emptied since last night, and he'd be allowed to enter.
It was then, when checking around for an appropriate House, that his eyes fell on the area where the massive boulders had been piling on top of each other last night. To his - perhaps unmerited - surprise, there was now an extremely tall, shockingly monolithic, building there. The material that constituted it was definitely not concrete - maybe something closer to marble? Or…graphite? Or perhaps - and most likely - some completely new alloy that Raito couldn't even recognize. The futuristic design of the entire thing was completely out of place in this Victorian architecture area. For one thing, the structure was tall enough to cast a shadow over the entire High Street next to it, along with all the other shorter buildings around.
It wasn't its monumental height - much taller even than the notorious Headquarters' Building of his worst nightmares - that gave him pause, however. It was the fact that it seemed to cover every single inch of the passage between himself and what had, until recently, been the continuation of the High Street. It looked like a massive, black wall that blocked his path, and he couldn't really see a way to cross to the other side of the street…unless going through this thing.
There must be a way around it - it can't go on forever in all directions...That would make no sense. His mind supplied some helpful rationality, but quickly edited itself before he even had a chance to evaluate: Ha. As if this place ever makes sense.
He would have to save this potential problem for later, however. Right now he had bigger fish to fry; every moment he spent away from L was a liability, as that psycho might indeed be on the prowl. And although L was a good fighter, Raito wasn't sure he could handle Beyond right now, after being shaken up so badly last night.
Let me just grab some clothes and get out of here; we'll cross this bridge when we come to it. Raito decided, and allowed his eyes to leave the new-found monster of a skyscraper. Instead, he caught sight of a shorter building nearby - one of the Victorian communal houses, with a particularly run-down exterior and a slightly shorter frame than the others.
It looked innocuous enough… but Raito knew better. Who knew what horrors awaited him inside?
In any case, it will have to do. There was no use overthinking it. He could pick any of these houses, really, and the risk would be equal. No real difference between them, as far as he could see from the outside. Except perhaps the one he was focused on was a little bit smaller than the others. That was usually a good sign - the smaller the space, the less time the Ghosts have to turn hostile.
In his and L's estimations, it took at least a good seven minutes for the Ghosts in a House to "activate" as in - to become fully aware of the 'visitor' and start being…hostile. If the space was small, he'd have the chance to run through it quickly, check if it had the clothes he needed…and hopefully get out before all the door-slamming, floor-shaking, object-flinging 'fun' could even start.
Let alone the way they start looking at you…God, I hate it. Raito thought unhappily, as he kept himself walking steadily, closing in on the House. Let's see if I can even enter. Maybe it's still occupied…
As such, it was with a mix of satisfaction and trepidation - as always in these cases - that he felt the front door of the building yield to his touch.
Ok…Open for business. He thought morosely, as it creaked open in front of him. The adrenaline started flooding his veins, increasing his acuity - both physical and mental.
Game on.
As he stepped inside, he heard the door groan on its rusted hinges. Only the usual… he told himself, trying to keep an inner commentary going to offset the inevitable fear.
It only took a few steps before the feeling crept up - that familiar chilly feeling, the one that always popped up after a few seconds…the sense of something watching. He very intentionally evened out his breathing as he walked inside the small entrance chamber, noticing the narrow staircase that led upstairs.
Should he go up immediately? Was that his quickest chance of finding the clothes? He tried to conjure up his knowledge of traditional British architecture - yes, the bedrooms are most likely upstairs, he decided.
Just then, he registered the low click of the front door closing shut behind him, plunging the to hallway to even more darkness than before. Unphased, he chose not to look back. Again, this was the usual: he knew that he could open the front door if he wanted…the House had not 'turned against him' yet.
So, without further ado, he started climbing the creaky steps.
Just go upstairs, find the clothes. and get out of here, he repeated the directive in his mind, getting some mild comfort from speaking to himself in the stifling atmosphere. Just find them, grab them and get out!
As he walked upstairs, the walls around him, with their tattered wallpaper and the filthy stains on it, seemed to become dustier and mustier with every step. The smell of…mold assaulted his senses, and again the feeling of being watched was overwhelming, as if the walls themselves were aware of his presence. As if the whole place is…breathing. He tensed, sensing the heavy, oppressive atmosphere settling over him like a damp fog.
It's waiting.
Each and every step creaked as he stepped on it, and he definitely registered odd random sounds coming from both upstairs and downstairs - the crackle of a fireplace, chairs sliding on the floor, curtains being pulled, 'footsteps' of people who did not appear… But it didn't matter— he had a mission. L needed clothes, and - ideally - he himself could use a proper 'instrument'. Something sharp…something that would serve as proper defense at the face of maniacs - living and dead. A knife.
The weight in the air grew denser, almost suffocating, as he reached the upper floor. Then he heard it, finally; the thing he'd been waiting for. A faint whisper, drifting from somewhere in the shadows on his right.
"I'll be quick… Then I'll hide… Hide quick…"
Raito paused, narrowing his eyes. Where is it? His gaze quickly darted to the far corner of the narrow hallway….and there it was; a small, thin figure —half concealed in shadow, half visible in the half-light. It was a boy, filthy and gaunt, his wide eyes shimmering with fear.
First sighting., he counted. The image flickered blue, like that of a broken projector. Raito stared at it for a moment, but then very intentionally moved his eyes away, refusing to get distracted or to engage for too long. He knew what would happen if he engaged for too long…
The boy's voice wouldn't let go however; it followed him through the darkened hall as he opened the door to the first room - a bedroom.
"Hurry up or he'll know…he'll know and he'll catch you…like he caught me."
Raito clenched his jaw, ignoring the icy shiver trailing down his spine. Second person. It knows I'm here.
This was fast - faster than he'd expected. He'd have to hurry up indeed. The more it focused on him, the worse it would get - he knew.
He sped up his movements, going deeper into the room and scanning it immediately: there was a bed and a small dresser. He started pulling the drawers out furtively.
"...I didn't mean it Gov'nor! I was only hungry!"
The boy's voice sounded again, now more like a cry than a whisper. Gov'nor. The name lingered in Raito's mind, but he shoved it aside as he rummaged around the dresser. Ghosts were always saying stuff… but, at least in the first stages, they didn't do anything overtly hostile. They didn't have to affect him unless he let them affect him. And listening to them wouldn't do much good either, it would just distract him and keep him in here longer...which is what they wanted.
"Hurry…hurry…." the voice kept saying, and Raito tried to remember to breathe….a task that was becoming increasingly difficult through this thick air. Nothing in the dresser after all; just female lingerie and some musty linen. Waste of time!
Just as he sped out of the room, though, his eyes caught a flash of light: the flicker of a large man, holding what looked like a long cane. Then, in a fraction of a moment, he was gone.
Second sighting.
Shit.
It was onto him. It knew what he was doing….And if he didn't get out fast…it would turn against him.
Thankfully, as he opened the door to the next room, he caught sight of another wardrobe tucked against the wall. He opened it - loudness or creaking be damned, it already knew he was here now - and let his fingers sift through dusty, tattered garments. C'mon, c'mon, c'mooon….. he frantically thought, until finally he pulled out a plain shirt and trousers—serviceable enough for L. But as he gripped and balled up the clothes, the oppressive feeling intensified. The voice sounded again, clearer - closer. Shaky with anxiety, right next to his ear:
"He's watching…"
Raito whipped around instinctively, half-expecting to see something next to him in the shadows, but there was nothing—only that palpable sense of someone standing right next to him, watching. He shook it off with gritted teeth and stuffed the clothes under his arm. Wasting no time, he all but ran outside the room and to the stairs, gasping and freezing for a moment as he saw another flash of the large man, walking slowly up the stairs, coming straight at him. Then, in a split second, it was gone, and he could breathe again.
Shit, shit, shit!
He quickly ran down the stairs, barely able to make out the front door of the house. The sounds of moving objects were getting louder, coming from all directions now.
"Run, run, run!" the boy's voice sounded behind him, and Raito didn't need much prompting. He made it to the door, grabbed the metal handle and turned it aggressively...
But it wouldn't let up so easily. It put up resistance— It's fighting me. He pushed harder, pushing his shoulder again the wooden pane of the door until finally, with a sudden cracking sound, it burst open.
Phew….that was close… he gasped, as he took a step towards the open High Street. His hand was still on the door handle and he took at few raspy breaths. He looked over his shoulder for a moment: the dark hallway was there…completely silent and innocent. As if nothing had just happened.
He should leave. He had the clothes.
But…
He'd still like to get something sharp…something he could cut with. Fabrics, fruit…or attackers. He really, really would like it... And he had to face facts: there was very little chance he'd find any good knives lying in the junk heaps outside. Those were valuable - just like buckets, they got picked up quickly. He had only found one once in his entire time in Mu…and, of course, it had been stolen from his pocket in no time.
Raito turned back to the darkness of the house, looking at the long narrow hallway. He'd made it out all right…did the Ghosts 'reset' now that he'd opened the door? He hadn't tried re-entering before at such short notice…
Should I go for it? Do I have time? It would be easier and faster to navigate a House he'd already entered and familiarized with, rather than find a completely new one… And he didn't want to spend more time excavating new places, when L was left standing out there in full exposure…. And really, to be honest…he just really, really, really could use a good sharp knife…
Against his better judgment, and perhaps buoyed by the fact that the noises and apparitions seemed to have gone silent, he let go of the door handle and turned to the inside of the House once again. Though he could still feel the tension seeping through the walls, he hedged his bets -There's enough time to run to the kitchen or dining room - there must be a knife somewhere close!
Clenching his jaw, he took the plunge forward through the dark corridor – once again hearing the soft click of the front door closing behind him. This time, however, it was definitely louder than before. Angrier.
Wrong, then. He'd miscalculated, apparently…it hadn't 'forgotten' him quite yet. He gritted his teeth, refusing to acknowledge his self-frustration, let alone his rising trepidation, as he entered a dusty living room with shredded wallpapers and torn up paintings.
No tables, no sideboards…
He pushed further inside yet again, clutching L's new clothes to his side, feeling his heart beat faster and faster as he was being forced to go deeper and deeper. As if it knows what I want and it's baiting me, he thought spitefully, but he still wasn't ready to let go of his quest. Past the living room, he found a small kitchen. Can't be far, now.
Just then, however…just as he'd been lulled into a false sense of security…the whisper from before returned with a vengeance, now more frantic than ever before.
"I didn't mean to steal it… I'm sorry…I'm so sorry! I was hungry, Gov'nor, I really was! "
But such was Raito's panic that he barely made out what the boy's voice was saying. What he did register was the banging and clanging coming from the living room and - seemingly - from upstairs. Not good. Not good. He kept thinking, knowing very well that when the noises started getting louder, the objects would soon follow. Nevertheless, he was in too deep to give up now. There had to be a knife here, somewhere, goddammit! Trying to ignore the rising bangs and clangs, he rummaged through all the shelves, drawers and counters he could find…but no luck. Nothing.
I can't believe it… he cursed, feeling his hope finally die. He'd come this far, far enough to get totally screwed….and had nothing to show for it too! He couldn't search here longer; he had already overstayed his welcome - he knew. And just then, as if to confirm his thoughts, it finally happened - what he'd been fearing all this time: something - something made of glass - suddenly smashed on the wall behind him.
He ducked immediately, covering his face with an arm.
Fuck.
It was too fast for him to see what it was, but he knew the nature of the thing was not important. Just the fact that the telekinesis had started, meant that…well, it usually meant that the objects would be getting larger and larger.
Slowly, gingerly, he stood up from his crouching position. Where are you? he wondered, squinting in the dark. Where are you…? Ohhh yes…there it was. He could just about make it out: just there, in the far end of the living room …a chair. A chair, motionless…floating in the middle of the room. It was suspended in mid-air, with its front side aimed straight at him. He watched it, knowing full well it was watching him back. He didn't even breathe.
A few seconds of silence.
Then it flew at him like a ballistic missile.
He dove down, expecting it. He hit the floor hard but barely registered the pain, as he both heard and saw the immense smash that occurred just over his head, at the place he'd just been standing - both the chair that had come flying and the items on the kitchen counter were absolutely destroyed.
Time's up.
Get out. NOW.
He was just about to run to the front door again - if the damn place even lets me! - when, against all odds, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted it: a small, half-open door to the side of the kitchen. Beyond it, he could see the shapes of shelves stacked one upon the other.
The pantry! he thought, a small revived burst of hope propelling him forward. There had to be some tools in the pantry!
I've come this far…! Just a little bit longer…!
Adrenaline-fueled decisions and their notoriousness be damned, he allowed his recent successes at survival to escalate into hybris. I've dodged everything so far - what else can it do? … So distracted he was by his excitement - indistinguishable by now from his potent sense of fear - that he didn't realize the noises and whispers had actually stopped completely around him - like the calm before the storm.
He stepped into the pantry, his eyes scanning the shelves quickly. And sure enough - finally! - right there, tucked away in the corner, gleaming like a diamond buried in ashes, he could make out the shining blade of a pocket knife. It looked sharp enough, and without a second thought, he reached for it.
But he should have known. The instant his fingers closed around the handle, the pantry door slammed shut, plunging him into complete, utter darkness.
Like a mouse in the trap. Perfect.
No sooner had his heart frozen in its wake than the air around him became infused with a suffocating, unbearable smell - the indistinguishable, unique stink of rotting meat. And then, beyond being infected by the awful odor, his lungs started working harder and harder to manage his breath - a change that was most definite and palpable - as though something was sucking the oxygen out of the air.
It was then that the voice, low and cold, echoed through the space—no longer the boy's whispers. Just a very clear, very simple, menacing, sing-song taunt, sounding as though someone was standing directly in front of him, in the dark:
"You're a thief."
The temperature in the room plummeted. His heart froze. He couldn't see a single thing, it was as if the thing, whatever was talking to him, was right in front of him.
"And thieves get theirs."
Raito's breath caught in his throat, and suddenly, although he could not see them, he heard and felt the walls collapsing inward, tightening towards him, pressing on him as though to suffocate him.
Oh God, he panicked, feeling the claustrophobia creep in. Oh God, no!
Then, at the corner of the room, flickering like a broken projector, flashed the figure of the small boy from before - the one whose whispers Raito had been hearing.
Third sighting.
—and that was as far as he'd ever gone before, always managing to escape the Houses before ever reaching this point...
But the boy did nothing – he was just there, trembling, the light of his ghostly apparition giving some illumination to the tiny room around them - enough to prove to Raito that his immense feeling of suffocation was not an illusion - the walls really were closing in, slowly but surely. The boy seemed unaffected though, trapped as he was in his own supernatural dimension: his eyes were wide with terror as he looked at Raito, gaunt and desperate: "The Gov'nor caught me too," he whispered, his voice barely audible, as if afraid of being heard.
Raito blinked and shook his head, fighting not to give into his rising panic. No use listening to it, it just wants to distract you! A thousand thoughts came rushing through his mind, from 'I'm gonna die.' all the way to the absurdity of 'Will I revive again?', 'Will I go to Trial again?' and beyond even that to 'How will L find me?' Blinded by fear, he spun around like a wild beast, pulling at the door - but to no avail. It wouldn't budge. Shit. The space was shrinking, the ceiling lowering, the walls tightening. Shit, shit, shit!
"You can't escape him," the boy whispered in total despondence, as though having already accepted the inevitability of his fate. His ghostly form kept huddled in the corner, eyes glued to the door, as though in expectancy of the terror to come. "He'll come for you, like he came for me."
Somewhere in the back of his mind, where he was still rational and able to listen, Raito heard the boy's words. Through his racing heart, he began to actually register what it was saying — "The Gov'nor came for me." …So this must be how this child had died. Trapped in this same pantry, punished for stealing…stealing..food? And now the house was reenacting the boy's death, he realized… this time with him in the role of the pantry thief.
Just as this realization dawned, the door - the one that Raito had been trying to wrench open all this time - opened by itself. And through the small, tiny sliver of light, he could make out, solid and imposing as a real living human, the tall figure of a man. When it finally opened fully to reveal what was standing behind, Raito flinched - a hulking shadow, looming over him, supernaturally tall - the same way a tall man would look in front of a small child.
It really is reenacting! he thought, victorious in the confirmation of his hypothesis, even throughout the debilitating fear.
The ghostly tall figure revealed a thick shadowy cane, tapping it repeatedly against his opposite palm, in the way of someone who relishes the thought of pain they are about to inflict. And sure enough, on the Gov'nor's dark face, the only thing visible was…a sneer; one that Raito knew all too well - twisted and bloodthirsty. The smile of a man who enjoyed punishing criminals.
Raito couldn't help himself, backing up until he felt the pantry wall against him. He knew that smile. He knew that mind….It would show no mercy.
Echoing his thoughts, from the corner of the small room, the boy's whispers turned into frantic pleas.
"Hide! Hide! He'll beat you… he'll beat you dead!"
But he couldn't hide. There's nowhere to run. Raito's pulse pounded in his ears, for a moment believing that the tall shadow flickered into the form of a Shinigami - hovering over him, smiling. You have been Sentenced. The Gov'nor's shadow drew imperceptibly closer, still looking down, the dark eyes fixed on him without blinking, the twisted smile in Raito's mind widening, morphing into Ryuuku's Joker face – just as the pantry walls seemed to press in on him tighter, tighter. He was being suffocated by the house itself, he knew…and if he didn't act soon, he would meet the same fate as this child.
But act how? How?
There was no way he could fight this giant and win. This was not reality, this was…this was a replay…a replay of the boy's nightmare. There was no alternative ending. He would die. He would die. This was it…. He was condemned. He knew this feeling - he'd felt it before. I'm gonna die. Desperate and gasping, feeling what little oxygen remained empty out from around him, Raito's eyes whipped right and left, looking everywhere - anywhere - except his Executioner. He didn't want to see it…He didn't want to…
And just as his eyes slammed to the right, he saw the small figure in the corner, curled up and huddled in fear. I know how you feel. He thought mutely, watching the anguish etched on the child's face.
"You stole…food…" Raito whispered in a shaking voice, his mind racing, trying to piece it together, even at this late moment "...right?…."
The boy nodded, his face twisted in guilt. "I know I shouldn't've, Gov'nor…" he said, pitiably "I know I should't've...but I was hungry… I was hungry…"
Raito struggled for air, his eyes at their last desperate moments flashing back and forth between the imposing figure in the doorway, who was now raising the cane high above them to deal the lethal strike on him, and the boy in the corner - who had buried his face in his hands now, crying, his entire frame wracked with fear and guilt.
Driven by nothing but desperation, and perhaps some strange sense of absurdity that persevered even beyond his fear of death, Raito shoved his hand into the pocket of his trousers.
If I'm gonna die now…this kid might as well eat.
And yes…against all strange odds, despite all the madness and panic, somehow - it was still there: in his pocket, the tiny piece of fruit that he had kept for L, earlier. That small disgusting, unenviable, pitiable piece of fruit.
The Gov'nor's shadow loomed closer, and Raito braced himself. With barely any ability to think or speak - his oxygen supply almost completely cut off - Raito held up his shaking hand to the boy, proffering what was left of the pathetic, mushy pear.
"Hunger…." he whispered, with as little breath as he had left "...is…no…crime..."
The boy stared at the pathetic piece of mashed fruit, his face a picture of shock and disbelief. Slowly, cautiously, he reached to it, his amazement expressed through the trembling of his hands.
No sooner had his ghostly, see-through fingers touched the corner or the morsel, that Raito suddenly felt the oxygen return to his lungs - so suddenly that he actually felt dizzy at the blowback. All of it happened so rapidly that he barely had time to acknowledge it: in one sudden second, it was as though time had halted: The walls stopped moving closer, the Gov'nor's shadow froze its motion, the cane stayed suspended in the air right above Raito's head. He stared at it with wide eyes, gasping for breath, himself completely frozen.
Letting his eyes slide to the right, where his hand was outstretched toward the child, he watched the boy's fingers - until now ethereal - picking up the mushy fruit as solidly as any real hand would. Slowly and carefully, the boy brought the small piece near his face, looking at it as if it was the most precious treasure in the world.
He looked up at Raito with wide, tear-filled eyes, his voice soft with gratitude. "Thank you…"
And it was in that moment that Raito - able to breathe and more conscious of his surroundings than before - actually watched the darkness around him lift in a sudden, massive receding motion - as though it was being vacuumed out of the space, letting everything be visible in the small room.
And then, more than anything, the gigantic shadow in the doorway, the form of the cruel sadist…it faltered, taking back one step…two steps…before dissipating into the air, dispersing, into a million pieces of dust - like a black dandelion in the wind.
Raito turned towards the boy again, just in time to see him smiling, keeping that sad small piece of fruit near his heart. In the newfound light, his form became less holographic, less ethereal, more solid. For a moment, Raito saw the childish coloring of his cheeks - beneath the grime, dirt and tears.
"Thank you." the voice was heard again, although the boy did not move his lips this time - just kept smiling. And that's how he stayed, smiling, with his eyes closed - until finally, as though slowly converting into vapor, his body also dissipated into the ether.
Then, only silence.
Raito was frozen, his eyes wide and body trembling as he kept staring, completely dumbstruck, at the corner where the child had just been standing. Only the creaking sound of the pantry door jerked him out of his reverie, as it slowly swung open on its own.
Very carefully, he pushed off the pantry shelves behind him, his whole body still shaking. He stepped out unsteadily, only barely remembering to pick up the clothes and the pocket knife that he had scavenged at such great pains. He clutched them close to his side as he walked out into the kitchen and, then the living room - walking gingerly as though expecting another giant shadow to show up and chase him at any moment…but no such sign.
The house, which until now had felt so hostile, was eerily calm. He could even see the rays of the setting sun hit the old furniture through the living room windows - everything serene and calm…just a normal, worn-down oldhouse.
He took some deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth – still unable to process exactly what had happened. All he knew was that there were no more creaking sounds, no more whispers. And most importanly, it did not feel anymore like he was being watched - at least not by anything malignant. It felt…it seemed…as if its anger had been pacified somehow — at least, for now.
Raito stood in the hallway, glancing back toward the now-empty pantry. As quiet as you like. He thought with a small drip of irony. Everything was still and quiet - only the melancholy of old furniture and dusty ornaments…but nothing more than that.
That was close, he thought, as he made his way rather shakily to the front door. Closer than any other time. Disturbed as he was, he didn't even realize that now was probably a better time than any to search around the house for possible supplies or clothes. But at the moment, he was just so glad that the danger had passed, he didn't have any mind left for logical reasoning. His brain was blank, and left with only one imperative: get to the front door and get the hell out of the place.
Only once he was out, and after he'd already started walking down the alleyway back to L, did his thoughts start moving again - moving until they were racing; whirring around his head with a vengeance, in fact.
Did the House stop hunting me because I helped that kid?
It would certainly seem so. He thought back to the last few moments in that House, when the boy had finally found absolution in that little piece of food…and how the hostility in the atmosphere had completely lifted after that.
Does resolving these elisions drive the Ghosts away from the Houses?
The cold evening air was biting at his skin, but he couldn't even feel it, lost as he was in his musings. This was all new; hadn't happened to him before - he'd always been persecuted by Ghosts in the Houses, but the persecution had never lifted quite like that. In fact, it had never lifted - period.
Granted, he'd never really tried communicating much with the Ghosts inside the Houses, other than running from them when they turned against him and started trying to hurt him - which inevitably always happened - Always. In every House. If he made the mistake of staying inside 'too long', which was usually around ten minutes…or around the time a second Ghost appeared.
But I've never been cornered so badly before. Raito had always been quick in his raids. It was because he had pushed himself so hard this time, because he'd wanted so desperately to find a knife, that he had stayed so long… And the House had cornered him.
That's how it always was, for everyone who tried to enter Houses in Mu - judging from L's experience as well, and the people L had talked to before meeting Raito in this realm. This was why people were so averse to entering houses in Mu. In fact, when he entered Houses, he would often run into dead bodies - corpses of Mu residents who had previously tried to gather supplies in that House and had not been fast enough to escape. After his recent experience with L, he now realized that those dead bodies would eventually revive again… but still, being caught in a House was a big danger. It was possible to get stuck in there and possibly get caught in a loop…a very unpleasant loop. And Raito knew all about those kinds of loops, unfortunately - if he could help someone avoid it, he would.
And is it now lifted permanently, or does the elision replay for every person who enters that House?
Because if it was lifted permanently, and he had managed to do that…
Although his ambitions at being recognized as the ultimate Supernatural Hero of Humanity were far behind him, he had to admit that the idea of 'clearing' these Houses in order to allow other people to actually use them as safe havens did heavily appeal to him. It would at least give him some form of purpose in this world - some form of reason for his existence, apart from the constant, draining, underwhelming Quest for an individual that he was increasingly losing hope at ever finding.
It was no coincidence. ,he thought with renewed certaint yas he walked slowly up the street, unconsciously scanning the horizon for the familiar pale tall figure. If I hadn't helped the kid, I would've been dead. He looked down at his hand skeptically, thanking the deities of Luck for having kept that small insignificant piece of fruit earlier.
Churning as it was with new possibilities, his mind barely registered the tall, lean figure of a man walking up to him from the right. It was only when L was right by his side that Raito noticed him, first by scent and then by vision. The sense of warmth and serenity that flooded his system, as he saw the familiar blue-shine of jet black hair in the twilight, was unmistakable.
Here he was, right here, quietly walking next to him. For some reason that he absolutely couldn't understand, Raito felt a lump in his throat.
"Raito-kun."
Raito kept looking on mutely, and it was only L's chattering teeth and oddly purple-colored lips that shook him out of his reverie
"Oh, sorry – here you go." Raito said, handing the other the clothes he had picked up. L would surely appreciate the long sleeves, Raito thought, noticing the typical 'chicken skin' texture of the other's bare arms. Just the fact that L immediately wore the khaki jacket, without any further comment, was confirmation of Raito's hypothesis - even before the low muttered "Thank you." sounded in the silence.
Upon hearing those words though, Raito couldn't help but momentarily be thrown back into that House, looking at that small boy in his last moments, the echo of those very same words ringing around him - seeing and feeling the darkness recede.
"Is Raito-kun all right?...That took longer than usual." L simply asked, and Raito turned just enough to see the huge eyes staring at him, inquisitive yes…but also a bit…is that… worry?
"All good." Raito replied, swallowing a bit dryly. "Lets just find a place to sleep." He didn't mean to come off as curt but, truth be told, he'd been so shaken up by all the recent events - that he simply didn't have the energy to dissemble as well as usual. The entire scenario in that House had hit a little bit too close to home, awakening almost the exact feelings of intense claustrophobia - emotional and physical - that he had actually felt during…well, during his own death on Earth.
Thankfully, L knew what going into those Houses entailed and he would not ask further questions. Raito just needed some time to process everything, including what could possibly be a breakthrough with regards to how to deal with Ghosts… and possibly turn hostile Houses into potential safe shelters - both for himself, and for others. Dreams of sleeping on an actual mattress accosted him, and he was surprised at the absolute bliss his brain associated with that thought. A bed - that would be nice. he thought, feeling the longing in every fibre of his being, so intense that it actually surprised him. And watching L's lean figure from the corner of his eye, he even let himself grin a bit, I'm sure he'd never get back up, the little sloth.
But his mind didn't let him explore that track too much longer. He didn't want to build up his hopes too much, only to have them crash back down again. Most probably, he reminded himself, nothing big would happen. He should remember to just content himself with all they had…and focus on reaching Misa at all costs. But still…even if it was a remote possibility, even if it was probably a symptom of over-optimism…hoping for something - anything - was a feeling he hadn't experienced in some time.
This place – Mu — all about the elisions, isn't it? he thought blandly as he put his hands in his pockets, feeling the reassuring steel of the small pocket knife. Elisions right, elisions left…elisions in Houses, in the Streets….everywhere. Was B an elision? …was L? Who around is real and who isn't, in the end? And of all the things these elisions play out…what is true memory and what is not?
"You know, sometimes I wonder…" he started, not realizing that he was speaking aloud. But the moment he heard his own voice, the sentence died off in his lips. "If we're not all each others elisions here." he finished in his mind, realizing it would make no sense to someone without the rest of the context. And to be sure, in his current state, he didn't trust his own mind enough to provide L with any context, let alone conclusions.
But even if we are…does it matter? He thought to himself, as he watched L's black head move a bit in the wind, when the other man turned his face to look at him.
"What's that, Raito-kun?" the calm voice replied, and Raito found that he didn't want to think about these horrible things anymore, anyway. If he's just an illusion, that's also ok. He didn't even have the energy to mask how good it felt to hear that warm, soft voice. How familiar. How nice… Really, how nicely L spoke the Japanese…so soft spoken, even under stressful circumstances…almost like a demure, polite woman's way of talking, really…. as soothing as a zen tea ceremony on a spring day…
"Nevermind…" Raito said, a bit perplexed by the odd turn his thoughts had taken. He must be more tired than he thought. Perhaps better not to let his mind rest after all, or it would start thinking of strange things again - like L's hair, or his mouth, or his friggin way of speaking Japanese, for chrissakes. Better sink his mind back into something practical - the infinite possibilities of Mu, the way the boy's smile had shone through the darkness and the way the shadows had dissipated around it.
Next time, I'll be ready, he thought, ignoring the piercing, curious gaze coming from his side.
Next time, I'll test it.
The rest of the walk to the outskirts had been silent, with Raito absorbed by wonderings about how the Ghosts in the Houses could possibly be ameliorated, and L seemingly lost in musings of his own - probably still getting back to grips with reality after his copious injuries, Raito assumed.
They had almost reached the very last kilometer before the Hut in the distance, before L slowed his pace somewhat.
"Just a moment." the detective said, and walked off to the side towards a tree. Raito watched absentmindedly as L's hunched posture instantly transformed - again looking much more like a coiled-up cobra than anything even remotely slow or handicapped - before the lanky man literally leaped on the tree in one fell swoop, latching onto one of the lower branches with his hands and keeping himself stable with his feet on the stump.
Raito shook his head a bit, unable to keep thoughts of young chimpanzees from his mind again. It wasn't the first time he'd seen L do this number, being together as they were for quite some time already. It never ceased to amaze him, though, just how agile and strong L actually was - despite the sluggish 'Quasimodo' veneer.
Well my jaw certainly remembers… Raito unconsciously brought a hand to the side of his face, feeling the phantom sting of L's round-house kick - experienced one too many times for his liking.
"Catch!" L called, and Raito grabbed the…apricot?...that the other had thrown. Ahhh how lovely they looked. If only they tasted half as good., he thought with caustic spite, as L jumped off the tree, holding his own sad excuse for dinner.
They resumed walking, and, as they did, L took a bite off his fruit…only to spit it all out explosively, as though he hadn't expected the disgust. Raito blinked in surprise, but quickly snorted from the side.
"Back to nasty?" he taunted, remembering the last time L had tasted the fruit was when he'd been unconscious - and at the time, apparently, he had seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.
"...ugh" L simply said, slowly gulping down what little remained from his…apparently highly inedible mouthful.
"Too bad you didn't get new taste buds along with that new leg, eh?" Raito continued his macabre teasing, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.
L just stayed quiet, looking skeptically at the peach in his hand.
"I guess so…" the detective finally said in pensive seriousness, and Raito threw him a glance, a bit surprised at how L sounded so… lost in thought. As though he had been genuinely surprised that the apple tasted bad.
Well, whatever, Raito finally decided to stop overanalyzing. He was tired, cold, and the Hut was finally at close enough distance to trigger his relaxation instincts - both mental and physical - by absolutely sinking him in fantasies about his total and absolute crash to sleep.
Had enough thinking about these damn fruits today., he concluded, grinning at L's continued sputtering from the side.
Sleep is sweeter for me, anyway.
KI-KI-RI-KI!
But not for roosters, apparently. Sleep was clearly not a priority for them, Raito thought caustically, as he allowed himself to groan loudly, turning around to his other side and blindly pulling his blue jumper - which he had hitherto been using as a pillow - over his head.
KI-KI-RI-KII!
Somebody, please! Please, just…KILL IT! he thought with brutal abandon, squeezing the fabric over his ears.
KI-KI-RI-KI-KIIII!
"Urghhh" he groaned again, but to no avail. Rooster definitely wouldn't hear his protests, or be discouraged.
One day…one day I'll find you. I'll find you…and when I do…not even the deepest, darkest, crummiest—
KI-KI-RI—-
"Urghhh" he groaned, but to no avail. Rooster definitely wouldn't hear his protests, or be discouraged.
No use then. That was it for today. He surrendered to the sad reality of another early morning, pulling the sweater off his face and tossing it aside with vengeful exasperation. He pushed himself up in one go, too annoyed to take time with snoozing.
His eyes now open, the first thing he saw was a crumpled lump of fabric at the opposite side of the cabin. If he hadn't been able to discern the smooth rise and fall of a breathing creature underneath, he would have thought it was just a pile of discarded clothes.
As it was, he knew very well that it was the resting place of that infuriating and completely obnoxious individual; the same individual who, despite suffering from a case of severe paranoia and chronic insomnia back in the living world - enough to forbid Raito from 'sleeping too much' during the notorious Age of The Handcuffs - was now, at this late stage of the afterlife, apparently capable of sleeping solidly even through an entire bloody rockslide - even lightly snoring through it, in fact… as long as it knew that Raito was sleeping nearby and, if anything went wrong, could wake up to take the flak first.
So unfair., he thought rather petulantly, narrowing his eyes at the deceptively motionless bulk in front of him. As he went along his long mental rant, he made sure to observe all of it quite carefully, checking on every part of it and ascertaining it was all in its correct hateful order: the black hair fanned out under the khaki folds of fabric, the curving outline of the shoulder, the precipitous dip of the skinny hips, all the way to the toes peeking out at the end under the trousers. Nothing out of place. No broken limbs. No pools of blood…. Just nice and quiet... Warm and bundled up…
Infuriating. Really.
He resisted the urge to kick it or otherwise mess with it, realizing somewhere in the back of his mind that, for once, his utter foul mood had more to do with his feelings about roosters and sleeping on wooden floors in general, than about L.
It was for this reason that, despite his enduring tiredness, and his growing frustration at the other's enviable ability to just rest, he ultimately chose to vent it all out on the same handy victim that he had discovered yesterday: a tree.
It took a short while to find one, since he had to walk a good five hundred meters down the hill from the Hut. But seeing as the stupid bird had already woken him, and seeing as - despite his own juvenile sense of injustice - he couldn't quite find it in his heart to wake L up by force - not when the other man was probably still recovering from his slgihtly-more-than-near-death experience - he figured he might as well walk the long way to it. It was all open field territory anyway; he retained three-hundred-and-sixty degree visibility the entire time, and could see three out of four possible routes to the Hut. As long as he could feel the blade of the trusty knife in his pocket - totally worth it! - he was willing to let L out of his sight for a while.
I wonder if B will ever disappear now? he wondered idly, catching sight of an unsuspecting tree - the same one that L had climbed onto yesterday, most probably. Or are we gonna worry about him for all eternity?
It was not a happy thought …but then again, there were so few of those in Mu that it was hardly surprising to be visited by yet another. Every day another threat. Another freak occurrence. A psychotic murderer stalking them. A Meteor Storm. A Gov'nor.
Raito looked around in the open field, until he detected a solid log of wood on the ground.
This will do nicely. He grinned and picked it up, looking over maliciously at the tree stump.
BANG! – Ahh… how satisfying.
SMASH! – Ahh…
Really, he should make a ritual out of this tree-beating thing. At least once a day, maybe more if Ryuuzaki - L, L, L - was being particularly disagreeable at any given time. No one would miss the fruits that were falling and smashing on the ground, anyway, Raito was pretty sure. And not only was he being productive and securing victuals for them… But most importantly, he was showing Mu exactly what he thought about the quality of its flora, its fauna, and all of its miserable produce.
CRAAACK!- Ahh…. it's the small things! BANG! - "Live for the moment", isn't that what people said? Well at least it had been, when he'd been alive. And he'd never followed the advice, really…he'd always been busy strategizing…save for those rare few times that L had forced him into it, pulling him into the kind of high-stakes power struggle that required his full and immediate attention.
Oh well, better late than never. He thought, as he mercilessly smacked the stump again. How good it was to just let it all out finally …and not think about anything at all.
He had no idea how much time had passed; he was enjoying himself so much that he completely lost track. At some point, the wooden log he was using cracked in two from the power of his strikes - but he quickly fished around for another, not nearly done yet. He was only sorry that he didn't have a rooster-shaped pinata with him, just so he could hang it up on a branch and go to town on that as well. The chill of the morning air quickly gave way to intense body heat, and he didn't even think twice before pulling off his gray t-shirt, throwing it to the side and continuing his brutal attack.
By the time he slowed down, his heart pounding from exertion, his entire upper body was covered in a sheen of sweat and the rays of the Mu sunrise had well and truly cascaded on the fields. He took pause, panting, and looked up at the tree branches, satisfied at his handiwork. By now, there were virtually no fruits left up there, having all fallen to the ground. At least a couple of them were still… 'edible'.
He threw the log away, swingning his aching arms in front of his chest and bending his neck to the sides, relaxing the muscles. That's it - he was done.
Totally spent, he just stood there for a few minutes, heaving with his hands on his hips, letting his heart rate drop to normal. He'd forgotten how good it was to just exercise…but then again, recently he'd had no need to make a concentrated effort, seeing as regular sparring with L had kept his…endorphins in check. In fact, now that he thought of it, when was the last time they had sparred? Quite unlike us, to go so long without it…But then again, they'd had their hands pretty full the last few days.
His breath finally even, he looked up and let his eyes get lost in the horizon. Withered tall grass, as far as the eye could see. "Glorious." his thought was ironic, but strangely true. The rays of muted sunlight glazed over the dry leaves, and an imperceptible breeze blew by, reminding him sharply that he was half-naked and absolutely dripping with sweat. The feel of the mild chill was rather enjoyable though…at least a different kind of 'chilly sensation' than the unpleasant ones he usually got. He took a long, deep breath, closing his eyes…enjoying it.
Blessed silence.
Only the sound of the wind. And now that his eyes were closed, he even noticed the smell of the plants. He'd grown so used to it here, he barely noticed it anymore. Withered or not, the verdure did still smell of nature. Dead nature. But still.
He opened his eyes slowly, feeling rejuvenated. The coolness of the sweat drying on his skin was becoming a bit too much to ignore now. Might as well get going…He turned around, looking for his discarded t-shirt…somewhere around here…ah, yes!
He bent over to grab it from the ground, wondering if it was now too muddy to wear. But just as he was standing back up to shake the dirt off, he paused, catching sight of the Hut in the far distance - a pale tall figure standing at the doorway, facing him. Watching him.
He paused in his movements, looking back. He couldn't see L's eyes from all the way out here. Only the khaki color of the old-fashioned clothes…and the paleness of the face that was turned towards him.
What's he looking at?
But it only lasted for a second… L just calmly turned away and disappeared back in the cabin.
Raito blinked.
Whatever.
He looked back at his hands and got back into it, shaking the t-shirt and watching particles of dust and grass fly off…. Acceptable. He put it on quickly and turned to survey the fallen bounty. Well, if he's awake I might as well stock up, he reasoned, and picked up two pieces that looked halfway respectable. He patted the dirt off them as he lethargically walked his way back up to the Hut. Maybe he should wash them first…it was probably not hygenic to eat stuff directly off the ground… Not that it matters anyway. he heard the mocking voice in his mind, They'll still taste like crap.
As he neared the wooden entryway, L came out again, fully dressed - complete with coat and socks. He seemed preoccupied with something, passing by Raito and looking around outside - probably looking for his shoes. Raito said nothing, relishing the calm serenity of the morning, and the giddy feeling of post-exertion soreness that was starting to set in his limbs.
And it's not even midday. he thought sarcastically, nevertheless not finding it in himself to regret it. Despite what new challenges the new day might throw at him…he felt calmer and more prepared to deal with them now than if he had not given his body - and most importantly, his brain - the jolt it needed.
He went inside the cabin and picked up his own things - blue jumper, brown coat and an extra t-shirt he'd been wearing yesterday… which, judging by the smell, would no longer be tenable. He left the fruit on the floor and wore his clothes quickly, all the time hearing the soft sounds of L shuffling outside.
It was rather useful and practical, he thought, to have a routine with someone else in this place. At this point, L and he had spent enough time together that they knew each other's movements pretty well. Talking was not necessary…especially not in early morning.
A few moments later, he came to the doorway; he was ready, his shoes were already on. L was just standing up, small metallic pot in hand. They exchanged a quick nod, and Raito quickly glanced back at the interior of the Hut, making sure they hadn't forgotten any of their feeble belongings.
Oh yeah, he thought without excitement, grabbing the apricots from the floor. Can't forget the bounty.
He walked outside, sending L another confident nod - All clear. - and setting off on the walk down the hill. When he felt L close to his side, he handed over one of the apricots, receiving a small "Mmm", by way of thanks. That was also rather nice, to be honest: To be familiar enough with another person so as not to constantly have to exchange pleasantries. This was perhaps one of the aspects of Japanese culture Raito had always detested most: for the life of him, he'd never figured out the point of constantly announcing stuff! "I'm home", "I'm leaving", "I'm eating", "I'm full"... as though not only did they have to put up with the fact that everyone was constantly around, all the time, in each others' faces, all the time…but they somehow even had to make sure the others knew everything about one's life, constantly, included at every step of the way…all the goddamn time!
To be honest, though, Raito was an oddity in detesting this aspect of his own culture. Most people didn't really mind it; foreigners even thought it was 'cute.' Memories of Misa and her incessant, overexcited "I'm hooooome!" came to his mind, and he literally rolled his eyes as he walked. How would she fare here in Mu, he wondered, where manufactured cheer, politeness and community were far from required - or even expected - as features of daily interaction? As far as he was concerned, at least this aspect of the afterlife suited him fine: he could finally be as 'sullen,' 'inexpressive' and 'unfeeling' as he wanted - all terms that Misa had used to describe him in the living world, when he wasn't making enough of an effort to appease her… - but here nobody would notice. It was almost the norm.
And as for his companion…well, thankfully, no one could ever blame L for insistence on social normality. It had been odd enough in the beginning of their long acquaintance, watching L repeat Japanese social greetings like a literal robot. Now that he was allowed to…well, be himself…he actually didn't speak much at all. Not unless he was explaining an argument or making pedantic commentary - aka showing off - about something. Overall, he spent the majority of his time in his own head, thinking - initializing, analyzing, synthesizing and strategizing, no doubt - as, come to think of it, did Raito.
It therefore came as a surprise when L's voice sounded from his left, suddenly.
"Just a moment…"
Raito stopped in his tracks and looked to the side. L was bending down to tie his shoelaces. Ahh…yes. The shoelaces. Perhaps next time I should get him some Victorian shoes too. Even mens' ballroom heels would be less of a safety hazard than the perennially-unlaced sneakers, honestly. Raito was amazed, in fact, that L was finally deigning to tie them.
He must have hit his head harder than I thought.
"Hold, please" L was at least polite in this request, as he passed the apricot he was holding to Raito, left the metallic pot on the ground beside him, and focused on the task at hand. Raito took it and held it wordlessly, taking the spare moment to look around.
They were pretty near the populated area, at this point. Soon they'd have to start thinking again about which route to take. Until now they had been using the tall obelisk as a compass, but now that the-
CRUNCH!
"What the—?" Raito spun his head around, seeing how L had bitten into the apricot directly from his unsuspecting hand. The black-haired wonder was still kneeling there, finished with the laces, and had now latched onto the fruit with his teeth like a wild banshee. "You weirdo!"
L seemed momentarily frozen, his eyes rather wide and glassy. As though there was some kind of realization, some epiphany, happening in front of Raito's eyes. What the-?
Then, in a fraction of a second, the Great Detective chomped down fully and stood back up again, chewing his biteful with a face that looked rather satisfied – no doubt enjoying Raito's scandalized exclamations. Raito shook his head in total disapproval. Definitely not concerned with social norms. he thought, and then remembered the last time he'd seen L eat one of these. I suppose I should thank my lucky stars he didn't spit it all over face, this time.
"Sorry Raito-kun", L muttered, chewing and swallowing the last of it, as Raito shook his head, rolled his eyes, and just started walking again. "My hands were full."
"Whatever" Raito just dismissed, his mind dropping Ryuuzaki's weirdness as quickly as he'd noticed it - L, dammit...oh for chrissakes, FINE. Just call him Ryuuzaki, already. He passed the fruit back to the other man and focused once again on the street ahead of them. Soon enough, they would be surrouded by short buildings.
In the distance, he could see the immense height of the newly built…skyscaper…looming over the entire district. It was so extremely noticeable, in fact, he was surprised L hadn't commented on it yet. Is he losing his touch from all the uncontrolled foraging?, he thought in mockery, snorting secretly to himself.
"You better get ready for this." Raito started, speaking just as much to himself as he was to L. Now closing on the High Street, he was honing in again on the topic of their continued mission. Engineering a route might be tricky, given the new status quo, with the huge monolithic building in play. "You won't believe what happened to that place the meteors were falling…" although this was probably an exaggeration. At this point, there were probably very few things in Mu that would genuinely surprise either of them; supernatural astoundment was par for the course. And anyway, L would probably not be that surprised…he'd almost recognized the formation of the building as it was happening in real time.
This silly banter still made for a good appetizer to the day, however…and L picked it up.
"Oh?" the husky voice came, and then again the crunching sound of biting fruit again. Raito turned to answer, just soon enough to catch a strange expression of…something he couldn't quite decipher, for once… Disappointment? Disgust? …Again? …etched on L's face. Hadn't he just been chewing it like a satisfied goat…? What were his taste buds doing, seriously?
Ugh… What. Ever. Raito spelled out in his head again. It had been strange enough in the beginning of their Mu afterlives, watching L consume stuff that was not confectionary. This guy's food preferences were just…inexplciable. To try to understand them would perhaps be more incapacitating than even the Wonders of the Muniverse.
Weirdo.
"Tell me about it." L's low mutter brought him back to reality, and Raito shook his head to clear it, looking far forward in the street, where figures of people were starting to appear in the distance. He allowed his eyes to scan their faces. These days, scanning people's faces was becoming quite an automatic habit… and not just because he was always constantly looking for Misa.
No demented L-clones around. He noted. Good to know.
"Oh, I'd hate to spoil it for you…" Raito trailed off, grinning with a rather unusual playfulness, as he continued looking off to the side, always scanning, always reconning - both faces and places.
"...it wouldn't have anything to do with that two-hundred-plus-floor building over there, I suppose…?" L's deadpan sarcasm came back from behind, accompanied by the sound of fruit being vengefully thrown to the ground - a familiar finality of 'it's too damn disgusting' if Raito ever heard one. He grinned to himself again, loving the feeling of knowing every single movement L was making, without even needing to see it.
"Heh…wouldn't it, though." the Japanese man muttered ironically…not exactly sure where all his lightness and teasing mood was coming from. Beating up the tree, perhaps?
…And op, look! Just at the corner: There we go… yet another blonde woman that wasn't Misa.
He actually smirked at himself, amused.
Well, at this point, whatever it was that was affecting him… if it helped him feel even a little bit good about his daily afterlife…
…I'll take it.
Hope you enjoyed, stay tuned for the continuation next month! Review, tell me if the writing changed, tell me if and what you liked /hated from it, tell me if you are bored or didn't understand half of it, tell me about your life and pets - the works! xx