Visiting Home
[30 October, 2004]
"How much longer are you going to play?" Mello asked Matt, taking a piece of the chocolate truffles he had smuggled out of the kitchens. It was nearing midnight and Mello needed the boost if he was going to accompany his friend for another late night. Matt hummed vaguely in reply, his eyes never leaving the screen. Mello scowled at the screen with animated characters fighting against each other. It was a new game that had been released just that month- a new installment of Mortal Kombat. After weeks of game deprivation, Matt was determined to make up his hours in one fell swoop. Mello was going to be with him along the way because that was what friends did.
Matt had better appreciate the sacrifice Mello was making here.
There was a cheery ping from one of Matt's computers. Mello ignored the noise in favor of eating more chocolate. There was movement on the other side of the room and Mello looked up. Matt had paused his game and turned to the system that made the sound. Matt never did that unless it was important. Mello walked over to stand behind Matt and look at the screen. It was from the surveillance footage of the front gate. A car with a familiar number plate came through the gates and stopped in front of the front doors.
"Is that-?" Mello asked, heart beating fast in his chest. Matt shrugged in reply, zooming in to the video as the doors opened and a black haired man climbed out. He stood hunched over, dressed in an oversized T-shirt and jeans and looked exactly like Mello had heard L described as. "Matt!" Mello said, fingers digging into the back of Matt's chair. "It's L! He came!" Mello laughed and ran out of the room, not caring about the noise he must be making.
The distance from Matt's room to the foyer was long, with them being on one of the upper floors. Mello did his best to make short work of it— running down the stairs, sliding along the banister, skipping the occasional step. L was here and Mello had no patience for the laws of physics.
"L!" Mello shouted as he reached the foyer. The figure in white Tshirt just stood still in the dim light of the foyer as Mello tackled him and buried his face in his stomach. "You came! You came just like you had promised!" Mello tightened his arms and was surprised to fell solid abdominal muscles under the shirt. He knew L must have known some sort of fighting style but Mello had never expected L to be so ripped too.
"Of course," a low voice said from above and Mello was surprised to feel L hug him back. "If I knew there was someone to welcome me back like this, I would have returned sooner." Mello laughed and looked up with a smile. Then he froze.
"You," Mello started, seeing a scarred face with red eyes in the darkness, "are not L." Mello loosed his arms and started to pull away. But the imposter L tightened his arms and pulled Mello back into a hug. "Hey! Lemme go, you fake! Bastard! Matt! There's a fake here, Matt!"
"So rude, Mello." The fake pressed Mello against and stood up straight, pulling Mello into an awkward air-hug. "It's been five years. Have you forgotten me so soon?" Mello kicked out against the imposter, trying to get away. It was in vain, because that just encouraged this man to pull Mello tighter and getting away even more difficult. Mello could vaguely feel the frustration build up inside him and he opened his mouth to scream—
"Let Mello down, B," another voice said from behind them as the lights turned on completely. Mello could feel the fake holding him shake his head. But he had a name now. B. Beyond Birthday. Mello remembered the story L had told them about Beyond Birthday, an ex-successor and Naomi Misora. The LABB case. Last he had heard, B had refused to return to Wammy's house after A's death and refused to get out of jail after he failed to defeat L. But if B was here now, if this fake really was B, then chances were, that this new voice was either B's accomplice or the real L.
In any case, Mello had no patience for being in this position any longer. So he opened his mouth and bit the flesh through the fabric of the Tshirt. There was a hissed sound of pain and the arms around Mello loosened. Mello took this chance to pull away and look at the other man. With the lights now on, Mello could see the two of them. The new person also had black hair and dark eyes, was wearing an loose Tshirt and jeans riding low on his hips.
"L?" Mello asked tentatively, not willing to make a mistake again. L nodded and Mello brightened up again. Forget B, L was here! "L!" With a cry, Mello ran off to tackle the real L this time, leaving the fake behind. As he had expected, the real L was much better to hug as compared to the imposter. For one, he wasn't all solid. Sure, he had muscles, but he was a bit squishy too. And warm. And, Mello concluded as arms came around him in the most awkward hug ever, L was not used to close contact. Or did not like it. No matter, for Mello would take responsibility and hug L many more times in the future to get rid of this weakness.
"I feel so loved," B said sarcastically from behind him. Mello turned his head to glare at B, making sure to hold onto L at the same time. L just sighed, and pushed at Mello's shoulders to let go. Mello did so, even if he wanted to hold on longer. Because this was L and if Mello wanted to more hugs, he would have to play the long game.
"Mello," L greeted him. Then he turned to look at the staircase. "Matt. Near." Mello turned to look at the stairway and found Matt and Near there. It was a surprise to see Near still awake. He was still young enough to have a bed time and curfew, unlike Matt and Mello who were both already 15. Or nearly 15. Near was a baby and like any 13 year old baby, had his bed time.
"L," Near acknowledged. "Since you are here, the Kira case is over?" Mello wondered when Near would stop stating the obvious. Of course L solved the Kira case, He was L! And then Near opened his big, fat mouth again. "Took you long enough."
"Hey!" Mello protested. A soft pressure on his head made Mello stop. Was L-? Mello looked up tentatively and the hand on his head pulled back. "No!" Mello said and dragged L's hand back on his head. "Do it again!"
"Mello," L sighed. "It's late. Go to sleep. You as well, Near and Matt." And then L pulled away from Mello's arms and looked at B. "You remember where your room is?" B scowled and nodded. "If you don't want to go there, bother Wammy or Roger. Or take up in one of visitors rooms." With that said, L made his way towards the back elevator section, away from the staircase and the gathered welcoming party. Mello let him, because L looked tired and he could ask questions tomorrow.
"What a waste," Near proclaimed, still on the stairs. "You should have let me speak, Mello. Perhaps L could have been convinced to talk about the Kira case if we had pressed him when he was tired. We won't get this chance again."
"Dude," Matt scoffed and ruffled Near's hair. "Have some respect. You don't take advantage of your allies like that. Lines, remember?" Near gave a small nod but Mello knew that just meant he would double down on his efforts when L was not tired. Mello could have told him asking L for case details up front was never going to work. They'd be better off sneaking into L's room and going through his files. Or paying Matt to hack and decrypt L's files.
"You could always ask me," B offered. Near, Matt and Mello turned to look at him simultaneously. "What?" B grinned, his red eyes bright in the low light of the room. "I was there too. I helped catch one of the Kiras and L got another one."
"Really? Mello asked dubiously. "And why would you be there? Weren't you in prison?" Mello made and interested noise and Near stared curiously at B too.
"I got out," B said. "Do you want to know why? Are you curious why L asked me and not one of you little replacements?" B leaned in and Mello stared. Even in the darkness, he could somehow see his own image in L's eyes. It was- "Tell me, Mihael Keehl. Do you want to know when you will die? Down to the very second of very minute of the day of the week of the month of the year?" -weird. Not scary, definitely not.
How did B know Mello's name?
Mello himself had almost forgotten it. Put it in a box, threw away the key and threw himself in his new life with all gusto. So how? Oh. Oh, B could have gone through Roger's records. The older man never changed his password combination. It was all Wammy's name and a day-date-year combo. So while the password changed daily, it was utterly predictable. Mello had to give it to him. B must have done some excellent long term planning and put in tons of effort just to scare little kids into silence a decade down the line. That was some serious commitment. Too bad Mello was better.
"Name dropping doesn't mean anything," Mello sneered. "We all know Roger's passwords. That man can barely keep children from stealing from the kitchens, let alone resident records."
"Yet, L still got B out of his cell to help him in the field," Near pointed out. He twirled a white lock in his fingers and gave B an accessing look. "If we ask, are you going to tell us about the Kira case? Out of the goodness of your heart?" B shook his heart.
"Nah," B grinned. "I want something, you want something. Let's trade." What could B want that they had and that he couldn't get to it himself? Mello was curious about the Kira case but he didn't think they had anything worth to exchange for that information. "Don't worry. It won't be much. You're all barely teenagers. I have lines I won't cross too."
"We would still like a clearly outlines list of limitations and requirements-" Near began.
"Tomorrow," B interrupted. "It's nearly mid-night. Go back to your rooms and sleep. Kids need their beauty sleep and so do wicked adults." And with that, B leaned down and gave Mello another stifling hug. "Gosh, so bony." Mello tried to punch B in protest. It didn't work but B did let go abruptly, letting Mello stumble to the ground. "Don't they feed kids here these days?" B murmured before making his way to the back elevator as well. He must have had some code or some cheat because the elevator opened up again and B disappeared in its dimly lit depths.
"So," Matt dragged the word out. Mello and Near turned to stare at the red head. "That just happened." Yes, that was what Mello needed at the moment. Matt making obvious statements. "Why are you both staring at me? Didn't you hear the responsibleadults? Back to our rooms, people. Back, back, back."
"The instruction was to sleep," Near pointed out.
"It was to go back to our rooms and sleep. If we just do the first half, then that's a passing grade," Matt said wisely. And this, Mello concluded, was why Matt was third.
*****
[31 October, 2004]
Mello couldn't sleep with L being in the same building. L had kept his promise! He was there! He came to visit just because Mello had asked! And yeah, L was visiting others too but they only got the chance because Mello had asked. Taking initiative was important and Mello was winning. With the only one whose opinion mattered back in the house, Mello just had to make L see he had all the qualities needed in a successor and finally beat Near.
That white haired menace was always playing with his building blocks and finger puppets and ignored everyone around him. To him, there was no difference between the puppets on his fingers and the humans around him. Mello hated that. Humans were not puppets to be manipulated. Sure most of them were stupid but that didn't give Near the right to poke and prod them into making their decisions. Most insultingly, Near did the same to Mello.
Infuriating.
But that wouldn't matter for much longer because L was here. Mello would make L make a decision, Near would be defeated, Matt would be his assistant and all would be well.
"Plotting again?" Matt asked from under his blanket. His roommate was too far to be kicked and Mello didn't have the energy to lift his hand and throw something. He settled with moving one hand from his warm haven and lifting a finger instead. Mello had utmost confidence in Matt's X-ray vision looking through the blanket and seeing his reply. As expected, Matt sighed and turned away. "Just get breakfast if you're not going back to sleep."
"Shut up. I was going to do that anyway," Mello said. He still didn't make an effort to get up. Determination did not fill in his energy levels. Unfortunate but that was the price of being human. Unlike Near. Mello was certain he was part robot. Maybe L was part robot as well? That would be why he was able to take on so many cases under multiple aliases and make enough to pay for his own lavish lifestyle, maintain Wammy's, and fund the education for all the gifted children here.
Yes. That was it. L was part robot who ran on sweets and coffee. No, that last part was Matt. Matt ran on coffee. L ran on sweets. Near ran on the suffering he inflicted on everyone around him. Mello was the only sane person around here. No, he was a God because chocolate was the food of Gods and it was Mello's fuel.
"Stop thinking," Matt grumbled. "I can hear you. You're too loud." Mello reassessed Matt. Clearly, Matt was possessed of more than X-ray vision. He had mind reading powers as well. "No. You're thinking aloud."
Exactly what a telepath would say.
Still, Mello tucked himself back under his blanket and closed his eyes. He needed to recharge. Then he would find L, convince him Mello was the better successor and they could share that piece of chocolate truffle cake in the fridge to celebrate this momentous occasion.
Three hours later, all of Mello's plan went down the drain. It was clear chocolate didn't grant him foresight. Maybe he should leave all the mutant powers for Matt and focus on game theory instead. Thing was, even game theory couldn't have prepared him for the chaos in the dining room.
No, he wasn't talking about the other children. They were the predictably unpredictable chaos.
Mello ate his chocolate cereal (the only one with real chocolate chips in with the artificially flavored flakes) and stared at the two sitting at one of the corner tables. Near sat his usual table in a quiet corner of the room. Next to him was B. They were not talking right at that moment but that could change. No, this would not do at all.
Mello plopped his spoon back in the bowl, picked it up and walked over to Near's table. It was likely that Near had decided to take up B's offer and they would exchange information on the Kira case. Information that, in the wrong hands aka Near's, could lead to disastrous consequences for everyone around aka Mello and Matt.
"Can I sit here?" Mello asked and pulled an extra chair from a nearby table without waiting for an answer. Near had not even looked up from his own bread and butter sandwich. Of course Near would not deign to pay attention to the insignificant people around him. At least B had looked at him. Mello could forgive him for being quiet because he was chewing. If B had spoken with his mouth full, he would have been a Neanderthal as well as a murderer.
"So?" Mello asked, picking a spoon full of cereal again. He made sure to keep the chocolate chips for last. B swallowed down his pancakes- with mixed berry jam, the heathen- and leaned back in his chair.
"So?" B asked back. Mello noticed Matt walking inside the dining room. Matt was looking between the room- trying to find where Mello was and then back at something, or someone, in the kitchen. Mello raised a hand and waved Matt over before looking back at B. B waited for Matt to sit at the table. "What do you want to know and what do you have to offer?"
"How much do you know?" Mello asked.
"What was Kira's murder weapon?" Near asked. Mello looked at him in doubt. That was a rookie mistake. Near should know better than to ask for information before confirming a price. What was he playing at here?
"Hey, did L get a girlfriend?" Matt asked. Mello shot him a glare. He got one chance to ask a leading question and that was what Matt wanted to know? L's relationship status? How would that be useful- wait. They could get L to make a decision by asking his girlfriend to convince L. And if L was going to settle down, that meant he would have to either share his workload or retire soon. Getting to L through his girlfriend would be very sneaky of Matt. Mello approved whole heartedly.
"A lot." B raised one finger and pointed at Mello. Then, he pointed at Near. "Classified." Finally, he pointed at Matt. "And no," B said. He looked at Matt with curiosity in his eyes. "Why ask?" That was something Mello was curious about as well. Matt's question had come out of nowhere. What had made him think of L having a girlfriend?
"L's walking around with this huge gift basket," Matt gave a vague approximation with his hands, "and the only one with that kind of passion for L around here is Mello." Matt said dryly. "I'd have noticed it if he sneaked away to buy chocolates for L in the middle of the night. And impressed that there was anything left the next morning."
"Hey!" Mello snapped. If it was for L, Mello could sneak out after curfew and buy gift baskets. He definitely wouldn't eat all the chocolates overnight. Not again. The last time around had given him a terrible stomachache and Mello could learn from his mistakes. "I could if I wanted to!"
"Nevertheless, Matt has a point," Near countered. Mello glared at Near. He had a point too! It wasn't only Matt.
"L doesn't have a girlfriend." B paused to take another bite of his pancake. Mello could feel he was doing this just to be dramatic. B took his time to chew and swallow before he continued nonchalantly. "It must be his boyfriend." Mello dropped his spoon and stared. Near put his sandwich back on his plate and stared. Matt simply shrugged and started cutting up his pancakes.
"Back up a second," Mello said slowly. "L has a boyfriend." He gathered his thoughts to sort what was wrong with this picture. "Point A. When did L get time to date on the Kira case? Point B." Mello paused, trying to figure out what point was more important. Reason lost as Mello gave in to curiosity. "Point B. Who is it?"
"Who's Kira?" Near asked at the same time.
B looked at them both and gave a slow, smug grin.
"Classified."
"Good on him," Matt concluded. Mello didn't see how this was good. There was someone dating L, influencing him, filling his head with who knows what thoughts and Matt thought that was good? Mello needed to have a talk with his best friend about priorities. "Do you think he'd be up for tips?"
Mello raised one hand and smacked the back of his head.
*****
[31 October, 2004]
L had expected Light to send something for his birthday. He had explicitly mentioned it in his first letter and Light had delivered. It was expected and yet sweet. Somehow, the gesture when done by Wammy was needless while when it was Light, L felt warm inside. Perplexing. If this was what people in relationships felt, then no wonder everyone was so focused on always being in one.
L finally opened the gift basket to take a proper look inside. String mints, chocolate, caramel, more chocolate, a glove, a hand written card on- L rubbed the material with his fingers- high quality parchment. That was unexpected. Where did Light get his hands on parchment?
There was also the fact that Light had used his mysterious messenger to send his gift over. This wasn't sent by an owl. Ryuuzaki the owl was still perched on the tree outside his window and L hadn't noticed any other owls in the area. In fact, L hadn't noticed any owls around his place other than Ryuuzaki. Owls were supposed to be territorial but they didn't work this fast. Except Ryuuzaki the owl did. Was the owl also that aggressive towards humans other than L? This was a place where intelligent, curious and resourceful children lived. An aggressive owl had no place being here.
L sent a quick text to Wammy to get the owl checked and got back to opening up the boxes. The first one labeled chocolate had bars from some place called Honeydukes. He opened one, broke off a piece and cautiously put it in his mouth. It was better than expected. L tore off another piece and chewed on it slowly. It was gourmet chocolate. L licked the chocolate off his fingers and opened the next box. It had- chocolate frogs?
The frog looked surprisingly realistic. L looked at the chocolate frog in his hand and wondered whether Light was implying something. Out of everything, why chocolate frogs? Why not chocolate birds, chocolate trains or chocolate fish? There were stringmints in the basket as well. Was that another result of Light's poor sense of humor? The bars labeled Honeydukes were the best of the lot. The handwritten card was a nice touch. Light wrote with a beautiful cursive, inked letters looping yet standing straight on the unlined surface. Like everything else, Light was a perfectionist even in his writing.
Thinking of their letters reminded L that Light wasn't here. Their method of communication was owl post. Sayu thought it was because there was no network wherever Light had hidden himself but L knew otherwise. Afterall, Light had hacked into the NPA website and changed the details of everyone involved in the Kira case. He couldn't have done that without access to the Internet. The only reason Light would have insisted on an owl post was if he wanted to stop L from tracking down his IP.
Paranoia, L knew, was going to be his biggest obstacle in meeting Light face to face. Light's fear was entirely justified because L had no intention of letting him go once Light was within arms reach.
He had to build up to it slowly, when Light had eased into a sense of security. Light already thought L did not know he was in England. That was L's biggest advantage. He had to track down Light, while making sure Light didn't know L knew his general location and ease him into feeling safe and secure at the same time. Eventually, in a month or so, L would send Light his email. It would be linked to a secure inbox, so Light couldn't track him back.
But that was in a months time. Right now, L had a week before he would start on his next step. If death notes and Shinigami were real, then the logical conclusion was that other things must be real as well.
"But if his name went from having a lifespan to not," Rem trailed off. "Then Yagami Light is either dead or in possession of a Death Note. Or resurrected by another supernatural being. Or under strong wards specifically meant to prevent the scrying from Shinigami Eyes."
Shinigami Rem had confirmed it. BB's existence proved it. There were other supernatural beings out there. Supernatural beings who had helped Light fake his death and move to UK. Fortunately, UK was L's home territory, the place where he had begun his career and where his influence was the strongest. The idea that there are supernatural beings in L's backyard and he had not known was insulting. The fact that Light was hiding among them?
L only has to find them to find Light.
*****
17 October, 2004
Ryuuzaki L Rue -
I've missed you as well. Not only for your intelligence, which is probably the most attractive quality of yours, but for your company too. At least when I was with you, I didn't keep thinking of you. You're horribly distracting the further away you get. I also miss our game, even if I'm glad it is over. On retrospect, I'm not too fond of the way it would have ended, no matter who won. Which would have been me, of course. I would have had to live in a world which was just a word.
Glad to hear you liked the flowers. Especially the black eyed susans, you smug bastard. I want to say I regret sending them and the implied message but- they reminded me of you. I heard they made you smile. I want to see that too.
I won't apologize for your dear employee being scared by my poor, sweet Ryuuzaki. He scared Sayu. As far as I'm concerned, he deserved it. If you'd be so kind as to tell me his name and send a picture for reference, so I can recognize him in the future when I seek justice for my sister and mother, I'd appreciate it.
Your partner, because calling you 'boyfriend' feels shallow.
*****
31 October, 2004
Ryuuzaki L Rue -
Happy Birthday, Rue! This card comes attached with a basket full of sweets. I hope you pace yourself because I packed extra and no one can eat that amount of chocolate in a day without a stomachache.
What am I saying? Of course you can eat all of that and still stay healthy. I remember those three slices of blueberry cheesecake you polished off your plate while I could barely finish half a slice. In those days, I wondered why you kept offering. Nowadays, I wonder more about that bit of cream you licked off the corner of your lips.
Thinking of you,
Your partner