[identity profile] toxinaddiction.livejournal.com
[It’s only barely over, and Matt can already tell his muscles will ache like a bitch tomorrow, and probably the next day, and arguably the day after. Like he wasn’t already achy enough just from running around the House setting shit up. But somehow he doesn’t mind this particular ache, not the way he did the other sort. Really, if he’s honest, not at all.]

[He wouldn’t mind getting untied, though. If only so he could have a smoke. Something he really really wants about now, as is customary. Hell, if nothing else, he needs to recharge his energy.]

[Which, by the way, is gone.]

[Matt takes a long, deep breath, still shaky, like how his body is still a little shuddery from all of that... everything. All of which proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mello is an unbelievable arse, and that there torture methods more effective than pain.]

[...and enough on that subject. Thinking about it makes him tingle a little - or a lot - but God knows he doesn’t have the stamina to go again, even if he could get Mello were up for it, which God only knows. So he shuts down that train of thought, and shifts a bit in place. A moment later, he rolls his head around to catch Mello’s gaze.]

Hey. You know what would be fantastic? If you uh, untied me.
[identity profile] toxinaddiction.livejournal.com
[The drive back to London from Winchester doesn't take very long - two hours, with traffic, Ciaran in the passenger seat, humming and sometimes singing with the radio, and the window open blowing through the car. It's a little cold, but not so cold Matt can't take it, especially buried under his long sleeves and his vest. His goggles block out the sunlight, what little of it there is, and he's going home.]

[So, okay, he'd be lying if the said he wasn't a bit nervous. It's not like he and Mello left off on a bad note, really - not at all if you think about it. Especially considering the circumstances. It's just that he fucked up, and Mello's not known for being the most even tempered person, and even if he thinks he's let it go, there's always this chance, right? This chance that he hasn't, really, and that he'll punch everyone in the face the second Matt walks in the door.]

[The perils of living with Mello, Matt thinks as he takes a drag, flicks ashes out the window. Next to him, Ciaran checks the maps, and they talk, but not that often. Awkwardness, day three. ]

[Speaking of that, he's getting back early. Matt's body aches, in fact, from getting shit done as fast, as effectively, as possible. And he knocked a day off his worktime, didn't warn Mello either. For all Matt knows, Mello might be throwing things at his computer right now, if he's sent anything, if he hasn't gotten an answer. Well, hopefully this will make up for it - this rush, this drive to get home, and see that face, and touch those hands, even if it is only between missions. Even if it comes with five thousand fucking monologues about Near. Even if he gets punched in the face, and sniffed with some kind of police dog for signs of Ciaran's scent.]

[All right, well that's not too likely. But whatever.]

[He parks Door's car in an alley and Ciaran stays quiet as they make their way to the door. One step, two. He unlocks it, and glances over his shoulder just before opening it.]

Right, might want to stay away from Mello's reach.

[He doesn't wait for a reply, just pushes open, and heads inside.]
[identity profile] dawnsfirstlight.livejournal.com
[Light spends most of the trip to the hotel feeling quite unapologetically smug. Seventeen years of anonymity, working from the shadows, hiding behind that insignia - that black on white letter - and today it comes down for good. Falls apart at Light's directive, the perfect coming together of a plot. Snap. Just as planned.]

[It isn't until he draws near the hotel and sees his father outside that triumph becomes tainted with irritation. He knows that hotel, knows it well... though he's only been inside once. Life's great turning points, they never fade. And he can remember pulling into the parking lot and walking the halls, comparing the number in his mind to the numbers on the elevator panel. Penthouse floor. A fateful meeting; the first time he saw Ryuzaki's face.]

[Light presses his lips together slightly as he parks, and shadows his own steps as he approaches the door. Clever, clever, cruel. Exactly what he'd expect from Ryuzaki, and from himself.]

[He drops his car keys into his pocket as he steps up to his father.]

Ah. Are the others already inside?

Misa, Ryuk

May. 31st, 2009 10:33 am
[identity profile] misalolita.livejournal.com
[It seems to Misa that all she ever watches anymore is the news. It's not something she'd do normally, of course - at least not without a good reason - so it takes some getting used to. The drone of the reporters' voices (more dead, more frightened every day, and more people growing reverent in the corners of the world) and the flashing of their movements, shaky camera interviews... that sort of thing.]

[In a way, it's awful and boring and she can't imagine why anyone would do this. But they're Light's orders, and he's counting on her. He'll be busy with work, with planning, and his new... assistant, so he wouldn't have time to catch every dissenter that fell through the cracks. He would need to keep up appearances for himself.]

[Which left Misa as his eyes.]

[And when she thinks of it that way, it isn't bad at all. As the tv screen switches back to an announcer (that pretty Takada lady, and Misa wishes she could add her name to the list, but Light would never fall for that) Misa flops back against the side of the sofa, draping her arm dramatically over her head and turning her face upwards. On the ceiling, a large shadow moves at the edge of her vision, and she sighs.]

Ah... it's so boring just waiting for people to complain about Kira! They're so disrespectful, I wish Light would just let me kill them. Hmm.

[After a few seconds she pushes herself back up with her hands into a half-sitting position, and looks at the source of the shadow lurking in the corner of the room, near her bookcase.]

Ryuk, what does Light do when he's researching? He's always so focused... he doesn't get bored, does he?
[identity profile] matchstickrule.livejournal.com
[If Mello had woken up later than he intended, it was only because he'd fallen asleep later than he usually does. Last night had been spent, as he remembers, more or less on the laptop entirely - speaking with Matt, searching for a way into Near's investigative team, looking for clues. Working. Hadn't Matt called him a workaholic, and hadn't Mello accepted the title without complaint?]

[Of course this meant that as soon as he was up again (in his clothes from last night, with the laptop still open, and only two candles left burning on the other side of the room where, normally, he keeps a few lit) it was back to work. And there was still plenty to be done. The men are still in the midst of settling themselves into the new headquarters, and there are a few business deals that need to be repaired after Kira's recent attack... all of which keeps him busy enough not to think too much about how it's Door standing next to him, not Matt; the accent that's a little lighter and clearer to identify, and the lack of cigarette smoke, and, well, the fact that it's Door, and somewhere in there they have something in common, but enough differences for Mello to be painfully conscious of it.]

[Her being there isn't as bad as he'd expected, but after that conversation with Matt, it's a little bit worse, too.]

[It's around noon that he's headed upstairs to get something - more chocolate, naturally - when his phone buzzes at his side before he even reaches the top step. Without glancing at it he snaps the phone open and holds it to his ear.]

Talk.
[identity profile] toxinaddiction.livejournal.com
[Matt logs off for the night, and he's already a little bothered. What's more, he's extra bothered by the fact of his being bothered. If he thinks about it, it's pretty, well, stupid - it's only been a handful of days, but he misses Mello like a physical thing.]

[Maybe it's the near-death experience, he thinks as he lights a cigarette. There's nothing like a bullet in the back to make you want to hole up forever in a corner with your familiar things, and the man you--]

[...plus, if he thinks about it, this is the first time they've really ever spent apart, ever since they were little kids, running around the grounds. At least Mello was running. Matt was more like sitting on a rock playing Pokemon but nostalgia knows no accuracy requirement, so whatever.]

[It's interesting, really. Sometimes he thinks about what his life would be like, without Mello. Probably pretty boring, an endless series of video games, which seems pretty fucking cool in theory but in practice... well. Probably a lot like this, really. Quiet, and boring. Except without the candles.]

[Light another one. For company. They're brighter that way.]

[E-mails. They kind of made it better, kind of made it worse. There's nothing like long distance to make a person ache. Matt watches the two flames flicker.]
[identity profile] dawnsfirstlight.livejournal.com
[It shouldn't be so comfortable here, in the dark hole that is the flat he's rented for Beyond, and yet it is. Quiet, and private, and away from the general tumult of the world.]

[Beyond himself can be quiet, and chatty at times (the way Ryuzaki is, and they sit the same way, too, with their backs curled around their knees, their thumbs pressed beneath their lips to to the edge of their bottom lip) - quiet at the moment. And it's peaceful in a way, in this corner of the world with no masks, no pretense. The only other... creature with whom he is so free is Ryuk and, well that isn't quite the same thing.]

[Light leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. In the background, the television flickers and drones, quietly and steadily. The news, of course. The news is always on. ]

[He lowers his head, watching the screen with his eyes turned up. Only days ago, there had been a conversation between Kiyomi Takada and that young prosecutor Light has worked with on occasion. Only days ago, there had also been a rash of heart attacks visited by God upon those who most vehemently and most openly opposed Kira - visited by God, or by Kira. Perhaps, in a way, the same thing. And he wonders if Beyond saw those stories - the police, almost certainly unless he had been asleep at the time, which Light doubts. If he is anything like Ryuzaki (and is he anything like Ryuzaki? Where does the act end, the reality begin?) then he will barely sleep at all.]

[He sighs.]

By the end of this, I'll split the world in half.

Matt, Near

May. 23rd, 2009 12:06 am
[identity profile] toxinaddiction.livejournal.com
[Driving back to Winchester from London takes about a million years in Matt's estimation. Maybe it's just that his driving stamina is fairly low (it's not like he's spent a lot of time doing it in the past), or maybe it's that he's distracted by... uh, well, stuff. Mostly thoughts about Mello, thoughts about home, and Kira, and L, and wondering whether he'll get back to London to find the whole blood headquarters a wreck again. The new place is so nice, too.]

[Ciaran's pretty good company, though; it's nice to talk to someone who drops even more stupid game references than he does. Someone who knows his way around a CPU, too, not that Mello doesn't know or anything. It's just that Mello doesn't really care. Well, that's the way it goes.]

[They reach the House sometime after midnight, and the hallway light is burning but the rest of the world is silent. Waiting for the gates to open, exhaling smoke through the open window, Matt hums a few bars of some popular song, and Ciaran hums along. It's kind of weird, and kind of comfortable, which makes him pretty uncomfortable, so he's glad when the gates swing open and he pulls the car into the winding road leading up to the Mansion.]

[The House itself hasn't changed much. A new person (maid? teacher? God only knows) answers the door, and Matt gives her a friendly smile as she leads them to their respective rooms. He's not in his old room, which is a little bit of a relief, really, nor is he in Mello's old room, which is even more of one. Instead, he's in some corner room near the door to the backyard, and Ciaran's across the hall, so they say their goodnights and Matt smokes a cigarette before setting off down the hall again.]

[Well, might as well get some shit done. He's too wired to sleep, even though he's tired, so it's as good a time as any to renew his memory about the scope of the place, what he has to work with.]

[Maybe it's a better time than most. No one in his way, since everyone's asleep.]

[Most people, anyway.]

[The pale white light coming from the common room takes him by surprise, a little, and he slows before he reaches the door. And maybe he should have guessed from the cold in the air, the pallor of the light, that it was him. (That doesn't really make sense, but somehow it does, too.)]

[Matt stands in the doorway for a good two minutes before Near acknowledges his presence with a slight raise of his head.]
[identity profile] choosashimashou.livejournal.com
[Soichiro's a little relieved once dinner is finally over, because it means he doesn't have to be so careful during conversation. Over the years he's gotten used to not bringing up work at the dinner table - and for the most part, he succeeds, certainly when there are sensitive details he can't share with civillians - but in this case it weighs more heavily on his mind than it normally does. The entire case itself, the growing number of victims claimed by an unknown predator, and all of the work that will be put into it. The risks involved.]

[So he discusses the news (some of it), the weather, the neighbors, Sayu's grades and Light's relationship with that... model girl, and afterwards they depart - Sayu gets a phonecall from her friend and disappears into her room, and while Sachiko takes care of the dishes, Light and Soichiro retire to the living room. With the television on, of course, and tuned into the news as usual. That too is a relief, that there's at least one other person he can talk to openly about such things, now more than ever.]

[Soichiro watches him as they sit, and his usually taciturn expression softens a bit.]

Mm. You know, we're always happy to have you over for the evening, Light. Ah, even if you don't bring company, despite what your mother says.
[identity profile] toxinaddiction.livejournal.com
[Matt puts his last stripey shirt into a suitcase and zips it up. The last thing to pack before his little adventure into the outside world. Weird, really - now London is home and home is an adventure. He scowls a little, kicks at the floor and grabs his goggles.]

[For a moment, he lets them swing from his index finger, watching it and then watching Mello sprawled over his chair like it's a throne or something. Typical Mello body language, although this time perhaps a bit tighter than normal. He watches the goggles swing until they stop moving, and then snap them back over his eyes.]

Right. That's it then.

[His hair, trapped under the lenses, tickles his face - after a moment, he tugs it loose and lets it fall over his eyes again.]

Shouldn't Door and Ciaran be here by now?

Mello, Matt

May. 9th, 2009 07:53 pm
[identity profile] matchstickrule.livejournal.com
[Mello sits cross-legged on the bed (a new bed - everything is new, practically, save a few important items that, for one reason or another, couldn't be parted with) and focuses on reading the news, while Matt shuffles around the room, in and out of it, leaving a trail of smoke behind whenever he moves.]

[The news isn't exactly pleasant, not that he ever expects it to be, these days, but then neither is watching Matt preparing himself for the upcoming trip back to Winchester - to Wammy's House, on L's orders, which somehow makes it even more intolerable.]

[He's starting to understand, maybe, why Matt never paid much attention to that sort of thing.]

[But he doesn't watch, keeping his head low over the soft glow of the laptop, nibbling on the cracked bites of a chocolate bar, and piecing together the news of Kira's latest offense. Mello makes a noise of irritation, although he isn't sure at what, exactly.]

[Anything, really. Everything is annoying at the moment, even the smell of cigarette smoke that Matt's filling the room with.]

[He takes another bite of chocolate, breaking it off in his teeth with a loud snap, and bends farther over the laptop.]
[identity profile] backupcorrupted.livejournal.com
[It's a long while until anyone comes back to see him. He has everything he needs now - limited access to the outside world, all the basic necessities of solitary living. Food and clothing and other things he tends to forget about as he spends all of his time catching up on what he's missed. Examining cases, primarily, but other things as well. New discoveries that have come since the last time he was free.]

[Not that he ever was free, really.]

[He keeps track of time with knots on a string in spite of the state of the art absolutely everything, because it's a habit he hasn't quite gotten rid of yet. And he doesn't sleep, because that is a habit he's never been able to regain completely. The tv and computer are on constantly, and there's a stack of old newspapers by the sofa, ready to be consumed.]

[Beyond takes in information like air and exhales anything that isn't necessary to his mission. The apartment is dark and silent save for the drone of news reports, and if he's honest, it's more comfortable than he's felt in a long time.]
[identity profile] misalolita.livejournal.com
[Misa hurries back to Light's apartment, eager to see him again after that... questionable encounter with Beyond. Even after she's left she can still imagine him sitting there with his knees up against his chest and his weird stare, eyes dull and hollow like a shark's. Just thinking about it makes her shiver a little, and she quickens her pace.]

[And, on the way, she begins to construct her argument. She doesn't want to make Light mad at her, of course, but it's only fair that she has a say in the matter, isn't it? Surely he'd have to agree that something about this isn't right. Behind her, Ryuk eventually starts up some chatter, but she's too wrapped up in her own thoughts to follow very closely (although she does remember to apologize for closing the door on him). After they get to Light's, where it's safe and comfortable, then she can worry about conversation.]

[She reaches his door quickly, and announces her presence with a rather impatient knock.]
[identity profile] misalolita.livejournal.com
[Misa double checks the address once she arrives at the apartment, feeling oddly nervous about meeting this new associate. It wasn't the meeting in itself that made her anxious - she was used to it, by now, and she'd always liked meeting new people anyway. No, what had her worried was what she would find when she opened the door. Light had warned her that this person might be dangerous, and while she isn't afraid for herself, she still dreads the outcome of the meeting, just a little: Light could be in danger.]

[So she'd come prepared. The bag twisted around her wrist contains some simple supplies, enough to provide cover for her real purpose. She couldn't bring her Death Note of course, but for three red apples she'd been able to get Ryuk to agree to come with her, and more importantly, she'd made the deal with him before she left. The same deal she'd made with Rem not very long ago under much different circumstances. Now it was more important than ever, to discover the truth about this Beyond person, and hopefully to bring Light back some good news. To make him proud of her again in the wake of her miserable screw up in London. To justify his devotion to her.]

[There couldn't possibly be anything more important.]

[Quietly, Misa turns the key Light had given her over in her hand, remembering his face when he had done so. After a moment she glances over to Ryuk; she feels oddly compelled to speak to him, but doesn't want to risk anyone overhearing, so instead she simply knocks politely, twice, and then unlocks the door after a few seconds of no response. Inside is dark, the lights extinguished aside from a spindly lamp in the corner, curtains drawn, and no immediate sign of the inhabitant. For a split second her heart jumps in her throat and she wonders if he'd left, but no, Light had said he'd be cooperative. And besides, he was probably just hiding somewhere, or in another one of the rooms. Why else would the lights be out?]

[Misa takes a breath and steps over the threshold.]

Hello?

L, Wammy

Apr. 29th, 2009 09:21 pm
[identity profile] givemeyourcake.livejournal.com
[L keeps his head down, with his cheek pressed against the edge of his knee, looking almost as if he's sleeping. Which, of course, he isn't. He's wide awake, in fact, and going over the last conversation he had with Light... again.]

[And it occurs to him at some point that this is all he ever does when he has a free moment, combing over conversations, searching for a kernel of guilt or innocence. Not that there ever is any. Light's too good for that.]

[He listens to the drone of the tv as he thinks, and wonders (not for the first time) if he'd simply made a mistake. Perhaps he did. It's possible, technically, if not statistically likely... or was he only thinking that because it would mean Light isn't guilty?]

[Would he even be able to tell if he wasn't?]

[And there's the doubt. It's alien and uncomfortable, and makes a little knot wrap up in his stomach somewhere, so he buries his face more between his arms and listens to the news switching subjects, sounding somewhat urgent, and footsteps from somewhere behind him.]
[identity profile] toxinaddiction.livejournal.com
[Before he even gets started, Matt's already decided that the security in this place will need to be tighter than the old one. It's something he should have taken care of before, really - and in a certain sense he had, but building on the bad decisions of the previous occupant left him limited in a way that starting from scratch wouldn't have. But now they were back at the beginning, and Mello obviously made better choices than his dead predecessor.]

[Like location. Like layout. Matt notes at least ten perfect hiding places for a high quality camera before he starts setting up the wiring - not that he doesn't trust their people, but... well, he doesn't trust anyone, really, except Mello. Even more now that he's had some personal experience with what happens when one of the little guys crumbles - leaked information, infiltration, panic attacks, gunshot wounds and Kira. All fantastic, in that "please never again" kind of way.]

[So locks - not just any locks, but specialized ones, eye scanners hidden in the peep hole, so no one gets in who isn't supposed to be there. And cameras - all ten and then some, covering every inch of the premises. He stands in the center of what will probably end up being the common room, looking it over, running through the blueprints in his head, taking notes with some kind of invisible blue pencil, scribbling in the margins, calculating how long it'll all take.]

[He lights a cigarette halfway through the first floor. This kind of thinking, it burns through mental energy the way running a fucking marathon burns through physical energy, at least for him. Never did like this kind of shit. But hell, he's got the skill, so he may as well use it.]
americanagent: (Raye is watching)
[personal profile] americanagent
[Raye tugs the knot of his tie loose as he opens the door, cradling his cell phone on his shoulder and waiting for his associate on the other end to stop talking - more news about Kira, of course, and some less interesting theories about how this would affect their livelihood, the system they all relied on so much. It was practically all anyone ever talked about anymore, and he'd been getting the sneaking suspicion that some of his colleagues were sympathetic to Kira's mission.]

[Not that any of them would ever come out and say so.]

[Eventually he's able to extract himself from the conversation with a polite excuse, and he drops his phone along with his briefcase onto the kitchen counter. Pulling his tie completely off he heads through to the bedroom, noting that the tv is, thankfully, off, and the living room empty. As long as Naomi wasn't getting any silly ideas from watching the news reports, Raye's sure he has nothing to worry about.]

[She has to be around here somewhere, however. As he approaches the bedroom he notices the door slightly ajar, and quiet rustling coming from within. It's almost as if he knows what he'll see before even pushing open the door: Naomi going through the drawers, searching for... something. He can't quite see what from this angle, so he stops in the doorway and watches her for a second.]

Naomi? Honey, what are you doing?
[identity profile] dawnsfirstlight.livejournal.com
[Light glances at the clock. 6:20, and Misa should be arriving soon, so he picks out an assortment of menus for their inevitable "romantic" dinner and sets them on the coffee table. Somewhere behind him, he can hear Ryuk's incessant crunching, those massive bony jaws munching on another apple - he makes a note to return to the store soon, if only to avoid Ryuk's complaints, not to mention that incredibly strange thing he sometimes threatens to do if the apple supply should be, somehow, cut.]

[Shinigami. Their ridiculousness never ceases to amaze him. This one in particular has a few quirks that he finds equal parts frustrating and admirable - his carefully guarded neutrality, for example. In this particular instance, that neutrality has been more annoying than anything else. Since meeting with Beyond Birthday, Light's mind has been full of theories and questions with no answers... and thus far, Ryuk has failed to produce any valuable information.]

[He presses his lips together and sits on the sofa, tense, a little irritated.]

[After a moment, he turns his gaze up and looks at his constant companion, the demon on his shoulder.]

Ryuk.
[identity profile] absolute-grace.livejournal.com
[Kiyomi arrives at the restaurant well before the appointed time, and waits patiently once she's at the table. It was feminine curiosity, perhaps - the man she was here to meet had such a reputation for precision, so sure and exacting, and she'd been lucky enough to have some time to spare before his arrival. And after all, it would only be prudent to examine this meeting from every angle.]

[He had more than just a reputation for being precise; In fact it was the rest of his reputation as a brilliant young prosecutor that had predicated this meeting to begin with. Mikami Teru was, in a manner of speaking, an up-and-coming force of justice... which was exactly what the people (Kiyomi included) had their eyes on at the moment, with the emergence of that bizarre new sensation, someone that was called Kira, who had captured the whole world's attention.]

[In truth, she might have preferred inviting him onto the show, but that would of course be impossible. No one even know who he was, or if he was a he at all, and if they did he would have been arrested immediately.]

[Still, though. But in the meantime there was this other bright new star, Mikami. Perfect for exposure, for ratings, and from what she had seen he was rather good looking, too.]

[Kiyomi unfolds her hands just long enough to check her watch, and nods slightly. He has two minutes.]

Mello, Matt

Apr. 1st, 2009 08:08 pm
[identity profile] matchstickrule.livejournal.com
[Their time at the hotel is almost up. Meetings had been held, locations inspected, and everything was perched on the edge of being ready. But it wasn't quite, and Matt had, after all, insisted that Mello needed a break. A mental recovery period, as it were, to complement Matt's physical one. His back still hurts a bit, and there's a scar there, and when Mello's fingers brush over it his blood still runs cold. That should stop eventually, but it hasn't, yet.]

[That was the first problem with taking time off.]

[The second was, of course, the fact that Mello gets incredibly restless in a very short span of time, so any efforts in the name of relaxation are hopelessly wasted. And worse, it annoys him the way it always has, which leaves him feeling restless and irritable.]

[He takes a shower to calm his nerves but on the way out of the bathroom he pulls a towel over his head roughly, more to get the action over with than out of any real desire to get his hair dry. And he tries not to think about anything that might be happening outside of this room, with himself and Matt and the tv turned off so that he wouldn't end up compulsively watching the news again.]

[He leaves the towel draped around his neck as he heads straight to the nightstand and tugs the drawer open with a little grumble.]

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