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Chapter 7

Fear

“Tell me...”

“I told you I'm not going to tell you.” Beyond Birthday spoke as he waved his hand, to add emphasis if for nothing more. Sitting crouched down with a half empty jar of strawberry jam at his side the young boy placed his fingers into the jar and took said fingers directly to his mouth. A smile grace his features as he licked the jam remains from his finger tips, before putting his hand back into the jar and repeating the process.

“Why not?” A young girl who sat, normally mind you, a few feet from him asked. Short black hair and equally dark eyes made up her features, with only a pair of glasses adorning her face. “Don’t tell me you’re actually doing me a favor...”

“Favor!? Oh please...” Beyond chuckled as he licked his fingers once again, following by placing his hand back into the jar. Much to his dismay, he found out the his precious jar was now empty. ‘Damn it all...’

“Please what? All I’m asking is that you tell me the date I die. Is that to much to ask?” The younger girl spoke up, narrowing her eyes. When Beyond paid no mind to her, instead opting to try and stick his tongue into the jar, she continued. “You knew both my name and date of death from the moment you first laid your eyes on me, so you should have no inconveniences on telling me it.”

“Are all you women this annoying?” Was Beyond’s reply, figuring out that his tongue wouldn’t go any further. “I already told you, I’m not telling you.”

“You worried I’ll get depressed?”

“As if.” Beyond just grinned as he turned to face the girl, setting the empty jar aside. “On the contrary, I won’t give you that pleasure.”

She just blinked, having not expected that answer. He, in turn, smiled, knowing he had caught her off guard. They were few moments in which he actually managed to do so, he enjoyed them so much. “Knowing the date you die is like being able to control your fate, have no boundaries or limits. To be truly free from this cursed existence we call life... If only ever so much.”

“How is that?”

“How else?” He shrugged, as if she was asking the most obvious question. “Knowing when you die is like knowing no matter what you do, you will not die, at least not until that day arrives. It’s like having a short lived immortality.”

“And you’re not telling me because...”

“You tell me mine, and I’ll gladly tell you yours.” He spoke as he stood up, the sound of his joints cracking as he did. “Does that sound fair, hmm?... A?”

“B... You know I can’t see it.” A spoke as she too stood up, dusting herself off in the process. “Unless you want me to kill you right now, then I may be able to give you a correct date.”

“You, kill me? I’d like to see you try... In fact, I’d like to see you kill anybody, anything. Might be fun to watch.” A just gave her companion a glare, before closing her eyes and walking by him. Beyond just smiled. “See... You’re too weak to even think about taking a life, much less actually take one.”

A stopped, her fist clenching a bit, not bothering to turn to face him. “You’d... give anything to know your own death, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah, but...” He stopped, thinking for a moment. Before A could speak, he did. “I’d actually rather see the death of the world instead. Now that, would be interesting...”

A spoke nothing more, she just carried on walking, leaving Beyond behind. He shrugged, not understanding why she had been so persistent today. What he didn’t see, never saw, was the look in her eyes as she left. A mix of sadness and pity, centered around herself and him. He never saw that, his eyes were being focused on the symbols above her head.

‘Why is it A?’ He spoke in his mind, wanting to ask her, but being afraid to do so. ‘That your date... is in only a few days away?...’

-

His eyes slowly reopened, his blurry vision taking a few moments until they managed to make out the silhouette of a very dark room. As his eyes accustomed themselves to the darkness he managed to make out more and more of the room’s interior, which seemed to be some sort of hotel room, thought a different one than the one he had been staying in. The bed was slightly larger, it actually smelled nice, and it had furniture.

Beyond Birthday moved himself in an effort to lift his body into a sitting position, but was stopped from doing so by a sharp pain that ran through every fiber of his body, causing him to clench his teeth in the process to avoid cursing out loud. After the strong pain began to cease, Beyond closed his eyes for a moment to ease his breathing, following by opening his eyes widely in realization.

Ignoring the pain his body felt, Beyond sat up right and managed to get himself, with some effort, back on his feet. His fist clenched as his breathing deepened. ‘Kira...’

He remembered now, everything. He had been with him, Light Yagami, or rather, Kira. They, alongside some girl, had gotten on the bus, and for the second time in his life, Beyond has let his guard down, had allowed himself to make a mistake. And it almost cost him his life.

“Damn it, curse him... Who does he think he is dealing with huh?” Beyond spoke up, at a higher volume than he accustomed to. It was strange, for him, to feel such a mix of emotions. Anger, hate, frustration, embarrassment. He was no stranger to this kinds of emotions, but he hardly ever showed them.

He had been humiliated by Kira, played as a fool when he had been the one trying to make Kira look like a fool. He placed on of his hands on his face, fingers rubbing his eyes not so gently, his smile getting wider as he continued to speak. “What the hell then? Huh! What the hell! He thinks he can do that to me? Who does he think he’s dealing with! I’m no common thug!”

Beyond’s mind drifted towards that of his competitor, and would be predecessor. L. The man Beyond had tried to surpass ever since he had first heard of him and that damn orphanage. First as a successor, then as a criminal, and now as a un-private detective. But the result was always the same. Failure.

He had not been good enough to succeed L, and thanks to Misora, he had not been good enough to defeat him either. Now that he could beat L at his own game, he had been almost killed if not by Misora’s intervention. Kira had made a fool of him, treated him like if he was just one more agent or criminal, not a true opponent. Not like L. L, in a broadcast aired across the world, had played Kira for a fool and managed to pinpoint his location. What did he, the great Beyond Birthday, have to show for it. He was now here, forced to lick his wounds while Kira was still out there.

“Curse that b*****d!!” His hand swung around as he toppled the nearest lamp onto the floor, its crash being echoed across the room. Beyond just panted, gasped from breath. He couldn’t take this anymore. That b*****d had to die, Kira had to fall at the hands of B, not L. He wouldn’t allow himself to fail again, to be made a mockery off. Beyond Birthday was no one’s fool.

“Beyond...”

A voice he had begun to familiarize with echoed through the dark room, while Beyond remained silent. He just stood there, his back to her, his mind still lost in thought. Naomi just looked on, actual concern shown on her features. She had begun to know him a bit, but not fully. She didn’t know how he would react, but the crash she had just heard was proof enough that he wasn’t in a very talkative mood. She still stood in a defensive position. This man was not easy to read.

“Misora.” His voice caused her to flinch slightly. It had been so long since she had heard him speak with a vice so cold, so dead. He turned himself, facing her, meeting her gaze with his own. Before she could speak, he continued. “Where are we?”

“We’re in a hotel... Marion to be exact. It’s not too far from where the police station resides, you wouldn’t believe how hard it was f-”

“What time is it?”

Her eyes widened slightly, a bit surprised. First time he had ever interrupted her like that, much less with such a voice, that was honestly creeping her out. She frowned, deepening her voice slightly to sound a tad more serious. “It’s already one o’clock in the morning, you’ve been out for-”

Ignoring her comments, Beyond walked by passed her, walking directly towards the door. He was stopped, however, by Naomi’s hand being placed on his shoulder. “You’re in no cond-”

“Get your hand off of me.”

She blinked. Twice. “Bey-”

“Get it off Misora!” Beyond Birthday turned to face her again, pushing her hand away with his own. His eyes had narrowed a bit, now forming a frown, and his glare was fixed directly at her. This caused her to glare back, as she felt herself begin to boil in the inside. “Just what the hell is your problem!” She spoke, raising her voice. Honestly, this man acted like if he were still a child. “Just because you got hurt doesn’t mean you have to get all emot-”

She really hadn’t seen him move, at least not soon enough. Part of the reason was that she had not fully accustomed herself to the dark just yet. Also, she too had been injured, a set of bandages wrapped tightly across nearly her entire arm. Her reaction time had suffered because of this. Lastly, she had honestly not expected such an action, even from him.

Now she just stood there, eyes wide open, with her gun she carried in her person at all times being pointed directly at her, in between the eyes. It took her a few moments to come to, and when her eyes shifted to meet those of Beyond’s, she could hardly believe they where those of the same man she had been with for the past days.

“B-Beyond... You...” Her eyes narrowed, she had lived through many situations in which she had been forced to keep her cool, this was no exception, but she was at a lost of words.

“I will not be made a fool off. I will go deal with Kira, my way. So don’t you worry your pretty little head off now.” Beyond allowed a smile to grace his features, as he waved the gun slightly. Still, his grip didn’t loosen, as Naomi noted.

“Your planning on murdering him.” Her voice lowered her eyes drifting towards the floor for a brief moment. Beyond just shook his head. “I wouldn’t call it murder. It’s just... my brand of justice.”

“It’s still murder. Even I could have done that. This isn’t what we do.” She clenched her fist as her voice raised. “We?” He spoke up, as a chuckle escaped his lips. “You mean you and L. Don’t compare me to him.”

“I’d never, you don’t compare.” She remained serious, while his eyes filled with rage.

“Don’t you dare ******** with me Misora! I will not be made a fool by Kira, I will not lose to L again, and I will not be stopped by you! Don’t think for a minute just because I’ve been helping you that I will hesitate to kill you!” The gun was placed once more pointing directly at her, her expression, however, remained.

“I can’t let you go... L entrusted you to me. So far I have loosened my grip on you, but not because I’m afraid of you. Even if I hate to admit it, I do trust you.” Naomi’s eyes softened, smiling a bit. Beyond’s eyes widened slightly, a bit surprised at her statement.

‘So that’s why...’

“But if you murder Light Yagami, even if he is Kira, you’ll just look like a another murderer. Everyone who’s died trying to bring him to justice would have done so for nothing.”

“Stop being so idealistic. Look at the world you’re living in. Even if, if, we manage to bring him to justice, many others will have to die. Is that what you want?” He stopped, waiting for a response. When she gave none, nor a change of expression he continued. “I’ll stop him my way, interfere with me and I’ll-”

“I won’t let you do it.”

His eyes widened. She interrupted, her facial expression unchanging and her voice as calm as it normally was. The only thing that showed some expression were her eyes, a mix of sadness and disappointment visible in them. His body tensed, as he felt himself loose control. “Just...” He spoke up, through his clenched teeth.

“WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU DEALING WITH MISORA!”

His grip tightened again, this time on the hand that held the gun. Perhaps that’s what she needed. She needed to see he was not someone she could control. Kira would die that day. L would lose. B would win. Simple. He just needed to show Naomi he was not afraid to kill if he must, even if it meant her. Still, it was just for show if for anything else. For both her and himself. He knew that that day was not her stated day to die, so he couldn’t really kill her even if he tried. His grip, however, tightened a bit more than he had expected. Everything, in his eyes, froze.

Her name, floating gently across her head, wavered. Below it, the stated date of her death changed. Since growing up, Beyond Birthday never could understand what those symbols even meant. He knew they had to be numbers of some kind, constantly decreasing like a timer. He had figured out early on that the least amount of symbols, the sooner the person would die. When he set out to kill someone, he would always look to see if that person had few symbols, since he had begun to learn which ones meant they had less than a day to live. Also, the faster they changed meant the sooner their death would be.

His eyes opened widely, as the symbols above Naomi’s head decreased until only two remained, both constantly changing at an incredibly fast rate. He practically threw the gun out of his hand, as if it had burned deep into his flesh, much to Naomi’s sudden surprise.

The gun flew across the room, a loud thud being heard on its landing, a few feet from them. Naomi just looked on, surprised, as Beyond placed on of his hands across his face. Both of his hands had begun to shake slightly, but before she could speak, his soft laughter filled the room. Said laughter grew louder and louder, until he seemed to be screaming instead of laughing.

“Now that’s, what I call interesting. So I can kill Kira, if I get close enough. I had never tried to kill someone who was not stated to die that day.” Beyond spoke up, between laughs. “I always wondered what would happen if I shot somebody who wasn’t stated to die on the face. I always thought they’d end in a coma or something; or I’d be unable to do so by some reason or another... funny.”

“You didn’t know... and yet, you were planning on killing him?” Naomi spoke up when his laughing fit ceased, as he met her glare with his own. “Now I’m not even sure myself, really. I was hoping to be able to kill him someway, if not perhaps I could just torture him a bit, rip an arm or leg off for punishment. But now... I could-”

“Ryuzaki...”

“Damn it Misora!” His voiced raised yet again, although this time Naomi’s expression remained unchanged. “Stop doing everything by the god damn book. Don’t you want justice to be served. For all the people his killed. For all the people he’s made suffer. For your damn fiancé!”

“Don’t put Raye into this!” Her voice now raised to match his own, as her expression now bore a slight tone of both anger and sadness. Beyond just smiled. “He... He wasn’t that kind of man. Raye would have never wished for something like that to happen.”

“But don’t you. Did his death mean nothing to you. You’d rather let more people die. Let Kira celebrate killing people on daily basis, while you do nothing about it. You told me you loved Raye, or were those just empty words from a woman who seems to be actually glad that her so-called fiancé was mur-”

He had seen it in many movies previously, the scene in which the protagonist insulted the female lead and in turn was met by a slap in the face. He actually laughed during those scenes. He didn’t think Naomi would be that type of girl, and he had been correct. What connected with his face was more of a clenched fist rather than an openhanded slap.

In moments he found himself on the floor, his hands being the only thing holding him up from actually being flat on it. His eyes glanced up at her, but were met instead by the tears streaming down her eyes, even with her efforts not to cry. She brushed them away as soon as they came out, opting to instead speak. Even then, her voice was still somewhat calm...

“I loved Raye... and I still do. I want nothing more than to avenge his death. But if I kill, even if it is Kira, I’d be no better than him. Kira kills murders and criminals because he thinks it’s his duty, his role. He kills agents and the police because he’s afraid they’ll catch him. He kills... for his own selfish reasons.” Naomi spoke, stopping for a moment. “I will not stoop down to his level, I’m above that. So is Raye. L as well... and I used to think, that even you too...”

“Wha-”

“I disliked you so much you know... when I fist met you. You gave me the creeps, but it was to be expected. I mean, what kind of man hides under a bed and then just crawls out.” She said, chuckling slightly. Beyond just looked on, his eyes widen a bit. “I thought you were the biggest freak in the world, and I would have arrested you then and there if I had had my badge with me, but...”

Naomi stopped, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I was forced to work alongside you, solving the clues the murderer had left behind to be able to know his next target. Even as weird as you were, with you, after all those blunder and mistakes I had made during my time working for the force, I actually felt like I was doing something. Despite the fact that you were the last person I’d would ever be want to be in a room with, I began to trust you. You were smart, in your own way... At times, I felt like if I was even speaking to L himself...”

Beyond would have argued, would have shouted, anything. But he didn’t. He just looked on, for the first time being able to hear her speak about him, praise him. She smiled again, cocking her head to the side. “In the end, it turned out you were the killer, and I had to run down the stairs to save your a** from burning itself. I got my career back after that, and my relationship with Raye became closer...”

Beyond didn’t understand why, of all time, he actually frowned at the last statement, but still, he said nothing. “But even then.” She continued. “A part of me still respected you.”

His eyes widened, as he moved himself to stand up, but opted to remain sitting. “What do you mean Mi-Naomi? Why?”

“I had heard many things about L, a lot of things. And I knew what happened when someone copied him... You knew as well, but it didn’t matter. You had your goal, and you went for it. You challenged L, the greatest detective in the world, and almost won. Even if I didn’t agree with you, I still respected that. You had a mission, and you didn’t let anything stand in your way. Not even your own death... So answer me this... since when...”

He just looked on, as Naomi’s eyes were focused directly on his, before continuing. “...Was Beyond Birthday afraid of death?”

Neither spoke, as silence filled the room. Naomi just looked on as Beyond’s eyes shifted from hers onto the floor, his mind seemingly deep in thought. A few whole minutes passed as neither one of them said anything. They didn’t even move. Beyond only shifted his index finger from side to side, as if mirroring a ticking clock.

“You know... sometimes...” Beyond broke the silence, moving his head to face her. “I don’t know which one of us is truly more dangerous.”

As he spoke, Beyond lifted himself up, dusting himself up in the process. He was thankful for the fact that Naomi’s fist had connected with his cheek, rather than his nose. He liked to see blood as much as the next guy, but he wasn’t too fond of seeing his own. His head shifted as his posture returned to its crooked stance. “We’ll do this your way then, and bring Light-kun to justice.”

A smile graced her features as she seemed to relax a bit. “Good to have you back, Ryuzaki...” With those words she then turned and headed out of the room, but was stopped in turn by his hand on her shoulder. Before she could speak, he did.

“...Thanks...”

“...Don’t mention it.”

-

With a few more steps, he managed to make his way through the front yard, and in a few moments, enter his home. Discarding his shoes in favor of the much more comfortable sandals, Light Yagami made his way onto the leaving room. He did, however, notice that his father’s shoes were placed on the side of the door. ‘Dad’s home... He’ll get news of what happened to Shiori eventually, so I have to act like I don’t know anything yet. I’ll let him break the new to me later...’

Walking into the leaving room, Light allowed himself to smile, ignoring his chuckling Shinigami companion who had apparently entered the room before him. “Dad, you’re home. About time, I’ve been won-...”

“Oh Light, you’re home.” Soichiro Yagami spoke up, turning his attention towards his son. Sitting alongside him were both Sachiko and Sayu, both who also turned to face the young man. “Please sit down for a moment... I’d like you to meet a friend of mine.”

Light’s eyes widened with utter shock, the only thing that allowed him to keep his cool being the experience he had with these kinds of situations. His body froze and for a moment he felt like he was seeing a ghost. His mind raced as he thought about every possible explanation for this, all the while Ryuk burst out into even more laughter.

“Hi there. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you Light Yagami...” L spoke up, crouching down into one of the many seats that adorned the leaving room. His eyes met with those of Light, and even he could help grin a bit. “I’m glad to be able to finally meet you.”


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About time L made his move. Let’s see how Light-kun deals with this...

Thanks again everyone and do leave some more jam, I just can’t get enough...