“No. I plan to make another attempt with just Misora and myself tonight.”
Mello frowned as he continued to focus on the dark shadows that made up the ceiling. There wasn't much that L couldn't do...at least, that was what he'd grown up believing. Something bad must have happened. "Did you run into monsters?" he asked. L had seemed fine earlier in the day, but he hadn't seen much of Misora or any of L's sword-or-knife-or-whatever roommate.
“You seemed to have had success. I was quite surprised, considering the amount of time we had left last night. How did you manage?”
"It wasn't pretty," Mello admitted. Normally, he might have hidden his methods, but L's difficulty made it hard for him to resist the urge to brag. "Most of the rooms were useless, and the one that might have been useful was...well, filled with people who didn't want me there. People trying to make explosives and chemical weapons. Luckily, I knew more about the shit than they did. I think I'll work with them."
Mello took a deep breath and closed his eyes as a self-satisfied grin spread over his face. "I couldn't ask them for anything, since they already figured I was a thief, so I tried the clinic next. You wouldn't believe how incompetent those people are." Talking so much was a rarity for the young man, but it wasn't often that he'd rather impress someone than use them. "After that, enough people owed me favors that no one was upset about me pocketing a pair of scissors." It was a slight exaggeration, but even if L didn't believe it, he'd expect a bit of embellishment from Mello. "I'll probably head there again tonight. Seems like the best way to start off."
He still wasn't sure what his end goal would be, but he knew he'd need to be as indispensable as possible.
The thump startled Mello, and he pushed himself up abruptly to look at his radio, and then the wall. He opened his mouth to question, but what could he say? L? Ryuzaki? Ryuga? Before he'd made up his mind, the man's voice returned.
"Testing."
"Still here," Mello responded. It only took him a few seconds to calculate the time. For the most part, his temper had been stable throughout the evening, so he hadn't been distracted enough to completely lose his internal clock. "Two hours and twelve minutes," he said, then frowned and fell back to the mattress, lifting one hand to his mouth and resting his head on the other. "Eighteen. Eighteen minutes." Twenty? Twenty-two? "I got thrown into a wall so kinda I lost count," he said. His disorientation after meeting Sai had only lasted an instant, but Mello would rather admit to physical weaknesses than mental ones.
Slowly, L's idea began to take form in his own thoughts. His mentor had been surprised that Mello managed to find tools within what he'd described as a small amount of time, but if anything, Mello was embarrassed by how long it took when he admitted the actual length. "You think..." he said, his voice partially muffled by his fingers, but the words faded into a thoughtful hum. As obvious as it seemed, he didn't want to risk voicing such an absurd theory. "How long were you three out there?"
“Eight minutes, four seconds. That is certainly a noticeable difference.” The radio was silent for a second before L continued. "As interesting as this discovery is, there is still a lot to cover tonight and I would prefer not to waste more time than we have to. We can likely discuss it in further detail on the bulletin board tomorrow, as I am sure input from the other patients would be beneficial. Then, perhaps we could conduct some tests at a later date."
Mello was less stunned than L had been, but at this point, he was willing to accept anything. L could tell him that the entire institute was a reality TV show for a futuristic version of Sakura TV and he'd probably buy it. His first suspicion wasn't that time moved differently, however. More likely, people lost consciousness at different points. It would be interesting to find out what the other patients knew and suspected, though.
"What happened after I died?"
At that question, Mello was silent. He'd known the subject would come up, but so bluntly? His sigh of concentration would have been audible across the radio. "Watari deleted your files as instructed," he started. That fact had been particularly frustrating. L should have kept some kind of backup for his successors, but then, that must have been another test. "Roger wanted Near and me to work together. I thought he was brighter than that." No one associated with the orphanage should have considered that a possibility.
This was where things got difficult, and Mello's lengthy silence revealed that he was uncomfortable relating the details of what happened next. L frequently broke the law during his investigations, but that was different: L was above the law. The things Mello had done done to catch Kira--murder, blackmail, extortion--would have disappointed L, if not caused him to outright disown his second protege.
"I left Wammy's House and pursued Kira on my own," he finally said. "Without the files, it took years to build up the evidence--that was a sadistic little test, by the way--but I came to the same conclusion you did." He sat up a little, rolling onto his stomach and propping his weight on his elbows. A thoughtful grunt. "The media turned to Kira. Crime rates plummeted. A ton of countries called off their dogs, but since I'd never had the backing of a government organization, that didn't affect my investigation." He bit the nail of his index finger for a second, then let his head and shoulders fall back to the bed. It was impossible to lie to L, who'd most likely memorized his files and studied his tells since he arrived at the orphanage, but with luck, he could relate the story in such a way that L wouldn't pay undue attention to the holes.
"If it was January first when I arrived at the institute, as I suspect, Kira will be in custody in about three weeks," he said. As much as he hated Near, he was confident in his competitor's abilities, especially with the clues Mello had given him. His words were carefully chosen in the hopes that L would believe he'd been the driving force of the investigation, rather than the white-haired brat.
"So far, my theory about this place is that people who are gathered around certain important events in their own worlds are often brought into this world, which would explain Kira, the blond girl, and Misora. If you're wondering who to expect beyond those you already worked with, there's Mikami, who was the last Kira; Takada, who was Kira's spokesperson; Matt, who you should remember; and possibly a few members of Near's and my investigation groups." He wanted to avoid directly using Light and Misa's names over what he couldn't be confident was a secure channel, even though L would have told him if it wasn't. "It's also possible that some of the Shinigami could show up."
Of course. Of course it hadn't been a test. L's plan collided with the belief he'd held for years, sending off hundreds of sparks. Had L known he would run away? Turn to crime? Had L predicted every one of his movements?
There was a loud thud as he slammed his palm into the wall, which was substantially harder than he'd expected. He hissed in pain and annoyance as he fell back onto the bed and scowled deeply, rubbing his hand. He only half-listened to L's explanation for his actions. As soon as the fact hit, every detail had fallen into place. Strangely, he wasn't angry about being used. Although he'd always hoped to better L, he'd never considered the man a rival. Instead, he was furious with himself for missing something so obvious. He was smarter than that. He knew he was smarter than that.
Of course, L nailed the next fact too: “I see, you turned to organized crime.”
A quiet and subtle sigh from the back of his throat indicated that while Mello wasn't ashamed of what he'd done, he wasn't pleased to admit it. He'd made the sound many times as a child, when one of the adults unraveled and halted a complicated plan that should have resulted in Near's misery, but he hadn't had the opportunity to use it in over half a decade. "Yeah," he said. Although his voice was not loud, it was clearly defensive. "I needed power and influence. I was fourteen. There aren't many ways for a fourteen year old to pull that off."
He dropped the subject quickly. L didn't need details, and he didn't want to provide them, even if the only other option was moving on to one of the few subjects he hated more. "I don't know what Near did after I left. He had the resources of your estate behind him, and I'm sure he took advantage of that." Most of the tension was hidden from his voice. "After a few years he went to the American government, and they gave him an investigation group. I had a contact there, so I learned everything they learned. It wasn't much." That wasn't a complete lie. Until the end, Mello had kept a few steps ahead of the SPK, and there was no reason to continue the story to the end. Another annoyed grunt indicated that that was all he had to say on the subject.
“I see you managed to meet Fowl-kun. I don’t believe that this started on the bulletin board. How did you manage to make such an adversary so soon?”
A small smile appeared on Mello's lips as he heard the choice of honorific, but he scowled again when he remembered the L's words on the message board. "I met him at dinner last night," he said. "There's not much to say about it. He's petty, immature, and overconfident. Our personalities are incompatible." Mello flexed his fingers and a dull ache moved through his wrist. He should probably avoid hitting walls in the future, but he mentally congratulated himself on using his hand rather than the radio itself. L might have dismissed the thump as a mechanical quirk...after all, something similar had happened a few minutes earlier. His anger was still running hot when he approached the next subject, though he tried to keep the indignation from his voice by attempting to match L's style of speech
"In the future, I'd appreciate it if you refrained from criticizing me on the bulletin board," he began. The clinical eloquence was a poor fit, and it showed. "You could have hidden your message as an otherwise meaningless response to my request for a list of languages, or added it to our earlier conversation about the scissors. Even a new post would have been preferable. I can't earn the respect of the other patients if they think I'm someone's pawn, and we agreed that I would work on my own. I know my methods differ from yours, but you trusted me to handle the Kira case and I brought it to a conclusion. I deserve to be treated as an equal rather than a protégé."
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing. If I was in the same situation and had your skills I would have certainly considered it as a possibility. And seeing as how the world eventually sided with Kira it would have been considered good foresight.” A thoughtful pause from L's side of the radio. “Besides, familiarities in such things may help you succeed in areas I can’t in this institute.”
L's approval of his methods caused the edges of Mello's mouth to turn up in a satisfied smile, although it was hard to tell when one of his compliment was genuine. Both of them were fully aware of the power L held over his self-image, and Mello was sure L would exploit it if necessary. He'd done it in the past, at least.
“It appears as though Kira has his eyes on Fowl-kun. Considering the boys intelligence and influence, he could become a useful tool should he figure out how to use him… if Kira hasn’t made him into one already.
When the conversation turned to Artemis, Mello gave a deep sigh that could have been interpreted as a growl. "He's not a useful tool," he snapped. "He's a child with an inflated sense of self-importance, and if Kira chooses to use him, I overestimated Kira's intelligence." This time, he didn't bother to disguise the disgust and bitterness in his tone before he approached the second part of L's statement.
It doesn’t matter to me who you chose to make enemies with, but know that this one is someone I have interest in. So providing me any information you have on him could prove to be useful.”
"Artemis Fowl the Second," Mello started. The arrogance had returned to his voice--not that it ever truly left--and he spoke with the air of someone reading from an encyclopedia. "Currently fourteen years old. He spent the last few years kidnapping and blackmailing fairies to get his hands on their gold, and he did a decent job...built some fairy supercomputer, anyways. He thought he was in in it for the money, but he was doing it to impress his parents. He still doesn't realize that, though."
Mello took a deep breath and exhaled contentedly. He'd done damn well for spending less than forty eight hours in the place, and he enjoyed being able to show it. Almost no one could have figured out this much shit in so short a time frame. Not even Near, he thought with a smile.
"He comes from a family of criminals, so it's only logical that he'd want to live up to them," he continued. "He had a butler who followed him everywhere--named Butler, if you'd believe it--so Mommy and Daddy weren't around much. He figured that if he could pull off enough impressive shit, someone would notice." Mello lifted the radio, idly swinging it by the strap. "Then, somewhere along the line, he met some fairy named Holly and discovered the true meaning of Christmas." He smirked as he sat up and lifted a hand to his mouth to gnaw on his fingertips.
"Now, he's a sap. He'd do anything to protect his friends, and he's got a few here...if you figure out who they are, that's the best way to get to him. I think they're high ranking in the Arts and Crafts group. He's not airtight, though. He's considered working as a spy for the institute."
Mello fell back to the mattress with a thump, grinning. "That's all I've got for now," he said. "Still working, of course."
"Just one more thing," Mello said. He knew he needed to start on the night's work as well, but the clinic shouldn't be busy this early in the evening and he didn't know when he'd have his next opportunity to talk to L. "Kira." While investigation and public relations were two of Mello's strong points, there were a number of inconsistencies between what he'd observed in the outside world and what L was telling him about their earlier foe.
"This place is a den of unapologetic criminals," he started. It took one to know one, after all. "Over thirty percent of the inmates have killed someone, and a bunch of those victims were innocent. But Kira doesn't care. Why?" His face read deep concentration and the radio swung slowly beside him as he paced, biting the now-ragged tip of his ring finger.
"Kira didn't start this shit because he wanted control," he continued. "There are way better routes to power for a person with a death note. Blackmail. Extortion. All kinds of threats. But instead, he started picking off criminals...criminals who'd never affected him or his family."
Mello stopped walking and closed his eyes to concentrate. His thoughts raced faster than his mind could phrase them, and although he was certain he was on to something, he wasn't sure he could convey it to L. "Everything he did, he did to build a utopia. He thought he was doing it for the greater good, and he never acted out of spite or a desire for personal revenge. Even after I--"
His voice cut off abruptly and a tense silence presided for several seconds. Mello wasn't used to giving monologues: he preferred shooting first and asking questions later, and he never needed to justify his actions. It was harder than he expected to verbalize things he understood intuitively.
"It's over," he finally said. "The whole thing is over. Nothing either of you do can affect what's out there. This is your world now, and although Kira's an obvious sociopath, he's obsessed with justice and his idea of ethics. Unless you stand between him and his perfect world, he's not going to kill you, and in a place filled to the brim with murderers and other criminals, you'd make a much better ally than a victim."
"What you've gotta do now is figure out why Kira is associating with the type of people he would kill in a heartbeat if he had his note. He has a larger plan, yeah, but it's not about you. Something makes him think that by befriending and using those people, he can turn this place into the world he wants it to be."
He flopped back onto the bed with a soft thud. "I'll take care of Kira. If he's trying to collect smart and influential friends, I fit the bill and I know enough about his psychology to mimic the other traits he's looking for." Mello reached for a pen and lifted the end to his lips. "Any time or energy that you waste on paranoia or competition is energy that would be better spent solving this puzzle."
Mello's voice was cool and matter-of-fact. It was obvious that every shred of irony in the statement had cruised miles above his head.
Mello frowned as he continued to focus on the dark shadows that made up the ceiling. There wasn't much that L couldn't do...at least, that was what he'd grown up believing. Something bad must have happened. "Did you run into monsters?" he asked. L had seemed fine earlier in the day, but he hadn't seen much of Misora or any of L's sword-or-knife-or-whatever roommate.
“You seemed to have had success. I was quite surprised, considering the amount of time we had left last night. How did you manage?”
"It wasn't pretty," Mello admitted. Normally, he might have hidden his methods, but L's difficulty made it hard for him to resist the urge to brag. "Most of the rooms were useless, and the one that might have been useful was...well, filled with people who didn't want me there. People trying to make explosives and chemical weapons. Luckily, I knew more about the shit than they did. I think I'll work with them."
Mello took a deep breath and closed his eyes as a self-satisfied grin spread over his face. "I couldn't ask them for anything, since they already figured I was a thief, so I tried the clinic next. You wouldn't believe how incompetent those people are." Talking so much was a rarity for the young man, but it wasn't often that he'd rather impress someone than use them. "After that, enough people owed me favors that no one was upset about me pocketing a pair of scissors." It was a slight exaggeration, but even if L didn't believe it, he'd expect a bit of embellishment from Mello. "I'll probably head there again tonight. Seems like the best way to start off."
He still wasn't sure what his end goal would be, but he knew he'd need to be as indispensable as possible.
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"Testing."
"Still here," Mello responded. It only took him a few seconds to calculate the time. For the most part, his temper had been stable throughout the evening, so he hadn't been distracted enough to completely lose his internal clock. "Two hours and twelve minutes," he said, then frowned and fell back to the mattress, lifting one hand to his mouth and resting his head on the other. "Eighteen. Eighteen minutes." Twenty? Twenty-two? "I got thrown into a wall so kinda I lost count," he said. His disorientation after meeting Sai had only lasted an instant, but Mello would rather admit to physical weaknesses than mental ones.
Slowly, L's idea began to take form in his own thoughts. His mentor had been surprised that Mello managed to find tools within what he'd described as a small amount of time, but if anything, Mello was embarrassed by how long it took when he admitted the actual length. "You think..." he said, his voice partially muffled by his fingers, but the words faded into a thoughtful hum. As obvious as it seemed, he didn't want to risk voicing such an absurd theory. "How long were you three out there?"
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Mello was less stunned than L had been, but at this point, he was willing to accept anything. L could tell him that the entire institute was a reality TV show for a futuristic version of Sakura TV and he'd probably buy it. His first suspicion wasn't that time moved differently, however. More likely, people lost consciousness at different points. It would be interesting to find out what the other patients knew and suspected, though.
"What happened after I died?"
At that question, Mello was silent. He'd known the subject would come up, but so bluntly? His sigh of concentration would have been audible across the radio. "Watari deleted your files as instructed," he started. That fact had been particularly frustrating. L should have kept some kind of backup for his successors, but then, that must have been another test. "Roger wanted Near and me to work together. I thought he was brighter than that." No one associated with the orphanage should have considered that a possibility.
This was where things got difficult, and Mello's lengthy silence revealed that he was uncomfortable relating the details of what happened next. L frequently broke the law during his investigations, but that was different: L was above the law. The things Mello had done done to catch Kira--murder, blackmail, extortion--would have disappointed L, if not caused him to outright disown his second protege.
"I left Wammy's House and pursued Kira on my own," he finally said. "Without the files, it took years to build up the evidence--that was a sadistic little test, by the way--but I came to the same conclusion you did." He sat up a little, rolling onto his stomach and propping his weight on his elbows. A thoughtful grunt. "The media turned to Kira. Crime rates plummeted. A ton of countries called off their dogs, but since I'd never had the backing of a government organization, that didn't affect my investigation." He bit the nail of his index finger for a second, then let his head and shoulders fall back to the bed. It was impossible to lie to L, who'd most likely memorized his files and studied his tells since he arrived at the orphanage, but with luck, he could relate the story in such a way that L wouldn't pay undue attention to the holes.
"If it was January first when I arrived at the institute, as I suspect, Kira will be in custody in about three weeks," he said. As much as he hated Near, he was confident in his competitor's abilities, especially with the clues Mello had given him. His words were carefully chosen in the hopes that L would believe he'd been the driving force of the investigation, rather than the white-haired brat.
"So far, my theory about this place is that people who are gathered around certain important events in their own worlds are often brought into this world, which would explain Kira, the blond girl, and Misora. If you're wondering who to expect beyond those you already worked with, there's Mikami, who was the last Kira; Takada, who was Kira's spokesperson; Matt, who you should remember; and possibly a few members of Near's and my investigation groups." He wanted to avoid directly using Light and Misa's names over what he couldn't be confident was a secure channel, even though L would have told him if it wasn't. "It's also possible that some of the Shinigami could show up."
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Of course. Of course it hadn't been a test. L's plan collided with the belief he'd held for years, sending off hundreds of sparks. Had L known he would run away? Turn to crime? Had L predicted every one of his movements?
There was a loud thud as he slammed his palm into the wall, which was substantially harder than he'd expected. He hissed in pain and annoyance as he fell back onto the bed and scowled deeply, rubbing his hand. He only half-listened to L's explanation for his actions. As soon as the fact hit, every detail had fallen into place. Strangely, he wasn't angry about being used. Although he'd always hoped to better L, he'd never considered the man a rival. Instead, he was furious with himself for missing something so obvious. He was smarter than that. He knew he was smarter than that.
Of course, L nailed the next fact too: “I see, you turned to organized crime.”
A quiet and subtle sigh from the back of his throat indicated that while Mello wasn't ashamed of what he'd done, he wasn't pleased to admit it. He'd made the sound many times as a child, when one of the adults unraveled and halted a complicated plan that should have resulted in Near's misery, but he hadn't had the opportunity to use it in over half a decade. "Yeah," he said. Although his voice was not loud, it was clearly defensive. "I needed power and influence. I was fourteen. There aren't many ways for a fourteen year old to pull that off."
He dropped the subject quickly. L didn't need details, and he didn't want to provide them, even if the only other option was moving on to one of the few subjects he hated more. "I don't know what Near did after I left. He had the resources of your estate behind him, and I'm sure he took advantage of that." Most of the tension was hidden from his voice. "After a few years he went to the American government, and they gave him an investigation group. I had a contact there, so I learned everything they learned. It wasn't much." That wasn't a complete lie. Until the end, Mello had kept a few steps ahead of the SPK, and there was no reason to continue the story to the end. Another annoyed grunt indicated that that was all he had to say on the subject.
“I see you managed to meet Fowl-kun. I don’t believe that this started on the bulletin board. How did you manage to make such an adversary so soon?”
A small smile appeared on Mello's lips as he heard the choice of honorific, but he scowled again when he remembered the L's words on the message board. "I met him at dinner last night," he said. "There's not much to say about it. He's petty, immature, and overconfident. Our personalities are incompatible." Mello flexed his fingers and a dull ache moved through his wrist. He should probably avoid hitting walls in the future, but he mentally congratulated himself on using his hand rather than the radio itself. L might have dismissed the thump as a mechanical quirk...after all, something similar had happened a few minutes earlier. His anger was still running hot when he approached the next subject, though he tried to keep the indignation from his voice by attempting to match L's style of speech
"In the future, I'd appreciate it if you refrained from criticizing me on the bulletin board," he began. The clinical eloquence was a poor fit, and it showed. "You could have hidden your message as an otherwise meaningless response to my request for a list of languages, or added it to our earlier conversation about the scissors. Even a new post would have been preferable. I can't earn the respect of the other patients if they think I'm someone's pawn, and we agreed that I would work on my own. I know my methods differ from yours, but you trusted me to handle the Kira case and I brought it to a conclusion. I deserve to be treated as an equal rather than a protégé."
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L's approval of his methods caused the edges of Mello's mouth to turn up in a satisfied smile, although it was hard to tell when one of his compliment was genuine. Both of them were fully aware of the power L held over his self-image, and Mello was sure L would exploit it if necessary. He'd done it in the past, at least.
“It appears as though Kira has his eyes on Fowl-kun. Considering the boys intelligence and influence, he could become a useful tool should he figure out how to use him… if Kira hasn’t made him into one already.
When the conversation turned to Artemis, Mello gave a deep sigh that could have been interpreted as a growl. "He's not a useful tool," he snapped. "He's a child with an inflated sense of self-importance, and if Kira chooses to use him, I overestimated Kira's intelligence." This time, he didn't bother to disguise the disgust and bitterness in his tone before he approached the second part of L's statement.
It doesn’t matter to me who you chose to make enemies with, but know that this one is someone I have interest in. So providing me any information you have on him could prove to be useful.”
"Artemis Fowl the Second," Mello started. The arrogance had returned to his voice--not that it ever truly left--and he spoke with the air of someone reading from an encyclopedia. "Currently fourteen years old. He spent the last few years kidnapping and blackmailing fairies to get his hands on their gold, and he did a decent job...built some fairy supercomputer, anyways. He thought he was in in it for the money, but he was doing it to impress his parents. He still doesn't realize that, though."
Mello took a deep breath and exhaled contentedly. He'd done damn well for spending less than forty eight hours in the place, and he enjoyed being able to show it. Almost no one could have figured out this much shit in so short a time frame. Not even Near, he thought with a smile.
"He comes from a family of criminals, so it's only logical that he'd want to live up to them," he continued. "He had a butler who followed him everywhere--named Butler, if you'd believe it--so Mommy and Daddy weren't around much. He figured that if he could pull off enough impressive shit, someone would notice." Mello lifted the radio, idly swinging it by the strap. "Then, somewhere along the line, he met some fairy named Holly and discovered the true meaning of Christmas." He smirked as he sat up and lifted a hand to his mouth to gnaw on his fingertips.
"Now, he's a sap. He'd do anything to protect his friends, and he's got a few here...if you figure out who they are, that's the best way to get to him. I think they're high ranking in the Arts and Crafts group. He's not airtight, though. He's considered working as a spy for the institute."
Mello fell back to the mattress with a thump, grinning. "That's all I've got for now," he said. "Still working, of course."
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"This place is a den of unapologetic criminals," he started. It took one to know one, after all. "Over thirty percent of the inmates have killed someone, and a bunch of those victims were innocent. But Kira doesn't care. Why?" His face read deep concentration and the radio swung slowly beside him as he paced, biting the now-ragged tip of his ring finger.
"Kira didn't start this shit because he wanted control," he continued. "There are way better routes to power for a person with a death note. Blackmail. Extortion. All kinds of threats. But instead, he started picking off criminals...criminals who'd never affected him or his family."
Mello stopped walking and closed his eyes to concentrate. His thoughts raced faster than his mind could phrase them, and although he was certain he was on to something, he wasn't sure he could convey it to L. "Everything he did, he did to build a utopia. He thought he was doing it for the greater good, and he never acted out of spite or a desire for personal revenge. Even after I--"
His voice cut off abruptly and a tense silence presided for several seconds. Mello wasn't used to giving monologues: he preferred shooting first and asking questions later, and he never needed to justify his actions. It was harder than he expected to verbalize things he understood intuitively.
"It's over," he finally said. "The whole thing is over. Nothing either of you do can affect what's out there. This is your world now, and although Kira's an obvious sociopath, he's obsessed with justice and his idea of ethics. Unless you stand between him and his perfect world, he's not going to kill you, and in a place filled to the brim with murderers and other criminals, you'd make a much better ally than a victim."
"What you've gotta do now is figure out why Kira is associating with the type of people he would kill in a heartbeat if he had his note. He has a larger plan, yeah, but it's not about you. Something makes him think that by befriending and using those people, he can turn this place into the world he wants it to be."
He flopped back onto the bed with a soft thud. "I'll take care of Kira. If he's trying to collect smart and influential friends, I fit the bill and I know enough about his psychology to mimic the other traits he's looking for." Mello reached for a pen and lifted the end to his lips. "Any time or energy that you waste on paranoia or competition is energy that would be better spent solving this puzzle."
Mello's voice was cool and matter-of-fact. It was obvious that every shred of irony in the statement had cruised miles above his head.
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