You've got that "Killer" instinct

[near_your_enemy]

Study, and the desire to get himself away from everything that seemed to be going on as of late, dragged N into the library.   He didn't mind being alone--as a matter of fact, since Light had dissapeared, he rather enjoyed it.

So, N sits on the floor in the library, stacking books.   It's been a rather uneventful day, but the trials of balancing the

Comments

[filecorrupted]

[Matt had spoken to Mel and, after some deep thinking, decides to pay a visit to the library.

At first, he doesn't notice N. Until he sees that N is in the psychology section. He doesn't bother him, out of courtesy, and simply skims the titles around him, which doesn't help that the book he's after is right behind N on the self.

He's kind when he asks, though, even offering a polite smile.]

I don't mean to disturb you, but can you hand me The Psychology Behind Political Science, please?

[near_your_enemy]

He hears the library door opening and allows his gaze to flicker up, once, before returning to what he was doing, balancing two books against one another to form a roof for his latest building, before moving on to another one, pulling them from the shelves and beginning to stack them in another pile.

His eyes barely glance up as Matt approaches, a distasteful look on his face in response to the smile.

Tilting his head behind him to look at the book in question, N pulls it out, only to stack it atop another tower.

"As you can see, I'm using it."

[filecorrupted]

[Matt's gaze does harden slightly, but he looks curiously at him when he sees that N lacks a lifespan. But he can be a jerk right back (while being nice), so he merely shrugs and walks to another shelf, taking a random book about the same size and thickness of the one he had been after. He then goes to the tower, and, being careful not to damage it or displace any other books, exchanges the two.]

Thank you.

[near_your_enemy]

He watches this motion with a steely nonchalance, eyes discreetly following Matt as he moves to another shelf. N can guess what he's going to do before he does it, but he doesn't move, letting the other person touch his tower--without his permission. He remains impassive, though seething slightly on the inside, before he reaches out and pulls one book out of the base of his tower, sending the rest of it toppling towards Matt.

"You're welcome."

[filecorrupted]

[Matt carefully sidesteps the books, without having to resort to kicking them.]

Your tower fell.

[near_your_enemy]

"I'm awed by your intellectual prowess."

He reaches over and places the book back at the base of where his tower was, before moving to reclaim another toppled book and beginning to build up again.

[filecorrupted]

Are you always this nice or am I just special? [He doesn't seem too interested - he's now leaning against a self while flipping through the book after taking off his gloves and shoving them into his pocket. He settles on a chapter about criminal minds to read.]

[near_your_enemy]

He's more than slightly irked by Matt's presance, but hardly shows it as he continues to rebuild his book tower.

"You haven't left yet, so I'm obviously doing something right."

[filecorrupted]

Call it curiosity.

[near_your_enemy]

His gaze sharpens, just slightly, but he doesn't look up. Upon rebuilding his tower, he sits in the middle with all of the book-buildings around him and twirls a finger in his hair.

"You're allowed to take that book with you."

[filecorrupted]

Thanks. If you need me, I'll be in the law section.

[He turns to go, purposely letting his Zippo drop onto the floor a few feet from N. If N bothered to take the lighter apart, he'd see a little piece of notebook paper stashed carefully inside. But Matt's gone, already setting various books on law and psychology on the table for research.]

[near_your_enemy]

Law? Psychology of Political Science

[filecorrupted]

[Matt has patience enough to wait for N to get the message. And if he doesn't, oh well. The paper in the lighter was a decoy, anyway. If anyone else came across it, it wouldn't be taken so seriously. The air in the mansion was too lax.

And that was, perhaps, what bothered Matt the most.

So, armed with a notebook and a pencil, he begins to take notes in a code he had invented for the sole purpose of his own personal privacy. Only he and his 'colleagues' knew the key, so it was safe enough that anyone looking at it would think it was just gibberish.

But when he hears the noise, he turns to N and arches an eyebrow, before shrugging and returning to his notes.]

[near_your_enemy]

An hour and a half.

A fucking hour and a half, and the idiot hadn't left yet. N can still see Matt studying away--the longer they stayed here, the longer his suspicions were confirmed--the Matts he knew would never do something like this. Wait in a library, reading books on law, politics for hours, just taking notes? Especially in a place like this, where such studious tasks weren't required in the slightest.

No. This wasn't a regular Matt.

And N, being who he was, was perhaps one of the most able to believe or suspect anyone of being involved on the wrong right side of the case--though he hadn't quite gotten to full suspicion yet, it was a bit closer than absent wondering.

Finally, he stands up and moves towards the exit, not bothering to put the books back. He's had enough of this for one day, fully ready to go back to Mihael and talk about something utterly nonsensical.

"...It's been a pleasure. Matt, is it?"

[filecorrupted]

[Matt's already gone through most of the books, committing the passages to memory (having eidetic memory was quite helpful at times) and scrawling until his small notebook was almost full with the proper information.

When N speaks, Matt looks up and removes the goggles long enough to rub irritably at his eyes, bringing the world back into focus.]

Likewise. And yes, I'm Matt. N, I presume?

[near_your_enemy]

He watches Matt as he rubs at his eyes, his gaze rather dull and uninterested. The words, however, set off another spark, and his eyes narrow only fractionally, before he visibly relaxes, mind churning.

So, if Matt knew his name--alias--then was it possible he already knew that N was Kira? No. It wasn't a sure thing--someone could have just mentioned it in passing, or perhaps Matts own Near went by the letter. Of course, there was a chance that the blind bastard had gotten to him, but even then, what had N done to tip off his identity? Nothing, that he was aware of.

Which was why this should work.

"Just Near, I'm afraid. N lives down the hall from me."