a pile of ashes - ch01

"Matt."

The boy furrowed further into his arms, attempting to create a makeshift barrier between himself and the voice. He wanted to sleep more. It was much too early.

"Matt," the voice repeated, with more force now.

"Waisitnear?" Which, in English, roughly translated to, "What is it, Near?"

"You're drooling on your laptop."

It took a moment for Matt to comprehend that the words "drooling" and "laptop" had just been used in the same sentence. It took another five moments for him to snap up, grab a tissue, and wipe furiously at the saliva that had collected.

"I wouldn't recommend you sleeping on your computer in the future, Matt." Near was mostly serious, but Matt was able to detect a hint of humor.

"I'll try not to make this a habit." For Matt, it was the opposite. He was mostly joking, with a hint of seriousness.

Matt had finished his current hacking assignment late at night, and he thought it would be nice to rest his head a bit. Of course, before he knew it, he had slept for the whole night, on his laptop no less!

Then, suddenly realizing that it was in fact morning, Matt asked hurriedly, "What time is it?"

"Eight forty-seven."

"Shit. Work starts at nine."

Matt smoothed out his shirt (they had uniforms; it didn't matter if he didn't change), tossed his goggles onto the table (he couldn't take it with him), and grabbed his jacket (in case it got cold at night). "I gotta go. I'll come back for my laptop after work." He patted the pockets of his pants. Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Cell phone? ...Wait, where was it?

"Here," Near said, handing the phone to Matt, as if the younger boy had just read his mind. Then, "Linda called. She said to call her back."

"Ah, thanks." In a matter of minutes, he was already out the door.

-----

Matt expertly steered his car with one hand while using his other to dial Linda's number. Matt liked talking to Linda. She always had something interesting to say or a new discovery she made to tell him.

"Hey, Matt." She always seemed to know when it was him who called even though he made sure that his cell phone wasn't listed on any caller IDs.

"Hey. Near told me that you wanted me to call you back."

"Yeah, I've decided where we're going to eat tonight." The two had arranged to have dinner together today, and Linda had promised him previously that she would call him about the details.

"Great. Where?"

"It's a secret."

Matt sighed. He had suspected that it would be like this. Linda loved keeping secrets. "So, what isn't a secret?"

"The fact you have to wear a suit." Even over the phone, Matt imagined that the girl had a broad smile on her face.

"So, one of those fancy restaurants, eh?" Matt didn't particularly like them, but Linda loved them.

She seemed to be unaware that he had spoken. "Wear the gray suit, not the black one. It looks better on you." A pause. "And, for christ's sake, don't bring your goggles like last time. They look ridiculous on you normally. It's triply so when you're in a suit."

"Yes, ma'am," he answered, feigning exasperation. "Can I at least bring a jacket?"

"All your jackets look stupid."

"Gee, thanks."

"Welcome." A laugh. "I'll pick you up at six thirty, then?"

"Why don't I pick you up at six thirty?"

Matt could sense Linda raising her eyebrows. "I would rather not have you drive. You're a trainwreck."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. See you at six thirty then."

"Yeah, see you."

Matt snapped his phone shut, veering just in time to avoid collision with a particularly nasty looking mailbox. (Nasty because it scratched his car before he could completely avoid it.) Hey, his driving wasn't that bad. On a good day, at least.

-----

Matt worked as a dealer in a casino.

As a child, the job career of card dealer had probably been on his list of "jobs I will never ever do". It required too much conversation, too much socializing, and Matt had been a complete antisocial shut-in back during his first years at Wammy's.

But, time with Near had surprisingly brought out the more social side of Matt. Unexpectedly, the more time he spent with Near, the more he was able to talk to other people. The fact that the less Near talked, the more Matt felt he needed to probably helped. And, considering that Near had even more of an aversion to going outside than Matt, he became a sort of stand-in (at parties, meetings, etc.) for the detective when the time required it.

And, so when the time came that Matt had to look for a job (he couldn't let Near keep paying for everything), he was completely satisfied with becoming a dealer at a casino. Although they had to wear uniforms, once he got used to them, they weren't bad (though he was still a bit disappointed at the fact that he was not allowed to wear his goggles). The pay was good, and the conversations were interesting (even informative, to an extent).

"Hey, Renard." Renard was the fake last name that Matt always used. "How's it going?"

"Well, nothing's happened since the last time you asked, which was around... 10 hours ago." The woman that had asked him was one of the regulars. "Anything new on your end?"

"Nothing really." A sigh. "And, all that's on the news are Kira-related incidents."

"I thought you were interested in Kira."

"I was, but they keep talking about him and going on and on. It's starting to wear on me."

Matt smiled thinly. "I think it's starting to wear on all of us." Especially Near, Matt thought. Near had been pulling several all-nighters recently, trying to uncover the information that L had discovered before he was killed.

"At least the crime rate around the world still continues to drop off."

That still doesn't justify Kira's actions.

"The gang activity here has been dropping off too," she continued. "But, there have been rumors about a new mafia that had just been established."

Matt raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, really?" Ever since the rise of Kira, most criminals have either been killed or gone into hiding. The fact that there were rumors about a new gang was strange indeed.

"Yeah. It's just rumors, but..." She didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she said, "It might be fun, though. With Kira and all, everything has been a bit too quiet lately."

"I suppose it has." But, the quiet was a blessing for both Near and Matt. Near could focus entirely on capturing Kira while Matt could focus entirely on helping him. If a new mafia has actually been created and causes trouble, the investigations might have to be delayed in favor of taking care of a more present concern. And, of course, neither Near or Matt wanted that.

Near wanted to catch Kira to prove that he is able to surpass L.

Matt wanted to catch Kira to help Near. Near was his best friend, after all.

-----

Linda was always prompt, always on time. She was exactly on the dot, not too early nor too late. "Hey, Mattykins," she greeted him as he slid comfortably into the passenger's seat. "You actually look presentable today. Good job."

"'Presentable'? What? Are you going to parade me in front of a crowd like a circus animal?"

"Hell no. You don't look good enough for it." She laughed and veered smoothly into a empty parking space. It was much nicer than Matt could've done. "I just want to stave off the strange looks that we (or, more accurately, you) always get when you wear your usual ridiculous get-up."

"Are you sure it isn't just because I'm devilishly handsome?"

She turned off the engine and got out of the car. "If you were, you wouldn't be single now, Mr. Orange Goggles."

"Hey, the orange goggles are my thing," Matt protested. "They're cool."

Linda rolled her eyes.

Matt rolled his eyes back at her.

-----

As expected, the restaurant was what Matt would categorize as a "fancy" one. Much too overly fancy, if you asked him. But, then again, no one ever asked him.

"So," Matt began, as he tried to understand which fork to use for the salad. (He never could understand why people needed to use three different forks when eating.) "What is it that you want to talk about?" Linda didn't just invite him for dinner because she felt like it. She always had something important (or so she believes) to talk about.

Linda expertly chose the correct fork and speared her salad with it. "How's the Kira thing going?"

"Eh, same old, same old. Not making a lot of progress, but it's better than nothing."

"The Kira thing started in Japan, right?"

"Well, yeah. L thought that Kira was Japanese, and Near agrees, considering that L was killed in Japan while he was actively hunting Kira." Matt wasn't adverse to telling Linda about information that was suppose to be confidential. He knew he could trust her. She was a Wammy's kid too, after all, and she didn't like Kira's methods either.

"You have heard that a few people from the Japanese Police Force recently arrived here in L.A., right?"

Matt was a little anxious about where this was going. "I have heard of it."

"Well, there's this Japanese investigator that I'm interested in..."

And, there it was. Matt had expected it, had known that she would say that. Linda was always like this and probably always will be like this. It wasn't that Matt minded this habit of hers much. It was more that his patience would start wearing thin when she would continually talk about her newfound love interest.

"So, what do you think? If I can nab him, maybe we'll be able to learn more about Kira and that fake L that you've been complaining about."

"Uh, sure." It wasn't like Matt could really object. "What's his name anyway?"

She smiled and said, "It's a secret."

Linda just loves her secrets.

-----

Matt got back to Near's house late at night to pick up his laptop and goggles. It was one in the morning, but most of the lights were still on. Near was still working.

Matt sighed. Near was definitely overworking himself, hell bent on catching Kira. If he continued like this, he was going to crash soon.

"Hey, Near," he called as he grabbed the stuff that he had left behind. As expected, he received no answer. Even though this was the norm, Matt still went to Near's work room to check up on the young detective.

Matt found Near hunched over his desk, sheets of data all around him. "Near, you need to get some sleep," he said, leaning on the doorframe.

Near merely acknowledged his presence with a fleeting glance and went back to work.

Sighing, Matt continued, "You're overworking yourself. Sadly, Kira's not going anywhere anytime soon. This isn't a race against time."

A moment of silence. Then, Near spoke, without looking up from his papers, "Matt, I appreciate you worrying about my well-being, but this is a race against time. Kira must be stopped as soon as possible. The longer he continues what he is doing, the more followers he will gain. If we wait too long, we won't even be able to touch him."

Matt couldn't argue with that logic. "Fine. But, at least get some sleep sometime this week, okay?"

Near's eyes flickered to meet Matt's own for a moment, meaning I'll try, but no promises.

Well, that was the nearest thing to an acceptance that Matt was ever going to get out of Near, so he turned to leave. However, he stopped and turned back to face Near, suddenly remembering a question he wanted to ask. "Hey, Near, have you heard rumors about a new mafia being formed here?"

"They aren't just rumors."

So, they were true. How will this affect the Kira investigation?

As if reading his mind, Near continued, "They seem formidable enough, but they aren't actively causing trouble. I've already uncovered most of the members names, so this shouldn't impede my investigations into the Kira case much."

"Oh, that's good." Matt should've expected Near to be three steps ahead of everyone else. "What's the leader's name? I'll keep a lookout for him."

"Mello."

Matt stared at Near, wondering if he was serious. Then, he remembered that Near was always serious and burst out laughing.

Near looked at Matt, probably wondering what in the world was so funny.

After he had calmed down enough to speak, he said, "Who names their kid 'mellow'?"

"It's a pseudonym."

Matt broke down laughing again. "That's even worse. Who nicknames themselves 'mellow'?"

"M-E-L-L-O," Near spelled out, reading Matt's mind again.

"That doesn't make it much better," he snickered. "And, thanks for telling me that, Near. That'll tide me over for a week and boost my self-esteem." Matt felt so much better about his real name now that he had heard this guy's nickname. Seriously, Mello? What kind of naming sense does this guy have?

"Well, see ya tomorrow, Near. And, remember, try to get some sleep."

Near looked at him strangely for a moment before turning back to his work and whispering a small, "See you."