Blank Pages |=||=| A Death Note fanfiction by Shadow and Ratty

What a beautiful analogy!

Agreed, Ratty. :3

So. I'm still working on the new chapter, because I just fail at getting things done. XD But I will work on it once I get off the computer.

Yay.

Thank you, Shad. :3

Chapter 7 [by Yoda, aka Woda]

Sophia forlornly leaned against the wall in the cafeteria, doing her best to hide in the corner. Why did I ever think I’d survive in Japan? She chewed on her lip and tried to fight against tears, repeating over and over again the words of the other students.

I bet she can’t use chopsticks.

She thinks she’s so much better than us, foreign trash.

Can she hear us . . . ?

No, no, she’s too dumb to speak Japanese.

Of course it was better not to say anything. She’d never live it down as it was; no need to make the teasing extend all the way beyond infinity. Sophia had the prominent feeling that these were the sort of people who were mean just for the fun of it. There was no way the old myth of ‘they bully because they’re hurt’ would apply. After all, they were teasing her about not belonging, when each of those who’d laughed at her had been in Japan all their life.

Maybe it’s not a big deal. Maybe everyone gets this, and it’s normal in Japan. Sighing, Sophia kicked at the floor. Fat chance.

Suddenly, something flew from one of the tables nearby and splatted upon her shoe. Sophia’s widened eyes took it in - a rice ball? What . . . her glimpse stole away from the floor, coming to rest upon the same smirking group of students who had been harrassing her all day.

. . . I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.

Rather than mouthing ‘baka’ at them, Sophia fought against exasperated tears while rushing away towards the nearest bathroom. At least there she wouldn’t have to face the whole cafeteria.

The door as it slammed behind her was nothing but an empty promise. There was no chance they would leave her alone.

Things grew no better and no worse throughout the day. At least it was only the same four students poking fun at her every time. But there were never any teachers around to intervene, and Sophia had no idea what she could do that would make things any better. Her silence was all she could manage. She especially found it upsetting that the best part of her day was coming home.

Irritated, she paused before the door to her house and kicked at the sidewalk. Why can’t I just go back to yesterday? Even if she’d been completely ignored by the other students then, she preferred that to the staring from some and ridicule from others.

But it’s not a big deal, really. Don’t let them get to you.

Sophia took a moment to smooth her face over. The last thing she needed was for her mom to ask her what was wrong. Most likely, she wouldn’t end up explaining either way . . . but she still would prefer not to have to even skirt the topic. I don’t need to make this move more difficult on everyone, she decided.

Taking a deep breath, she entered the house. “I’m home,” she called in English. There was no answer, but she thought nothing of it; Sophia simply shrugged and made her way upstairs to her room. Guess that leaves me more time for homework.

However, that was definitely not what she was doing by the time she got to her room. Suddenly inspired, Sophia walked over to her desk and yanked the bottom drawer open. Sitting there, just where she’d put it yesterday, was the ‘death note.’

You know what, this is stupid, she reflected as she gently brought it out of the drawer. Fiction. You know it won’t work, so just don’t waste your time.

As she thought about it, though, she only became angrier and angrier. Really, who were those students to be making fun of her? If they were in her position, they wouldn’t have been so quick. All they knew was that she was a foreigner, not to mention new, and thus fair game to their ridicule. They didn’t know how hard it was for her to make friends even just in her former home; they didn’t know that she was trying her hardest to help the move work. No, they didn’t even care. They just wanted to have some fun.

Rage burning at full intensity, Sophia slammed the book open to its front cover and read the rules before she could change her mind. Once she was sure she knew what she was doing, she then grabbed a pen and scribbled down the names of the four students. It wasn’t hard; they’d addressed each other and been there for enough attendances that Sophia could remember each as clearly as her own.

After a minute, each of the names had been written twice in her careless handwriting. Once in English lettering, and once in Japanese kanji, just in case. Already Sophia felt a little better; as she shoved her notebook back into its drawer, the girl actually managed a short laugh.

Well, that was pointless. Maybe now I should actually start working on that stupid homework.

Chapter 8 [by Ratty]
L licked the powdered sugar from his fingers, gazing at the computer screen filled with case files in front of him. They were all so simple; he needed more of a challenge. It had been too long since he’d had a real case. Nothing had come up since the BB murders in LA a few years prior. He was bored out of his mind.
There’s nothing for me to do here, he mused. May as well go out and get some ice cream. He got to his feet and, hands in his pockets, left the room.

It’s nice to feel the sun, L thought to himself as he walked down the sidewalk. In fact, the day was sweltering; the classic fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk type of heat. The streets were nearly deserted, everybody having taken to their air-conditioned houses to escape the weather. As L approached the ice cream shop, he noticed two young men walking down the other side of the street. He eyed them curiously. They were familiar; he’d definitely seen them before.
One had brown hair and orange goggles. He was wearing a black-and-red, long-sleeved shirt. The other was tall and slim, rather feminine, with long blonde hair and a rapidly melting chocolate bar in hand.
Matt and Mello. The boys’ aliases sprang to L’s mind as he recalled the conversation he’d had with all the Wammy’s House kids so long before. It had been through a computer, of course, and he’d answered all their questions with his signature, virtually altered “L voice.” But he’d been watching live video footage of the children (unrecorded, of course) and he recognized them as the third and second ranked Wammy kids respectively.
Hmm . . . Those are the two Watari said had gone missing, aren’t they? But what are they doing here?
L ducked inside the ice cream shop and ordered a triple scoop of chocolate, strawberry, and cookie dough on a chocolate-dipped waffle cone with both rainbow and chocolate sprinkles. As the young woman behind the counter was making his ice cream, he discreetly glanced out the window. They were still across the street, good. The one called Matt seemed to be distracted by something on display in the window of a video game store a few buildings down the block.
“That’ll be nine quid*, thirty pence,” the employee said, sounding bored, as if she had the most tedious job in the world. L didn’t see how she could act like that when she was surrounded by ice cream all day, but he supposed it would depress anyone if they weren’t allowed to eat any of it anyway.
He dug around in his deep pockets for a while and eventually counted out the right amount of money. He handed it over and took his ice cream, wandering out of the shop and crouching on the bench just outside the door. He watched Mello trying to drag Matt away from the video game display, waiting for them to start moving so he could tail them.
After a moment, Matt said something that L couldn’t hear and ducked inside the store. He reemerged several minutes later, a shiny new video game in hand. Mello muttered something under his breath and the two young men continued down the street.
Licking his speedily liquefying ice cream, L waited another minute before getting up and walking casually down the sidewalk on his side of the street. He made sure to always keep at least half a block between them and him, and also to keep them in sight at all times.
About five blocks away from the ice cream shop, L’s sharp eyes picked up on Mello nudging Matt at an intersection and muttering something quickly to him. Matt nodded and, both very determinedly looking straight ahead, they crossed to L’s side of the street and then continued down the road perpendicular to the one they’d been walking on. L quickened his pace slightly, not wanting to let them out of his sight for long. But as he rounded the corner, even he was startled to see the two young men waiting for him just around the bend. Matt had even put away his video game.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Mello’s voice was angry and dangerous.
L took another lick of his ice cream. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Do you think we’re idiots? You were following us.”
“Was I?” L mused. “Hmm . . . What makes you think that?”
“You were watching us outside the video game shop,” Matt replied, his voice slightly calmer than Mello’s. “Then you followed us here.”
“Well spotted . . . Matt and Mello.”
Mello instantly seized the front of L’s t-shirt, pulling him upright. “How do you know our names? Who do you work for? Did Roger send you to take us back?”
L easily broke his grip but didn’t step away. He did a brief sweep of the street with his dark eyes, and after determining that there was no one in the immediate vicinity, lowered his voice as he said, “I am L.”
There was a moment of stunned silence.
“Yeah, right,” Matt scoffed, finding his voice. “You are L? I don’t think so.”
“You don’t?”
“No.”
L shrugged and turned away. “Too bad.” He lifted his ice cream cone level with his mouth to take care of the several drops of melted chocolate that threatened to trickle off the end of the cone and onto the ground.
“Wait!” Mello exclaimed suddenly. L turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.
“Yes?”
“If you really are L . . . prove it.”

*Note: Quid is British slang for pounds. Wammy’s House is in Winchester so I figured L might as well be in England too.

Ooh! More.

Shad and I are discussing the next chapter right now.

Yes, in this discussion we must ponder many important things. Say, Twarry, any preferences on perspectives so far, out of curiosity? Like, which character do you like hearing from the most?

(Ponder!

...You're saying it whenever possible on purpose, aren't you? xD)

-waits for Twarry's answer-

...There was no point to this post whatsoever. xD

How did you know! :3 I just love my Ponderman, I really do.

To keep this post from being pointless . . . um, Ratty, whose perspective do you like best? XD

Haha. xD

Hmm... -ponder- Sophia's, I think, cuz she's the only main OC so far. xD

(Ponder. Again. xD )

Ponderman! :3 He's stayed with us for such a long time today!

Lol, yeah, I thought you might say that. x3

What about you?

This is uber good!!

Hmm..I sorta like reading from L's perspective, and Sophia's too. :3

Thanks, B.

I see. -scribbles note-

I think I like all of them, really. XD Sophia is cool cus she's original, and I've always loved Light and L . . . Mello's just fun to me, and Matt is hilarious, and Near . . . well, he's interesting, at least, though I'm still mad at him. XD

Thanks so much, B! x3 I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far!

I'm going to begin working on the next chapter tonight or tomorrow; it depends on if I'll have enough freetime for it today after already wasting so much time. XD

What are you mad at Near for? D: You might've told me before, but I forget... xD

Near can sometimes be nommy, but at times I feel like swatting him away like a fly. *whacks Near with flyswatter*

For . . .
well, just in case anyone hasn't finished the series yet . . .

spoiler of last dn episode: