Death Note Fan Fiction ❯ Taming the Tiger ❯ Found ( Chapter 6 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

A/N: Edmund means protector. I like to think that they have reasons for choosing code names. And Matt's there. And Near's in the story. Yay! And just a note, this chapter's kind of odd, I know. It gets better.

Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Takeshi Obata.

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Matt started as his phone rang loudly. With Mello gone no one ever called him.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Matt, this is Near,” the voice on the other end of the line said. “They've found Mello.”

“Oh my god,” Matt breathed. By `they' he assumed Near meant the police. That was bad. That meant Mello was in trouble. “How do you know it's him? He wouldn't be stupid enough to call himself Mello around a cop.”

“The name in the report was Arseniy Petrenov,” Near said. The report said he was a blue eyed blonde, about five seven, and he had a tattoo of a tiger on his left shoulder blade.”

“That sounds like Mello,” Matt said softly. Near would have been absolutely certain of the ID before calling him. He knew how the search for the trigger happy blonde was tearing the gamer apart. He knew Matt wouldn't be able to handle a false lead. “Is he alright? Where is he?”

“A hospital in Manhattan,” Near answered. “I'll send you the location. Matt?”

“Yeah?” That tone coming from Near was bad.

“Don't act too shocked when you see him. He's in pretty bad shape,” Near said softly.

“Alright,” Matt gulped. What exactly did `pretty bad shape' mean?

“And don't try to touch him,” Near advised.

“Alright,” Matt said. “What happened to him?”

“You're better off not knowing,” Near said calmly. “I've sent the directions. Good luck.”

And with that the connection was broken.

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When Mello woke he was lying in a bed in a white room. There was a needle in his arm connected to several IV drips and small electrodes covered his chest. Without the slightest sign of hesitation he pulled the needle out of his arm and began peeling off the electrodes. Lightheaded and disoriented, he tried to get up as the monitors beside the bed flat lined. The shrill wail of the alarms brought a frantic nurse rushing into the room. When she saw what had happened, she calmed slightly. He was alright. And he was awake. She stopped the alarms and tried to urge him back to bed.

“Arseniy,” she said questioningly.

No response.

“Arseniy, go back to bed,” she said.

He stared at her, but still didn't answer.

“Arseniy, are you listening to me?” she asked.

The blonde's expression clouded and he opened his mouth only to close it again without saying a word. The nurse blinked. That's right. This one was mute.

“Come on, dear,” she said sweetly. His file said he knew English. “You have to go back to bed so you can get better.”

Mello complied unwillingly. He felt weak and drowsy. He had realized by now that he was in a hospital, but that didn't mean he trusted the people.

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Matt was at the hospital in no time flat. And before the man at the parking deck could blink he had parked his bike and was through the hospital doors like a striped whirlwind.

“How may I help you?” the secretary asked, glancing up at him.

“I'm here to see Arseniy Petrenov,” he said.

“I'm sorry, but he's not allowed visitors,” the woman said.

“I'm his brother,” Matt lied. Well, it wasn't quite a lie. They had been raised in the same orphanage.

“You don't look anything like him,” the lady said, raising an eyebrow. “What's your name?'

“Edmund Petrenov,” Matt said.

“Edmund isn't Russian,” the lady at the desk said sceptically.

“Well excuse me for being adopted,” Matt snapped, finally angry.

“Oh,” the woman wilted under his glare. “Right. He's in room number 302 on the fourth floor.”

“Thanks,” Matt replied curtly, not taking the time to wonder at the hospitals numerical system.

Matt arrived at 302 on the fourth floor just as a short, black haired nurse was leaving. He held up a hand to stop her.

“Is this Arseniy Petrenov's room?” he asked.

She nodded. “Who are you?”

“His brother,” Matt said. “My name's Edmund.”

Again the nurse nodded. “Maybe you'll be able to help, then. He hasn't let any of us near him.”

Matt nodded. “I'll see what I can do.”

He opened the door and peered inside. In the dim light he could barely make out Mello's form on the bed. Briefly he wondered why it was so dark, but that wasn't important. What mattered was that he finally had Mello back.

“Mel?” he called quietly. He saw the boy turn to face him, but he received no answer. “Mel?”

Matt? The question was signed rather than asked.

“Yeah,” Matt answered. He could feel his eyes welling with tears. He knew he should say something, but the words wouldn't come. “My god. Mel. I've missed you so much. Where have you been? What happened to you?”

Matt looked around the dim room at all of the machines and wires and then back down at Mello's nearly skeletal form. Mello just stared up at him, blue eyes wide.

I don't want to talk about it. Again, the response was signed. You looked for me?

“Of course I did,” Matt said hoarsely.

Mello appeared to have thought of something important and signed Speak in Russian so they can't understand you.

Matt sighed. Mello and his paranoia. Some things would never change. “Fine. Is that why you're signing?” he responded in perfect Russian.

Mello shook his head.

“Why?” Matt asked. “And why is it so dark in here?'

Being locked in a dark room for ten months tends to make your eyes sensitive, Mello signed with a look that said quite clearly `you're an idiot.'

“I didn't know,” Matt said. Then another thought occurred to him. “You can't speak, can you?”

Again Mello shook his head. Matt reached out a hand to hold Mello's, but stopped as he remembered Near's warning. “Mel, I missed you so much.”

Matt, don't leave, Mello pled. He didn't want to be left alone again. And now that Matt was here he never wanted to let the redhead out of his sight ever again.

“Don't worry,” Matt said gently. “I'm not going anywhere.”