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Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note …

Chapter 14

"Good morning, Matto-kun!"

A raven haired teen casually entered the gamer's room but froze in the doorway when he found the redhead in the middle of the room, flat on his back, a solemn expression painted across his features. Beyond slightly tilted his head in question and approached his younger friend. He kneeled, laid on the floor beside the gamer and rested both of his hands below his head as a pillow, imitating Matt's position.

"Ah, a nice view of the ceiling, don't you think?"

The redhead didn't move, still staring at the ceiling with intensity. Beyond, who was not used to seeing his friend's serious face, pushed himself up in a sitting position and poked Matt's chest with his jam stained finger, effectively jerking Matt out of his trace.

"Whatcha doin?" he asked, a grin gracing his lips. It was unusual seeing Matt so concentrated. It was a rare case; he only had that expression when he was beating a hard game boss.

…Or maybe in the toilet, but Beyond never dared to say it out loud.

Matt looked at his friend with a blank face, and in a serious tone said, "I'm thinking." before he resumed to stare at the ceiling.

Beyond snorted and tried to stifle his laugh. "You?" he emphasized, amusement evident in his voice. "the master of killing brain cells thinking?" he shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"You annoy me." Matt muttered in a childish tone. "But yes, I'm thinking."

The raven haired man studied Matt's lying form on the floor and shrugged. He took hold of his companion—the jam—and twisted the lid. "Eh, that's a first. What're you thinking about?"

Matt fell silent, apparently thinking over his problem. The redhead looked at the figure sitting beside him. He was twisting the lid of the jam container with difficulty as he tried to open the cap. Beyond tapped the cover and pouted slightly when it didn't bulge.

Matt sat up and thought of the situation he was in. Even though Beyond was the reason he had to go through all of this thinking in the first place, maybe the red-eyed man had some ideas. He was known for his wise nature, after all.

"You see, Mello would never agree when I'd ask him to cross dress directly," Matt appointedly said, "so I'll ask him to participate in a contest. If he losses, he'd have no choice but to—"

"You little piece of—!" Beyond suddenly exclaimed. Matt snapped his head at the raven's direction. Said man smiled apologetically. "I was talking to the jar. Go on, I'm listening."

Talking to the jar. Of course. Matt decided to not question him further. Beyond had been at the mental alyssum after all, he wasn't surprised at the man's weird attitude anymore. "Anyway, he'd have no choice but to cross dress when he losses," Matt stood and grabbed his fully charged PSP from the bedside table and returned to his position on the floor. He found it quite comfortable. Maybe he should sit here more often.

Beyond, who was still annoyed at the jar, looked up and stared at the gamer with deep-set eyes. "Then…great? What's the problem?"

Matt opened his PSP and ignored Beyond's flashing red orbs. "The problem is," he started, "I don't have a contest. A video game contest would guarantee my win but," he frowned. "I don't think Mello would accept it since he knows that I'll be the one winning."

"Ever so modest." Beyond chuckled, temporarily ignoring the jar. A mischievous smile graced his lips as a thought crossed his mind. Matt noticed Beyond's smirk and he immediately shook his head, knowing that whatever Beyond was planning would put him into trouble.

"Forget it. I'm not following your advices anymore." Matt said. Beyond was wise, yes, but his brain is filled with violence and other…inappropriate things. His brain functioned in a wicked and cruel way. He was a genius, but he would use that to his advantage. "You caused me enough trouble."

Beyond's face fell. "You don't even know what my plan is," Beyond snared and paused, then continued in a Misa-interpretation with a high-pitched voice, "Hear me out, you never gave me a chance to speeeeak!"

Matt rolled his eyes. "If your plan has something to do with blood, daggers or jam, you don't have to continue."

"…Heh." Beyond's shoulders sagged and once again grabbed the abandoned jar. "That's no fun." he claimed. He tapped the cover and thought for a moment before he smirked. "Ah, tell you what, I'll be the one who'll prepare everything for the contest and all you have to do is to convince blondie to join you."

"What do you have in mind?"

"That's a secret for me to keep."

Matt closed his PSP not bothering to save his game. He didn't trust Beyond. Whatever he had on his mind Matt was sure it wouldn't be fun…or safe.

A sudden flashback crossed Matt's mind. He frowned as he recalled the events that happened two years ago. "Remember the time when you challenged Raye to a match when we were fifteen?"

Beyond grinned at the memory.

"Ah yes, good old times…"

"I don't see anything 'good' about that. You even made me the referee for your bloody match."

'Bloody match' certainly is the right word to describe Beyond and Raye's fighting scene in the middle of a busy street that was merely three houses away from their school. It took a total of five busty guards to break up the fight. Matt, unfortunately, was caught in the middle of their combat.

"You didn't seem to complain." Beyond pointed out.

"I didn't complain? I almost died!"

"But you didn't. That's a huge difference." Beyond chuckled, remembering when he 'accidentally' stabbed Matt's side with the dagger he was holding. "That's what he gets for stealing Naomi away from me."

"You didn't even like her."

"She had the brains," Beyond said. "and the looks."

"And the reason why you were in jail." Matt added. "Seriously, you have to stop carrying daggers inside your pocket. My tummy still has the scar you gave me."

Beyond laughed at the word 'tummy'. Matt sighed. Beyond was really childish at times, laughing at anything he thought was funny, but was still very dangerous. If he's mad, he gets violent.

Matt cleared his throat, remembering his problem. He wanted to finish this cross dressing gambit to avoid any trouble since the ball would start in six days. "Anyway, if you really want to be in charge of the contest, you'll have to take Aki with you."

Beyond looked at Matt, his grin fading. "Eh? Why?"

"Cause he'll prevent you to do anything stupid. You know how he hates anything violent." Matt stated.

Beyond frowned. He had big plans for the contest he was about to set up, but since he'll be taking Akihiro with him, he had to change his plans.

I guess I have to cross out anything that includes swords, daggers or fire balls. Damn.

Beyond nodded and stood with a huge grin on his face. "Alright. Good luck talking to blondie."

After Beyond grabbed the jar of strawberry jam, he left Matt's room, his smirk ever so present.

Matt left his room after a few minutes of thinking. He realized that whenever he tried to imagine a scene where he and Mello were talking, it would always end up bad. So instead of analyzing what he would say to the blond, he would just straight out ask him. What's the worst that could happen?

… Other than being stabbed, shot or pushed out the window, that is.

The gamer first searched for the blond in his room, which was directly before his, but he wasn't there. He searched around the living room, the foliar, the garden and the library, but there was no Mello. He sighed and walked around the house, not knowing where to go.

As Matt searched for Mello, he heard a faint yell coming from the other end of the room.

"BB-san! P-put me down!"

Matt grinned. Aki never left the mansion, he was still jumpy and scared, but since it was Beyond he was dealing with…

"Have fun!" Matt shouted across the room where Beyond had Aki carried on his shoulder. The younger teen was flailing widely as he tried to escape Beyond's tight grip.

"Don't worry Matt, we will." Beyond winked at Matt's direction and grunted when Aki kicked his chin.

"M-Matto-san! Help me! D-don't make him take me!"

It was the first time he heard Aki's voice an octave higher. Matt turned and looked at the struggling duo. Since Aki was short, Beyond easily held him captive.

Matt grinned. "Town's great, Aki. Don't worry, Beyond'll take care of you."

Aki abruptly stopped moving as he gaped at the redhead. "B-b-but…y-you…" the redhead chuckled at Aki's comical 'you have betrayed me!' face as he turned and left the room.

"Stop moving—ow! My face!"

After a few moments of walking aimlessly, he was found outside the study room. He doubted that Mello was inside but it wouldn't hurt to check, right?

To his surprise, Mello was inside the room. He had his back turned from the gamer as he tiptoed and reached for a certain weapon hanging on the wall. Before Mello's hand touched the tip of the gun that was displayed, Matt spoke behind him.

"Everything's loaded." Matt said. Mello turned and scoffed when he saw the gamer. Matt entered the room and slowly walked to the wall where the weapons where hanging and looked at the blond who was giving him a glare. Matt was now used to Mello's glare by now, so he ignored it.

Matt reached for the loaded gun, grabbed Mello's hand and placed it on top of his palm. Mello blinked. Why did the redhead give him a weapon? The gun was surprisingly heavy in his hand. He gripped the metal and looked at the redhead, who was reaching for another gun.

"Want to try shooting?" Matt casually asked, a small smile on his lips. He remembered the time when his dad taught him how to shot. It had been years since he held a gun. "Outside, I mean."

Mello kept silent, studying Matt. Mello pursed his lips and looked at the gun he held, and smirked. "Alright. Where do we shoot?"

Matt never thought Mello would agree that easily. Maybe he did have a chance when he would ask him to join the contest Beyond planned.

"Let's go."

It turned out that Mello was quite experienced in shooting, even much more than the gamer. Matt was surprised. Everytime Mello pulls the trigger, he shoots the bull's eye with ease. While Matt carefully aimed for the target, Mello would shoot without analyzing his aim. He merely looks at the board, aims, and fires.

They were outside the gates of the Jeevas' mansion. Their house was on top of a cliff, overlapping a beautiful view of the sparkling blue ocean, away from the city's noise and pollution. They were standing a couple of meters away from the mansion, shooting at a board Matt's father had put up.

"You're…pretty good." Matt muttered. To his disdain, he was now sure that Mello could easily kill him with the gun he was holding in one swift move. That meant that he had to be extra careful in using his words.

Mello fired and reloaded his gun, ignoring Matt's comment.

It was then that Matt noticed something odd about the blond. Mello was not glaring, scowling nor smirking. Mello was…smiling.

Matt fell silent. The only noise that was heard was the loud bang of the gun and the splash of the ocean's water into the pointed rocks below. He stared at the blond, absorbing his new facial appearance.

How could he possibly look so …different?

"H-hey Mells?" Matt cursed himself for stuttering. He closed the lock of his gun and looked at the blond.

Mello faced him after a last bull's eye, a smile on his lips. "Yeah?" the blond distractedly said.

Matt didn't know why his heartbeat accelerated when Mello smiled at him. He immediately looked away as he felt himself blush. He hoped that Mello hadn't notice. "Uh...did you learn shooting from someone?"

Unfortunately for Matt, Mello did notice the slight color that was brushed across the redhead's face. "Oh, yeah I—" the blond paused. Why was Matt starting a conversation with him? "My uncle taught me when I was twelve."

"Twelve?" Matt blinked. "Whoa, my dad taught me when I was fourteen. Isn't it dangerous to let a twelve-year-old hold a gun?"

"If your uncle's working for the mafi—" Mello stopped himself from blurting out another word. He couldn't believe he almost told the redhead his uncle's field of work. He cleared his throat. "You have anymore bullets?"

"Huh? Oh uh," Matt searched his pockets and held out a couple of bullets in his palm. "Here."

Matt didn't question the blond further. He knew that Mello didn't want to talk about his past or his family, just like him. He watched the blond continuously shoot the target from afar.

'Tell him! What are you waiting for?' Matt's inner conscience spoke impatiently, and he, for once, decided to follow it.

"Mells?"

Matt realized that Mello didn't mind when he called him the nickname he created. Or Mello didn't care. Either way, he was glad that he reached that 'stage' of being acquaintances.

"You see, Beyond planned a—"

Say it!

"-contest. You know, for fun. D'ya wanna join?" Matt was glad his voice didn't crack, but was still concerned about his life as Mello stopped shooting and stared at him with a blank face.

He mentally crossed his fingers.

"A…contest?" Mello slowly asked. Why did Matt want him to participate in this contest? Matt nodded. "Why ask me?"

Because you're the only one who could save me from my eternal doom?

"Well, eh, because you're the only one living in this house—well, beside from Kaylee and the maids, that is." Matt thought for another reason, but found none.

Mello eyed him for a few moments before raising his eyebrow. "What are the objectives?"

Matt released his breath. "I don't know." He muttered. "Beyond's the one who would plan it."

"What's the prize of the winner?"

Is Mello considering Matt's proposal?

"The winner gets to make the loser do anything he wants, whether it be run naked in the lawn or—" cross dress "-be the other's slave. For a day, at least."

Matt saw the slight smirk that formed on Mello's lips. Compared to the smile he had before, this was way creepier.

"Huh. But why make a contest in the first place?"

"…boredom?"

"Seriously?" Mello tilted his head in thought. He could use this to his advantage. His smirk widened.

"Alright, deal. When's the contest?"

Matt mentally fist pumped. That had gone better than he expected. "I think Beyond's back. Let's check em?"

"Sure."

The first thing they noticed when they entered the mansion was Beyond—who was holding a couple of plastic bags in both hands—and Aki—who had a…?

"Aki? Is that a turtle you're holding?" Matt asked as he noticed a small green shell Aki was holding on his palms. Aki smiled cheekily and nodded.

Beyond dropped the plastic bags and rubbed his palm. "A saw a couple of kids harassing that turtle so he rescued it." Beyond grinned, "He looked quite funny. He even said this speech where—"

Aki tiptoed and covered Beyond's mouth, flushing in embarrassment. "I don't think they need to hear about that."

Beyond pulled Aki's hand down. "Alright, alright," Beyond chuckled and looked at the redhead. "Convinced blondie?"

"Who're you calling blondie, bitch?" Mello, glared at red-eyed man who in turn grinned.

"I have a feeling that we'll get along just fine," Beyond said and clapped once, getting everyone's attention. "Let's get this contest started, shall we?"

Both Mello and Matt sat on the dining room table, waiting for Beyond as he talked to one of the maids. The maid nodded and bowed before she left the room.

"The contest's rules…" Beyond sat beside Aki at the other end of the table. "There would be about five challenges; the first two would benefit both of you. You would have to do the challenge no matter what, or decline. It would be easy win for the other. Whoever losses will have to do to the thing the winner requested, no matter what the consequences are." Beyond paused and looked at the two participants. "Game?"

"Yeah." Matt agreed. Mello on the other hand, kept a straight face.

A moment later two maids entered the dining room, holding a tray and placed the two plates of cake in front of both Mello and Matt.

Beyond stood. "First challenge, whoever finishes the chocolate cake first would win." He grinned.

Matt looked at the plate of cake in horror. He could eat donuts and pastries, but never cake. He didn't like the taste of them. And what's worse is that it's chocolate cake. He wasn't very fond of chocolate.

Mello, however, grinned slyly.

The blond swore that he'd be the one who'll win this contest, because other than royals and assholes, he hated losing.

Another question for the readers, any ideas what BB's challenges are? :D Please review! :)