Chapter Text
It’s that time of our lives, at last. The prospect has been hanging over my head since the day I was taken off the street, but it’s only just now gaining relevance. And under the most horrifying circumstances imaginable.
For almost two years now, the kingdom of Kantolot has been terrorized and oppressed by black magic. A wicked sorcerer named Kira uncovered a long-lost enchanted relic called the Death Note. It’s an incredibly powerful murder weapon; all one needs to kill is a name and a face. He’s using it to cast his judgment on the people of the villages and high courts alike whom he feels are toxic to society. In his perfect world, genocide is the only way to bring about justice. Every soul in the land now cowers in fear of Kira, the god of darkness.
Except for my father, King Ryuzaki. From the day Kira first crawled out of the shadows, cursing innocents with cardiac arrest, he challenged the demon head-on. He uses his genius and isolation from the general public to his advantage and secretly works as the greatest detective in the realm. The people know this persona of his best as “L.” But there’s also Daneuve, and Eraldo Coil, and dozens of other aliases that I don’t care to list.
My father’s true identity has been shrouded in mystery since the beginning of our relationship. I have no idea where he comes from or where he plans on going. I don’t think anybody does, save His Highness’s royal advisor Watari. But it’s for the good of himself and everyone else here at the palace; that much I know.
The king’s mastery of the aloof disposition makes him seem impossible to read. Still, I could see just far enough past the veil to get the message without him even having to explain it. It’s why he made me a prince.
My name is Mail Jeevas, and I might just become L’s successor.
*
Five boys. All down on one knee before a perch of gold.
Whispering.
Churning.
Quivering.
I’m sure that the king could taste our apprehension. But he stared emotionlessly at our bowed heads with those big, black, ominous eyes.
“I hate to be discussing such dismal topics with children, but I’m afraid that it cannot be avoided.” He turned his head. “Watari, the scroll, please.”
I was having the flashback again. From the day we all left the orphanage. Me and my damned nostalgia.
But as I knelt there that day before the throne in between my four brothers, my best friends, I couldn’t seem to help it…
*
Wammy’s House was a privately owned estate nestled in a valley three towns removed. Imagine a cottage version of the palace of Versailles, surrounded by all of the most fertile farmland in the kingdom. That's where I lived, worked, and learned under the care of my adopter, Roger Ruvie. Training was rigorous to prepare the gifted students in his house for possibly succeeding the elusive L.
The Ryuzaki Dynasty always had very close ties to this estate. The two parties were constantly exchanging news. Rumors had started spreading that Daneuve was coming close to uncovering Kira’s identity. I found this quite interesting, almost hard to believe after so many years of zero progress. So did my chocoholic roommate Mihael Keehl.
“I get why this place is held in such high regard, but at the end of the day it’s little more than a peasant house.” He stuck his nose up, just a tiny bit. “What’s so special about us that His Highness and friends even care to check in?”
“I dunno,” I lazily replied while button-mashing my Gameboy. “For all I care, Roger could be a spy for the royal court.”
“Sure.” Mihael flipped his hair out of his face. “They just want to enslave our asses in the palace, I swear.”
Talk of the Kira case hung in the air for about a week before the man named Watari came to observe the orphans. He never said for what, or who the hell he even was. He just dropped in and had Roger cough up status report after status report. Still, the old man encouraged us all to act normal around the stranger.
“He just wants to get to know you better, so show him your best selves!”
Yeah, Roger was so nervous that he forgot who he was talking to. Nobody says that unless they’re desperate to impress. And the way he was pushing us to study harder than usual for the upcoming exams… it was too obvious. Any idiot could figure out that the new guy in town was somebody damn significant.
“So Watari really must be working for a king,” I half-heartedly concluded.
Mihael snorted. “Doesn’t he know we have better things to do around here than play princess pageant?” He took a big bite out of his chocolate bar. “I trained my whole life to be L’s successor, not some stupid regal figurehead.”
“No, think about this, Mihael.” I stood up and propped myself against the wall. “He’s scouting us out for a reason, so what do you think it is? Maybe the king needs extra advisors? Bodyguards? Spies?”
“Court jesters?” Mihael rolled his eyes and leaned in close. “Just face it, dude. On this planet, nobody really cares about us except Roger. To everyone else we’re just IQ one-sixty-whatever-the-fuck. Pawns, not people…”
Oh, Mihael. Always strung high with emotions and paranoia. Which is no good if you’re trying to surpass L.
Anyway, a few days later, Watari learned that I was the third most talented orphan in Wammy’s House. So he kidnapped me.
“Don’t worry,” he said.
“It’ll be a quick chat,” he said.
“The king wishes to see you,” he said.
Because that’s a normal request.
I crossed my forearms on the desk in front of me, leaning on them as I wondered why Watari chose this random empty office as our meeting place. “The king doesn’t even know I exist. How can he want to see me?”
“Oh, trust me. He does.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What is he, clairvoyant or something? Is he Kira?”
“Oh dear, I’ve said too much!” Watari hurled a hearty laugh my way. “I like your skepticism, your open-mindedness. The king will be very pleased.”
“Again, who told him about me?” I had my arms out in front of me, as if waiting for Watari to place the answer in my palms.
Turns out he can be a spoon-feeder if he wants to. “Roger did.”
“Huh?? When?”
And he can flip that switch whenever the hell he feels like it.
“A long time ago, Mail. The point is, the king has made arrangements to house you in his palace. He has asked me to take care of the paperwork and release you from this orphanage.”
I lost my words for a moment. He’s nuts, Mail. The man is so old he doesn’t even know what he’s saying.
“Sir… that’s really not a good idea…”
“Your eyes are telling me otherwise.” Watari smiled. “You’ll have forty-eight hours to pack your belongings before you and your new stepbrothers depart.”
“Brothers? Oh, God; who else are you dragging away?”
Well, Watari was also interested in Mihael, and his arch nemesis Nate River, and a creepy little bastard named Beyond Birthday. (Why? I don’t know.) The fifth boy was one I was surprised Watari even noticed. He lost his parents at such a young age that he couldn’t remember his own name, and it’s not on file anywhere, so everyone just calls him “A.” His new name starts with that letter, but he won’t tell anyone what it is. I’d say super-early childhood trauma just made him paranoid like that, but such an explanation only fits the last two years of his life.
Watari didn’t seem to care much, though, so there you have it: the five guys who never thought they’d become princes. But they did.
Watari had us all fitted for suits (which Nate was the least happy about), and the next night, Roger stood at the front gate of the orphanage to wave us goodbye. Like it was all part of his brilliant plan…
*
“What if ‘the king’ is another alias?”
That was Nate half an hour into the ride. I was slowly nodding off until his voice woke me up. Mihael’s eyes, on the other hand, were wide open.
“Wait… You don’t mean…”
Nate twirled his snowy locks between his fingers. “Well, it’s a possibility. About seven percent.”
I sat forward in my seat. “Okay, let’s assume that you’re right for a second. Where the fuck are we going, then!?”
“Anywhere, really,” Nate calmly replied. “‘The palace’ could refer to any number of locations.”
“Great…”
Mihael clenched his fists. “Why so calm then, Mr. First Place, if there’s a ninety-three percent chance that we’re being abducted??”
Nate just laughed, as if enjoying the show that his closest rival was putting on. “There’s only a fifteen percent chance that Roger would happily send us off to malicious people. Therefore, our chances of good fortune are increased by nearly forty percent.”
The boy named A nodded silently in understanding. It was then that I realized I had no idea what his voice sounded like.
Beyond Birthday crossed his legs and put his hands behind his head. “So, then, if Watari spent a whole week observing us, picked us out from a crowd of fifty, and dressed us up to see him… you know what that means.”
Nobody replied. But we all knew.
Beyond smirked playfully. “Who’s it gonna be?”
Damn, I thought. Only God knows the answer to that question...