/My first attempt at a fanfic. I noticed that whenever I tried to look up a Death Note fanfic, 90% of what I ended up with was either terrible or Yaoi. Actually, mostly Yaoi. It was driving me insane so I decided to try writing one myself. As far as I know, there aren't any stories out there with the same idea. It starts canon at the warehouse in the final episode/manga chapter and then goes AU. Very, very AU. Hope you enjoy!/

The sky was grey, bleak and lifeless. A dull grey warehouse known as the Yellow Box sat at the Los Angeles Daikoku Wharf. Hooks dripping with moisture hung from the roof, the remains of some long extinct shipping company. The air was cold and damp, as was the concrete floor. The space was dimly lit, light entering only through a few tiny slits in the roof. A single metal propeller set high in the wall slowly and painfully rotating, the screech of it's torturous progress echoing through the room. And as a maniacal scream filled the warehouse, one thing was certain. Yagami Light was pissed.

No. Not pissed. To call Light pissed would be to say that L had a minor sweet tooth. Yagami Light was FURIOUS. His identity was now public knowledge, his carefully crafted plans were utterly ruined, and to top it all off he had been shot. By Matsuda. $#&^ing Matsuda! The wimpy little bootlicker who had once failed to arrest a seven year old! He'd once been pushed down a flight of stairs by a puppy! A $#&^ing puppy! GRAAAAH!

Now normally Light would not think like this. Light was a social genius, he kept an iron grip on his emotions and had acting skills that would give Robert De Niro an inferiority complex. But years of constant stress, worry and Misa had taken their toll. Being shot in the hand by the living embodiment of wussiness was the proverbial straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.

Light had always had a thing for excitement, for taking calculated risks. Right back when he'd first become Kira, L had joined the case, and had immediately realised something about the way Kira killed. He'd noticed that he would kill from morning to late at night (Japan Time) on weekends and public holidays. However, he also noticed that on weekdays Kira didn't kill during school hours. Light had accessed his father's investigation files and had changed his writing patterns, killing a criminal an hour twenty-four hours a day. He had known that L would realise the possibility of a police leak. While he had convinced himself at the time it was to turn the police and L against each-other, the truth was that he wanted excitement in his life. He had known that it could compromise his identity, that it could have far-reaching damage, but he did it anyway. The game wouldn't be fair without a few hints, after all.

Even today, he had taken a risk. In the second before the Death Note was meant to kill everyone except Kira, he had claimed his victory over Near out loud. Arrogance was his flaw, the belief that he was better than anyone else. And it had cost him. It had cost him dearly.

Yet despite his predicament, despite everything, he was still a genius. His mind whirred, possibilities considered, analysed and discarded in the space of milliseconds. He refused to concede defeat. Light thought back to his victory over L, the second finest mind in the world. He . He would not fall to this pale-haired, stripling unworthy of licking L's boots clean! Or shoes. Actually, L didn't really wear shoes. Unfit to lick L's feet clean? It didn't matter. Light would triumph. Kira would not be stopped.

All this went through Light's brain instants after Matsuda's bullet smashed through his uplifted hand, shattering his hand and wristbones.

"Matsuda you idiot! Who the hell do you think you're shooting at! Don't screw with me!" As Light's words echoed through the warehouse, his eyes briefly flickered across the other occupants of the warehouse. He realized that the flare of white-hot pain had allowed his instincts to overpower his genius. The silent onlookers were watching him with a mixture of revulsion, fascination and... Pity? He barely heard Matsuda's reply, so incensed he was at the mere thought. How dare they pity him? Pity a God! The idea was almost laughable. He dearly wished to kill each and every one of them, but he recognised that he had to tread carefully. He was walking on razor blades. Dimly hearing something about his father, Light's reply ws nothing but an attempt to gamble for more time.

"My dad? You mean, Sochiro Yagami?" With these words, the Yagami prodigy came to a realisation. He realised that there was only one way he would even stand a chance of surviving this situation. It was risky yes, and it would cost him greatly, but he would keep his life, and maybe eventually regain his freedom. Besides, Matsuda was on a hair trigger. He had to act soon.

"Oh yes, Light's dear little father. I hope he has a fun time dealing with that when I'm gone." Light made sure to keep his voice perfectly matched to his earlier outburst. This would be the most important performance of his life.

"Well, I guess Light has finally expended his usefulness." Already he could see the question in the eyes of the people of the room. Near was staring at him with unblinking eyes, probably trying to decipher what he was up to. Matsuda looked like he hadn't slept for days, hand shaking and eyes wide and running like a tap.

"Say ta to Sachiko from me!" He gleefully cried, evil grin threatening to split his face. There would be no faking it, Near was too good, too perceptive. There was only one way. He had to give up the Death Note.

Once his other innocent self returned, it would seem as if he had been possessed, that he had not been in control. He would be arrested, monitored, his every move watched and scrutinised. Yet they would find no flaws in his performance. Why? Because it wouldn't be a performance. It would be real. Light Yagami would honestly believe that he was not Kira, that he had never been Kira. The seeds of doubt would be planted in the minds of the Japanese police force. They would take any chance to believe the innocence of the son of their beloved Chief Yagami. Even if Near tried to keep it secret, they would speak out, desperate to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Light was either innocent or guilty. He would miss being Kira more than could even be said, but self-preservation came first. Eventually, he would be free. His final delivery would have to be flawless.

"Kira shall always return! I will take you on an endless chase, from host to host! You will never be free of me!" Excellent semi-final words. Now, for the moment of truth. Light opened his unwounded hand, allowing the fragment of Death Note to drift listlessly downwards and come to rest in a pool of his own congealing blood. This was it. The phrasing would be crucial.

"Light Yagami renounces the Death Note!"

/Whoa! Cliffhanger much?/