Hello all! To start off with... those who have read my other stories and are like "WTF! ANOTHER one?!" I'm deeply, deeply sorry that I haven't really finished my other stories. I'm on a kind of hiatus at the moment and this just seemed like something fun to write. Once it's in my head, I have to get it down on paper and I do always like to know how my writing skills are improving. And trust me, I'm trying to work on the other stories, only I don't know which to stick to and update first, so I might put a poll on my profile for it and you can vote if you want. No pressure.
And now, all I have to say is that as you read, I'd like some input. Doesn't have to be much. Maybe a "I like it!" or "MOAR!" for those who really, really like it and don't feel like they could put how AWESOME this chapter is into many words (I'm actually quite modest, so yes, I'm joking) or... if you spot any errors or see that something needs to be changed to help it flow a little, or make more sense, please, I appreciate (CON-STRUC-TIVE) criticism. ^^
Also, I don't own Death Note. I'm simply doing this for fun, and I'm an avid-yes, AVID-L fangirl. RIP, poor panda detective.
And now on with the story! ^0^
L thought himself a fair man. He was nice enough to people, nice enough to dedicate his life to long, complicated cases that kept him up for weeks at a time; he was nice enough to dedicate his life to simple, boring cases enough to keep his attention on them long enough to even solve them. Why those kind of cases were given to him, he'd never know. Were people really that simple-minded these days?
L Lawliet was a fair man. He divided the chocolate among he and Mello enough for them to both be sated, and so Mello wouldn't come creeping into his room when he wasn't there, or when he thought he was asleep, and steal his chocolate. That never worked out anyway, but it was fair.
L was such a fair man, actually, that he let Yagami Raito live, even when he swore that Kira would kill him someday. His last days were close, he said, and he'd be the one to take his life, laughing as he did so. He'd do it happily, only if no one else was there to stop him... But Watari would ALWAYS be there. He'd had a close call on that day, but, as they say... no dice. Or something like that.
So, the Great Detective L did what any other human being with common sense would do... He announced him dead to the world, took him to a secret place that only he and Watari knew, tied him to a bed and kept him there until he calmed down...
✦ 5 Days Earlier ✦
Raito counted down the seconds. It wouldn't be too long now, until his only nemesis was dead, in his arms. He'd give him something before he died, though. He would give him an honest answer, though he wouldn't say it out loud. He knew a smirk would appear on his face for a brief second, for he could hardly hold it back now. His heart beat loudly in his chest and he swallowed, counting down the last seconds.
Fourty seconds.
He glanced over at L subtly, then back at the computer.
Twenty.
He couldn't wait to see the look on his face-
Fifteen.
So close now, he could almost see the disbelief and the betrayal-
Ten... nine... eight... sev-
His leg muscles were twitching, getting ready to stand, feigning worry as L would clutch at his chest in pain...
Three... two... one.
He waited, his heart beating faster and faster, forcing his eyes to stay on the computer screen. The seconds ticked by and... nothing. Nothing at all. That excitement went away, and for a moment, he thought that Rem was delaying to torture him a bit. She never liked him in the first place, knew he never had feelings for Misa. She knew he was just using her to get what he wanted, and she thought that cruel of him. Maybe it was, but... Misa was just a pawn. She wasn't smart enough to do much on her own except pose and look pretty for the camera and on stage.
He waited a few more seconds, then a minute... Ten minutes. Something was wrong. L was typing away at the keyboard as usual, no one had moved for what seemed like forever.
Something was very wrong.
He stood up, his jaw clenched. "Excuse me..." He said quietly, going up the stairs to go out into the hallway, looking around for Rem, gritting his teeth. Where was that stupid monster? His eyes widened slightly, feeling panicked. Had she run off, or... No, she had no reason to hide from him. She was a Shinigami for God's sake; he couldn't even physically touch her.
"Looking for someone, Kira-kun?" L said smoothly from behind him, a blank look on his face, his emotions hidden, though Raito felt as if he was smirking smugly behind that mask. He noticed his father was not too far behind him, only a few feet, looking at him, his eyebrows furrowed. "Or were you going out for some fresh air, maybe?" L asked, his eyebrows rising slightly.
"No..." He mumbled, feeling himself starting to slip. Again. He was just wandering aimlessly around, or so it seemed. "I... I mean, yes. I was just-"
"Something on your mind?" The detective asked, tilting his head. "Something... you'd like to tell us, finally, after all of this wasted time?" His voice was even and calm, as if that would get Raito to admit he was Kira. "Kira-kun, it would be wise to-"
"Stop calling me that!" Raito snapped, fisting his hands. "For the last time, I'm NOT Kira!"
"Hmm... Right... As you've said before, of course, but... That's not what Rem said, in exchange for Amane-san's innocence and freedom. Was she lying then? Wait, before you answer... think about this carefully, Yagami-kun. I know you're an intelligent man, so just listen... just this once." He stood up straight for once and Raito noticed he was just a little taller than him. "If you lie to me, there will be no mercy for you." He began, his voice becoming dark and full of warning. "I've given you many chances, Yagami-kun, and there will be no more if you continue to deny what you know to be true. I let you start this little game, and I played with you for a while. It was entertaining-no, that's cruel, isn't it? It was a nice distraction at first, but innocent people started to die, and I couldn't just stand by and allow you to continue. I know in the beginning, you thought what you were doing was the right thing, but... the game has come to an end. You aren't Godly; you aren't meant to be one or be put in the place of one. Just tell the truth and I may be able to help you."
L had a feeling that his speech wouldn't make him admit it. In fact, he knew it wouldn't, he only wanted to get it out, to have known that he tried to help him, gave him one last chance. "She had no reason to lie to us, especially when I said that I would leave Amane-san alone and she would never be bothered again. Raito-kun..." He said, looking almost sad as he said this. "She doesn't remember anything and she's living a normal life now. Well... normal for Amane-san."
Raito was livid on the inside. L had trapped him like a rat. His father had been quiet this whole time, as if he was just waiting for him to admit it, too. Usually he spoke up against L, he talked about how he was going to prove his son innocent... He was going to bring him back home to his family and everything would be forgotten sooner or later. He tried to speak to him, to get him on his side again. "Otou-san..." He said, his voice cracking. Even in a moment like this, he still had to be a good actor. "You don't really... believe them." He said, taking a step forward, looking so hurt. "I swear, I'm not Kira. I never was! I'm... I'm your son... You can't possibly-"
"Just tell the truth, Raito." Soichiro said, his voice hard, but Raito could see the pain written all over his face. He was hurt his son would do something like this, angry, disappointed... incredulous, even, but they'd seen what the Death Note could do, and what a human could do with one. Especially a human that was immature though intelligent, greedy, and prideful. "Please. I can't stand..."
Now his father was turned against him? No, this couldn't be... He always had his faith, unwavering. Everyone on the Task Force thought that Raito was innocent, and that L was the only one that thought that Raito was Kira. If his father believed Rem... if he said he believed L, then no one here was on his side anymore.
Something snapped inside him, and his true colors were revealed, in front of L and his father. He didn't care who heard, and it was a relief to get everything out in the open. L had known the whole time, of course, but it just felt good to say it.
However, he didn't really expect them to stop him from running. He didn't think that he'd hear a gunshot go off, a nasty, horrible pain go through his side, and he didn't expect L to run as fast as he did, tackling him to the floor. He didn't expect his plan to fall apart as it did. Rem shouldn't have betrayed him. He was trying to change the world for the BETTER, and no one could see that. Why couldn't they understand?
L said he understood just fine as he felt a needle go into the side of his neck, and his whole world went black.
✦ Present ✦
L could have turned him in. He could have sent him to his death. They would ask him if he had any last words, to say them, and then they would give him a lethal injection, and there, his life would end... Kira and Yagami Raito would be dead at last.
Instead, he found forgiveness and patience in his heart to lie to the entire world, and bring him to his private home in Russia... with such a nice view, a garden in the back that Quillsh took care of; a stream by the back, hidden behind and in the center of a cluster of trees; a nice pool that L never personally swam in, but saved for the Wammy boys. It was a nice, large house. It was comfy.
It was also a privilege for Raito to be living in that house with Quillish and Lawliet. It was a privilege for him to even be alive, and that's the first thing that L told him when he woke up after his five-day... rest. It was also a privilege that L would help him and be in his presence for company and some sort of comfort. Any of those privileges could be taken away at the snap of his fingers. All he had to do was behave, cooperate, and try and make a new life with them when he felt ready to be let out of his restraints on the bed.
This "torture" for Raito wouldn't last forever, though, he assured him.
After all...
L was a fair man.
