Title: The Night The Lights Went Out
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None really, except some light violence and a lynching. And it's six pages long.
Based Off Of: "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Reba McEntire
If you don't know the lyrics, look them up before or after reading. Character list is:

Light - Brother
L - Andy Wo-Lo
Misa - Light's Wife
Soichiro - Sheriff
Mello - Seth
Sayu - Light's Little Sister
Near - Judge
Teru - Lawyer
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It had been two weeks since he had been home. He had spent that time in Candletop, investigating a possible lead on Kira. That was what they had thought he was doing, though. He had been away, trying to possibly throw the investigators off of his trail. He had suspected that it had not worked the way he had planned. The killings had all but stopped during those two weeks. Someone wasn't keeping their end of the bargain back at home.

Surely L would suspect him of being Kira again. Only because, since he had been gone, the killings had ceased. As soon as he returned, they would resume again, only strengthening L's accusations against him.

It wasn't according to plan.

Light Yagami exited the Mercedes CLS500 that night, the brand new automobile seeming to dwarf Web's Bar in cost. The old, wooden building appeared as if it would fall down if someone poked it with a stick. He didn't seem to mind if that happened, he had never appreciated that bar in the first place. However, if he saw someone take a swing at his car with a stick...

He walked into the bar, choking slightly on a gust of pale smoke that filled his lungs. He wondered how any of is occupants could breathe through the filth emitted from the cigars and cigarettes as he walked towards the bar.

After his eyes had adjusted to the dimness of the room, he finally was able to recognize a pale figure sitting at the bar. L. An unopened bottle of Budweiser sitting beside him. He laughed, knowing L would never touch the drink. He suspected it was just for profiling.

Light sat down at the bar, coughing slightly, attempting to get L to notice him. And he did.

"Back so soon?" L stated as he looked up at a bartender, who had approached as Light had sat down.

After select words from Light to the bartender, L watched as the man walked away and tended to another set of people down the isle. Light looked over at L, then down at the mahogany plank on which his elbows sat. "I didn't find anything in Candletop. Why did you send me there anyways?" He coughed, covering his mouth with his hand.

"I had to get you out of town. I had to clear some things from my head." L spoke quietly, his eyes fixed on the bar under him.

"Like what?" Light questioned.

L sighed, looking over at Light slightly. "I have bad news for you. It might hurt." He said as he looked away, then back at the bar.

Light, now ignoring the smoke, stared intently at L. "Ryuzaki, what is this about?" Curiosity had struck him. He clearly didn't know.

L looked up now, his eyes fixed on Light's. "I'm your friend, and you know that. But you're wife isn't home tonight. The day you left, I saw her heading over to Mello's house. She's been seeing him for a while now." There was no emotion in his voice, no sympathy for the younger man.

Light stared, clearly shocked. "Y-you're lying. Misa wouldn't do that!" He nearly screamed, but stopped himself from creating a scene. He didn't want to disturb the mass of people within the building.

"Don't blow up right now. I know how you must feel… After all, I've been with her myself." L spoke, those coal eyes staring at the bartender from across the room.

His vision was suddenly snapped away as he felt the collar of his shirt being yanked to his left, his vision forcefully being placed on Light now. "You did what?!" Light screamed.

And that started it all. The entire bar went quiet from his voice, but he didn't care. L saw a red glint in the mans eyes. He could see the anger, the fire there. For the first time, he might have felt fright, but he didn't immediately recognize it.

"Get out of here!" Light screamed as he pulled L from the barstool, throwing him against the floor. "Get out!"

Underneath the bewildered stares of the bars occupants, L left, his eyes buried under his bangs.

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L walked home that night, only due to the fact that his house was only blocks away from the bar. He didn't mind the night, he didn't mind the chilling air. He was, after all, alone now. He was numb again, numb to anything around him. He felt, and possibly knew, that he had lost a friend. He never had many to begin with, though. Why, though? Why did he feel this way?

An idea came to Light's mind as he drove home that night. He shut off the car and walked towards the door, seeming to look over his shoulder for the entire ten second walk. He entered through the back door with the utmost caution, seeming paranoid that he would find someone lurking around the corner. He had figured that Misa had left town as he approached his bedroom.

He closed the door behind him and, without flipping on a light, found his way to the bedroom drawer. Opening it, he pulled out a small revolver. The only thing that was left to him by his grandfather. Why such a morbid present, he didn't want to know. He guessed he wanted him to keep himself safe in the world.

He left the house moments later, wandering through the woods, now in search of L's home. He kept the revolver in his right hand as he moved through the tree's, keeping along the tree line, in sight of the houses. He was looking, searching for him.

Light stepped out of the woods as he approached the home, looking down at his feet suddenly. A chill ran up his spine suddenly as he noticed a smaller set of footprints on the ground. Too small to be L's.

Slowly, he approached the home, peering through the screened porch door. And his heart froze. He felt his eyes widen dramatically at the sight inside.

L. On the ground. A bullet wound through his back. In a puddle of his own blood. Dead.

He didn't know what to do. After looking over his shoulder, he noticed the black-and-white coloring of a patrol car. He raised the revolver in the air and, looking down, pulled the trigger, trying to alert the cops.

And that he did. He heard the siren go off seconds later, he heard the car screech into the drive, its doors slamming, and two police officers round the back of the house.

Light gasped to himself as he noticed Soichiro and Matsuda round the corner, the two men staring at him wildly, unaware of what was going on. Soichiro walked towards his son, then looked through the porch door, suddenly realizing what he thought had happened.

He grabbed Light by the collar, glaring him straight in the eye. "What did you do?!" He screamed. He was sure that a flock of birds that sat in a tree above them, had flown off.

Light looked up at his father, clearly shocked. "I didn—"

He froze as he felt the cool metal of a gun to his neck. "What did you do to L?!"

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"Guilty."

The bang of the Judge's gavel barely silenced the room from the ongoing uproar.

Light sat upright at the plaintiff's table, clearly appalled at the verdict he was given. With a shaking glance, he looked over at the black-clad man sitting beside him, who had his head buried in his hands. Light forced himself not to speak, in risk of disturbing the distraught man.

The bang of the gavel silenced the small room again, and Light was forced to turn towards the podium, staring at the white-haired judge.

"The sentence is as follows. Light Yagami is to be hanged at the midnight hour, today. It is currently 4:32 PM, you are to report to the hanging grounds at eight. Court dismissed."

The court went up in an outrage, half crying in joy, half screaming in agony. A riot would have broken out if it weren't for a lone gunshot ringing out from the bailiff. The room cleared seconds later, leaving only the Judge, the local sheriff, two officers, Light, and his Lawyer.

Light placed a firm hand on the mans shoulder, watching as the man looked at him. "Teru. You did good." He said solemnly, making some sort of attempt to console the man.

Instead, Teru burst into tears, sobbing into his hands. "I failed you, God. I failed you, God." He repeated like a broken record through sobs.

Light growled as he felt a set of cold hands grab his wrists, pulling them behind his back. He could easily feel the cold metal of the handcuffs on his wrists now, a reminder of his past.

And Teru finally sat up as he saw Light being led away to a distant door in the room. He stood up, his hands firmly placed on the table, seemingly ready to snap it in half. "God! God!" He screamed, watching as Light looked over his shoulder, eyeing him in despair.

The Judge removed himself from his podium and walked towards the sheriff, slapping him on the back. It was weird for Near, for he wasn't as tall as he wished, and he nearly slapped his ass. "They're waiting for me back home. See to it that the execution takes place."

And Near left with Soichiro following, and leaving the bawling Teru bashing a fist against the table.

And for once, Light realized he did not want to die.

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Midnight.

Light stood on the gallows, his hands bound behind his back, a block under his feet, the noose hanging limply above his head. He looked out at the crowd before him, each and every person wearing different emotions. Some were in tears, handkerchiefs under their eyes. Some were talking to others quietly, possibly gossiping over the man on the gallows. And some were smiling, as if it were any other day, and the supposed God of the New World was just there.

Light sighed as he heard the hollow footsteps of a man walking up the wooden steps of the gallows. He looked out over the crown for one last moment, noticing through the entire crowd, a young, black-haired girl leaning against a light post, her eyes locked with his for what he felt like, was an eternity. His vision was lost though, as he felt a black cloth cover his eyes.

And he nearly burst into tears as he heard a voice come from behind him. "Light Yagami, you are hereby sentenced to death by the Honorable Judge Nate Rivers, on the count of first degree murder. Do you agree or disagree with the charges you have been accused?"

He paused, clearing his throat before he looked down. "Yes."

There was almost no noise from the crowd now as the noose was lowered. An intense feeling of terror overtook him as he felt the rope tighten around his neck. He wanted to scream, he wanted someone to save him. But he repressed those emotions. He had to save her.

"Do you have any last requests?" He heard the executioner say. He was drawing out his sentence, just to make the sense of terror, of agony, last.

He shook his head. "No."

"Very well."

He had read that lynching was outlawed by large nations, except in some circumstances in other countries. He just never realized that it would happen to him though. He now knew how those people had felt now, how it felt to look out upon those people in the crowd, their burning eyes watching your every move. He knew the anxiety of those victims, he knew the urge to want to cry out, but the inability to do it.

And now he knew how it felt to have your spine disconnected from your skull.

He made no attempt to cry out as the box was removed, as the noose yanked his neck upwards. He was surprised though, there was no pain there. He just hung there for a moment, unable to tell what had happened. He was one of the lucky ones, he supposed. He never experienced the pain associated with your neck snapping.

He died there that day. He died an innocent man. Unknowing to every one though, they had also killed a guilty man. They had also killed Kira.

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"So you're saying… That your brother never killed L?"

Sayu Yagami sat in her home one autumn day, all of the windows open, every door open, just enjoying the cool air. The only thing that ruined it though, was a reporter. She had expected it though, she had asked him there in the first place. Something was plaguing her mind lately, and she felt she had to tell someone. So she had asked him there, and she had asked him to record everything she said.

He found it strange that he was called for this, but was soon entranced by the story the woman told. From what he could recall, fifty years ago, they had hung her brother for a crime that he didn't commit. But he was found at the scene, a gun in his hand, with the perfect motive to kill. It seemed contradictory, but he continued to listen as the woman talked.

"He never did. He would never have had the heart to kill L, he would rather have someone else do it for him." Sayu spoke as she sat back in her armchair, looking out of a small window beside her. "But I'll say this, someone did kill him though."

"You seem to know the story quite well. Do you possibly know who the murderer was?" The reporter spoke from his rocking chair, intently listening. It felt as if, to him, his mother was telling him a story as a child.

"That, my friend, is where it gets interesting."

He stood there, dumbfounded for a moment. Confusion accompanied him for the first time in a while. L was alive a while ago, so how did he end up…?

His head lurched towards the trees as he heard footsteps fall through the forest. His eyes shot open once again as he saw the shadowed figure emerge, the soft moonlight illuminating the face of a young girl. His sister.

"Sayu, what are yo—" He stopped as he looked at her hand, noticing the smoking pistol in her hand. "What did you do?!"

"Someone had to do it! He slept with your wife, he deserved it!" She shouted, making no attempt to lower her voice. She knew no one would have heard her anyways; everyone was still asleep at that hour.

Light stared for a moment, then walked towards his sister. "Where is Misa?" He muttered as he placed his hands on her shoulders, staring her dead in the eye.

"They'll never find the body. I've told you before, I never miss!" She sounded excited, which alarmed him. He had never known his sister to be the homicidal one before.

"Get out of here." He whispered as he pushed her in the direction he came. "They'll never know it was you, go!"

"But Li—"

"Go! They'll never know!"

As she ran through the woods, she heard the gunshot fired in the air. And she paused for a second, until she heard the sirens of a patrol car.

She fled.

The reporter reached for his tape recorder, shutting it off. "So fifty years ago, you killed L and his wife?" He spoke, stunned. He would have never suspected that she, this beautiful woman of at least seventy, would have had the nerve to kill someone she didn't even know.

Sayu nodded, looking at the reporter, leaning in close and speaking lowly. "And not a day goes by that I don't thank my brother for letting me live."