Summary: AU: Cannon divergence. After the discovery of the death note and the end of the Yotsuba Kira, L makes a decision that completely ruins all of Light's plans. What's more, L is so completely convinced that Light is guilty, he decides to more or less torture Light over the course of 13 days.
The Thirteen Day Limit
Chapter One: 1ST night
"I do not think it is wise to release Misa Amane at this time," L announced to the task force. Everyone looked up from where they had been gathered around the newly discovered death note. L was sitting in his chair, still facing the wall of monitors.
"W-what?" Matsuda was the first to respond. "We know Higuchi was Kira, and even if he was not one of the original two Kira's… the rule in the notebook prove she couldn't be guilty!" As usual he spoke with too much energy and conviction. Light had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes at the young detective.
L spun around in his chair, an action that would almost be dramatic if not for his ridiculous perch and the lollipop dangling out of his mouth.
Light glanced around at the other members of the task force, and that told him all he needed to know about their current opinions. Everyone agreed with Matsuda, but none spoke up to defend the junior detective. With a quick, quiet sigh, Light decided to bit the bullet and say something.
"He's right, Ryuzaki. By the rules of that thing," he motioned to the notebook on the table, "she cannot be Kira, either of them." Light scanned the room; the task force seemed relieved that Light had spoken up for them. L, however continued to look unimpressed.
"Yes, but, I think remaining in custody would benefit Miss Amane," L muttered around his candy.
This took Light a little off guard. Misa's safety? How did that play into L's decision? He was expecting an obvious challenge of the 13 day rule, thus L still being suspicious of Misa and Light. L figuring out, or at least suspecting that there was a fake rule added to the death note was a best case scenario- even if L voiced suspicion of the rule it would be highly likely that he would still be pressured into releasing Misa. Light's plan to take out L hinged on Misa getting free, that and Rem's possessive behaviour. Light glanced over at the god of death. She was standing quietly in front of the monitors, apparently half watching the going ons of the task force while still stealing glances at Misa in the monitors.
"How would being under surveillance help her?" Light asked, flatly.
"While it does not seem that Misa is currently the second Kira, or even has knowledge of being the second Kira, I believe should we release her, the original Kira will make contact," L explained. He glanced to the monitors where Misa could be seen draped over her sofa, scribbling in a bright pink notebook that no one could mistake as a death note.
"I merely think it would benefit Misa's safety should she remain where she is," L continued. He popped the lollipop out of his mouth and dropped it on the desk.
"I am not sure there are moral grounds, let alone the legal grounds that allow for this," Soichiro said.
"The chief is right," Mastuda added, "given the rules in the note book, Misa has to be innocent."
"Hmm, innocent?" L mumbled, seemly to himself. He glanced again at Misa, who was clearly not writing any more, but drawing large hearts in the notebook.
"Look, Ryuzaki, I appreciate your drive to catch Kira, but everything you've done so far has been extremely questionable," Light said, keeping his tone even. L glanced back over to Light.
"As I said before, this would be more for Miss Amane's benefit than anything else," L said, "If she is the second Kira, than the first Kira will without a doubt attempt to make contact. This first Kira, the original, is the more dominate one, the more dangerous one. I simply fear for Misa's safety."
The room was silent at this explanation. Light cursed to himself. Without Misa getting free and getting the hidden death note, his plan would hit a serious road block. Light glared at the detective, he wanted to push the issue, maybe argue Misa free, but several months of living chained to L had taught Light that the strange man was every bit as stubborn as he was. Besides, if he pushed the matter too far L would likely turn around and call out some bullshit percentage of him being Kira. No, Light had to play this cool. Let L win this one. If Light was anything he was adaptable, he'd come up with another plan, all he needed to do was wait.
"You would need to get Misa to agree with this," Light said, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Yeah, I mean, if you get her to agree to the protection I think it will be fine," Mastuda added. The rest of the task force seemed to agree with that.
"Oh, I am sure Light would have no problem convincing her," L said, a tiny smile pulling at his lips. Like somehow he knew exactly how much Light's plan depended on the exact opposite of this proposal.
Light grimaced. "Well, it wouldn't be easy to get her to agree to this, and you can't blame her, being under surveillance for an unknown amount of time, especially after everything that has happened."
L seemed to perk up in his chair and his eyes widened, somehow. He looked like Christmas had come early, or Light had just made a full confession to being Kira. It was such an off putting look that Light had to revaluate everything he had just said to make sure he hadn't just confessed.
"Ah, but it would be an undetermined length of time. It would only be for thirteen days," L explained, eyes glued to Light as he spoke.
"Thirteen days? Why thirteen?" Mastuda questioned. L gave the man a 'how can you be this stupid' look, before returning his focus to Light.
"Thirteen days because you are testing the rule," Light said, matter of fact. Internally, however, the teen was glowering and imagining L choking on that damned lollipop. That bastard! Not only was he questioning the rule, which Light had expected, even planed for, but L was implying that he had already started testing.
"Yes, very perceptive Light," L said, and he reached over blindly and smacked at a few keys on his computer, pulling up what looked like a live video feed. There was a man, obviously a prisoner, sitting at a desk, a single piece of paper in front of him.
"This man has been sentence to death thirteen days from now, and at exactly 9pm, he is going to write another convict's name on that piece of the death note."
"Just a piece? Will that even work?" Soichiro questioned.
"Not sure," L said, "but I figured this was the best way to test two theories at once. We will know in…" L glanced down at the bottom where the time was displayed. "About ten minutes."
Light was careful, as always, to keep his expression even, but that was becoming harder and harder every time L opened his month. He hadn't expected the detective to arrange an execution test of the note so fast. It had only been a few days since Higuchi was killed and the death note was discovered. L was sneaky. This was not good. In thirteen days, everything would be over. L would know the rule was fake, and Light and Misa would go right back to being Kira suspects one and two. He had to think of something. The original plan of Misa resuming the killings, thus drawing L's suspicion and forcing Rem's hand was quickly falling apart.
Or was it. Light glanced over at the shinigami in question. She was loitering by L's wall of computers.
"So, in thirteen days, if this prisoner is still alive we know two things," Light said, "The rule is fake and a piece of the death note is just as deadly as the whole notebook."
L nodded, chewing on his thumb.
"And as soon as that happens, Misa and I both become suspects again." Light finished. A few of the task force members opened their months to defend Light, but L was quick to shut them down.
"Yes, with a probability of nearly 80%" L said.
"So with that high of a probability, what will happen to Misa and me?" As Light said Misa's name, his gaze drifted over to Rem, who seemed suddenly more interested in the conversation. "Life in prison? Execution?" Light offered, looking not at L but the shinigami. The creature's yellow eyes seemed to widen, following what Light was saying.
"Well," L said around his thumb, "yes, one of the above. But…" he trailed off as he glanced back to the screens. He leaned over and tapped at a few keys, closing the footage of the convict and replacing it with the feed from Misa's room. "I think I would be willing to offer leniency to Miss Amane. In this scenario she is guilty of being the second Kira, the subservient Kira. It could be argued she did what she did under the influence of another." L pointedly looked at Light.
"And in this scenario that person was me," Light filled in.
"Of course. Besides, I get the feeling that this shinigami here," he gestured over to Rem, "harbours some sort of protective feeling for Miss Amane. It should be happy with an arrangement such as house arrest, rather than life in prison or execution." L looked up at Rem.
Light couldn't hide his surprise at his statement. How the hell did L know that? This was just getting worse by the minute. Dammit! L was going to ruin everything. He knew the detective was good but this was just spooky. Thankfully Light's shocked reaction was not noticed- it fit in perfectly with the reactions of the other members of the task force.
"Feelings? How did you come to that conclusion?" Aizawa questioned. He was looking at Rem with a mixture of disgust and confusion. "Can…are these creatures even capable of that?"
"I am not sure, I am just basing this on my observations of the shinigami. It has barely stopped watching Misa on the screens. I may be stretching things a bit, as I am unfamiliar with the intricacies of shinigami behaviour," L said with the smallest shrug of his shoulders, as if what he was suggesting was one of the most obvious things in the world.
Rem was silent, but Light noticed a change in her posture and face. It was subtle, but he could tell at that moment any hope of using Rem to kill L was out of the picture.
Goddammit. Goddamn L and his goddamn observations. Light could feel his control of the situation slipping away. There was next to nothing he could do. Damn L, it was like he had complete knowledge of Lights plan, he was tearing it apart so completely.
"I assume you agree with this scenario, shinigami?" L looked directly at Rem, abet a little hesitantly, "Misa, being as she was obviously under the control of, or otherwise influenced by the original Kira, would be spared a harsh punishment."
Rem nodded slowly, and L smiled.
"Of course, this deal is completely dependent on my involvement in the case. Should anything happen to me I doubt anyone else would offer such a nice deal for Misa," L added, almost as an afterthought.
Light felt his stomach drop. He was done for. No, he refused to give in that easily. This was a setback, granted a very, very big and incontinent and frustrating setback, but Light could get around this. He had to get around this. He would just have to regroup and come up with another plan. L had won this battle, but Light had no doubt who would be victorious in the end. Still, he glared at the detective who was still chewing on his fingers like an infant. L was going to pay for this. A heart attack would be far to kind of a death for L. At this point in time Light was seriously considering strangling the dark haired man child himself.
L spun his chair back around to face the computer. In a second Misa was again replaced by the image of the convict. The time read 8:59pm.
The task force watched at the man was given a pencil and a small bit of paper, probably a photograph of the man he was going to kill. The convict wrote the name, and a few minutes later L received a message.
"It worked. The other inmate died," L said quietly.
"Now we just have to wait," Light said.
Later that night Light was settling down for bed, as he had done for the past several months, in the company of L. Of course if Misa wasn't being released, than Light wasn't free either. He had managed to argue the handcuffs away, but decided not to push things too far. L informed him he was to be watched at all times, still, by L, the task force, or cameras. Light had agreed; anything to prove his innocence and catch Kira, of course.
Still, Light wished he had just a little bit of privacy to figure out a way out of this mess. He wanted at least, his own room, but L has shot that idea down. Though, at least without the handcuffs, Light was free to push his bed further away from L's.
The room Light and L shared was a mess, something Light tried not to let bother him too much. He kept his own areas as tidy as he could, yet somehow a wrinkled white shirt, or dirty tea cup complete with thick sugary slug covering the bottom always managed to sneak on to his side of the room. Light was convinced that the man did it on purpose. Now, as Light was curled up in his bed, he couldn't help but glare at the lollipop that was stuck what looked at a case folder that somehow made it to his nightstand.
The lights were still on, and Light could hear L shuffling around the room. It was well past two in the morning, and while Light had long ago gotten used to the detective's insomniac behaviours, tonight it was especially annoying. Something about his plans being completely destroyed probably had a lot to do with it.
Light rolled over and glanced over at L's empty bed. The detective was standing beside it, holding his laptop by the screen. The detective clambered into the bed, sitting with his back against the headboard and settling the laptop in his knees.
Light rolled back over. He needed to think to plan, to revaluate the situation. There had to be a way out of this, there always was.
"Hey, Light," L called. Light was silent, feigning sleep.
"Light?" the voice called again. Light screwed his eyes shut and didn't respond.
There was a moment of silence and Light figured the detective had bought his act. He relaxed.
"You're not asleep," Light heard L say.
"Well I'm not now," Light grumbled.
"You never were. You forget, I have observed you for the past several months. I can tell when you are asleep. You have a distinct breathing pattern," L continued. Light was fighting the urge to throw his pillow at the man.
"Are you saying that you watch me sleep, Ryuzaki?" Light said, but stayed curled up and facing the other direction. He wasn't going to give L the satisfaction of seeing the look on his face. Which was something between annoyance and disgust.
"Of course. You are interesting, Light. And if you turn out to be Kira, every bit of information about you could be vital," L said. Light heard the creak of L moving on his bed.
"You are a freak sometimes, did you know that?" Light muttered, "I am going to sleep now. Goodnight, Ryuzaki."
There was silence, and Light considered it a victory. He used to quiet to begin the formation of another plan. The pieces appeared in his mind. There was L, Light, Misa, and the task force as the main players, as well as the shinigami, though the death gods were a bit of a wild card. Light frowned; using Rem against L had been the best case scenario, but that completely out of the question now.
Light's thoughts drifted to Ryuk. The god of death had made his non-inference policy quiet clear from the beginning of this, so that was out of the question. Light was starting to become discouraged. He switched his thoughts to his current assets. What did he have going for him at the moment…
"Hey, Light," L's voice crashed into his thoughts and Light let out an audible groan.
After a moment when Light didn't respond, L spoke up again. "Light, I know you aren't asleep. I told you, I can tell. Are you having trouble sleeping?"
"Yes, actually, I am," Light said, rolling over and glaring at the detective.
"Is something bothering you?" L asked. He was still perched on his bed, his laptop balancing on his knees. He was still dressed in his day clothes, though, Light had only seen him change into sleep clothes a handful of times during their time handcuffed together.
"You," Light said, unable to hide the annoyance from his voice, not like he needed to, the way L was behaving would get on any normal person's nerves.
"Me?" L asked in that stupid childish way that just served to grate on Light's nerves.
"Yes, you. Ryuzaki, I am trying to sleep," Light snapped.
"But you aren't asleep," L started, but Light cut in.
"Because you keep calling my name."
"I wanted to ask you a question," L said. Light sat up in his bed, still glaring across the room at L.
"What? What do you want? What could you possibly need at," Light picked up his watch from the nightstand to check the time, "at nearly 3 in the morning."
"I don't see what the time has to do with anything," L said defensively, "but I just wanted to ask you if you would get the lights? I am rather comfortable already."
Light stared for several seconds, not quite believing what the detective was saying.
"For the past three months you argued with me about the lights, something about how you work better with them on," Light growled. "Suddenly you want them turned off, and you can't get up and do it yourself?"
"You're closer," L said with a shrug. "Besides, with everything that happened today, I figured you would need a good night's sleep- and you do sleep better with the lights off, right? That was the argument you always made."
Light tossed his blankets aside, got up, and stomped over to the switch and hit it, plunging the small room into darkness, well, aside from the blue glow of L's laptop.
"There. Goodnight, Ryuzaki," Light said, crawling back into his bed. He was genuinely tired now. So much for planning time. He would need to get at least a few hours of sleep if he was going to be able to be a functional member of the task force. He rolled away from L, pulling the blanket over his head. He closed his eyes, indeed enjoying the darkness of the room, and let his thoughts drift.
"Hey, Light," This time L's voice really did jar him awake. He opened his eyes, glaring at the darkness of the room. He had no idea how long he had been asleep.
"What, Ryuzaki," Light mumbled, "what is it now?"
"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about the case. Did I wake you up?"
"You know you did," Light said, turning over in his bed. "What about the case?"
"The fake rules, mostly. I am trying to figure out what rules could be fake and what purpose they would serve. The fake 13 day rule serves a clear purpose, but what if the destruction rule is fake as well, or one of the others?"
"If the 13 day rule is fake," Light said, sitting up. He was tired, but figured it was worth amusing L on this matter. Maybe the detective would say something that would give Light the advantage he so desperately needed.
"Yes, if," L said quietly. Light studied the detective's expression in the eerie light of the laptop.
"If you are so worried, set up another test to figure out which ones are fake," Light suggested.
"No, that would waste time. I want to study this note book, but we know there must be at least one more out there, and I fear we don't have that kind of time." L said with a sigh.
"Well, you already tested the 13 day rule, and that seems the most important," Light said.
"Hmm, it is the most important, but I must admit selfish reasons for narrowing in on that rule," L said, looking over at Light. The teen shivered at the intensity of the gaze, only made creepier by the artificial light of the laptop bathing the detective's face.
"A lot of the things you do are selfish," Light shot back. "But please, explain why testing the 13 day rule was selfish."
"You, Light. Your proclaimed innocence hinges almost entirely on the validity of the 13 day rule." L's gaze never left Light's face as he spoke. The man didn't even so much as blink. In fact there was a sort self-satisfied grin on L's face.
"Your obsession with me is beyond unhealthy, Ryuzaki," Light said. He lay back down, but didn't turn away or cover his head.
"Much of what I do is considered unhealthy by normal standards," L replied with a small shrug. He finally broke eye contact with Light, and looked back to his laptop screen.
"I feel sorry for you," Light said softly, after a moment. L looked over at him curiously, head tilted to the side.
"You are going to be absolutely devastated when I am finally cleared of being Kira," Light said, and rolled back over. "Goodnight, Ryuzaki."
L was silent for a long while, and Light slipped back to sleep with a small grin on his lips. Light was just about completely asleep when he swore he hear L whisper, "We'll see, Light." The teen was too tired, and too close to sleep to comment.
Light's sleep was short lived. L physically shook him awake what felt like a few minutes later, declaring it was morning and thus time to get up and get ready for work. Bleary, Light groped for his watch and groaned when he found it was barely even 5:30 in the morning. L was insistent, though, and Light dragged himself from his bed and got ready for what was inevitably going to be a very, very long day.