Author's Note: I do not and never will own Death Note.
Just a quick little drabble that popped into my head. AU obviously.
You look at the computer screen and deflate, shoulders bowing inward under the tension that you never let yourself show around anyone else.
You've known it for months, but the proof is there, on your computer screen, for anyone else with the wit to look.
Light Yagami is Kira and you don't know what to do.
It should be easy. He's just another criminal. You know you should call everyone else in, show them the proof, step by step. You know you should have Light taken away in handcuffs, his hubris locked away like everyone else you've ever deliberated on.
But-
He's your first friend.
He's the first person you've ever felt able to properly banter with, the first person you can talk to for hours and hours and not have to worry about them being able to keep up. He's the first person to challenge you, the only other person besides Watari who seems interested in knowing the man behind the symbol.
He's the first person you've ever wanted to kiss. He's the first person you've ever held hands with (never mind that it was only the byproduct of the handcuffs joining you together, you still felt butterflies for a single moment, it still counts, even if only in your own mind).
He's a murderer. He's a monster. He's set himself up as the god of a new world and it's never going to work, and the worst part is, without his memories, he knows it, too. Not for the first time, you wonder of the Death Note's corruption.
He's a criminal. You're a detective.
Your shoulders straighten. It doesn't matter if you love him or not. It doesn't matter that you still think you're slated to die before the end of the week, that time is of the essence here. It doesn't matter that he's your friend.
You are Justice and you have come for him.
Just as you're about to send your successors all of your work so far, there's a knock on the door. You whirl in your swivel chair, bare feet digging into the soft fabric. It's Light and his eyes look haunted. More than that- tortured.
"I'm Kira," he says, and the world falls out from under you.