- Falling Down -
Chapter One - Silence
It was his eyes.
That was the problem, Light had finally decided. It was not the way he stood, nor the monotone in which he spoke, or the way he sat. It was his eyes.
Even at first glance you could tell there was something different - no - wrong about them. Void of any colour or warmth, the stark black pupils were a direct contrast to the glassy white of the eyeball. They were dead, empty but always watching and observing without revealing anything themselves. Light had lost count of how many times those eyes had ensnared him; pulled him down helpless into their unfeeling depths and suffocated him on the very air he breathed.
All without blinking once.
Were they cruel eyes? After much consideration, Light had decided they were not. But there was the potential. Ruthlessness was present, somewhere near the surface, as unwavering as steel. Light has seen it countless times, especially when was being questioned. A sudden glance could cut him off in mid-sentence, like a physical slap across the face (although a kick to the gut would probably be more appropriate). However, Light had soon discovered that these unfriendly and sometimes cold looks were merely for defensive purposes. The dark light that dwelt behind those orbs served as nothing more than a barrier between the detective and the shadowy people he normally had to deal with in his profession.
But there was more, another dimension that remained struggling underneath the others' self induced mask. Something that Light had only seen once or twice in his entire time chained to the man.
He could see it whenever the Kira investigation was not the main topic of conversation; whenever the atmosphere between them relaxed somewhat. There would be a spark, a surprising flicker of interest, or emotion. By the time Light had registered the fact, the flame would be gone: smothered by the ever cautious eyes. The light he saw in those moments was not something entirely pure or good but it was not evil either. It was entirely and utterly human.
"Light."
The evening air was chilling on the rooftop of the investigation headquarters. Lights from the other skyscrapers blinked around them, and it was difficult to differentiate them from the stars that shone in the heavens. The sound of the city below them was strangely muted from up here.
Light dropped out of his reverie when he felt a slight tug at the cuff of his sleeve. He turned around, facing the slouching figure beside him. L was staring slightly past him into the night that had enveloped the city. Suddenly, he sighed and began to speak.
"We should go, Light. It's almost over, and we must not waver just before the end." He stared at the younger man's face. "The helicopter is ready. Follow me."
The pair climbed aboard the machine in silence, their ears filled with the chatter of the blades slowly coming to life. L donned a headset that was next to his seat, and motioned for Light to do the same. The noise from the propeller was suddenly blocked out.
"Watari, I trust you've made all the preparations?"
L did not bother looking behind him while speaking to the old man, but instead began to flip a number of switches on the dashboard.
"Yes, Ryuzaki."
The system they were using to communicate had multiple lines. L, Light and Watari could clearly hear each other, without having to shout. They could also communicate with members of the taskforce on the ground whenever they needed to. Light glanced over his shoulder. Watari was sitting in the back putting together what looked like some sort of sniper rifle. Light frowned.
"Ryuzaki?"
"This is Kira we're talking about." He spoke in a low, rehearsed tone, as if he already knew Light's question, "He is undoubtedly armed, so why should not take measures to protect ourselves? I'm not going to kill Higuchi, anyways, there's still much I have not learned..."
Light felt a slight bump as he felt the helicopter take off. He had never seen L driving a car before, let alone this giant flying box of metal. And yet, he was completely at ease. Odd. He trusted L with his very life. Since he was certain that he was not Kira, he had nothing to fear from the black-haired man. Even chained together, Light was not afraid. In fact, he felt that it was for their mutual benefit. L could keep an eye on him, and while doing so, eventually come up with the conclusion that he could not possibly be Kira, the infamous supernatural mass-murderer.
The young man smiled slightly. They probably could even be friends after all this, if the detective didn't run off the moment they were finished with Kira.
Yes. They would be friends. Somewhere deep down inside Light Yagami, he felt the need to reach out to L.
If only it wasn't for those eyes...
For the first time this investigation, L found himself sitting quite properly in his seat, and he was very displeased with it. For one thing, his back was beginning to hurt, and he kept on having to resist the urge to bring his feet up onto the ledge of the seat. But unfortunately, if he were to do that, his vision would become impaired, and then, that could quite possibly lead them all to a fiery death.
Yes, L thought, the mild discomfort was a much better alternative to a death that involved plummeting to the ground, and burning inside twisted metal.
His mind was wandering, flitting from distraction to distraction. He could not concentrate properly. An unfamiliar feeling had settled in his stomach, and was not going away. He could not quite put his finger on it, and that was what had him worried. L was used to always being in control, and having the upper hand. Which was why the Kira case was so unique. It leaped from the realms of reality, common sense, and was immersed in the unknown, and the impossible. It could be said that Kira constantly kept him on his toes...heh, it was probably the first time anyone had done so...no, that would be giving him too much credit. Alright, the second time, anyone had done so.
But it was true. Kira had brought L to his very limits time and time again, and each time he had retaliated.
And yet, tonight was different.
Hundreds of metres above Japan, L could not see Kira's next move. For the time being, he could only see one path...and that lead to Higuchi's inevitable capture. And then what? The next chapter, the next move was hidden. Did it all just end here? No more traps, no more puzzles, no more Kira.
The arrogant side of L was slightly disappointed. Kira is Higuchi...what an unfitting end to the investigation.
How...boring.
It would have been better if...
Light Yagami shifted slightly in his place next to L.
"Would it really have been better? Some part of me needs Light to be Kira...it was the only logical conclusion before all this business with Yotsuba. And while half of me wants to be rid of Light, the other," L thought, and shivered slightly "the other half wants nothing more than to...become more acquainted with him."
Had the years of isolation finally gotten to him? L had never considered himself lonely before (and what did it matter if he was, for that matter?) until his months of working with the taskforce. It wasn't entirely a pleasurable experience - having to deal with chief Yagami's ethics, and having to explain his deductions twice (once for the taskforce, the second time for Matsuda) and yet, he had gotten used to it. Returning to work by himself would be somewhat painful.
He would miss Light.
L shook his head. Another foreign emotion invaded his mind without warning and left him open and bare.
Especially Light.
But until that moment, the young man to his left continued to be his prime suspect.
"Aha!" L let go of the controller momentarily to reach into a compartment just below him. "I trust you do not oppose to using one of these."
Pale spider-like digits held out a pistol.
"This is much too obvious, but it's still very different from my previous tactics." L mused "I must see his reaction..."
Eyes narrowed behind a curtain of honey-coloured hair. Light did not disguise the distaste that had crept onto his face.
"Those aren't allowed in Japan."
L paused and nodded, then slipped the weapon into his jeans pocket. "I bet Mr. Yagami said the exact same thing."
"This is not like Light at all...he didn't even mention the fact that this was another one of my traps, like he usually does," L thought "it's just not like him...does he really expect me to believe his act? Or, maybe the reason behind why he missed the real meaning of my statement was because he truly believes violence is wrong?"
Or maybe...
"Maybe I really was wrong about Light being Kira? Could that actually be possible?"
Approximately half an hour later, the helicopter had landed in the middle of an empty highway. The propeller churned to a halt, raising dust all around them. Twenty police vehicles had surrounded the damaged red Porsche, waiting for their orders. This was as far as Higuchi would go; there was no possible escape.
But apparently Higuchi thought differently.
"Stay away! Nobody come near me!!!"
Something inside the greedy man's head had finally snapped. Now, he was screaming at the masked police officers, and digging a gun into his scalp.
And as all this was happening, Rem the shinigami was observing it from the back seat of the car. If Higuchi were to kill himself here and now, it would probably mean that the memoryless Light would never get his hands on the Death Note while being under constant surveillance by L. This couldn't have been the way his plan was supposed to go. This wouldn't get Misa saved.
What to do?
"Higuchi."
The deranged man grunted in response.
"Killing yourself will do you no good now. You may still have a way out, if you decide not to shoot yourself through the skull."
Higuchi hesitated. Rem drew closer, her mouth directly beside his ear.
"The man who calls himself L is sitting in that helicopter right now."
L.
The detective was the one behind all of Higuchi's problems from the very beginning.
If L was gone, there would be no more running, none of this mess. He would be safe if L was removed from the situation. As long as there was something physical, something real behind the initial L, not just some ghost behind a television screen, he would be fine.
This twisted logic made perfect sense to the businessman.
Get rid of L.
Higuchi's lips broke out into a large smile.
"This isn't good," hissed Ryuzaki, "what an idiot."
"If he kills himself now, we may never learn the whole truth..."
The silence that pressed in on Light's eardrums was stifling. The police sirens were probably on outside, but his headset blocked out all exterior noises. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of his and Ryuzaki's uneven breathing.
Breathless, Light looked over at the detective. The smooth, pale shape of L's throat moved slightly as he swallowed. Time seemed to slow down to an unbearable rate.
"Watari, I think it would be best to disarm him now."
Then, something happened.
Higuchi moved impossibly fast, arm swinging around in an arc towards the windshield of the helicopter. Some otherworldly force seemed to guide his hand, and the gun gripped inside it, for his eyes were shining with a certainty and confidence that was not human. All the while he was grinning like a demon.
Light did not believe this was happening. He swung his right arm up childishly in front of his face as if it could actually protect him, and with the other, he grabbed the stunned detective's arm and tried to pull him down.
In the end, Light did not even hear the gun go off.
Glass exploded around them noiselessly like a wave of icy water breaking over barren rocks from the impact. Hundreds of minuscule blades flew into the cockpit finding bare skin and piercing it.
A blood-curdling scream ripped through Light's reality, and the detective's arm he held onto so possessively jerked in his grasp. Wildly, he looked around.
The silence around him was broken; the headset he wore had slipped around his neck. People were yelling, shouting. Madness and confusion was heavy in the air, almost tangible like humidity, making it hard for him to breathe. He was calling out for help (was it really him though? He never heard this scared, rough edge to his voice before). Suddenly the very world beneath Light's feet was yanked away as he saw L's body slumped beside him, deep red blood seeping through the white fabric of his shirt.
"Ryuzaki!"
He grabbed the detective's shoulders and reached for his pulse, when suddenly, L's head snapped up violently. His pupils contracted to miniscule points and his eyes widened as he saw Light's face over his.
A strangled sound of pain escaped from L's mouth as he grasped Light's arms and threw them off of him.
"Get away..."
Light was stunned. The raven-haired man had pushed himself as far away from the other man as he could in the confined space and then collapsed again, unmoving.
Unfounded feelings of guilt and remorse were swirling in his head, as he recalled the other man's expression upon seeing Light.
Those intelligent, impenetrable eyes had shed their veil, if only for a split second, before closing shut, and Light had seen inside those boundless depths. He had seen fear hiding there.
More accurately, fear of Light himself.
He suddenly realized that his hands were stained with L's blood. He quickly wiped them on his jacket, but he couldn't get rid of the sick, sticky feeling that lingered there.
The fear he had seen in L's eyes was none other than the fear of Kira.
To Be Continued...
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except for this fic, obviously.
Notes: Whew, I really hoped you guys enjoyed reading this very first chapter of 'Falling Down' (is the name too cheesy? D:). Anyways, since I didn't have any big plans for the holidays, I decided I would start writing a real fanfic (as opposed to the usual oneshots). I'm looking forward to writing future chapters. And, just to let you know, cause it wasn't terribly clear: L is NOT dead. Just severely wounded. But don't worry he gets better (hopefully). Now I just want to point out some stuff...
1) This fic will have lots of romance of the LightxL flavour (if you don't like it, then go read some LightxMisa fics, or...nevermind, that's the only straight pairing I can think of, hmmm)
2) THE BLEEDING, OOOH, THE BLEEDING!!! this fic contains some blood 'n' guts (minus the guts), but not too much (I don't really like that sorta thing) anyways, it won't be that graphic, cause it's in black and white
And that's it for now, I think. Please review if you liked/hated it, and stay tuned for more chapters!
-biodamper