Hey there! This is the Death Note story that I promised...quite a while ago. XD Humm, this will be following the manga quite closely though some of it will be my interpretation, of course. Also, some of it might not be word for word as I'm working with the German manga and translating from that. Still I hope you enjoy it.
Warnings: slight swearing, major manga spoilers, yaoi
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note
Chapter 1
Did you know it takes you three seconds to fall in love?
Three seconds and you're gone, irrationally emotionally tied to a person you don't even know. Light Yagami didn't know this and even if he did he wouldn't have believed it. But it didn't matter, because believing was not issue the here. It happened and you were powerless.
The first time he saw him was at the entrance exam to the University. The supervisor told someone behind him to sit down properly and Light turned around to see what the disturbance was. And that was the fatal mistake.
The first thing he noticed was the eyes: wide, dull black, surrounded by dark circles and staring directly at him. Then the messy, black hair that stuck up in all directions, the pallid, white skin, the rumpled clothes, the way he sat in his chair: knees pulled up to his chest, toes curled around the edge of the table, even the way he held his pen, balanced between two fingers.
All it took was three seconds.
Immediately Light could feel the tension between them, the crackling in the air, the spark, the electricity. It was in the way the other stared at him, wide and direct, like he had been waiting for Light to turn around, completely ignoring the aide at his side. The world had shrunk, there was nothing left but the two of them, eye to eye, gazes locked and thoughts were crowding Light's head, so many, too many, he couldn't think. So he forced himself not to react, forced himself to be in control, forced himself to turn back to his exam paper as if nothing had happened. But those three seconds during which his head was turned and their gazes had connected had changed everything.
The second time Light saw him was at the entrance ceremony of the University. He had made it, of course he had made it and with a perfect score as well so it was only natural that he should be the one to make hold the entrance speech. He couldn't wait until it was time to do so, because he was sitting next to the same young man, the one with whom had exchanged that look at the entrance exam. He made Light uncomfortable in a way that he couldn't even place except for the fact that there was something off about him. Light was very careful not to look at him, keeping his eyes focused on the stage, not to letting show that he even remembered that wordless few second exchanged from a few weeks ago.
Then it was finally time to hold the speech and when his name was called Light rose with that immaculate perfection that was his and started to move forward to the stairs. The moderator called the name of the other person he would be holding the speech with. 'Hideki Ryuga'. A murmur went through the crowd, whispering. Was it the pop star? Could it be? At their university?
It wasn't. It was him. And now Light couldn't help but look, a brief once over, cool and impersonal before he turned to walk up the stairs. He was a mess. The hair, which stuck up everywhere, his rumpled clothes. Shoes with no socks. And those black, staring eyes. He stood so stooped, shoulders rounded, hunched forward, in a way that made Light want to grab him and shake him and tell him to stand up straight.
For all his demure Light's attention was focused on this young man standing beside him. Light held his speech without really noticing, then 'Ryuga' (He doubted the name was real. Who shared a name with the pop idol? That was just suspicious) gave his own address. Light couldn't say what it'd been about; he was staring at the stranger, taking in everything about him, aggravated beyond measure. His heart was beating much too quickly, pounding against his ribs, blood rushing at his temple. And the crowd just wouldn't shut up, whispering and analyzing. The idiots.
Suddenly it was over and they were descending from the stage.
"Yagami!" the young man behind Light said suddenly, his mouth much too close to Light's ear. Much, much too close, not only his mouth but his whole body, right behind Light, so close he could feel the heat and suddenly Light was filled with longing to lean back into the warmth and rest against the heat. He didn't, of course. Instead he pushed it away and inclined his head to show that he was listening, looking at the other out of the corner of his eye. And then the other began spouting details about Light that he couldn't know.
"You are the son of Chief Inspector Yagami and you have a strong sense of justice as well as a great respect for your father. You want to join the police when you finish school and have helped out with cases before. At the moment you are interested in the Kira case. If you promise to keep this to yourself I would like to talk to you about something important in the case."
How? How could he know all that? And more importantly, how should he react to such an offer? Maybe it was better to ignore it, but then he did say it was something important. But what? What was the safest course of action, the one which would yield the greatest results? Light's instincts told him that there was more to this, that this could be something.
"Alright, what do you have to say?" He didn't turn around but continued down the stairs, not wanting to draw attention to their conversation.
"I am L," the stranger announced and Light's heart, which had been beating so quickly before, seemed to stop for a second. This, he thought, this was the reason he had been so sensitive to the other's presence. Somewhere in his sub-consciousness he had registered that there was something off about him. Something more than the obvious.
But could it be true? Could this stranger really be L? But L wouldn't come out into the open so easily, would he? For now, he had to react, had to be normal, as if he knew nothing more than what he was supposed to.
They had reached the bottom of the stairs leading off the stairs and Light turned around and offered the possible L his hand, light and pleasant, all with in protocol, "If that's true then I am very pleased to meet you."
"I showed myself to you because I hope you will be able to help us with the case," he took Light's had to shake it and all of a sudden Light's heart sped up again. He was so aware of the others touch, the rough, dry skin of his hand, the firmness of the shake. It was as if his senses had been heightened due to the sudden adrenaline rush.
They sat down next to each other and this time it was impossible to ignore the presence of this person who called himself Hideki Ryuga but claimed to be L. The young man had pulled up his legs in his chair and had his arms crossed over his knees. He gnawed lightly on his thumb as he followed the rest of the entrance ceremony. For some reason it irritated Light to no end. He was careful, though, to keep his eyes turned forward, seemingly paying attention to the ceremony but immensely frustrated inside, brain churning, thoughts working overtime.
What did this mean? And more importantly what could he do about it? Even if he was L, there was nothing Light could do about it. If he was really L he would have revealed himself to his father as well and that meant if he died now suspicion would be diverted directly to him. And with that stupid, obvious alias 'Hideki Ryuga', well that just complicated things even more. What if he wrote that name down and accidently imagined the real Ryuga? Then he would be suspected even more. There was no way around it: his hands were tied.
But what did it mean that L revealed himself to him? Probably that he was a suspect. But just how strong were L's suspicions? Did they only investigate him or everyone that had been observed by Raye Penber?
Well there was nothing he could do for now as much as it pained him. He would just have to wait this one out and see how things developed so that he could act. That hurt, it stung his pride and made him grind his teeth in frustration and by the time the ceremony was finally over Light was positively seething.
He left the ceremony with all the others, not bothering to school his features into a presentable expression but wearing a scowl. Somewhere above him Ryuk chuckled and commented that it had been an interesting ceremony. Light felt the urge to swat him.
"Yagami," he recognized the voice much too fast for not being very acquainted with it and he stepped over to the possible L as Ryuk made another remark over his shoulder.
"Nice meeting you," the stranger, the opponent stated as he stood in front of the car door of the limousine that was being held open for him.
"My pleasure," exchanging meaningless courtesies as the other students whispered and mingled around them, their insistent chatter a mere background noise. Focusing on keeping his expression straight and his voice pleasant.
The whole way home Light focused, not letting anything slip, keeping a tight rein on his features to keep them from distorting into anything more than a light scowl. He kept it up, all the way there and up into his room, not answering to his sister's question for fear that he would lash out at her and that would lead to questions. All the way up into his room, to his desk, to sitting down. And then he let it explode.
"Damn it!!!" Light's expression twisted itself, the frustration pouring out, fingers knotting themselves into his hair, "He did it!!"
"Did it…?" Ryuk seemed puzzled but Light ignored him. How could a God of Death understand?
"L…"Light growled in frustration, almost beating the table in a temper, "that was the most humiliating thing that has ever happen in my life!"
Ryuk was quiet for a moment, pondering the mysteries of a human temper with a distant puzzlement, then he spoke, "You could just male the exchange for the eyes of a God of Death and then kill him…"
"You idiot!" Light rounded on him, spitting the words out between his teeth, "I can't do that! If he's not the real L then they'll know for certain that it's me!"
There was a short silence in which Light seemed to withdraw into himself, gathering his rage and focusing on the task with all the efficiency and skill that was his, though with less composure than he usually had. This meeting had unsettled something in him. "I need his name to kill him…otherwise the Death Note is useless. Stupid thing."
He swiveled the chair and placed a hand at his temple, "I thought if I knew his name I could kill him through and accident or suicide or something but as long as I'm not absolutely certain that he's actually L that won't work! And even if he is L it would still look suspicious…He tricked me," Light growled to himself, "Somehow he figured out that Kira needs the name to kill. I was concentrating on making L look like a fool; I never thought that he would reveal himself to me."
He paused, conjuring up the black-eyed face in his mind. It almost surprised him how easy it was.
"To reveal yourself as L to the person that you think is Kira…it's a good strategy," Light admitted finally, grudgingly, "Not only a good defense but also a good offense. I'm backed into a corner…it's clever."
In his mind the possible L stared at him challengingly, daring him. Light ground his teeth together at the thought. This person…he had bested him. It stung his pride and demanded retribution and yet…even as he seethed against the humiliation Light had to admit a reluctant respect for his opponent. It had been an ingenious move and it had caught him completely unaware. Light could feel the scowl withdrawing from his face and a slow smile took its place and finally he burst into wild, uncontrolled laughter.
"He's good," he said when he stopped laughing, "But…the move also proves that the other side has nothing on me. Otherwise they wouldn't be resorting to such desperate measures."
The thought amused him. L wanted to play did he? Well, he, Light could play as well. L had played trump, he had won this round but now it was Light's turn. It promised to be a good game.
Light could feel himself picking up, his thoughts coursing and the thrill of a challenge running through him. On the surface they would be nothing but university companions. He would be Light and L would be Ryuga but in reality they would be Kira and L, opposite ends of the spectrum. He would befriend L, he would gain his trust and he would use him to gather information. And then he would kill him.
A little thrill ran through him at that, half electric challenge, half something that was almost, almost regret.
Reviews are greatly appreciated. I'll be updating every one or two weeks, I think so keep an eye out!
