Disclaimer:
I do not own Death Note or any of it's characters.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
'Hold your sadness like a puppet, keep putting on the play.
But everything you do is leading to the point
where you just won't know what to do.
And at that moment you may laugh
but there is someone there who will be laughing louder than you.
So it's true, the trick is complete.
Become everything you said you never would be.
You're a fool! You're a fool!'
- Sunrise, Sunset- Bright Eyes
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Many have experienced the beauty of a web; when those who cower beneath the beady eyes of the spider manage to draw in the beauty and perfection of the silky thread of which it has woven in delicate, whimsy circles, one can't help but smile at the craft and talent the spider possesses. The fact that such a creature can create a haven out of nothing, with only it's clockwork mind and pendulum shaped body, is astounding yet somewhat believable. Such a creature should be loved- even worshipped for being able to craft something so delicate and live within its silky, safe walls despite the constant worry of whether or not the strands would hold.
Light Yagami's web had collapsed.
L could see that most clearly.
"R-Ryuuzaki!"
"Yes?"
The cop stood in the doorway, hands fumbling with his tie as he struggled to get the words out. The delicate red seams were coming loose amongst his twitching fingers. "It's Light-kun, he won't come out."
The china cup rested against the moist lips before it had a chance to pour forward. "Come out of where?"
"He's locked himself in one of the rooms and…"
The black eyes narrowed.
"He's… Ryuuzaki he's got the Death Not-"
L had already leaped from his crunched up position before his co-worker had a chance to finish, his back straightening like the body of a puppet as the strings forced it to work for the third time that day. Only this time he moved with purpose, tripping up the stairs with Matsuda two floors behind him, stopping only when he reached the crowd of people gathered outside in the hall. A single door rested between them, one he knew for a fact held nothing of importance.
Except Light.
"Ryuuzaki, he won't come out."
"Have you called his father Mogi?" L questioned calmly, looking over the door with sunken eyes. Everyone answered him differently, the only simple answer serving as a feeble 'he didn't answer…' from Matsuda, though it caused L's heart to stir dangerously.
Yagami-san… he always answered…
The detective rapped his knuckles against the wooden door. "Light-kun?"
Silence bled through the tiny crack near his feet.
"Light-kun, I would prefer not to break down the door. Please come out."
Chocolate smeared eyes glared at the blackened door from the other side. Ryuuzaki could almost feel their smoldering gaze prick at his skin but he stood his ground.
"Light."
"Drop the act L," the teens voice was venomous but contained the essence of something L had never heard before. "Call me by my true name."
The others glanced at each other, perplexed, while L's shoulders stiffened in an act of security. He seemed to be staring almost through the door, his black eyes groping for something to latch onto in hopes of drawing the teen out.
"Your name is Light Yagami, I refuse to call you anything other than tha-"
From beside him Mogi let out a strangled cry, beady eyes widening as his body gave a horrible twitch, clutching at the fabric of his shirt as if to ease some unknown pain, knees buckling. The others moved to his aid before L even had a chance to blink, noting the discolored whites of his eyes and watching as the life faded from him like the flick of a switch…
… or the stroke of a pen…
"Light!" L pounded on the oak door with his fist in an act of rage, black eyes bubbling with traces of panic. The fact that he had killed someone so simply and without warning while in the vicinity of L's presence nearly summed up all of the detectives assumptions. It was as if Light was shoving the proof straight down his throat, gracing him with the bottle of poison he had been spoon feeding him and the others for so long.
But L wasn't ready to draw a conclusion… it could just be a break under pressure. The boys mind must have snapped…
"Ryuuzaki, call an ambulance!" Matsuda shouted, tears dotting in his sapphire eyes where all the fear in the world resided, staring at Ryuuzaki as if he were some sort of savior, their final hope. The others had gone quiet upon Mogi's passing and L could see that they had come to realize the danger they were in far sooner than Matsuda had, though they hid it well. Their eyes lay locked on the still body of their former co-worker, straying far from L and Matsuda as he continued to plead for the life of someone who was long gone- everyone but the frantic cop knew the truth…
… L couldn't save them.
The worlds greatest detective didn't posses that kind of power.
"… for gods sake Ryuuzaki, get him out!"
The harsh command soaked through the detectives placid skin and he opened his mouth to shout at the crazed teen when an unfamiliar sound began to grow from the depths of the room, washing over L like water and hitting the remaining members of the Task Force with an audible gasp.
Laughter.
It rang against the walls, flooded L's ears, transformed the innocent chocolate eyed boy into the twisted, loathsome monster he had hid perfectly behind the angelic mask. It rained down upon them like hail until Matsuda weakly covered his ears in an attempt to block out the demonic noise- the laughter of a man now broken.
"Light-kun, I'll break down this door." L snapped, eyes weary as they stared at the metal knob as if hoping it would magically burst open. He felt foolish simply standing in one place with little else to do to solve the problem, simply working on getting through to Light. He had hope…
"You can't L, you can't come in," he laughed as a child would during a game of hide and seek. "You'll lose- you'll lose and nothing will stop me from becoming god-"
"You are not god Light Yagami," L hissed dangerously before he could finish, feeling his anger reaching it's peak. He would not sit here and listen to him preach, hoping to stop him before he had a chance to continue. The detective would not listen to such twisted words as they dirtied the lips he had tasted so many times while they spoke against his accused wrongs.
Their taste… his taste…
L's heart twitched as if it had been shot but he ignored the unfamiliar pain, knowing there was no way Light could have discovered his name. The pain was no heart attack- it was of a different flavor…
"Is that a challenge L?" Light whispered from the other side while the darkness swept over him like wings, each window blocked by the heavy shades they had adorned upon his entering. "Do you think I wouldn't know who I am? That I was this… this thing? This monster you've been trying so hard to catch and pin on my conscience?" he smiled at the door sadly, knowing no one would be able to see the pain in his features. "Well you were right L. I was the one who was wrong." his eyes burned as if someone had blinded him with hot coals and he tightened his hold on the pen clasped in his shaking hand, gazing down at the blank page. It hurt him… the life which he had traded for such hellish vision, not knowing the consequences. He had disturbed a corner of his mind he had never known existed and it remained only half awake. "I'm Kira… I've been right under your nose this whole time!"
His hand flashed across the paper like lightening until the ink splattered page was dripping with the remnants of the now shattered pen as the tip dragged across the crisp material and caught the edge of the binding in his rush to complete each one in time. He could hear the strangled cries from behind the locked door, see Matsuda's hand as it grazed the bottom of L's jeans before falling limp against the cold floor. Everyone was gone now… the task force… his father… his family…
It was him and L.
His perfect world.
Lights- not Kira's.
Light wouldn't let him have control.
"Ryuuzaki…" Light's voice wobbled, layered with rage and guilt over the burden he was now forced to carry. "Ryuuzaki now that their gone… it can be just us." his amber tinted eyes lit up with a small spark of hope. "We can be together without having to worry about being found out."
A snicker only audible to Light's ears sang through the air with glee and he covered his hands over his head in an attempt to block it out, not wanting to see the creature which had visited him. Kira spoke to it as if it were a close friend- but Light wanted it to disappear.
"Ryuuzaki, please answe-" a soft click shot through the room and Light glanced up just in time to see the silhouette of a clawed hand turn the lock to the room, allowing the door to swing open, the entrance unblocked.
The demon inside him lurched as soon as his gaze graced L's ebony hair but Light clawed at his eyes in an attempt to block out the name hovering so distinctly above his lovers head; he couldn't see it, he couldn't let him!
"Ryuuzaki don't come in, stay there!" he shrieked, rage filling him at his weak attempt to protect the only person standing in Kira's way. "I can't let him see you!"
"Light-kun…"
Pity dripped from L's voice and he made no attempt to hide it, drinking in the site of the torn boy before him, ink splattered across his shirt and hand; the Death Note was drenched, coating all the evidence that would have Light strapped down in jail for the remainder of his life. A jail with white walls… a prison for a brilliant mind.
Light was Kira and Kira was Light- they shared the same mind, the same body…
The demon slowly gazed up at him with tinted eyes from his spot on the floor, a smirk grazing his olive face which erased all former signs of desperation and terror. He had seen that look before- back when no one had believed his accusations and Light's innocence was of a higher value.
This was the piece which had been missing over the last three months- the piece he had been searching for.
But now…
"I see it…" Light whispered in awe, eyes transfixed above his head. "Amazing… if I would have known it would be that simple before…" his finger pressed delicately against the dirtied page, tracing a single 'L' with the access ink. Only when his finger arched to form the next letter did L snap back to life, tackling the possessed teen in an attempt to distance him from the hellish object.
"Light." L spoke the name with strain, as if he were forcing each letter past his lips in an attempt to keep himself from admitting the truth he had searched so hard for. He held the other down with difficulty, forcing a snarl past Lights lips, his eyes wild. L had no interest in hurting him but it was becoming more difficulty as he battled within his subconscious over what action he should take. Here was the proof- the black and white print he could smear across the faces of those who had called him desperate. Light Yagami had been the one…
… Light was Kira.
Light was…
'I'm not Kira,' the teen breathed in a forced attempt to protect himself from L's words as he turned his face away from the mop of ebony hair darting out below his chin where the detectives head was buried. His hands lay twisted with the others beneath the sheets for no reason at all- perhaps it was Lights way of hiding the secret they were keeping even from theemselves. L had found himself pondering over this matter while he remained atop the other in a simple matter of embrace, noting the distant sound of cars and chatter from the world outside his glittering domain in which he kept him and Light locked in.
"Stop lying." L responded in a bored tone, drawing their entwined hands out from beneath the sheets. Light immediately reacted, shoving him away with a harsh push but L held on to the other with a firm squeeze of his hand, staring at it as one would a math problem. His spider like fingers looked hideous against his…
"I wasn't referring to you being Kira Light-kun." L explained quietly, rubbing the pad of his thumb against the back of the teens hand. "Though if you are lying about that, I will find out in time."
"…You say that like you're waiting for me to slip up." Light grumbled, narrowing his chocolate washed eyes but let the subject go. He stared at their hands with the same quizzical expression as Ryuuzaki's but the complexion slowly changed to disapproval as his mind calculated the possibilities. "That's what you're doing isn't it?"
"Doing what?"
"You know what I mean!"
L tilted his head to the side, frowning. "Light-kun, I really don-"
"This!"
Light laced his fingers in the detectives shirt and yanked him forward so their lips met mid sentence, indulging in the sweet taste L came supplied with, sending his tongue forward and across the others with a soft moan. The detective obliged to the action willingly but was stopped before he could fully convince himself to react, watching as Light struggled to hold his gaze, pink tickling his flushed cheeks.
"You're only with me… like this…" he breathed, tightening his hands in L's shirt, fingers shaking. "Because you hope to find out what I'm keeping from you."
A small smile ghosted L's lips.
"Are you keeping anything from me Light?"
"Ryuuzaki, stop it!"
L wrapped his arms around the other to silence him, an act he hardly carried out which ended up working quite affectively. They stood that way for what seemed like an eternity, the fresh scent of Light's pressed clothes mixing with the after breath of sweets; neither wished to let go but they knew… in time… they would have too.
"I believe you Light."
The teen stirred, blinking down at him.
"I believe you because I want to believe you." L corrected in a voice that was neither cold nor biased. He could feel the other waiting to respond to whatever he had to say, preparing words and complaints which could express the frustration L was supplying him with.
L shut his eyes against the soft fabric and rested the full weight of his head against Lights chest. "But I shouldn't. You know as well as I do I shouldn't believe a single word that falls from your mouth Light-kun."
"Ryuuza-"
"Light."
The drop of the honorary took him by surprise and Light froze mid sentence, staring into the black rimmed eyes as L's head lifted.
"I love you." he tilted his head to the side, face blank. "Don't make this any harder for me than it is."
L had already risked so much concerning the case…
But… what was it about him that made him want to give it up entirely?
L never wanted to know.
Love was a hazard; a stepping stone in life he had carefully avoided with each river he crossed. If he hadn't of sauntered across Light, he would have fallen into the river face first.
And L would suffer no matter which choice he made; no matter which stone or river he found himself pitted against.
Because Light was Kira.
L found his hands tightening on Lights throat, his thumbs jammed against his wind pipe as emotions flooded through him, yet only brushed the outskirts of his features. Kira clawed at his wrists in a desperate attempt to free himself, tearing away strips of translucent skin which soon ran dimly with blood and ink.
A laugh gargled in the boys throat and his eyes flashed. "Going to kill me L?"
The hands tightened in response.
"Out." L hisses, his rage twisting the tone of his words. "I want you to leave."
The tainted eyes narrowed in response but began to flicker as the need to breath became greater. L tilted his head to the side like a deranged owl, his eyes illuminating the area.
"It seems you're having difficulties." he murmured, studying him. "Last time I recalled, gods didn't need to breath Light-kun."
A scream shuddered through his body.
"I am god!" Light shrieked, fighting against the others hold, his voice raspy and distorted. "You can't defy me L, you're a fool if you think you can get rid of me after I've come this far." L's hands loosened slightly as the scratch marks began to bleed more profusely and Light took advantage of the brief pause to draw in a staggering breath before the pressure was reapplied. "This world has changed… it needs me! Things will be worse than before, criminals will roam the streets without fear and mankind will crumble before it's time!" his face consorted in panic, staring up at the detective with strain. "Everything depends on me L! Kira, god, I'm needed! I'm the savior people have prayed for all these years!"
"…"
In Lights desperation he thought he saw a flicker of understanding in the detectives eyes but it was merely the movement of a shadow somewhere behind him- the very demon who had lured him into this cursed hell.
Ryuk didn't care- he was on nobodies side but his own.
"No."
In his agony, Light turned his smoldering eyes back to L but was instead greeted with more pain, the fingers pressing even harder against his slender throat.
"You are not a god Kira," he spoke, acid dripping beneath the casual tone of his voice. "You are not a savior, you are not the answer the world has been searching for. You are a foolish hope created by a teenage boy who wanted to do some good for the world and became corrupted by the powers no human should ever possess. You are a personality that should never have come to exist."
"Light Yagami was nothing without me," Light hissed, voice below a whisper. "His existence was worthless."
"As is yours."
"If it weren't for me you would have never found your little fuck budd-"
"Leave." anger sparked in L's eyes and he applied all his strength to the throat he wished to equally break and caress, watching his face tint a soft blue. "Leave him, this childish game is over Kira."
"And… I expect you… think you've won?"
"I said leave."
"He's coming with me…" Light chuckled which soon turned into a strangled cough, gasping. "We're one in the same… you're foolish to hope-"
"Get out!" L raised his voice, the power driving behind his words shaking the room to it's core. "This battle is won Kira, you have no place here anymore. Leave Light Yagami and leave this place that was never yours to save! I command you to leave and never come back!"
Lights face could no longer hold it's cunning façade as the life seeped from him as easily as any humans, the red eyes draining of all color until they were as lifeless and black as L's. he could see his reflection in their mirror washed pupils, see the pain through the cracks of his own shield as it shattered against the force of loss and rage- L could feel the life leave his body and it didn't leave any traces of the man he loved behind.
L had hoped; unfortunately hoping was the only thing he could do.
For the first time L felt the cold sting of mortality.
And it burned.
"Didn't waste much time with him, did you?"
L's eyes flicked up in a heart beat, his bare feet grazing the ink splattered book behind him. The monstrosity before him became all to clear.
"… Shinigami, I presume?"
"I knew you were smart, glad I don't have to give an explanation since you pretty much figured everything out." he hovered over the ebony haired man, face dripping with curiosity as he watched his black eyes travel to the book and pick it up with one hand, holding it out in front of him to observe. "So what are you going to do now?"
L flipped through the pages of the book, his eyes heavy with despair and loss. "You seem eager."
"Well the Death Notes yours now and Light was pretty amusing when he had it but you seem like someone who could really make a show with it." he snickered, bending over to get a better look at him. "So come on, tell me what you're going to do."
L didn't answer right away, still transfixed on the book and ignoring the bodies he knew rested outside in the hall and the body of his lover beside him; he was the only one left… he had completed the case.
But…
"Well Shinigami, as you know I've always been one for bending the rules," L muttered, flipping to the first pages and reading over the rules which were still visible, continuing on to the next set and then the other. His words only made Ryuk more excited and he crept in even closer, a jagged smile lighting up his face.
"Keep talking." he urged excitedly.
L turned his eyes away from the book and stared at him with great stress, but offered him a dark smirk; the smirk of a person who was willing to give up what little he had left to make up for what he had lost. "Explain to me what rules I can bend and I'll make you a deal you can't refuse."
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Arrow: One more chapter and this is done. Please review and tell me what you think. However, please refrain from filling your reviews with comments and question regarding the future of 'Broken English.' The next chapter is in progress and I will get it out for you as soon as I can along with the last chapter of this story. Thank you for your time and please review!
