Light pushed open the door to the former taskforce building and hurried down the hall. For the moment, Light had the building to himself. A smile crept onto his face as he found himself in front of the laptop and the headset that lay beside it. He pulled the desk chair over and started the computer.
"Come on." He said into the empty room. It had been a year since L had offered him a new beginning and they said their goodbyes.
Light sighed heavily as he watched Watari carry several boxes from the building, he hadn't realized how difficult saying goodbye to L and the old man would be. He knew things would change and life would have to continue.
"Light," The now familiar voice called from behind. The brown haired man turned to find the detective standing before him. "I'm glad you're still here. I wanted to thank you for your help with this case. Watari and I will be on our way out shortly."
"Yeah, you're already packed up. I have to say, I'm kind of going to miss our late night talks."
"Yes, they were quite enjoyable. All good things must come to an end. On the bright side, you can get back to your life. Do you have any idea where you might go from here?"
"My dad was telling me he'd like to start his own company. Everyone on the task force quit their job and being attached to the Kira case, a lot of people are scared to hire them. Matsuda-"
"i'd be afraid to hire Matsuda." Light chuckled. " But I suppose, if given enough time, he could be an asset...if miracles do indeed happen."
"Are you sure you guys have to leave so soon, I mean I think we could-"
"Ryuzaki, are you ready?" Watari called gently.
"Coming, Watari." L replied, turning his attention back to Light.
"I should go, but once again, I thank you for your assistance and please remember our conversation." Light bowed his head.
"I just hate that I'm never going to see you again. After all this, you're just going to be gone."
"It's for the best, Light. I wish you all the best in life, my friend." Light raised his head to meet the older man's gaze. L extended his hand, which Light took.
"You too, Ryuzaki. Take care of yourself..and Watari." He released L's hand and watched him follow the old man from the building.
"Are you all right, Light?" Mr. Yagami asked, placing a hand on his son's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just going to be a little weird coming here and not seeing them. They were here for so long, I guess I just got used to it."
"It'll take some time, but things will be back to normal before long." Light glanced down at the paper in his hand before placing it in his pocket.
"Yeah. I guess so." He said. "Do you need me for the meeting, if not, I think I'd like to take some time to myself."
"Of course. Losing a friend is hard, but I'm glad to see that you two had something of a friendship, you both seemed happier." Light sighed heavily, making his way to the rooftop where he could examine the object without interference.
Light unplugged the headset, putting it on and typing the last of the code into the computer and clicking enter. Light waited. Finally the the connection was made. The infamous letter lit up the screen.
"Good morning, Light." L said, offering his usual greeting.
"It's always good to hear from you, Ryuzaki. How are you and Watari doing?"
"Fine, it's been quite a long day for us. More importantly, how are you, you mentioned during our last meeting you felt as though you were struggling with something."
"long day, what time is it there?"
"Eleven o'clock at night. Don't change the subject. You don't need to hide things from me, Light."
"Yeah, I know. I guess it's just...I miss you being here. honestly, I'm still surprised you gave me a way to contact you at all. I like our meetings, sharing our stories over a computer though, it's just not the same. Do you think you'll ever come back to Japan?"
"I never know where a case will take me. There is always a possibility. Though at the moment, I have nothing in front of me."
"So you never did tell me, what do you do in your spare time?"
"Whatever I want...which usually ends up being playing chess with Watari. On rare occasions, we may go out to a movie or to get ice cream. What have you been up to?" Light leaned back in his chair.
"My dad 's still trying to get funding to start the agency. I've been trying to help him with that. It's kind of become my full time job. Mom and Sayu are trying to be supportive. I don't know if we're going to get there or not,but-"
"Life has a way of working things out. If it's meant to happen,it will." L said.
" Yeah, but I think he sees it as his fault, everyone being out of work and he's been using his retirement savings for the house and everything. I told him I could help but he told me it's not my job to worry about it.. "
"Of course, parents don't typically like putting their children in such a position."
"It's not like I'm a child and-"
"You are and always will be his child. " L pointed out. "I noticed that your father is a bit like Watari. He chose to take the responsibility of being a parent and so it will always be there. You never stop being a parent, even after your children are grown."
"Yeah..I guess that's about right. I just wish he'd let me help him a little more. He's always doing everything he can for us and it just doesn't seem right to let him keep doing all of this alone."
"He's not. He has his family. As I said, what is meant to happen, will eventually happen. Give it time." Light sighed heavily.
"So, do you have much time?" the younger man asked.
"I have nothing planned for the day, why do you ask?"
"I just thought maybe we could have...a rematch. We can raise the stakes a bit."
"Do you really want to go through that again, the probability of me-"
"Come on, I've got three hours to kill, at least give me a chance to defend myself. You had the advantage last time, it's my turn to choose now. I'm thinking...pool this time. If I win, I get to make a request." Light stated.
"And if I win...again?"
"Same."
"All right, if you're sure this is what you really want." L replied, as Light clicked the menu and selected the game. He sent the invitation to join the private table to L, who accepted it.
"This one's mine." Light declared, lining up the shot. "When I win, you owe me a game..in person."
"You want me to come all the way back to Japan...for a game of pool?" Light chuckled.
"Why not, It'll give us both something to do. "
"Very well, but I reserve the right to choose when. Also, If I win, you cannot refuse my request, no matter what it is."
"Fair enough. This should be an interesting game." Light pulled back on the mouse, releasing the cue stick and watching the balls scatter across the table, with two making their way into the pockets. "Think you can beat that?"
"Watch and learn, Light. I may surprise you."