Hey everyone, how are you all doing? :) This is another Death Note one-shot [who knows, maybe one of these days it could turn into a multi-chapter story(?)]. It is AU, keep in mind, and [SPOILERS] it takes place of where L dies. I just found L's death scene so sad... L was so close in catching Kira and I just felt that if anyone was to catch Kira, it would be L. He figured it all out, he worked so hard, he didn't deserve to die. :(
So, here we are, I do hope it's good and that you all enjoy it. :)
Please leave a comment/review, letting me know what you think of it, it would mean so much; I greatly appreciate it. All thoughts, opinions, and feedback are welcomed and encouraged. Thank you all so much!
I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN DEATH NOTE.
"Only Just the Beginning"
. . .
Rain crashes down onto the building, drenching the slouched man and cutting his arms. The raindrops feel like icy blades that slice his skin. The thunder echoes throughout the blackness of the sky with each flash of lightning. Harsh winds consume the air, adding to the oncoming storm.
However, none of these matters to the slouched man, his blacken eyes gazing up at the empty sky, which is filled with scattered thick, grey rain clouds. His body remains still while his mind races – the usual process where his body may seem relaxed, but his mind never comes to a halt.
His black, wild hair sticks to his face and his skin looks paler than usual. His body looks weak, almost as if it is in the process of dying, but his brain works quite oppositely. While his body falls on the path to his death, his brain works twice as hard.
The drumming sound of the rain pounding onto the Earth feels comforting to the man for no reason in particular. He finds it soothing – he finds it fitting for the upcoming events that will happen in merely an hour, maybe two.
He is a smart, calculative and perceptive man, he knows exactly what fate has in stored for him tonight and strangely enough, he does not mind one bit. He knew from the moment he started this game with Kira that this case would lead him to his death, tonight.
His death may be near, and the game they have played might be close to its end, but no one has officially won the game… yet.
L is smart enough to also know that the Shinigami is likely standing right behind him. He purses his lips to the side, "I am going to die." It was more of a statement than a question; he already knows the answer, he does not need a confirmation.
The Shinigami stares at the detective's back, her eyes observing his hunch. There is a moment's hesitation, but what point is there in denying the obvious? "Yes."
Rem almost missed the way he slightly nodded his head, comprehending her simple answer. Almost.
"Yes… and Light is my killer. Or does he prefer Kira instead?" L utters nonchalantly, despite the situation at hand. He knows the answer to this question, too. Of course Light would be his killer, he is Kira, after all.
He knew long before this even started – the second he took up this investigation – that Kira would be the reason he fell to his grave because of he was so near to finding out Kira's identity.
A wave of anger surges through the Shinigami at the mere mention of Light – the man who is using Misa's love for him as leverage so he could use her, treating her as a tool that he could dispose of once he is finished. The flames burst in her demonic crimson eyes, partly wishing she could just take her notebook and scribble his name down in it.
Light should consider himself lucky that she loves Misa enough to not kill him on the spot. She would gladly do so, if it were not for the simple fact that Misa would die of heartbreak for the loss of her "true love".
Humans, the Shinigami could only think bitterly, such ugly creatures.
Light made it clear to her: if she writes down Watari and L's name in her notebook, in a way, she would be saving Misa. It is without question she would be caught again or even killed.
As much as Rem wants Light to die and live the afterlife through eternal suffering, she could not take that risk.
Or maybe, right here, right this moment, Rem could stop him while at the same time saving Misa.
The Shinigami does not know how much longer she could watch Misa fall in love with an evil, manipulative, arrogant creature, such as Light. Misa deserves better. Light is only out for him himself, using Misa as an instrument along the way, and it ends here.
"He wants you dead." Rem states, suddenly appearing by L's side instead of standing behind him. "He will not stop until you are no longer in his way and a threat."
"Makes sense," L shrugs a shoulder, his eyes still transfixed on the stormy sky above, "if I was Kira and in his position I would want me dead, too."
"And that does not… bother you?" The confusion in Rem's voice does not go unnoticed by L. Knowing you are a constant target would make any human fidgety, except for L.
L raises an eyebrow at that, "Why should it? Of course, taking on this investigation I knew I would be Kira's major target, so, why should it bother me now that the time, that I already knew would, has come?"
"Misa deserves to be free of Light Yagami and I intend to do just that. He will use her and then kill her once he receives what he wants. When she is no longer a use to him, he will destroy her and I refuse to let that happen." L notices the way Rem's voice grows harsher, angrier.
What is this Shinigami up to, exactly?
"Why are you out here, in the pouring rain?" Rem asks, looking down at the hunched over detective.
Tearing his eyes away from the dark sky, L finally looks straight into the demonic eyes of the Shinigami, his face expressionless, stilled, his brain racing. He opens his mouth, but closes it, sealing away whatever he was going to say.
There is a small moment of intense silence between the two, their eyes speaking words; they both want to take down Kira. They both want justice in a different way, for different reasons.
Their intense stare dies when L turns his attention back to the sky with his head slightly tilted. The rain continues to pour from the clouds, falling in a deadly speed to the Earth. The raindrops slap against L's face, washing away whatever thoughts he had before talking to Rem.
"Admiring the weather." He says flatly, "Some people would consider this storm some sort of foreshadowing. I find it fitting. Don't you?"
"Light will have you killed, tonight." There is no reason to beat around the bush. They have limited time and if the Shinigami plans to acquire the detective's help, she cannot waste any more.
"Yes, he will." L mutters, his eyes slanting as the pieces begin to put themselves together in his head. That is what the Shinigami is up to, makes perfect sense. "And he will have you to be the one to kill me."
Rem blinks. This human is not like any other human she has ever come across before, minus Misa, of course, but in different ways. With narrowed eyes, she nods her head sharply, "Yes."
"But," L's eyebrow rises, "you want him dead."
Those words – those four words – replay in the Shinigami's head. "You want him dead..." L is absolutely right. She wants Light dead – she more wants him dead for Misa's sake.
And this is her chance to make that happen.
"I want Misa free." Rem corrects with L's eyes growing wide for a split second before narrowing, waiting to near a following explanation. "Light's intentions on using the notebook for himself were to better humanity; to seek justice. He believes he is saving the world and maybe he is, but whatever good intentions he may have had faded away once he had the taste of power. His good intentions in using the notebook faded away and now he is abusing its power."
"Normally, I would not care what the human world caved into, but he is willing to use Misa as a tool. He does not care for her – for her wellbeing – and he is going to abuse her love for him then get rid of her." Rem's gaze falls upwards, her red irises watching the lightning light up the black sky.
Taking a small pause, the Shinigami adds, almost sadly, "My priority is to protect Misa. I do not care what happens to me. I will make sure Light does not hurt her. That is why…"
A deafening silence consumes the two of them. The only sound would be the storm: the frantic, powerful winds breezing the air, almost snapping trees and blowing houses away. The rain smacks hard against the ground, raindrops coming down so hard it could almost leave a dent in the concrete. The thunder is roaring, as if it were a hungry lion, giving sound to the nightly sky.
L waits patiently, not wanting to push the Shinigami. Rem wants all of this to end – for Misa Amane's sake mostly – and he wants this to end, for the world's sake.
Rem's crimson eyes swim with confliction, not knowing if she should do ask Light asked or continue with this alternative. Nevertheless, her mind has already been made up and, despite whatever the outcome may be, she does not regret her oncoming decision. "That is why I am asking you for your help."
"I am going to be a dead man in less than an hour and you seek my help." L utters in a detached tone more to himself than to the Shinigami.
"I need to kill you." Rem immediately states, her gaze falling down once more to the detective. "Light has given me no other choice. I can see your real name and I can kill you."
"But you won't."
He is smart, an excellent detective. That gives Rem the most satisfaction knowing that – knowing her decision was right. If anyone could stop Light it would be him.
"No, I will not." Closing her eyes, Rem continues, "But you will die still, tonight."
L's eyebrows slowly come together, confusion settling onto his face. Immediately his mind sets to work, figuring out what the puzzle is and how to solve it.
It doesn't take him long, it never does.
"Light needs to see that I am dead – he needs to believe he has won and you killed me. With that, I, being his major threat, would be dead and no longer an issue, and you would be dead as well because, overall, you are killing me in order to save Misa. Then with you dead, Light does not need to worry that you would kill him at any given moment if he merely looks at Misa the wrong way. He needs us out of the picture and this plan he conspired together is the perfect way to do just that." L breathes out all at once, the pieces coming together in a quick pace, finally making sense.
Oh, Light Yagami, you are indeed clever.
He would probably get away with all of this, too, if he were not up against L, who happens to be the greatest detective.
"How do you intend on making him believe I have killed you?" Could this really work?
Without a single warning, L spins around, a full burst of energy burning inside of him. He looks at the Shinigami, a tiny smirk gracing his features, but barely noticeable. "At the right moment, I will collapse to the ground, making it fairly believable that I am dying. My then 'dead' body will be taken away and that is when I will have Watari take my body safely. Then I will proceed with my research in proving Light Yagami to be Kira and bring Kira to justice."
"And you believe that Light will believe this? I am sure you are aware of how smart he is- a genius, at that. He is not easily fooled and he will spot any tiny hole in this plan." Rem could dislike Light all she wants, but at the end, she knows for a simple fact about Light Yagami: he is a natural genius.
He has a constant habit of predicting all of the possible scenarios that could play out then in advance, he would create a new solution, even in the most impromptu situations. That is one of his many talents he possesses, which has gotten him this far without being caught.
L, however, shakes his head at that. He shares the same characteristic of being calculative; this is why they are constantly head-to-head. "Light is gifted. He is intelligent and you are right, he would probably be able to figure out our plan that I am not dead. Light is, though, cursed. His major fault that will eventually lead to his downfall would be that he is overconfident in himself and in his belief that he is and never could be, wrong. He truly believes he convinced you to kill me because of your… loyalty and love to Misa. He is too confident in himself to believe you would ever risk Misa's life just to take him down and, especially, help me."
He has a good point that Rem could not ignore. This is her only chance and she has already gone this far to back out now.
Silence.
"Tell me then, L, what you need me to do."
Light has to fight to keep the oncoming laughter at bay and to keep his smirk well hidden. Pure joy burns throughout his entire body, his heart pounding hard against his chest as he watches everything he created fall into place.
All his work has finally paid off. He won. He beat the greatest master detective. He beat the famous, almighty Ryuzaki – he beat L.
He bites down on his tongue, watching the screens flash those three, joyful words in bold letters against the white screen: ALL DATA DELETION.
This was a dream come true. Oh, this is perfect. He never knew victory could taste so sweet, so wonderful.
Light hides the sinister look in his deadly eyes as he watches L drop the spoon he was holding; the utensil falling and then slightly bouncing across the hard floor with the sound of the impact echoing in the suddenly deadly silent room.
Whatever words L was trying to say dies before they could escape passed his lips. His entire body freezes for a split second before it slowly begins to fall out of his chair.
Everything seems to be happening in slow motion.
Just for the icing on the cake, Light leaps forward, catching L's falling body in his arms before hitting the ground. Cradling L in his arms, he stares into his dimming eyes, his smirk finally exposing to the dying detective.
L looks up at Light, staring at the sinister smirk plastered across his killer's face. He could see the way he is trying to hold in his laughter, not wanting the other detectives to hear his menacing victory laugh.
If he ever had any doubts beforehand about Light being Kira, they instantly dissipate once he lays his tired eyes on Light's face. He thinks he won; he thinks he finally killed the one person who was smart enough to figure out who Kira really was.
He believes he won this game they have been playing – if only he knew how wrong he is.
Not being able to keep his eyes open any further, slowly L's eyes begin to flutter closed. The last thing he sees before falling into a deep, darken oblivion is the smirking face that belongs to Light Yagami – Kira.
Light bends his head, his mouth next to L's ear. With a deep chuckle, he whispers to the dying man, "You… lose."
He watches everything fall into place: L, the master detective, dead. Watari, L's handler, and as well as the supplier of logistics to the Japanese Task Force, dead. Rem, the Shinigami who has threatened to kill him if he ever hurt Misa or if ever put her in danger, dead.
He was a genius.
Light stares down at L's pale face, admiring the scene that he has set in motion. He is free – he is free from the one person who could have ruined everything for him, who could have caught him.
However, he failed to see the tiny smile that appeared on L's face right before his body fell limp.
Three Months Later
Watari quietly pushes the door open, not wanting to disturb the detective while he is working. Making sure not to make a sound, he enters the dimmed room with a cup of steaming tea in his hand.
"Ryuzaki," Watari looks over at the working detective who is staring at a bunch of screens that have Light's face on almost every one, "I have your tea."
"Put it to the side of me, thank you." L mutters, his eyes scanning over the screens. There, sitting in a chair in front of a desk with different sized screens scattered along the wall, L sits in his usual position, continuing his research on Kira.
"Of course, sir." Watari nods his head before quietly leaving the detective in peace, not wanting to interrupt him further. L has been making fast process on evidence against Light Yagami. He is so close to defeating Kira and bringing him to justice. It is only in a matter of time.
Silence quickly emerges once Watari leaves the room. L picks up his tea and continuously dropping the sugar cubes into his cup, piling them on top of one another.
He tilts his head to the side once he feels the presence of the Shinigami. "This whole thing has been a direct challenge to me. It was a game he and I played and he thinks he won. He thinks I am dead and with that advantage, I am going to beat him. Kira will be brought to justice."
"Your plan worked." Rem almost could smile at that. "Light saw the ashes Watari had scattered. He believes I am indeed dead."
"My goal now is to solidly prove Light is Kira. I now am one hundred percent sure he is, now, it is only the matter of gathering solid evidence, which won't be too hard."
L takes a small sip of his cup of mostly sugar with an ounce of tea before continuing, "Thank you." Not something he says often, but without Rem, he surely would not be here.
"Do not fail in capturing Kira," Rem says with her voice low and firm, "do not fail in stopping Light once and for all."
The Shinigami disappears, not giving the hunched detective any time to respond. Instead, the corner of his mouth curves upwards into a tiny smile, barely noticeable, but surely there.
L types away on the computer, knowing that either Near or Mello will be working the famous Kira case next, since the world believes he is dead.
With that in mind, L knows that Light Yagami does not have a chance in getting away with this. With L working the case with his high intelligence plus either Near or Mello working the case with their highly intelligent minds, Light does not stand a chance.
Light may be a genius, but he is only one genius and he is now up against three geniuses.
This should be interesting.
The game is not over; instead, it is only the beginning. It is no longer the battle between right and wrong; good versus evil. It is no longer the great detective against the world's most infamous killer. It is not even Ryuzaki versus Kira anymore, maybe not even L versus Light.
No, this game that will soon reach its final end, is a battle that has grown personal between the detective and this killer.
It is L Lawlietagainst Light Yagami. No more fake names and fake identities. It's merely: L's real, true self, against Light Yagami.
"This is not the end, Light Yagami," L whispers to the empty room, his eyes transfixed on the picture of Light on one of his screens, "this... this is only just the beginning."
From the moment L began this investigation, Kira gave him a challenge, a challenge to figure out who he was and to catch him.
L already won half of the challenge, knowing exactly who Kira is, and now, he just has to catch him.
Now believing L is dead, Light is looking for a new person to take the challenge in catching him. This time, it will not be Ryuzaki or even L…
The real him is going after Light – this is personal.
With a smirk, L reaches out to grab the piece of cake that Watari left for him a while ago. He takes a large bite of it and utters two words under his breath, directed towards Light.
"Challenge accepted."
So, that's it! I just wanted to clear up the ending in case it was confusing. Light honestly thought no one would ever be able to catch him because he was clever, he thought everything out and made absolute sure nothing in his plans could go wrong. He practically wanted some sort of challenge to make things more interesting and that's when L came into the picture. He was the perfect challenge for Light, for Kira. He was smart and Light thought he could out smart him, especially at the end when he practically forced Rem to take L's life.
Light and L played this game - Light wanted L to figure out who Kira was, prove it, and catch him.
At the end, to clear up whatever confusion there might have been, this is what I meant: L is saying how this [mind] game that L - Ryuzaki - and Light - Kira - played with catching Kira is over. Now, it's personal. L [whatever his real name may be], it going after Light and he is determined to expose Kira for who he truly is, as Light. He is re-accepting Light's challenge as his regular self, not as the fake names he created for himself.
And to explain further why Rem decided to help L in case you still question that: Rem hates Light. It's that simple. Rem wants the best for Misa, wants to protect Misa, and she feels by destroying Light, she is doing just that.
I hope that cleared everything up. That's my take on it, anyhow. Also, remember, this fanfic is AU. :)
Any-who, thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoyed! :)