L had a strong sense of justice. That justice had been challenged by Light many times before. Although that raised the teenager many percentages of being Kira, L couldn't help but wonder where such ideology came from. Questions in his face had been along the lines of, "What is your justice?" and "What cost of human life isn't too high for you to pay to solve this case?"
Today, the question was more audacious than the person who spoke the words.
"Ryuuzaki, why do we go after someone who is getting rid of most criminals; a lot of the crime rate has fallen, so why not just accept this person?"
L had never wanted to hit someone more than in that moment. He swiveled around in his chair and faced Light with a harsh stare, his raven bangs falling over his hard eyes. "Because, Light-kun, I prefer liberty with the dangers than a peaceful world with people enslaved to Kira."
"Rousseau," Light commented before he was serious again. "But that's only your preference, Ryuuzaki, and not the people. You can see the people are leaning more towards Kira everyday. They accept Kira as a savior."
"A savior who kills people to accomplish goals," L retaliated, his eyes becoming harder. "Light-kun, what is with this change of heart all of a sudden? You seemed to want to catch Kira earlier. In fact, you were rather enthusiastic about it."
Light nodded. "I do, but at the same time, I'm wondering what will happen after. What if the people of the world want Kira more than they want what they had before Kira? Polls show people would prefer the former."
"In a world with Kira, people would be slaves of fear and wouldn't be able to walk outside without the frightening idea that they could do something wrong and be killed the very same day." L was obviously becoming annoyed. "A person's freedom of will and mind is more important than the idea of a world with a mass murderer."
"Ryuuzaki, you can't honestly say you'd prefer crime," Light replied incredulously.
L raised an eyebrow slightly at the boy in front of him, the hardness in his eyes remaining. "Light-kun, enlighten me on what the difference is between a person on the street killing a person and Kira's power to kill people?"
"Kira has a good cause in mind," was the instant reply.
"How are you so sure of that, Light-kun?"
"Pretty positive. Maybe even one hundred percent."
L turned his chair around again to take a bite of cheesecake before turning back to face Light, eerily calm. "You haven't answered my question. Tell me what the difference is between a normal person killing another and Kira killing a person, no matter their crime."
Light let out a frustrated sigh, thinking of how to answer. "No difference."
"Exactly my point."
"But Ryuuzaki—"
"What is it, Light-kun? This conversation is over. Kira is evil and we must catch him at all costs. I refuse to be a slave or master in a world run by Kira."
"Lincoln," Light muttered before he raised his voice. "Ryuuzaki, wouldn't you agree that killing someone randomly and killing someone for a just cause is a big difference when it comes to a nation as a whole?"
"Just what are you trying to insinuate, Light? That Kira is justice and we who fight crime in our daily lives are the ones in the wrong?"
"No!" Light shook his head. "That's not what I meant! I mean, isn't killing someone randomly on the street different than killing someone to make the world a better place?"
"Killing is never a method to be used to create a utopian world," L countered. "You, of all people, should understand that, Light-kun. By killing someone who has killed another, you are only repeating their crime and leading the world into a loop."
"But if it's to bring crime down – like Kira has been doing – wouldn't it be seen as a good thing?"
"That is not justice," L responded coldly before turning back to the computer monitor. "That's ignorance."
'Ignorant, am I?' Light thought. 'We'll see about that.'
And the clock chimed eleven p.m. on November 4th.