Whisper
by Spelljammer
Summary: AU. L is the world's greatest paranormal investigator. During his travels he encounters Light Yagami, a high-schooler who can speak with the dead. L/Light slash.
Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, this is a not for profit work. Beyond The Invisble does not belong to me either.
Warnings: Slash/yaoi, profanity, violence, adult sexual situations.
Author's Note: For those who love L, a treat for his upcoming birthday. This story is in the style of Ghost Whisperer, The Sixth Sense, The Dead Zone and Six Feet Under.
Be aware of spoilers (like L's name) even though this is a AU. And many canon facts are different for this story. I hope you like this interpretation/arrangement of the characters.
I look into the mirror
See myself, all over me
I need space for my desires
I have to dive into my fantasies
I know as soon as I'll arrive
Everything is possible
Cause no one has to hide
Beyond The Invisible
Enigma "Beyond The Invisible"
Name 01: Beyond The Invisible
Once upon a time there was a lonely man who embarked on a journey. He grew up an only child in an orphanage and had no friends. He was a quiet boy and kept to himself often. He noticed many of the children his age had unfortunate brushes with death in the form of parents and loved ones that would never come to pick them up.
Such as himself.
He began to question the Great Mysteries. Where do we go when we die? What is death? Can there ever be a bridge between the living and dead? He took a great interest in science, religion, spirituality and philosophy. At the age of 6.
The adults tested the young child and celebrated him as a true genius. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be close to a living prodigy, but the child hated to get close to other people. He most definitely loved people and even wanted to make them happy but if people get close to you then they could be taken away as well. This terrified him so he pretended to be nothing more than a Living Machine capable of the most amazing feats of computation, memory and reference. A Machine beneficial to all people, that you take out when necessary and put away when you have finished your work.
There was a gentleman who admired everything this Fantastic Machine could do and was in a position to give it (him) anything in this world. So the pair became a team and their mission statement was simple: debunk any supernatural or paranormal claims. With the fakes out of the picture and discredited all that would be left would be the genuine article which could be dissected at will.
And so began the legend of the world's greatest paranormal investigator L.
Midnight. A room in one of the highest class hotels in the world and L was its permanent resident. The room glowed in an unearthly color since all of the lights were out save for the laptop monitor L worked on sitting on the floor. All the tables, chairs and pictures in the large room were covered in white sheets like the room was in the process of moving or being painted. L explained he liked white because the color calms him down. It certainly explained why he almost exclusively wore the same kind of white sweatshirt everywhere, at least to L anyway.
He was currently typing a book about parapsychology debunking mediums and fortunetellers while making a clear case for certain things that hadn't been explained yet. These books he wrote under the name "Erald Coil" usually helped supplement his vast income and keep him from getting too bored. He also made the top of the New York Times bestseller list regularly.
At 12:30 exactly L saved his work and went to the bathroom. He splashed water on his pallid face and made sure his jeans were zipped up and belted (many times he would walk out in public with his underwear hanging out) then put on a ragged pair of sneakers and walked out of his room. Between 12:30 and 1:46 AM L would go out to the local convenience store and buy bags of Hostess cupcakes, twinkies, a box of Screaming Yellow Zonkers, Strawberry Zingers along with a Big Gulp Slurpee if the local store was a 7-11 depending on the country he was in. He could easily ask Watari to do this before he retired for the night but L wanted the slight half mile exercise.
Tonight the religious routine got disrupted but not too unpleasantly. L reached the elevator to be greeted by one of his colleagues as she was walking out of the elevator. She was very pretty, long black hair, pale skin with delicate features. She also was decked out in a black leather jacket.
"Misora-san? Is something wrong?" L said startled at seeing the young woman, Naomi Misora once again.
"Ryuuzaki-san. Ano..er, could I talk to you about something?" Naomi said switching over to English. L put on a small puppy face.
"I was going on a snack run, is it important?"
"I can walk with you and talk about it if you wish."
"Thank you, Misora-san. Or is it Penber-san now?" L said as he and Naomi got in the elevator together.
"About that..." Naomi began to explain her situation to L.
After Naomi finished her story the two were halfway down the block and fast approaching a Chevron gas station.
"It's like nobody cares he's gone or anything. I hate it. I know he went to Japan for a international law enforcement conference but I swear it's as if he disappeared off the face of earth or something." Naomi huffed.
"Your fiance is in the FBI, perhaps he went undercover?" L said in a steady voice as he shambled along the pavement.
"Hey, I was in the FBI too! I know how these things work." Naomi huffed. "Look, all I'm asking is that when I go over to Japan that maybe if you aren't too busy you could come with me. It would be a great help to me." Both of them went through the automatic doors. Some of the other people inside the store pretended not to stare at L, but L pretended not to notice them noticing him.
"I intended to go to Japan anyway. I could help you while I'm there." L then went to the snack aisle steeling himself against all the strange looks he got from the others.
"Thank you! May I ask what brings you to Japan?"
"Some kid named Light Yagami. Many people are convinced he can talk to the dead." L said as he swiped confections back and forth. "Did you want some?" L asked but Naomi shook her head no.
"Maybe I should consult with him too." Naomi mused.
"If you wish." L simply stated. The two young women in the back getting some milk almost flinched when L walked near them to get to the register. They thought he was some messed up heroin junkie out for a midnight snack run. L, as usual, paid nobody else any mind except for Naomi.
"Some people are just awful." Naomi said quietly.
"Ignore them."
L hastily paid for his treats and the clerk couldn't put them in the bag fast enough. L and Naomi left the Chevron. The two women and the clerk started talking behind their back.
"How gross, does he even shower?"
"I know, I hope that never happens to me!"
"They say all the bad people come out at night."
"I hope some halfway house isn't missing one of their residents."
But they didn't say a single thing about Naomi.
Many days later in Japan, a handsome young man came home from school. He lived a good life and he had a good family. He lived a very charmed life thanks to his high intellect that almost everyone else took for granted. The only thing that disrupted the smooth pristine waters of the life he lead was that he also happened to be one of those people who could see the dead and those that associated with them. This person was Light Yagami.
"I'm home."
"Hello, dear. Welcome home." Light's mother Sachiko smiled expectantly at him. Light was clueless for only a second then he sighed.
"Here are the test results." He opened his book bag and handed over the results of the mock exam he took earlier. Sachiko looked over them.
"Excellent as always! I can't wait to tell my mahjong group what a splendid son I have."
"All I am is a standardized test score to you right?" Light asked sullenly.
"Don't be silly dear of course I love you. I better start tonight's dinner." she said not even looking up or even paying attention to her obviously troubled son.
"I'll be studying." Light said walking to his bedroom.
"Need anything? Snacks, fresh bedding, things like that?"
"No mother, I'm fine." Light said flatly and closed his bedroom door abruptly. He gave a labored groan when he sat on his bed. The same thing day in and day out. The same boring people. The same shallow, decaying sea of humanity he had to deal with. Light changed out of his mustard yellow school uniform and into his usual casually elegant fare. He checked himself out in the mirror. A few minutes longer than necessary.
"Yep, I always fall hard for the peacock set. Every time." a harsh gravelly voice spoke.
"Hey, Ryuk." Light said not missing a beat. Laying very shamelessly across his bed was a large black creature known as a Shinigami. Light's ability which allowed him to see ghosts and poltergeists also gave him a rare "backstage pass" into the world of the undead. He could see all kinds of death related creatures and spiritual beings. One of the first creatures he saw was Ryuk and Ryuk sort of attached himself to the teen. Like parasitical attachment.
"If I could create something of beauty I'm sure it would be in your own image Light-boy."
"You're a god. Get to work."
"What crawled out of your ass today?"
"Just the usual. I'm surrounded by idiots."
"Try being me. I got a whole planet to deal with."
"At least you get to kill people everyday. Me, I'm stuck taking tests with concepts I mastered years ago."
"Hmph, all my kills have to be recorded and processed. Death is a tightly regulated industry you know!"
"I hate this." both Light and Ryuk said simultaneously. They both looked at each other and laughed just a little bit.
"Hey, do you wanna go out flying? It's a full moon tonight." Ryuk asked. Sometimes the shinigami would take Light out and fly around town with him in his arms.
"I got cram school tonight and some errands to run. I need to study now anyway."
"Study? Isn't that Light speak for 'I'm going homicidal, leave me alone'?"
"I need to study." Light gritted between his teeth.
"Fuck, you're such a bitch at times. It's real hard hanging around you." Ryuk pouted.
"Humans don't exist solely for your enjoyment."
"Same to you!"
Light almost rolled his eyes.
"Going to the kitchen now!"
"Don't let anyone see you eating."
"I'm sly."
"Sly like a piece of cardboard."
"I'm not listening to a girly-boy la, la, la!"
Thus Light went on living for the remainder of the day. He studied diligently at the local cram school and class let out same time as usual. His classmates relieved at the hard work that was over either goofed off, grabbed a bite to eat or just generally led carefree lives. Light had other things on his mind.
Like a child walking around with his face burnt off.
People walking around with missing limbs.
A man who walked around with his neck broken.
An unfortunate woman with a stab wound deep in her chest.
These were the people Light could see, the people the rest of the world could not and in some cases forgot about. Some good came out of his ability to talk with the dead however. Many unsolved murder cases became solved thanks to breaks provided by the victims themselves. Light tried to be as anonymous as possible in these dealings but he felt more and more closed in as the years passed on. On his way home from the store Light met somebody that would start him on the path that changed his life.
"Yagami Light?"
"Yes...oh it's you!"
"Ah, so you remember me?"
"Yeah, Raye Penber from the American Federal Bureau of Investigations. You and my father worked together during that recent law enforcement conference."
"Yes, your father was a prominent keynote speaker."
"Did you wish to speak with him?"
"Well, no...I needed to speak with you, personally." The older man looked a little embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head. Light, as usual, seemed to be ahead of the game.
"So you've heard what I can do then?"
"Yes."
"Did you want to talk in private later?" Light asked. Raye took out a business card with contact information on it. Light pocketed it without a second thought.
"At your earliest convenience Mr. Yagami."