A.N: Hey :D Thank you to all that reviewed! Here's the next chapter. It's basically setting things up. :P
Disclaimer: Don't own Death Note. Obviously...
L was sitting on the bed he had woken up on, legs pulled up to his chest and arms wrapped loosely around them. After realizing he was... was what? Someone else? He grimaced. Yes, after realizing he was someone else, he had screamed. Apparently he was in a household, because his 'dad' came running out, trying to figure out what had made his 'son' scream. L had stared dumbly for a moment, taken aback by the fact that this man truly mistook L as his own son. Whatever was happening, it was real.
He had then babbled off an excuse about a spider, which had gotten him a suspicious look. When the man had returned to his room, L had went back to the somewhat familiar bedroom to think.
So far, thinking hadn't proved beneficial in the least. And this position, while still comforting, took a bit more effort to maintain.
Maybe he just needed sugar...
The sound of movement slowly began to fill the house, as the morning light filled the room. L chewed on his thumb, before quickly pulling it out of his mouth. He wasn't really chewing on his thumb. He was chewing on some stranger's thumb. The mere thought was revolting. Who knew where this thumb had been?
He stayed in place, nearly jumping out of his skin (which actually sounded good at this moment) when the bedroom door flung open. "Onii-chan, it's time for school!"
In the doorway was a young girl, probably in junior high. Long brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, her eyes narrowing as they took her 'brother' in. "Why are you sitting like that?"
L blinked, and realized that if he was going to survive, he'd have to play the part of whoever this body belonged to. He couldn't just calmly explain that he wasn't who he appeared to be. It was likely he'd just be laughed at and ignored, or, if he persisted, thrown into an insane asylum.
He realized the girl had left without an answer, as he placed his feet onto the floor. Step one... getting dressed.
He shut and locked the door before approaching the dresser, sorting through them. Underwear and socks... Suit shirts... suit pants... pajama pants... pajama shirts... Everything was very formal. L grimaced at the thought of putting on a restrictive outfit. He pulled out a button up white shirt, wondering if he had ever worn one in his entire life.
He had to unbutton the night shirt to get it off, slipping the white shirt over his head, twisting and tugging at it to get his arms through the holes. The priorly creaseless shirt was now efficiently wrinkled.
L slipped off the PJ pants, deciding against changing his underwear. Not in fear of seeing another man's private parts. He was going to have to use the bathroom, and wasn't going to do so blindly. He just didn't want to struggle in and out of any more clothes than he had to.
He had to struggle into a pair of slacks. While they were comfortable enough, he wasn't used to this body's proportions. They were similar, but not exactly the same.
Now where would the suit jacket be...? His eyes landed on the closet. There. He pulled a suit jacket off of a hanger, pulling it on. He held the tie he had found up in the air, scrutinizing it. And how was he supposed to put this on? His eyes strayed to the computer. Internet. You could learn anything with it.
When he was finally ready (though admittedly the tie would not fall perfectly) he grabbed the messenger bag from the floor and slung it over his shoulder. It was with interest that he noticed it felt uncomfortable to slouch, as if his muscles preferred to keep him standing straight. He didn't want to seem suspicious or awkward...
He held himself straight, muscles that usually hurt at such a task not hurting in the slightest bit. Strange.
"Light, breakfast is ready!" called a woman. L guessed it to be 'his' mom. Was the owner of this body named 'Light'? What a strange name...
Light had managed to guide the police with the aid of the information set up on his computer, sacrificing the video feed on the police for the sake of sounding like the original owner of this body.
He hoped the voice changer managed to hide the stumbling and awkwardness in his voice.
If he had been impersonating L in his own body, he could have done so with confidence. But every time he spoke, he was reminded that something was seriously wrong. Why the hell was he stuck in L's body?
And, indeed, that was who he deduced he was. There was no other explanation.
Though, he could use this situation to his advantage. Maybe this could lead him to L's real name.
But if I'm in L's body... Light cursed to himself. Of course! Why hadn't it occurred to him earlier? L's in my body! This was the absolute last thing Light needed. L might even go ahead and destroy the Death Note, once he found it. Because how could he not find it, sooner or later?
What if I never switch back? What if I'm stuck like this forever? He'd never become a god if that was the case! He would never get his perfect world, free of crime!
Calm down, he ordered himself. Think about this rationally. I'm the top student in Japan, and L is the number one detective in the world. Together, I'm sure we can come up with a solution... Even if they did find a way to switch back, surely L would leave some incriminating evidence against Light...
Light sighed. What he needed was a shower. He didn't look forward to rubbing his hands over L's naked body, even if he himself was wearing it, but this body smelled. He wondered when L had last bathed. Or changed his clothes. These baggy things needed to go.
Except that might be suspicious to anyone that new L personally. Was there anyone like that? Maybe the man on the other side of the screen, also using the L logo?
Light decided he would think over everything in the shower.
He entered the bathroom, adjusting the shower to a temperature he liked. Picking a fluffy white towel from the cabinet, he placed it on the toilet seat lid. He took a moment to look 'himself' over in the mirror. Such messy hair. And the eye bags were absolutely hideous. He allowed himself to hunch for a moment, unable to keep back a relieved sigh as the aching pain left him.
However, the image in the mirror was enough to get him instantly standing straight once more. Hunched over, wearing baggy clothes, hair sticking up in all directions and uncomfortably greasy, with dark eye bags, he was his own worst nightmare.
It was then that he realized he had no clothes to change into. Judging by the old clothes he wore, he wouldn't doubt that there wasn't a clean outfit to change into.
Deciding he'd rather walk around in a towel than wear the smelly clothes any longer, he slipped out of the baggy material and stepped under the water.
He was disappointed by the limited cleansing options. The shampoo bottle was quite small, and Light had a feeling he'd need all of it to tame the tangled mess that dared to call itself hair.
He massaged more and more shampoo into the hair, before scrubbing furiously at 'his' scalp. By the time he started rinsing it out, his body was coated in white, soapy suds.
Next for the conditioner... He would need a lot of that, too.
He let it soak in as he reached for the bar of soap. Body wash would be better, but seeing as there was none... this was better than nothing.
When he had scrubbed every inch of the dirty body, until he was raw and red, he turned off the shower. He grabbed the towel and dried himself off, having to spend more time towel drying his hair than he was used to. There was just so much of it. And even after all that work, as soon as it started to dry it returned to it's messy state minus the tangles. At least it was softer now, and without any grease...
Securing the towel around bony hips, he made his way back to the computer. It was the only thing in the entire hotel room. There wasn't even any furniture...
He gingerly sat down before the darkened screen, shaking the mouse to wake the computer back up. Surely someone would come eventually, and he could get them to bring him clothes. Unless L was actually a prisoner, forced to solve cases in exchange for not being put on death row himself. He could very well be an ex-criminal...
Light shook such thoughts from his mind. He was just freaking out over the situation. Obviously that wasn't the case. If he had truly wanted to, he could have just left the hotel altogether. Though now that he had nothing but a towel to wear (the dirty clothes might as well not exist) leaving wasn't a realistic option...
An open web browser caught Light's attention. He had priorly been using the information on it to guide the police, but now that he really looked at it without feeling any pressure, he realized how detailed it truly was. How close was L to finding him?
The temptation of just deleting everything was strong. But, no, he had to keep up the part of L. He didn't need anyone thinking 'L' was incompetent. Then he would never get in contact with himself. Or... L.
Light sighed, massaging his temples with too-long fingers.
A knock on the door, followed by the sound of said door opening, caught Light's attention. He looked up, surprised by the sight of an old man.
"Sir," he greeted, and Light realized he was hungry when his eyes landed on the tray the man was holding. Was this man some sort of servant of L's? It would make sense for such a sloppy man to need help with daily life activities...
"Could you get me some clean clothes?" Light asked, accepting the tray and placing it before him on the ground. He was appalled to realize it was all sweets. No wonder Light still felt gross after the shower. L's body was supported by this artificial crap. "And tonkatsu with a side of miso soup?"
The man's expression suggested a heart attack, and Light briefly wondered if L had written this person's name in the death note for some reason. Maybe the 'kept captive' theory was correct, after all...
But then the man gave a curt nod, and said, "I'll be right back," before leaving.
L slouched in his seat, trying his best to remain invisible. However, his actions merely drew more eyes towards him.
The walk to school had been strange, but not too bad. The two boys spoke to him, and simple responses appeased them. L got the feeling they knew nothing about this Light Yagami person.
After arriving to school, he followed the two boys to class. They had urged him to hurry, since he had held them up, and that they needed to get to class right away.
He did not feel comfortable running through the halls. The last thing he needed was detention on top of this terrible experience.
He couldn't even remember the last time he had been surrounded by so many people without being able to just blend in. Blending in as this person, however, proved to be impossible.
"Yagami-san," said the teacher, and it took L a moment to realize it was him being addressed. "Please answer number 7 on the board."
L looked it over, easily reciting the answer. The teacher seemed appeased, nonetheless adding, "Very good, but please try to pay attention in my class. You are the top student in Japan. Try to be a good role model."
The eyes were all on him again... He couldn't help but hunch his shoulders, sinking another few inches in his desk.
"Are you alright, Yagami-kun?"
He glanced at the girl beside him. She was very pretty, with big brown eyes and long, flowing raven hair. It looked soft to the touch. He caught sight of her paper. Watakashi Yuri. "I feel a bit tired," he replied, figuring he'd need some excuse for not acting like Yagami Light.
"You even forgot to do your hair," she added. "I think it's more than being-"
"Watakashi-san, please refrain from speaking in my class."
L decided he really hated school.
When lunch finally arrived, he didn't know whether to rejoice or cry. He didn't have to deal with the teacher, but at least in class he didn't have to socialize too much.
He followed the two boys from earlier, Yamamoto and Mato something. They ended up sitting on the school roof.
L's stomach grumbled, and he frowned to himself. He wasn't used to being hungry. Usually he ate at constant intervals, to avoid such a painful feeling. If he couldn't eat, he might as well study the English book. He was flawless at English, his native tongue, but he hadn't read the book before.
He reached into the messenger bag, pausing as he found something strange. A bento box...?
Light's mom must have slipped it in that morning...
He opened it up, grimacing at the Japanese meal. Rice, fish, and vegetables. Disgusting.
"Ah, that looks so delicious!" said one of his friends. L stabbed a piece of fish with one of his chop sticks (he had no clue how to use them, and hadn't gotten the chance to observe anyone else yet, though he would soon). He might as well try it, to keep up the appearance of normality... He popped it into his mouth, chewing until flavor burst into his mouth.
His eyes fell shut, a light moan escaping his throat. It was delicious. How could something non-sugary taste so good? It had to be because this body had different taste buds, accustomed to different things...
He finished his meal, enjoying every single bite, except for the one with a piece of broccoli. That remained gross tasting.
Light tugged on the hideous outfit, identical to the last one he had been wearing. Why would anyone in their right mind wear such a thing? He was even hungrier now, taking a bite of fish from his newly delivered tray.
And nearly spitting it back out.
It tasted disgusting. It was way too salty, and the flavor... it was absolutely appalling. He sniffed it, and realized that even the smell seemed nauseating. What was wrong with this body? Could L really not stand the taste of normal food?
Light decided he would get L's taste buds used to normal food if it killed him. He refused to submit to this body's desire to be polluted with junk food!
Determined, he forced every bite down his throat. It was the worst experience of his entire life. After finishing it, he couldn't help himself. He grabbed a piece of cake from the other tray, still lying on the ground, and ate it in a few big bites.
He felt a bit better...
He also felt drowsy. Could this body really not function without constant sugar intake? Not like Light cared. He would fix this. He could only hope L wasn't ruining his, Light's, body. Or his reputation, for that matter.
When L finally got to return 'home', he ran to his room and shut the door behind him, collapsing onto the bed. The family might be worried that he had completely ignored him, but he didn't care. He needed a break from people. He couldn't stand it. So much stimulation, so many eyes, so much socializing...
His heart had been pounding in his chest the entire day.
After at least half an hour of just allowing his mind to ramble and his nerves to calm down, he decided to search the room. If he was lucky, he'd find a diary. That would help him act the part better.
He first searched the bookshelf. The most interesting thing he found were women's swimsuit magazines hidden in an encyclopedia cover. He moved on to the desk, looking first in the left drawer. Nothing but random papers. He opened the right.
A black notebook resided within it. White, conspicuous English letters spelled out Death Note. Curiosity peaked, L reached to take if from the drawer. The second his hand brushed the cover, loud cackling filled the air. L cried out, toppling to the ground, jaw dropping and body shaking as a horrible monster filled his vision.
"L Lawliet, it's about time you could see me. Maybe you can answer a few of my questions. And buy me some apples."
A.N: *Le Gasp* Whoa, what just happened? Please reviewwww, lovely peoples! :D
