AN: Here we go folks; L is going to reveal how Rem failed to kill him! I hope to get more reviews, and more readers this time. Ready? Set? Action!
"Well, to be honest, I'm surprised no one has figured it out yet, it's kind of obvious."
"What do you mean obvious Ryuzaki, we watched you die!"
"No you didn't, I was gone for a while before that happened."
Light looked up with a look of wrath
"What do you mean gone? There is no way! You! Are! Dead!" he screamed.
"Apparently not, as I'm here standing before you at this very moment. The man you killed was not me, but rather a doppelganger. You see, I obtained the idea of replacing myself when Naomi first became involved. Back during the BB murder case, BB pretended to be me and worked with her, and so I thought to try the same, except instead of using it to kill Naomi, to catch Kira."
Ryuk found this very amusing.
"Hyuk hyuk so this whole time you've been watching from the sidelines like I was, interesting decision L. But tell me, why sit and watch when you could have captured Light sooner?"
The formerly dead detective yawned in a bored sort of manner before answering.
"To tell you the truth, I knew that even if Light was captured, there was still another Kira on the loose, and the odds of finding him would have dropped by about… 63 percent if I had Light arrested."
Matsuda could not be quite any longer.
"That's all well and good Ryuzaki, and I'm glad you're alive, but what should we do with Lig- I mean Kira? We don't know if he has more pieces of the Death Note out there, he may even have some hidden on him where we can't find him. But we can't kill him either, not without a trial. And we still have Mikami to deal with as well."
Before Ryuzaki could answer him, Near walked over to L and handed him a thick stack of bills.
"Damn," said the snow haired heir of L.
Matsuda was confused by this, and forgot about his question, replacing it with a new one.
"What was that for Ryuzaki?"
"Oh, Near and I had a bet going. He didn't think you'd interrupt me while I was explaining the circumstances of my decision, but I know you better. As for your former question, that is true Mr. Matsuda, but it is not your problem anymore, I have things from here. You are all free to go back and live your lives. You will get an adequate amount for you assistance, and both Light and Teru shall be taken care of."
That statement caused Matsuda to forget the insult of L and Near's bet, and Light began to yell again.
"What do you mean taken care of? What are you going to do, kill me? You wouldn't dare, that would make you the same as me!"
The raven haired detective pulled a sucker out of his pocket. He unwrapped it and put it in his mouth, and placed the wrapper back in his pocket, so as to dispose of it properly at a later time.
"Unuhm Your right, I'm not going to kill you. I will keep the two of you a while, and then let you go."
Near had not heard of this part of the plan, and his reaction was akin to Mello.
"L, what are you thinking?! You cannot just let Kira and Kira-X go like that!"
"Unnmh You will find that I can Near. You see, I have managed to figure out how the Notebook works. While I had Light in captivity, he lost his memory of it after a certain amount of time had passed, and he forfeited the Notebook. Now that he no longer has one under his control, you'll find the latter will no longer be a requirement. After most of a year has passed, they will simply be a student, and prosecutor respectively."
"Then why did we go through this L? Why couldn't I just burn the Notebook and have that be the end of it?"
"Because they will keep the lessons this experience has given them. Mikami will no longer see himself as a mere tool, and Light will remember he is not god, nor is he perfect."
Mogi finally decided to speak.
"Ryuzaki, Mikami may be able to go pact to practicing law, but Light's part of the Department, and I don't think any of us could work with Kira."
"I wasn't expecting Light to stay here; he will be my partner from now on."
Near objected to this.
"L, I am your successor, why are you taking Kira to be your partner instead of me?"
"One, to keep an eye on him, and two, because like you and Mello, we make a good team."
Light did not like the idea of spending the rest of his life under L's supervision.
"Do you really think I'll just willing except this L? I will kill you the moment your back is turned."
L walked up to Light and put his face a mere inch away from the criminal mastermind's.
"Once you loose ownership of the Book, you will no longer exist. The only thing that will remain is my friend Light-kun. You, Kira, will be dead."
AN: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I greatly enjoyed writing this chapter, especially that last bit, as I thought it was the perfect way for L to establish his dominance over Kira. Next I plan to have some transition chapters, and then L and Light shall work together! Will Kira hold true to his promise and return to kill L, or will he truly die? Wait and find out! Oh, and I didn't forget about my other story, Wingless Flight, I just have to work a bit more on the plot, since it's kind of a work in progress.