Title: Manor of Sleeping Tattoos
Pairings: L/Light ; Light-centric
Part: Second Hour: Tattoos
Words: 1401 words
Beta: elliott ashes
Warning[s]: Major character death
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or Fatal Frame; Death Note is the property of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata while Fatal Frame is the property of Tecmo (and others, I think).
Summary: The dream is always the same. He follows him deeper and deeper into the manor, even though he knows that it's going to trap him in this nightmare forever.
Second Hour: Tattoos
No one else can see the tattoo, only him. It's always most vivid when he awakens from his dreams, now panting and covered in a thin layer of sweat and on the verge of a panic attack.
When he looks at it in the mirror, it's a vivid shade of purplish-blue, fading to a light violet around the edges. By the time he's more awake and dressed, it's gone and he can't see it. But each morning that he wakes, it seems to spread and burn with more pain than the day before.
He doesn't know what it means, but he knows that it cannot be good.
– – –
Misa's eyes bore into his back. He can't help but wonder if she can see the tattoo.
He tells himself that it's nonsense and turns back to his research. There are records of what hospitals call 'lost patients.'
Their tales ring eerily true to him.
"... see the same dream... wandering into a large manor... deep in the manor, one discovers their dearly departed... hearing a lullaby... a growing blue bruise or snake-like tattoo... time spent in sleep also slowly increases..."
He hasn't heard the song yet, but the tattoo on his back that is slowly growing is bruise-like in appearance.
Will he disappear soon too?
– – –
The funeral was three days ago. It still doesn't feel real to him. He still feels like if he closes his eyes and opens them, that he'll be there telling him to stop being lazy and to get out of bed. Or if he glances over he'll see him next to him, working away or nibbling at a piece of cake.
It hurts more than he cares to admit.
He is almost constantly surrounded by reminders of the other. It hurts. Far more than he would care to admit.
Why does it hurt?
He wishes that it would stop.
– – –
He hears the song. It's very faint and sounds as though it's being sung by young girls. As he wanders further into the manor, seeing Ryuuzaki out of the corner of his eyes, he finds clues towards where he is and what is happening.
A few notes and journals lie about; some of them seem to be newer than others. They seem like they were left by others who had wandered the manor.
Some of them seem to degrade over time, in terms of the author's sanity.
"I didn't deserve to survive... should have been me... shouldn't have... didn't want to! I'm sorry... don't... please... wake me up..."
It doesn't bode well.
Light has mixed feelings about it; part of him hopes that he won't become like them, losing himself until there is nothing left, while the other half of him wants nothing more than to find Ryuuzaki and join him.
He's afraid. Both of what he will find and what awaits him.
Death doesn't seem so frightening now.
– – –
Light isn't an artist, but he feels compelled to sketch out the tattoo that is etched across his back. It's gradually dipping lower down his spine and spreading across his back and shoulders. He scratches out the pattern onto a piece of paper, tracing it over with the colours after.
He debates about whether or not he should sketch the manor too. Or the tattooed woman.
But he still is a horrible artist, he doubts that he could do them justice.
He wishes that L was still there, he would have answers for him. Or tell him that they would find an answer to this mystery, together; that they would solve it.
Light hates being reminded of what he's lost.
– – –
There are voices now.
"Daddy fell. I'm sorry. He fell down. He wouldn't get up. I'm sorry mommy."
He can hear other whispers too; mentioning things like sacrifices, that more was needed, that more blood was needed. None of it makes sense.
Someone keeps speaking of a priestess, one who cannot awaken or something terrible will happen. Their voice is soft and muted, but it's female; that's all he knows.
Light wonders if they mean that tattooed woman.
– – –
He's sleeping more than usual, his father says nothing about it but Light knows he's worried. His father recommends that he speak to someone about this, that he see a therapist because what he's doing can't possibly be healthy.
Light knows that he's only trying to help, but he doesn't want him to.
It's easier to deal with the pain if he's sleeping. The manor is there as always and he's there too – he'll keep following him until he figures out what is happening in that strange, snow-covered manor.
Or until he dies.
– – –
At home, it's a little easier to live with the pain. But he hasn't been there for so long that everything seems foreign to him; it's as though he's an alien. This isn't his life, the person he sees in the photos isn't him – how can that person look so happy when inside Light feels as though he's been torn apart?
He wishes that he was still alive.
Light doesn't want to be here anymore.
– – –
"Sleep priestess, lie in peace... sleep priestess, lie in peace... if you cry, the boat you'll ride, the last trip to the other side... once you get there, sacred marks you'll bear... they shall be peeled off, should you fail to lie still..."
The words echo in his head. No matter how hard he tries, they will not leave him alone.
He writes them down, right underneath the sketch of the tattoo that is slowly covering his entire back. Light still doesn't know what the manor is, but he's still looking.
Eventually, he'll figure it out; he has to.
– – –
After several nights, he's found himself deeper in the manor; he's stopped waking up in the entrance of it. He's deeper in the manor, still following Ryuuzaki in deeper, slowly unwinding the tangled tale of what unfolded here.
The spirits still attack him, crying different things out as they do.
Each time, he defeats them with the Camera Obscura; they leave behind pictures, revealing tantalizing clues about their identity.
He sees little girls dressed in red and white, singing that song that will not leave his head. Each of them holds a mallet and a stake in one hand. He wonders what they could be for.
Something, though, tells him that they're important, that they are to be feared. He avoids them as best he can.
But their voices haunt him, even when he's awake. They're calling to him.
– – –
Sayu catches him singing the song one day. She asks him where he heard it.
"In my dreams."
It's the first thing he's said in four days. Light thinks that he should have said something else, Sayu gives him this sad worried look. He knows she's worried about him, knows that he's changed, but she says nothing and just looks at him with that same sad look in her eyes – his mother is the same.
His father won't let him back on the case, saying that it's closed and Kira has been stopped. Life is slowly returning to normal for their family.
Light thinks that it came at too high of a price.
– – –
His mother confines him to bed, she's convinced he's ill and that is why he has been sleeping so much. She knows he's grieving but has no idea over what. But she leaves him to it, tidies his room and brings in fresh flowers each day to bring some colour and life into it.
Light doesn't notice them, he's spending more time sleeping. He's awake only for a few hours at a time now, only leaving bed to check his research, see if anything new has turned up.
The tattoo keeps spreading, winding its way across his flesh like a snake. It looks like one too.
The indigo ink stands out vividly on his pale skin; he traces out the new elements onto the sketch he made. Each new development makes his heart thud.
He still is dreaming of the manor. And of L.
Each night he chases after the detective, praying and hoping that soon he will catch hold of him.