A/N: Triple release! Yatta! Thanks for everyone who've read, reviewed or alerted my humble fic!...nothing much to say at the moment
Disclaimer: I don't own Death note
Light Generation
Chapter 2
No words can express the pain they felt, and no one can comfort them but each other.
Sayu held her umbrella like a lifeline as she stared blankly at her mother. It had been hours now, and her body has grown numb, almost like her feelings. She knew that her mother felt the same, if not more, and she couldn't blame her mother for just staying there, soaked in the rain, kneeling on her son's grave, staring blankly as the hours passed.
It was a quiet funeral, and only a few people attended. Namely, his only surviving relatives Sayu and Sachiko, together with the members of the task force he had been working with. The funeral began early in the morning, and ended very quickly, seeing that they have work that day, and left the two women with words of condolences, none of which seemed to break through the barriers of Sachiko's heart.
It was a tough year for her. She had been through a lot, but everything seemed to have been lost in her upon hearing her son's death. It was too much for her. Her husband's death had not even been a year ago, and now her son had joined him, buried beside his father, gone.
She could not feel anything anymore, even now, soaked in the rain, sheltered only by Sayu's umbrella, gazing longingly at what his son had become. In a way, she was still in denial, they both were.
Mother and daughter both felt the same, as they continued staring at the two gravestones in front of them. The day had long passed, but even now in the darkness surrounding them could not surpass the darkness inside their hearts, and the desperate wish they were nurturing. From the very depths of their hearts, there was an empty longing, a wish, that they keep even though they knew it was unlikely to happen.
They wished that, all of this was not true, that it was just an illusion, that everything they knew did not happen. More than anything, they wished that their lives would turn back to the way it was before, when everything was right, when their lives were just perfect. They wished that they could get out of this nightmare.
When Raito finally realized that staring at the boy would get him nowhere, he decided that he would be the one to start the conversation. Judging on his appearance, he must be about his age, even though he has a smaller, weaker looking stature. While the boy could be easily mistaken to be younger, his eyes told Raito that it was definitely not. His eyes—it was something most people would not even notice. Of course, Raito was not 'most people' so when he saw, he knew better.
The boy's eyes looked as if he had seen more, was hurt more, a kid would not have those eyes. In fact, if you look deeper into his eyes, you could tell that he was even more mature than Raito, not that he would admit it. He somehow reminds him of someone. But more importantly…
"How the hell did you get here?!"
It took a while for Raito to say that, but it helped when he noticed just how bad of a mess his room had become. The events had been too fast, that even though he may have had an idea about how it happened, his brain kept telling him that it was virtually impossible.
The boy seemed to have only registered his surroundings, if the look on his face were enough to go by. Why he hadn't noticed Raito until now Raito can't explain, but he would have to settle for the more important questions first. With a final cough, the boy shot wary looks at the room, and then at Raito, who was getting impatient by the moment.
But then, when the boy gave that almost comical reaction of a surprise, his anger seemed to have dissipated.
"Are you really…?" The boy spoke for the first time, in an unnatural high-pitched voice. Raito couldn't tell if he was either nervous or shocked.
"What do you mean by that anyway? You are in my room. Explain how you got here."
The boy looked at him curiously, observing his reactions, as if he was trying to find the right words. Apparently, he was clueless too.
"I…don't know what you're saying."
It was a good thing Raito can expertly hide his emotions, or else he would have scared half of the boy by now. He was getting annoyed. Thankfully, he continued.
"What year it is, anyway?"
This intrigued Raito.
"What does it matter? It's still 2003 anyway."
The boy's eyes widened at that, as if knowing the current year was the biggest news in his life. He was about to tell him off when he noticed tears starting to well up in the boy's eyes, emotions getting the better of him.
Raito sighed. He guessed the answers won't come out pretty soon. He had began considering if he should comfort the boy when he saw that there was no need for it, as the boy violently rubbed his eyes to stop the tears from falling.
"Sumimasen"
Raito felt uncomfortable at seeing the boy, who was currently bowing with knees and head to the ground, in a traditional Japanese pose for asking forgiveness for doing something grave, but he regained composure by telling himself that it was all normal to apologize like that, what with all the mess his room had gone into.
"I'm very sorry", the boy apologized again, uncontrollable tears streaming through his cheeks. In that instant all anger toward the boy ruining his room had vanished, replaced by a feeling of unexplained guilt on seeing that boy apologize like that.
"Please stand up", Raito ordered in a very nice way, the one he uses toward other people to make them feel like he cared for them. "It is unnecessary to do that."
The boy looked up, and Raito saw his face was still filled with tears, although he stopped crying.
"Who are you?" Raito inquired, upon determining that it was okay to ask without the boy breaking into tears again.
"I'm your…"
The boy stopped in mid-sentence, and thought about it over for a few moments. Raito easily noticed the sudden hesitation, and found it suspicious.
"My name is Yorukami Meguru"
Raito stared at the boy for a few uncomfortable seconds.
"I don't believe you"
He said daringly. That name was absolutely fake, he was sure of that, if by the way the gulp in desperation like that was anything to go by.
"Lying like that certainly wouldn't help your case", he commented in mocking tones, while heading for the door.
"No!" The boy's eyes shot up in panic as he figured what Raito was about to do. "I mean, wait. You can't just turn me in to the police without knowing how I get here, right? Can you even explain to them what happened?"
"I honestly don't want to know" Raito countered, but stopped anyway.
"You'll just let the police sort this out, with you being clueless? For all you know, I can just talk my way out of the police, then no one will know the truth."
Sometimes, Raito hated that he had such a large amount of pride. The boy seemed to have hit a sensitive spot in him. He hated not knowing, especially when it involved him, and he certainly hated the possibility of a person getting away from justice, when Raito has the chance to stop it. He looked back at the boy, whose face was a mix of victory and relief, and snarled.
"You better have a very convincing explanation for all of this."
The boy smiled triumphantly.
"Of course I have", he said smugly. "As I said, you can call me Yorukami Meguru. I came from the future."
It had been weeks now, but the memory remained crisp and vivid, as if it only happened yesterday—and the pain was tenfold. Sachiko hasn't recovered from her husband's death yet.
Thinking about it, the Kira case started it all. It was hard having a policeman as the head of the family, because unintentionally or not, everyone in the household gets involved.
Ever since Kira emerged, her husband barely went home, and when he did he it was late at night, leaving the house early in the morning, using the house primarily to sleep. And then, much to her dismay, her son, her perfect Raito, got involved in the case. Soon, she hardly got a glimpse of his husband, much less his son. There had been a time wherein she hadn't heard anything from him in months.
Everything turned chaotic, destroying every inch of order she had painstakingly kept all these years, and she couldn't do anything about it. It was like her family rode the insane roller coaster of life, brakes broken, running wildly in an exhausting loop. Her husband's health had gone from bad to worse, until his eventual death after pushing too far, her daughter getting kidnapped when she thought they were living in a safe environment, and now this.
She was in denial even now, thinking that he would come back, even when she saw him right before her eyes, even when she had been the one who had supervised the whole cremation, arranged the funeral. She was amazed at how she made it through, when everything in her was screaming in pain.
It was her son after all, her only son.
She had always been praying for his safety, seeing that she did not need to do so for his success. She was proud of all his achievements, more than even she would know. But somehow, she had always been worried about her son's well being. With great success lies great danger, after all, and Sachiko wished with all her heart that her son would be spared from that. Her son may not show it, but she knew, as a mother that among others, her son was exposed to a much greater risk. She had a bad feeling that the Kira case, which had took him to a higher pedestal, would also be the one to shake him to his downfall, and for the first time in her life, she hated being right.
She had always longed for her son's return, now that he was busy with police work; she had awaited every police car that passed by their house. Unfortunately, the one police car that did stop by their house had been the one thing she had dreaded the most, and she had cursed it with her entire being.
They had informed her of her son's death that day, in a not so gentle manner. Couldn't she understand how she felt? That news alone had ripped her of all hopes to ever see her son again. How can they be so insensitive about it? Her son bravely fought for his justice right? And yet looking at their eyes, she couldn't see any remorse. It was as if they thought her son had wasted his life, and she couldn't accept that. It was disrespectful.
And yet, they attended the funeral as it had been a favor to do so, and that they should be thankful for it. Couldn't they honor her son even for the last time? They gave her words of comfort that just passed her. She knew they didn't mean it.
She became depressed that her feelings had become numb, thinking that living was only a waste of time. She had lost it.
Today, however, something happened that made her move on. Although, one might call it as ironic, or pathetic, nevertheless, it was still hope. A woman came to their home, asking for her son, and she had been distraught at hearing the news, and being too late to do anything about it. But for Sachiko, it was different. She felt a jolt of happiness upon the girl's arrival. She couldn't help it. Her son had not left the world without nothing, after all.
"How can I believe you?" Raito inquired in a very cynical tone.
"You may or you may not. But that doesn't matter. Something much more important is to begin. I can prove it to you later, but first, you have to listen to me."
Raito glared at him, a look that says 'What's so important that you have to tell me later', and the boy interpreted it correctly, as he continued.
"If I tell you something about the future, would it convince you to help me?"
"I wouldn't know if it's from the future, would I?"
Meguru sighed, guessing that he had no other choice.
"I know you're Kira", he finally said. "And I can predict whatever is going to happen for the next thirty minutes. If what I said did not happen, then you can kick me out if you want."
Raito gulped audibly, considering his options. Even the boy acted in desperation, he must admit that it was the best move so far. He couldn't throw the boy out now, not when the boy knew he was…
He had to know more to plan an action.
"Tell me what you have to say", he commanded in a stronger voice, silently admiring himself for being able to pull it off given the situation.
"Five minutes from now, a live broadcast will be aired on the news channel, saying that it is a message from L. A guy, Lind L. Tailor, will appear and announce a declaration of war to Kira."
Raito almost faltered, but contained himself, letting the news sink in to him.
"So even L…"
He knew all about L, of course, given his father's job. He was one of the very few who actually knew that there was such a person called L. In fact, as far as he knew, only people in the higher ups were aware of his existence. No one even knew his face, and everything about him is shrouded in mystery. To think that the great L would be involved in this case…they were taking it seriously. But that is to be expected.
This is the turning point in history, after all. He knew that after all of this is over, Kira will reign victorious, and the world will accept his power. In the meantime, he had to get rid of all forces opposing his ideals, until only his supporters remain. The fact that it was already L making the moves told him that this would be the final struggle he had to make before his dreams could be fulfilled.
"But you shouldn't be too excited about it", Meguru countered, taking him back to the present. "In my past, when L announced his opposition for you, you fell on his trap, hook, line and sinker."
"What do you mean…"
"It is too long to explain. But if you let me stay longer, I'll help you prevent that from ever happening."
"So that's how it is, isn't it?"
"Once that is over, you can decide whether I'm useful to you or not. I'll accept whatever you do to me", he said finally.
Thinking it over, Raito felt a little defeated with the arrangement. The boy was giving him the impression that he has the say on what to do, but in reality, he was forced with only one option, and that is, to let the boy stay. He couldn't possibly take this boy to the authorities, not with what he knew.
The best plan of action is to kill the boy with the Death Note, but he seemed to get the feeling that the name he was using was fake, and it would be useless to write it down. He had to let the boy stay, in order to get his real name. Once he did, this whole episode would be over. The boy better know more interesting things to convince Raito of the contrary.
It did not take long for him to accept this whole arrangement. Upon hearing this, the boy smiled and Raito opened the television.
The news had been relatively normal, with people being either convicted, suspected, or at large at some crime they were involved in. There was hardly any good new anymore. The only relatively not-so-bad news was the weather forecast, which predicted clear, sunny skies tomorrow.
Raito couldn't; help but feel intrigued at whatever was going to happen next. He had already established that, from the way the boy was talking earlier, that whoever would appear on the broadcast as L would definitely be fake, and that he had to keep that in mind, so that he wouldn't fall for any traps he was mentioning.
Exactly on the time Meguru predicted, the program was interrupted by what the announcer had said, a live, globally televised broadcast from the Interpol. For a second, he found himself looking back at the boy's eyes, which was clearly saying 'I told you so'.
Ignoring the badly hidden smirk the boy was giving, he turned again to look at the broadcast, and indeed saw a man appearing on the screen, with the name Lind L. Tailor, exactly as the boy had described. But would that be enough for him to believe that he came from the future?
"That guy is not L, and in fact, he is a condemned criminal scheduled to die today. L made a deal with him to appear as him", Meguru informed him further.
So that's how it is. L was planning to use this decoy to lure him out. The boy told him that he fell for his trap once. But now he is ready…
"I am Lind L. Tailor, more commonly known as 'L'—the sole person able to mobilize every country worldwide."
Truth be told, if not for the early warning, Raito would have found this whole plan shocking. He expected the police to notice the unusual heart attack patterns, but he never expected them to act so soon, let alone for L, the most mysterious detective in the world, to initiate such an action. It was a relief to know what would happen ahead, even if it was only for a short span of time.
"Kira, I think I've got a pretty good idea of why you're doing this, but what you're doing is EVIL!"
That got him. For a few seconds, his mind had gone blank, words sinking in.
"Me…evil?"
"I am righteous! I'm the hero who's liberating people from fear. I'm the savior who's going to be like a god of this perfect new world!"
His desire to kill the man became intense. Without thinking, he quickly grabbed the death note and was about to write the man's name, when the boy stopped him, just as fast. The action brought him back to his senses, realizing that the boy had just saved him from the humiliation he was about to put himself into. The boy hastily took the Death note far from his reach.
"If you do that, everything would be wasted. It would only be a repeat of last time."
Looking closer, Raito could tell that the boy had panicked as well. Cold sweat had lined his pale face, and looked as if he was breathing quickly. They stared at each other for a few minutes, waiting for what the other would do next, Lind L. Tailor's speech barely audible in the background.
Raito breathed deeply, reminding himself that he is a much bigger person than this. He has mastered his emotions long before, and mere insulting tactics will never work on him. Keeping this in mind, he managed to return to his usual calm self, with a face reassuring the boy that he will not do something rash.
Once the boy found it safe to do so, he returned the Death note to Raito quietly, and turned once again to watch Tailor. Apparently, the fake L is nearly approaching the end of his speech.
It was then that Raito got him back to his attention.
"Hey, Meguru", the voice hinted a sign of panic, something the boy did not expect from the latter. "Is it me or is this Death note acting strange?"
Surprised, he turned at the note in question, and confirmed that yes, the Death note is indeed acting strangely. It was quickly changing its form, from the well-kept, neatly looking note to a more battered, old-looking one. However, as the two of them will realize a second later, something worse was happening inside.
Raito could not be blamed for gasping in shock as he opened the notebook.
As if written by an invisible hand, the pages started to be filled with countless names, at an incredible speed that it took only seconds for it to fill more than half of the note with names, all the while continuing to look older and depreciated. Both boys just stared at the note in shock, and in the midst of what happened, they had let go of it, now lying on the floor as if it was possessed. No one dared to touch it again.
Just to make matters worst, and just when they thought that too many strange things had happened throughout the day, yet another event unfolded before their eyes, proving them wrong.
Lind L. Tailor was acting normal a few seconds ago, having finally finished his speech, and Raito was about to turn off the television when the fake L spoke again.
"That is what they want me to say, if I were L. But the truth is, I'm not", the man said, eyes unfocused.
"All of this is a lie, I support Kira! Long live Kira!"
The man looked crazy as he shouted all of this, and as if to prove himself, he did the most horrible thing to do on National Television. Before anyone can stop him, Lind L. Tailor bit his tongue out, hard, and bled profusely on his desk. Large men rushed to him just after, only to find him dead on the spot.
And just like that, the whole world was shocked.
A/N: For anyone interested, I've written an LxLight fic too, Nine Months Due, so if you're into fanfics like that, please take time to read mine too. Another fic, Right Hand Man, is a humorous fic based on Midori no Hibi. I've recently caught the fanfic-writing fever, just so you know.
...I hope there's not too much angst in here...please review?
While reviews would not guarantee the speed of story's chapter release, it would nonetheless cheer up an anxious author, and might become the source of inspiration for better and faster chapters. If you think that the author has done a good job, please don't hesitate to tell them in a review!
Triple release Next: Nine Months Due