A/N: I hope that last chapter caught everyone sufficiently off-guard. Heh. By the way, Susano is the name for the Japanese trickster god. I'll let you all think about that for a bit.
Disclaimer: I don't own anybody really…I don't even have a boyfriend.
Light and L remained in Dr. Susano's office for several moments, trying to collect their thoughts. "What exactly happened?" L murmured. "My memory seems a bit foggy."
Light shrugged. L was pleased to note that he no longer looked angry, only slightly confused. "I dunno. All I remember is being overwhelmed by incense while Dr. Susano talked some sense into us."
"Talked sense into you," L said cheerfully. "If Yagami-kun recalls, I was willing to be his friend and he was antagonistic."
"Hey, don't you argue with me. I could still fight you, you know." Light flashed a brilliant smile. "Eh, I'm just kidding. I don't feel like fighting you anymore."
"I am glad to hear it. I like Yagami-kun better when he is not angry."
"I'm sure you do." Light smirked. "Well, we might as well see what all the fuss is about. I feel bad that Mikami's hurt but it's lucky Saki showed up when he did or we'd be dead from smoke inhalation."
L frowned. "Indeed. I wonder why it was necessary to drown us with smoke."
"You can't think very clearly when you can't breathe," Light said solemnly. "He didn't want us to think about anything, but just accept what he had to say if we wanted to live."
L shuddered and Light grinned. "I'm just kidding. He probably only meant for us to enveloped in smoke so we had couldn't see or think about anything else." He stretched luxuriously and rose to his feet.
L shrugged. "It still seems quite odd. But I agree that it is in the past and now we should be concerned about Mikami." L uncurled himself from his perch and cautiously placed each foot back on the ground. Light was watching him with interest. L smiled. It was good to have someone curious and open-minded about his strange habits instead of instantly judging him.
As they exited the office, their eyes were immediately drawn to a cluster of students gathered next to a short ladder outside the history building. Dr. Susano was with them.
L and Light exchanged a glance and wordlessly came to the same decision. It didn't look good. They nudged their way into the crowd for a better look.
Mikami was sprawled across the ground near the ladder, his back resting against the building. His yes were squeezed shut and his jaw was clenched with pain. He had kicked off his left shoe and had rolled up the pant leg of his jeans. His foot was swollen and the leg slightly bruised. His hands were scraped up, but his leg had taken the brunt of the damage.
Matsuda was hovering over Mikami anxiously. Mikami's glasses, now cracked, were cupped in his hands protectively. The student-teacher softball game poster, halfway hung, flapped absently in the breeze on the wall beside him.
"I should have been there," Matsuda said mournfully. "I should have been there to watch you."
"Damn it, I told you to go ahead and get a drink," Mikami growled. He opened one eye. "Not your fault."
"But I should have been there to spot you," Matsuda wailed.
"I should have waited till you got back." Mikami gingerly pulled his leg closer for a better look. "Damn," he muttered.
"Try not to move it too much," Dr. Susano advised. "Matsuda and I will take you to the nurse and we'll see what she says. Just don't put any pressure on it until then."
Matsuda glanced sadly at the cracked lenses in his hands. "I hope your foot isn't as broken as your glasses."
Mikami rolled his eyes. "Quit carrying on like I'm dying. A broken leg isn't the end of the world. Now, give me those before you get yourself too depressed."
Matsuda sighed and relinquished the lenses. Mikami grabbed his arm as Matsuda held out the glasses. "Stop worrying and just help me up. That'll do a lot more good than moping."
Matsuda nodded and looked uncertainly over at Dr. Susano. The guidance counselor quickly moved to Mikami's right side. Together, they lifted Mikami off the ground, careful to avoid brushing against his injured leg. As they slowly proceeded to the nurse's office, the crowd lost interest and melted away.
Light smirked. "Despite his unfortunate gay germ, Mikami is a lucky guy. I'm sure Matsuda will take great care of him."
L smiled. "I'm sure he will disagree with you. Matsuda will likely smother him in care out of guilt."
"Perhaps you're right. Poor guy."
"I'm sure the only consolation for Mikami is that Matsuda will publicly display his affection for him."
Light made a face. "Disgusting." He looked off towards their abandoned lunch table. "At least no one has overrun it in our absence. We might as well go back for the last few minutes we have left."
"Agreed," L murmured. He thought longingly of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
L and Light returned to the same bench and to the same seating arrangement. L placidly munched his sandwich while Light talked. Light was still complaining about how the gays were overrunning and infecting the school. Light was so intent on his point that he was actually leaning across the table with the force of his beliefs.
It didn't make sense, L decided. Light was so rabidly homophobic and convinced that every male in school was trying to hit on him. If Dr. Susano had suggested that L felt the same way, it was logical that Light would suddenly warm up to another kindred spirit who felt lost in a sea of corrupting homosexuality. But L had not given Dr. Susano or Light any indication that he felt that way. He certainly didn't. He thought Light was being completely unreasonable. Sure, he had seen several gay students, but that didn't mean that the whole school was gay or that they were trying to take over the school. L was intrigued by this irrational belief in an otherwise intelligent Light.
L wanted to strike up a friendship with Light so he would have someone with whom he could discuss ethics, politics, and sophisticated literature. He knew he could expect lively, reasoned debated from Light on any subject….except homosexuality, of course. He knew that Light would also enjoy talking with someone smarter than the average high school senior. Geniuses needed each other's company. Dr. Susano had assured Light that L was his intellectual equal. It was true and Light would eventually come to be thankful that he had L as a friend. But Light was still rabidly homophobic and it wasn't easy to get past that level of fanaticism. L was surprised that Dr. Susano managed to convince Light that L was not hitting on him. Perhaps he had simply alluded to "shared interests" that Light had interpreted as "shared hatred for gays". But L was not convinced. Light didn't believe L when L insisted he was not hitting on him, but somehow he believed Dr. Susano when he told him. Dr. Susano was awfully persuasive. Something weird was going on and L didn't like it.
"Hey." Light tapped L's shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. "The bell rang already. Weren't you listening?"
"No," L admitted sheepishly.
Light chuckled. "Come on, then. We're both going to Econ, right?"
L nodded.
"Good. Then I'll walk with you and make sure you don't go back to sleep."
L forced a smile. It wouldn't do to tell Light about his suspicions. He had no proof and he might offend Light if indeed Light believed they shared the same homophobic viewpoint. He didn't want to lose his friend yet. Friends were hard to come by for L, and L was willing to overlook the irrationality for the moment in order to study Light further. Maybe later he would tell Light of his suspicions. In the meantime, he planned on keeping far from Dr. Susano. He didn't like the idea of another talk with him.