11:20 pm. Reviews welcome!
Chapter 2: Déja vu
The old headquarters were eerily quiet, devoid of the larger-than-life personality that had once inhabited it. For once, Light almost wished that Matsuda was there. At least there would be some distraction... but no, these thoughts are useless to me. I have business to do. With a single button, the sleek, expensive-looking computer switched on and the monitor lit up. For a few seconds, the screen was filled with the letter 'L', typed in a strange, gothic font, etching its presence into Light's mind, refusing to allow him to forget. This simple, but powerful image faded into black, and was replaced by eight short words in small white lettering.
'Yagami Light,
The pen is the key.
L'
It dissolved into complete blackness and switched itself off, with an audible click.
'I won't ask you what it means, Light,' said Soichiro Yagami, sighing with defeat and standing beside the computer chair, 'but it makes no sense to me.' Light said nothing, but simply sat there, his usually narrow, dark eyes widening to their old, kind diameter, staring at the screen in disbelief. The… the pen?? But how could he know…? Has he known all this time?! Come to think of it… I haven't actually looked in the drawer for a while. I've always been watching the floor, where the light shines through, to catch out anyone spying in. But when could he have done this?
'Hehehe,' smirked Ryuk, 'he got you this time, huh, Light?' The teenager felt an almost uncontrollable urge to punch Ryuk's arrogant face in. God that he felt he was, he restrained it.
'I don't get it either, Dad,' replied Light, after some time, 'I wish I did.' The place was too quiet, with the thousands of electronic screens adorning the walls that were almost always filled with snapshots of the world outside, pitch black, and all but dead. Despite his inner joy at having won, he felt as if he was intruding here. Besides, there was something he had to do.
'I think we should go now,' murmured Light, his eyes closed in thought. 'We have to get ready for the funeral.'
…
Damn it!! Thought Light furiously, cursing under his breath as he shut out the warm light of the landing outside his room. He just doesn't give up, does he?! Not even when he's dead… He laughed quietly, and the hollow, soulless sound resonated around him. But no matter what… I've still won. After all… I'm God.
In three sharp movements, he removed the ink cartridge from the thin black pen, jammed it in the drawer and slid the Death Note out. Underneath, in the spot where it had been, lying in shadow so that one would hardly notice it, was a letter. Shaking, with gritted teeth, Light reached towards it, keeping the cartridge in place with his other hand. Allowing the translucent plastic rod to slide out of the drawer, he held in front of him. The paper was creased with lines, and it had obviously once been neatly folded to a much smaller size.
'What's that?' Asked Ryuk, a wicked smile spreading across his ghoulish face, 'another message?'
'So, it seems that I
have to leave this world
in such short notice.
Nevertheless, I think
it was necessary,
given the circumstances,
and there was nothing
more that I thought
I could do.
Raito, I know about
everything. I know the
answers to the case.
Little by little, I
looked at the evidence.
You are Kira.'
Light flipped the page over.
'Raito,
even though I could never
agree with your idea of the
law, I was in no sense
lying when I said that
you were my first friend.
Listen for the bells.
I am confident in the
knowledge that you understood
everything I said.
And, there is a 100 percent
probability that you understand
presently. Now then, my
life has come to its
end. That is all I have to
say, Raito. Goodbye, friend.'
'What the… WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!' Light staggered backwards, as if he had been winded by a kick to the solar plexus. The man's hair fell across his maddened eyes, in such a way that made him look half-demented with anger. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehad and splashed upon the carpet, as he shook furiously. 'This is the same code I used!! It says… S, H, I, N, I, G… shinigami really really like apples?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?!'
Ryuk leaned over Light, to get a better look at the page. His dark, spiked, hooked claws created a stark contrast with the blankness of the white paper.
'Oh yeah,' said the shinigami, ponderously, 'I didn't notice that. He wrote a message downwards, like you did… maybe it's just a decoy, like your one?' This last part was muffled by the sound of crunching apples. 'Juicy.'
'If that's the decoy, then what could the message be?' Spat Light irritably, 'it's just some pathetic pseudo-suicide note.' Nonetheless, his eyes, glinting with a blood red sheen in a mysterious optical illusion, scanned the paper methodically, manically. They stopped, and stared.
'The bells, huh?'
Light was standing outside, in a torrential downpour that obscured his vision, allowing him to see just enough to notice two things – the grey, washed-out city skyline around him, and L. The air was unusually clear, and for that moment, it was as if there were no secrets between the two of them any longer. L's eyes were wide and piercing, and seemed - even more than they usually did - to see through the thick, putrid web of Light's lies. They were both soaking wet, standing there, ignoring the rain as they faced each other, as they faced the truth. Here, exposed to the cold cruelty of the elements, both refreshed and weakened, wonderfully reduced to the lowest of specks in the grand designs of life, they stood. Aside from the storm, there was a complete and foreboding silence.
'Can't you hear them?' Wondered L aloud, unblinking.
'On second thoughts, Ryuk…' muttered Light, shaking his head to get rid of this sudden, unwelcome flashback, 'maybe there is another message in there.'
Friend.