ILL WILL
Welcome back to Ill Will. My updates are kept as close together as I can manage, as I have quite the busy life, much as I hate to admit it. And, besides, cliffhangers are only fun if I leave you all dangling for a while.
PLEASE READ: I need feedback on my new plan for the story. Because the story is going to be 24 chapters, I believe this is the right choice. I have written a rather extensive background piece on L, and his childhood. I was thinking that every fourth chapter could be a flashback to his past, telling you more about him. Do you like this idea? Would you like it every fifth or sixth chapter instead? I won't do it unless I get some feedback from you, the reader. Just let me know in your review.
Thank you very much for reading that announcement, and I can't wait to hear from you.
Yaoi is coming soon, do not worry. But, as most of you probably guessed, Light isn't just going to fall for L right away. Well, maybe he has a little...
And Thank everyone who reviewed so very much. It really means everything to me. Apples for all of you!
Now, Read On!
"Indeed I loved you, my chosen friend,
I loved you for life, but life has an end;
Thro' sickness I was ready to tend:
But death mars all, which we cannot mend."
-Christina Rossetti, "The Poor Ghost"
฿฿
The land was undisturbed in this place. Why would it need to be? For this was the land where those with great minds dwell. Those who were sinless due to their advanced thoughts. Those with no fear of the future, and with no fear of the power that each of them possessed. Of course, fear of the others were still very real. After all, in this world, the only one whom you could trust fully was yourself.
The voices of children weren't as loud and overwhelming as they would be in an average orphanage, because these children were already working for a purpose. A purpose that they were willing to trample each other to possess.
Who would be L? L wasn't immortal. And when he passed, whether from old age, or from something more sinister, who would carry on that sacred name? Who would be high enough in intelligence and power to dare tread where he once did? To fight for the kind of justice most humans had already given up on.
Pure, perfect, safe, kind. A world of Shangri-La. A world better for the masses.
An older man began to chase a young boy throughout the vintage halls of Wammys house, easily running out of breath, the boy laughing in a way that would make anyone shiver. After a rather sharp turn into the sleeping quarters, the man was easy to grip the boys shirt, holding onto him tight enough to keep him still.
As the boy turned around to glare at the founder of the orphanage, his youthful face was covered in a purple substance, and a jar of grape jam was clenched in his hand, a grip that couldn't be broken.
"What do you want, old man? I'm sick of you always following me when I'm minding my own business. You should learn to mind yours."
The boy was youthful, but obviously old enough to know how to act properly. And the fact that a rather large vase was broken in one of the older rooms of the house, and a child was crying down the hall because of his actions, showed that he wasn't following any rules—Not Wataris, and not his own values, if he had any.
" You should know better than this, Beyond. I can't have you constantly tormenting the children here, and always causing a ruckus. You should learn your place here, and--"
Beyond Birthday's face contorted in an almost demonic fashion, brightly colored eyes opening as wide as possible, bearing teeth, not bothering to wipe the sticky jam off of his face, and scratching Watari with all his might, on the back of the old mans hand, drawing blood.
" My name is not Beyond! My name is L, and you know it, you know that I am L!"
Ripping from the mans grip, he ran down the hall, in a kind of hysterics—Not crying, not yelling, but very quiet, with that same frightening look on his face. Misery, anguish, mixed with insanity.
Loneliness?
Bursting into the room where most of the children were playing, he managed to frighten all of them with his eyes, those bright red that made you think you were in a sci-fi movie. And when he spoke, it was so quiet, that a person had to strain to hear it.
"Don't any of you dare call me Beyond. My name is L." That smirk, that insane smirk. The children shook in fright, most anyway—a few were glaring with malice in their eyes, a kind of competition not yet won. But he spoke still, in the dead quiet of the room.
"My name is L Lawliet. And I am justice."
₯₤₩
Calm had come back to the workroom—At least, a facade of calm, in the worried state of mind that its inhabitants had now been given by the transmission. A voice from the past, who had visited them with no warning, no safe zone, no way to run away, for it was right in front of their faces.
"Hello, to all of you specialist police dogs. And to the lovely one that you work for. It has been a while, L Lawliet."
They typed. They copied. They spoke amongst themselves about meaningless things—television, popular culture. They tried to distract themselves from what had occurred, from the malice filled words that laced the mans speech, even through the computer. Those bright double B's still burned in their minds, so reminiscent of the ones that they were used to seeing—though theirs were less frightening. Theirs were of L. The one they all trusted with blind views.
"Perhaps those of you who have been with the police for the past few years know me. I am Beyond Birthday—the one who you should call L."
Light typed away, glancing through web page after web page dedicated to Kira. He looked for a clue, any clue, that could lead him to the one they were searching for. Because Kira was their primary target, wasn't he? He was the one that meant people were truly in danger, each and every second, until he was caught. Yet this one called BB, he threatened someone else. He threatened L. Only L. Kira killed thousands.
So why did he care more about finding BB?
" I am contacting you vermin to give you a choice. The Kira case would be much better off, if I were in charge. And so, either you give L to me, willingly, or I will make sure to take him off your hands. I will assure you, gentleman, you do not want that."
The detective was typing away, fingers brushing the keys as if afraid to cause them pain. Posture looking more curled than usual, as if trying to disguise himself, pretending that more was more of a phantom than a human. Which, in some ways, was quite true. Because his eyes were still the same black they had been, emotion either not there, or cleverly disguised.
" If you give him to me willingly, I will return him, unharmed, in time. If you do not, I will return him—If I feel like doing so. Though, I cannot guarantee he will have all of his limbs."
Yet even with the same bland look on his pale face, something was there. When he spoke to Matsuuda about a website he had found, it was absent. When he had spoken to Soichirou about some uncredible evidence, it was absent. When he spoke to Light, about the hard work that he had done,
there it was. Some kind of glitter in his eyes, some kind of look about his face, aura around his body, that expressed something, anything. Fear? Hesitance? Strength? Light didn't know, but it was something. And the fact that only he seemed the one able to see it, that meant more than anything.
But why? BB hadn't killed that many, compared to Kira. Only three, that he was aware of. Three lives was still enough to cause shock, yes, but it was only a scratch on the surface. Something else was amiss, yet he couldn't place it. He was after L. What had L done to him? Did he want money? Fame? Was that the only reason? Or did they have some kind of super-connected past?
"Your 'base' of sorts was easy enough to crack into. Lets just say that I have a bit more power than you seem to think. I am already making quite an effect. You will notice it soon, I am sure. Make your choice. When you do, tell your leader to contact me. He knows how. Until then—Have a lovely day. You have one week."
The transmission cut with a deafening silence, each left to their own thoughts. The image of L as a child—which was what they assumed it was—were such a far cry from the main detective they all knew and respected, that no one knew quite what to say. And so they stayed silent, vying to go back to their separate work, and pretend like nothing happened, to a point. But that could only last so long, because they had a week. One week, to decide. What would they do? What could they do?
Being chained to L, Light had the feeling that he bore the most responsibility in the situation. And even though the detective wouldn't admit it, the fact that he trusted him enough to have Watari speak to him in front of the younger boy was enough for him to believe that L trusted him. It didn't have to do with the handcuffs. That much he could read into.
" Ryuuzaki, should you be working right now? Its been a long morning, and--"
" No breaks, Light-kun. We wasted enough time yesterday."
Holding back a retort, he kept typing, his own fingers rather tough on the keys, banging on them as a way to get rid of excess stress and anger, much like a punching bag. Of course, getting a punching bag would probably up his chances of being Kira to fifty percent. He couldn't deal with 'Ryuuzaki' accusing him anymore. No one could understand it, unless they two were being accused of a crime they didn't commit. Something as large and encompassing as the Kira case.
L hit a few buttons on the phone, connecting him to Watari with no hesitation. "Watari, bring me cake. With plenty of strawberry's and whipped cream."
"Yes, right away, Ryuuzaki."
And a few minutes later, the cake arrived, just as decadent as usual, something that would make an average person gain five pounds just by looking at it. Eating it in his normal rude way, he licked the whipped cream off with his fingers, before using a fork for the cake. And looking at the fork as close as he could, it was a baby fork, with some television character on it, bright and colorful. That didn't really match Ryuuzaki's true personality. It was almost humorous.
Light didn't find it so easy to follow the detectives orders, especially when he was eating sweets with a baby fork. "As much as I would love to just work another three days straight, I think we need to discuss what just happened." He said this loud enough to alert the others, something that he knew was neccisary to scare the other into doing what he liked.
"I don't believe that is neccisary. I will take care of it, Light-kun."
Irritating.
" Like hell, Ryuuzaki! This guy is a murderer, and obviously he has some connection to you. And you think you can handle it, all by yourself? You aren't immortal!"
" There is no connection."
Light laughed, a harsh laugh, walking to Aizawas desk and ripping a file off of his desk, tearing out a mugshot and waving it in L's face. "Oh, really? Than what is this?"
The face in the picture was almost identical to L—But less soft, less easy on the eyes. The mans irises were a bright red, his face warped in an insane smile, his hair the same messiness, but adding to his obvious mental illness. Trying to be a carbon copy—and to most people, perhaps good enough. But not to Light.
"No connection? Than why does he look like you? Dress like you?" He slammed the picture down on the table, bringing his face uncomfortably close to L, voice a low whisper. "You need to let us help you."
The genius was silent for a moment, gazing at the picture with his mouth slightly ajar. Reaching out, he took another bite of cake, which only infuriated Light to a whole new level, as he took the laptop in front of the detective, and threw it on the ground, not knowing if he had damaged it or not. It didn't matter. This was the end. He needed to teach Ryuuzaki a lesson in being human.
No emotion. Even with his precious data on the line. What did this guy care about?
Inhuman.
Matsuda, Aizawa, and his father were all staring in various stages of speechlessness, until Aizawa, with his rather emotional side always unpredictable, spoke out. "Light, what do you think you are doing?" He walked over, hair looking as gravity defying as it ever did, and putting the laptop back on the desk. " Watch your temper. Ryuuzaki is your boss."
He hated being reminded of that.
Clenching his teeth, he spoke angrily. "Ryuuzaki, may I speak to you in private?"
" I don't know if I would like that, Light-kun. You seem quite angry, and I don't believe you would be speaking rationally. If you would like to calm down first, then perhaps I would consider--"
None of that. Light began walking towards the hall, forcing Ryuuzaki to follow him, due to the handcuffs. He didn't even resist, Light realized inwardly. Where were his loyalties, even in his mind? If he didn't want to do something, would he fight? Or would he give in, like a kicked dog?
No, he was stronger than that, even if he didn't want anyone to see it. There was more going on in the detectives mind than met the eye, that much was certain. And he wanted to find out. No matter what it took.
As soon as they were in the hallway, safely away from the workroom, Light turned, pressing the genius to the wall with a loud thump, and glaring at him. "Listen, Ryuuzaki, you need to understand that we are trying to help you. If you want to be stubborn, thats fine—but not when it comes to this. Do you want to die? This BB, do you want him to come get you, pull you away from this investigation, that you've put so much time into?" He bit his lip, getting more worked up over this than he had expected to. "You need to let us help you. You need to let me help you. Even if it hurts this huge ego you have."
He panted, exhausted from the tiny rant, still holding the other man against the wall. Only after a moment, did he realize the others eyes filled with a small glimmer of pain, trying to be masked behind the facade of his normal limitless gaze. Trying to pinpoint the cause of this, he saw that he was holding L flat against the wall, which meant that his spine wasn't hunched, as usual. Yes, that must be the cause of it.
Letting the other down with a half hearted apology, he turned away, embarrassed that he had reacted the way that he did. It just made Light angry to a large extent, that everyone wanted to divert their attention from the Kira case to protect L, someone who didn't seem to want help, be appreciative of it.
But, what did he expect?
L turned after a moment, curling his toes, staring down at them like they were the most interesting thing on the planet, like he had never seen them before.
"Light-kun."
"Hmm?"
Was that hesitance in the great detectives voice?
" I apologize if my behavior makes it seem as though my ego is as large as you claim it is. That is not the reason that I am hesitant to pursue this case any further."
Light turned, unable to help himself from grabbing the others shoulders, squeezing them tightly when he saw no emotion on the others face, even with a touch that he doubted L ever got.
" Then why, L?" He used the others true name, mistakenly, but the other didn't seem to notice. "Why are you so...nonchalant, when this maniac is threatening to come and take you away? And why, did you not show any emotion during his damn transmission?" Clenching his eyes shut, he turned away, pushing the other, but not enough to knock him down, despite how light he was. "When that picture of you came up—it was you, wasn't it? -- Why didn't you say anything? Why?"
" Because it does not matter."
He felt the chain being tugged, and assumed that the other was about to walk off, and was ready to level the other for being so rude and uncaring—But that wasn't the case. Instead, the detective was leaning against the wall, breath coming out in soft pants. Something wasn't right, because there was weakness in that posture. And L wouldn't dare show weakness.
"Ryuuzaki? Are you--"
" I'm fine. Come, lets get something to drink. I'm simply parched." Now came the tug, and he wondered if the bones in his wrist would snap under the pressure. The other had no problem with moving his body like a contortionist in many situations, but Light wasn't flexible. And his reasoning ability was just fine, no matter how he decided to sit.
But the way that Ryuuzaki had just spoken caused a red light to start spinning in his head, caused his guard to lower. Though the sugar demon could sometimes be intimidating—okay, more than sometimes—when he heard a slight tremor in his voice, that intimidation lessened, and Ryuuzaki seemed different. Human.
But was he? Or was he just a human body with no soul, a husk with something else inside all together?
Reaching their living quarters, the code was easy enough to enter, and the direction of the other seemed to be direct to the refrigerator.
Buzz, Buzz.
His cell phone? Pulling it out of his pocket, he flipped it open, a tiny envelope at the top right of the digital screen a tell tale sign of a text message. Clicking the neccisary buttons, it opened.
The number was hidden, coming from Anonymous.
"Don't eat all the Hakuto."
Light stared at the screen for a few seconds, not knowing how to react. He knew that there was Hakuto in the fridge—L adored it, his favorite, next to strawberry cake—but who else would know it was there? Watari was the only one, or someone from the task force, but all of their numbers were stored, and would appear if he was texted from them.
Deciding to ignore something so seemingly random, he watched L pouring a glass of apple juice, and drinking it with a small gasp at the end, giving Light a tired smile. "Would you like some? It is rather delicious. Made from fresh Nagano apples. It is the right season for them, you know."
Holding back the reflex to roll his eyes, he shook his head. "They are too sweet for me."
The detective actually seemed saddened by the statement. Light decided it was because his lack of love for sweets actually upset L, something that he almost found insulting. If he differed from L, was he below him?
Being pulled to the phone, the hunched sugar fiend hit the speed dial button to call for Watari. He immediately asked for his laptop when the old man answered, and within the next two minutes, it had arrived, being placed in Ryuuzaki's hands, tenderly, as if holding a child.
Creepy.
Carrying it back to the couch, he sought out any damage (there was none, luckily) and began to type, a bit slower than usual. "I feel like working in here for the rest of the day, Light-kun. If you like, I can call for a laptop for you as well. Or would you like to rest?"
Something was very wrong.
Ryuuzaki actually offering him rest?
Tongue tied for a moment, he declined the latter, seeing it as a trap. " A laptop would be nice, yes...We can't slack, if we want to catch Kira."
That damn smile, so rare and fleeting that Light thought he had imagined it. "That is very true, Light-kun." The action repeated, with L calling Watari, his lapdog, and having another computer brought to the room, which Light booted up on the couch beside Ryuuzaki. Waiting for the familiar welcome screen to end, he glanced over at the one curled up beside him, and caught sweat on the others brow.
Nerves? Tired? Both?
" Why didn't you want to work with the others, Ryuuzaki?"
"Sometimes, I focus more if I am here. It is a comforting environment to me." Light held back a laugh at that claim. The room had about as much personality as Ryuuzaki—and that wasn't much.
"I see." Waiting a moment before deciding to push the envelope further, he leaned back against the plush back of the white couch. "Who is BB? I mean, I know the case, obviously, but...who is he?"
Silence. More silence. He wanted to give up, and shake the other with all his might, but he didn't think he could force himself to do it, even if he wanted to—not with L looking so pathetic.
About to open his mouth to ask again, he actually got a response. "Do you really want to know, Light-kun?"
He nodded, looking like a fish, eyes wide, so desperate for the information, he was ready to strangle the detective to get it. Of course, he ignored the fact that if he did the, the other wouldn't be able to talk, but he would think about that more later. Chocolate eyes tried to gaze into obsidian ones, wanting an answer, a hint of an answer, anything.
"Those pictures of him, Light-kun, mugshots...What do you think of them?"
Light was taken aback. "I think...he looks exactly like you."
"Exactly?"
He paused, trying to summon up the pictures in his mind. "Well...Not exactly. He is taller, by a bit, and a bit heavier, but not much..."
"What is the biggest difference between us?"
Biggest difference? Aside from the fact that one had killed three people, and the other hadn't? The skin, the posture, so similar...What could possibly be such a huge difference?
It hit him, like cold water. "Your eyes. His...His were this eerie color, almost looking red. And yours are..." He lost his voice, it seemed. L's eyes were black, really, when you looked at them. No color, what-so-ever, like it had been sucked out with a vacuum. But those pictures of L, that had appeared on the monitor, his eyes had been blue. What could make eyes change colors like that.
L twiddled his thumbs, maybe waiting for a page to load—or maybe being involved in the conversation. "Thats right, Light-kun. BB is not of sane mind, as you might have guessed. I did know him, as a child. Know that if he became in charge of this case, he would try to solve it, this I know. He dresses as I do, acts like I do, because he wishes to be me, wishes to be in my shoes. If he cannot beat me through wits, he will defeat me in other ways.
He wished to be a criminal, because he wanted to commit a crime that I couldn't solve. He wanted to outsmart me. And he failed. His anger has consumed him over these years, I suppose. And now, he wants revenge. It is like him."
Light looked at the other in stunned silence. "But, L...I don't want a maniac like him heading this case. You are the only one who can."
Glancing at Light through blank eyes, a small smirk played on L's lips. "Why is that, Light-kun? Would you miss me, if I were gone?"
Irritating.
Light was about to give a stunning rebuttal, when he felt another buzz in his pocket. Pulling it out to check the familiar text messages again, as L went back to his typing, the message was once again from an anonymous sender, and was just as un-helpful as the one before it.
"Turpis Occidio."
He knew it was Latin, but that wasn't helpful. Wanting to search for the words on the computer, he refrained, wanting to keep these strange messages from L. These were things he really shouldn't bother with—because even if the detective wouldn't admit it, he was overwhelmed.
Ryuuzaki seemed calm, but the sweat on his brow was still there. Light knew better than to ask the other if he wanted to sleep. He would just get a passive aggressive reply, which would only set off his anger again.
The silence, with the key tapping. Click, click, click.
Buzz.
Until another text message came to life. Anonymous. And this time, Light was prepared for it. Prepared as he could be, mind running at maximum capacity, trying to figure out who would send such secretive and senseless messages. Who had his cell number? Who would give it out willingly?
Misa? No. She had no reason to. Anyone Light talked to, aside from her, was a victim of her jealousy.
His father, or the team? No, they would have nothing to gain from it. Sayu? His Mother? They didn't even know his cell number, not since he had been forced to get a new one. So who? Who would have the resources to get it?
Opening it, and beginning to read, he sighed angrily, luckily not drawing Ryuuzaki's attention.
"Losing a worthless life isn't even troublesome."
He gazed at it, in complete confusion. Which life? How was he supposed to solve these mysteries, when he had others to take care of?
Light wasn't the kind to lose, however.
Opening a word document, he typed out the three messages, one after another. Seeing them all on the screen before him would give him a better grasp. Ryuuzaki glanced over, seeing the younger boy so lost in thought.
"Light-kun?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you feel a bit dizzy? I have felt it for a few moments now, and it is quite unpleasant."
Light didn't glance away from the screen in front of him. "No, I'm not. Maybe you don't sleep enough."
The detective made a small noise. "I don't need to sleep, not much. I don't often get dizzy like this. And I do not get sick. So, I cannot imagine why."
Light was about to bring up the fact that the night before, the other had collapsed, first on the floor, then in bed, but before he could, the messages began to make sense. Mouth agape, he read them over, and over, seeing if his hypothesis was indeed correct.
"Don't eat all the Hakuto."
"Turpis Occidio."
"Losing a worthless life isn't even troublesome."
The first letter of each, when put together...
D-E-A-T-H.
T-O.
L-A-W-L-I-E-T.
As he tried to speak, tried to tell the other, one more message.
One more tiny envelope on his phone. But this one needed no secret message. It needed no explanation. It gave him the information he needed, immediately, finished.
"There is a traitor in your midst. And they will make this come true."
Hakuto is a Japanese style jelly, made from fresh white peach. A popular dessert.
Well, there is chapter three for you, as quick as it could come. I truly hope that you enjoyed.
And, if you didn't, go back and read my request at the beginning of the chapter. And, even if you don't have an opinion on it, please review.
ReviewsQuicker posts from me. Remember that.
Go out and support DN, by purchasing "How to Read:13" and "Another Note." Really. Both exquisite.
More to come.
