DESIDERATUM: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not have ownership of the Death Note.

ADVERSARY'S WALTZ

It had been thirty-two minutes since the departure of the subway, and L had hardly moved. Light knew it was thirty-two minutes because he periodically checked the expensive bronze watch that encircled his wrist - currently his most precious possession. Not just because it had sentimental value for him, being as it was a gift from his father, but after he pressed and pulled a few switches and knobs a compartment would open. In that compartment was a piece of the Death Note. He couldn't exactly bring the real Death Note with him, he had to entrust that a long with the holy crusade to Misa's care. Somehow he hoped that if L did indeed have a real name that Rem hadn't seen like he seemed to believe, then he would write his name on that slip of paper.

Thirty-four minutes. Light risked a tentative glance at L, who was biting his thumbnail and looking at the floor. Was this part of the test? Was L waiting for some kind of reaction? Had he assumed that if he left, Light would follow and therefore, this whole ordeal was already going in accordance to his plan? Shinjuku station would be an appropriate place for L to go in that case. It was here, though not in this particular subway train, that he had killed Ray Penbar. That death was Light's point of no return. He knew at that point that he could not give up on his ideal because he had sacrificed innocent people for it, and if he ever gave up their deaths would be in vain. L's death would be in vain.

Not that L was an innocent, of course. He didn't mean that. He just meant, L wasn't exactly a criminal. No, that was a lie, too, L had on more than one occasion in just the times that Light had personally witnessed cheated the system. Working with criminals such as Aiber and Wedy, setting up illegal surveillance in oblivious people's houses, hacking and cracking, torturing prisoners and even going so far as to set up a mock execution, no way was L an innocent. L had never killed anyone - in a manner of speaking. If L had never killed anyone, then neither had Light, that was only fair. L was willing to sacrifice death row inmates for his righteous cause, well, that's all Light was doing, too. And neither of them had ever used a knife or a gun (that was, Light hadn't, he wouldn't put anything passed L.)

Wait, he wasn't comparing himself to L, was he? For God's sake...

At thirty-eight minutes, the train rumbled to a halt, and L stood up. Again, he didn't offer so much as a hasty glance toward his companion. Light gritted his teeth and also stood up, wrapping sweaty fingers around the strap of his bag. If this was part of L's master plan, then theoretically he wouldn't let him get lost in the crowd, but then again there was a good chance that the plan was more complicated than that. So Light did what he had told the task force that he was planning on doing - he shoved by people and trailed the lanky youth like a dog.

L walked at an unusually quick pace through the labyrinth of a station. Up a staircase, across a hall, through an open area, then up another stair case. If Light didn't know better he would have wondered if L actually knew where the hell he was going. To an outsider, that slouched, messy, Caucasian-appearing young man must have looked completely clueless, perhaps a tourist. He even had a manner of walking that looked as though he were daydreaming all of the time; a contrast to Light's definite, well-paced steps. But the brunette knew better - L was intelligent enough to know Japan better than the Japanese, and there was no beating around that fact.

When finally they exited through glass, ground-level doors of Shinjuku station, the sun was setting. Light glanced around, gathering his surroundings. This wasn't an area that he usually frequented. L kept on walking, still taking no notice of Light, but he clearly knew that he was being followed. Just the little movements that he made expressed this. Maybe it wasn't 'clearly', but for someone who knew him well...

Not that he knew L well.

They were walking through a park now. The trees and grass might have been green, but the sunset distorted the colors to reds and yellows. It was a nice park, Light supposed, and large enough to have distance away from busy streets, but it was pretty empty of human life. Of course, it was a weekday night, it wasn't expected to be busy. Too bad though. It was a nice place. The birds at least were scattered around the grass and trees, lounging lazily.

"Light-kun." L broke the vow of silence. He still faced the horizon with his back toward the one he was speaking to, but he didn't need to be the world's greatest detective to know that he was being heard. "Why are you here, too?"

L knew, and Light knew that he knew, and L knew that Light knew that he knew. But they were playing a part, and Light didn't want to be the first one to compromise that. "I wanted to do my best to convince you to come back to the headquarters, and rejoin the Kira case. I understand how terrible you must be feeling right now, but don't you think that our personal feelings come second when it comes to bringing justice to the world?"

"Yes, Light-kun. That is what I think, too." L was slipping off his green backpack, and without turning around he brought it in front of him. He was visibly enough fumbling with the zippers of the thing, though Light couldn't see what exactly he was trying to get at. "Is that truly why you're here?"

"That's right," he answered, unperturbed. "Only you can catch Kira, after all."

L's head turned over his shoulder. His dark eyes loomed like tangible shadows as they regarded the murder suspect. He raised a hand, and tossed a black object in Light's direction that he must have retrieved from his bag. "Catch!"

Surprised, Light caught whatever it was that flew into his hands. A chilly metal object weighed against his fingers, and when he lowered his sight to it, he gasped out loud. His mouth opened and he stared at L with absolute sincere shock. "A gun? Ryuuzaki, you can't have this in Japan unless you're a cop!"

"Hmm, I don't have it, you do." A finger trailed upwards to his curved lips and into his mouth as he watched Light with an infuriating amusement.

The object felt as though it was burning in Light's hands, but he did not let go. Instead he was clutching it tightly, more out of fear that it might somehow go off and let out a gunshot noise and draw attention than anything. But his mind was again reduced to paranoia, and he deemed it appropriate to voice his concerns. "What are you thinking, Ryuuzaki?! Is this is what it was all about, getting this weapon in my hands and tainting it with my fingerprints? Have you seriously gone to the point where you're so bitter because you have no proof that I'm Kira, when you want me to be Kira so badly, that you'd rather frame me into it?!"

"You talk so much. That's why I'm certain." The smile ran away from L's face after that, and now he was standing up straight. When he wasn't slouching, he was tall, at least as tall as Light. He was regarding the younger boy coolly, with those unreadable charcoal orbs. "Why don't you kill me, Kira?"

"Stop saying useless things!" Light couldn't help but crane his head in all directions and dart his eyes around, looking for anyone that might see the offensive object. This was truly making him uncomfortable, and L was making no move to take his gun back.

"Kill me, Kira!" L only raised his voice at that. His eyelids narrowed his wide eyes, and his upper lip slightly curled dauntingly. "What are you waiting for? Don't you even know how to work that thing? I am daring you to kill me!"

Light froze when the parallel dawned on him. It was just like their first confrontation through the television, where L had deduced that Kira needed a name and a face to kill. Light knew how to work the gun. His father kept one with him, as he was a cop. He knew that one pulled the trigger and then the bullet comes out at a startling speed and the crack of gunfire. He knew that if the tiny, cylindrical piece of metal called a bullet rocketed through the air, it could pierce L's skull, it could stab through his genius brain, it could shut him down. And his fingers were tightening around the gun even more now.

"Come on, Kira," L taunted, and now his black eyes were wild with dancing shadows. "Don't you know who I am? I am L!"

His heart rate was accelerating, and his head was pounding. This might have been exactly the opportunity that you were looking for. The barrel of the handgun was lifting. If L died, if only L would die, then Light could save the world. Just a quick clench of his grip, and he could sleep without nightmares. He would have nothing left to be afraid of. Just pulling the trigger...

No.

The gun landed on the grass after it fell. Obviously, I can't kill you in such a public place, Ryuuzaki. Light crossed his arms to hide the fact that his hands had been trembling and he narrowed his eyes. "I don't want to be seen with such a weapon. It's illegal. Or maybe I should be hoping that the police come to arrest us, so they'll take you back to the Kira Investigation unit where you belong."

L's face was expressionless for a moment, and then his lips twitched into a wry smile. He bit on his forefinger as he spoke. "So I'm still right. There are some ways that Kira can't kill."

Light sighed. "Won't you ever give it up?"

"And something else that I've concluded for sure..." It was as if L's wide, scrutinizing eyes were laughing scornfully at him. "Kira is nothing but a child. He wouldn't have followed me if he wasn't afraid, and he didn't have the guts to fire a gun. I don't think he can stomach the real world, outside the comfort of his straight-A's and regulated classrooms, where he can write the names in that notebook without bother. And he won't leave that room until the world makes sufficient sense, and he's killed everyone he doesn't comprehend."

He hoped like hell that he wasn't flushing, but that made him furious. He clenched his fists so hard that he felt nails digging into the skin of his palms. L is just trying to get a rise out of you. He still has no proof, it's just a test. He exhaled sharply, and said with patience, "You're wrong, on a few accounts. You aren't considering the possibility that I'm here because I'm your friend, and of course I wouldn't shoot you. The other thing that you're wrong about is that you called yourself 'L'. Even if that's what we all think of you as, that can't be you, or else why are you here? Wasn't that the point of you leaving, to find your real name?"

"Aha," L murmured in his naturally low voice again. "Touché." He crouched down and picked up the handgun with his thumb and forefinger, lifting it experimentally. "You were wrong, too, Light-kun. It wasn't loaded."

"Why would I care if it was loaded or not?" Light challenged, choking down a gasp of relief that he hadn't risked firing it after all.

"In that case, it was loaded." L tossed the gun loosely back into his bag, grinning offensively at Light and leaving him to wonder the truth. He stood up again after zipping the bag closed. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"That you're insane, unruly, and should probably be on medication?" Light muttered with sarcasm.

"No, but the places I go, and the things that I do - if you follow me, I won't stop you because a part of me will never be able to cease testing you and hoping that I find the right evidence. And that's appropriate because you will never cease to think that I'm testing you. You've got to decide now, because nothing you say will make me go back to the Kira Investigation headquarters until I have what I want, and that renders your mission useless." L paused there, now looking very serious. "But if you are Kira, I suspect that you would follow me because you know that you can't trust me out of your eyesight. You would try to find some way to kill me, and cover it up so that no one would know."

"Ryuuzaki, you've got it wrong, you know that I can't be Kira! The rule in the notebook about thirteen days, don't you remember?"

Those words were ignored. "On the other hand, Light-kun has a child's mind, and in the end I don't think that he has the willpower to kill me with his hands. It's just a theory, but I believe it. And strangely enough, I am very fond of him, and I enjoy his company. So if you're going to come with me, I don't mind."

Light was left in a stupor as he stared at L, knowing that every second that ticked on his watch was a second more evidence that he was Kira. But he was left in a standstill - so if he went with L, then he was Kira, but L invited him along anyway? It was too obvious to be a trap. If L was secretly on his way to Interpol or some other large-scale police organization, if he hand delivered Kira, that would only be too perfect for him. But he wouldn't want to show his face even to them, so he couldn't introduce himself as L, and if he wasn't L they would never believe him. Though the fact that it was so obvious might be because L wanted him to disbelieve him, and maybe there was a counter-trap. Of course there was a counter-trap. If Light went back to the headquarters, he had to work with the President of Interpol in testing the thirteen day rule, and once it was proved to be a failure, even the police would turn suspicious eyes on him. Unless he could somehow find out the names of the criminals to write their names on the piece of Death Note in his watch... in which case, maybe it would be better to somehow end up at an Interpol building, or somewhere where he could hack their security and hopefully find out a name?

"I never told them the name of my primary suspect," L commented casually. "Interpol shouldn't know about you."

"Why are you telling me that?" Light asked carelessly. Of course, both tones were completely false.

"Mm, I don't know." He was biting at his thumb now, smiling at his own lie.

To even the scales, Light concluded. To make him more inclined to stay back at the headquarters where he might not be suspected directly after the test. But no, Light realized with fascinated horror. Now if he chose to stay behind, after he heard that he might not be suspected, that would be L's proof that he was indeed Kira. The table was completely turned.

"Either way, I don't care, you know." L shrugged. "But I'm going now. I have a ten o'clock flight out of the Tokyo airport, and I want to get there early. I've found that I'm... really, really tired, so I was thinking I'd rest in the lobby before boarding time."

"Ten o'clock! Tonight?" Light exclaimed. He checked his watch: it was 7:23. He looked up again at L, and took a breath when he said, "I was prepared to go with you ever since I packed my bag. It's true that I'm reluctant to work on the Kira case without you, because I'm the biggest suspect of being Kira that we have and I feel as though it would be unfair. It's also true that I'm not Kira, and I want to find him more than anyone because of the ways he's personally affected me by making a suspect in the first place. And I want your help to find Kira, because you're the only one with the intelligence and the connections to do it. But I can't make you do anything, and if I was right and you really are on this journey to find your name, then I want to help you so that you can come back to the investigation with the 'heroic intentions' that you needed. I want you to find them so that you can capture Kira, and also because you're my friend and I think you deserve it."

They stared at each other with steel eyes that smirked at the guise that they were friends. It was just a damned pretense. Light couldn't afford to let the facade get the better of his emotions. He knew that L would never allow that, either.

"Well, then." L jammed his hands in his pockets after putting on that ragged backpack again. He turned toward the street and began to walk. "We'd better get you a passport and some identification then. Come on, it'll only take me a few minutes."

And Light didn't know quite what to make of that.

Ryuk was rather disappointed when Misa tearfully informed him that Light was leaving Tokyo, and wouldn't have time to stop by. It was the only way to explain that pissed off feeling that he felt. The human world was lame and boring, but that was a kid who knew how to brighten a Shinigami's day. He was so damned psychotic, it gave Ryuk chills. Wouldn't it be fun if he could play the Kira game down in the Shinigami world! It was a helluva lot more exciting than gambling, and he bet that it was even more exciting if you actually had to worry about dying.

Though, Ryuk was hardly the dying type.

"What can Misa do?" The girl howled, covered her face in her hands which was leaking with wet mascara and eyeliner. Ryuk thought it looked kind of cool running down her face, but Misa had assured him that it was entirely unintentional. Unfortunately he hadn't seen many humans try that look. What a pity! They had no sense of style. "Light said that he is running from Interpol! But he said just to kill criminals like normal, and he'll call, but he hasn't called and his cell phone is off! Oh, Ryuk!"

"Oh, Misa," Ryuk responded with a toothy grin.

"He didn't even kiss his girlfriend good-bye!" she wailed, looking up with red eyes. Were they red from all the bawling, or was it the fact that she had traded half her life-span for the all-seeing Shinigami eyes? "Do you think there's another girl that he loves?"

"I dunno," the Shinigami shrugged. "Though I don't think he really wants to love anyone right now, 'cause that would just get in the way of his goal. Hey, here's an idea, sunshine. Why don't you do something really exciting? You're pretty damned boring, so why not kill a few presidents and prime ministers, eh? Show me something good!"

"Ryuk-sama!" The girl was glaring, her hands now on her hips. "That is not what Light wants!"

"Never said it was, it's what I want. Either that or go get me an apple."

Misa sniffed, then obediently stood up and stumbled into the kitchen of the apartment. Ryuk decided he liked this - it reminded him of the old days, when humans were always sacrificing shit for him. It got boring after awhile, but Light had been the cheery vacation from that number. But Misa was moving significantly more slowly than those crazy ass worshipers had. She had arrived at the wicker apple basket, but just gave the death god a sideways glance. "Don't you like Light, Ryuk?"

"Sure."

"Then why won't you kill L for him?"

Ryuk gurgled a laugh. "Obviously, because I would die, too. Don't confuse me with Rem, Misa. I'm not stupid. I'd much rather let Light play out his life how he was meant to, right to the bloody, bitter end. Honestly it's more exciting that way."

Misa glowered, holding an apple under her black polished fingers. Then she put on a devilish expression. "What if I don't give you any apples? I won't give you one single apple until you've killed L!"

Ryuk stared at her with his bulging eyes, then he scoffed. "I am in no way disinclined to write your name into my Death Note, Misa Amane."

At that, Misa gave a little squeal, and then surrendered the apple. She sank down into the couch in another fit of wailing, an occasional comprehensible word like 'Light' or 'girlfriend' making it's way out of her twisted red lips. Ryuk was content for the moment though. It was those fantastic, simple things in life that really made him smile. Apples were definitely one of them.

"Ray Misora?" Light asked incredulously, holding up his brand new identification. The two boys sat across from each other in the airport boarding gate, where hundreds of gray chairs were lined up in neat rows. Most of these chairs were occupied, for the Tokyo airport was swarming with life and in-and-out passengers, but Light and L had found a place fairly isolated from others by the observation deck, so that their conversations could casually be ignored.

He hadn't had time previously to bring it up, as they had been going through security and passport control. Ray Misora. That was going too far. Of course, an innocent Light Yagami would not have caught the hidden barb, but L had quite clearly put together the names of 'Ray Penbar' and 'Naomi Misora', two FBI agents that Kira had silenced. The fact that L had chosen this name while creating a fake ID and passport for Light was proof of his earlier statement that he would never stop testing the boy. Well, fuck him, Light thought to himself venomously. He wouldn't get any reaction out of this suspect.

Though it was impressive that in less than two hours, L had created a perfect passport using just his laptop computer, a printer, and the materials in his backpack. Granted, L had at least ten passports and fake IDs concealed in his bag of mysteries, and he had just changed the writing and picture on them to suit Light Yagami (or rather, 'Ray Misora'), but Light admitted that they were pretty flawless.

"Correct," L said, tapping his fingers on his upright knees as he sat. The tapping was rather elaborate, and it reminded Light of playing piano. "It's a more English sounding name, even if it has obvious Japanese roots. You're American now, by the way."

"What?" Light asked in mild surprise, studying the identification again.

"Don't you speak English?" It was almost a sneer, masked in polite enough words.

"Yes, I do. I mean, I had been taking it since early gradeschool, and I think I'm pretty fluent." Yeah, that humility was bullshit. Light was at the top of his class and could easily translate anything thrown at him, but that was nothing new. "I just don't understand why it's relevant."

L didn't even look at him, he just continued to tap his make-believe song. "Mm, Light-kun, it might not matter. But it also might, so I made this decision."

Light shrugged, and glanced at his watch. Boarding time would probably begin in about five minutes... Then he realized that the damned detective was smiling smugly to himself. What would that be about? The brunette gritted his teeth and ran through a mental list of facts, theories and possibilities. Had he made a mistake? Maybe he had underacted? "You know, Ryuuzaki, I'm not entirely comfortable with using a false identification," he finally declared after careful consideration.

"Is that so?"

"It feels awfully dishonest. I am Light Yagami, I don't want to be anyone else. It's my name, it's who I am." Light hadn't originally meant to add the last sentence, but it had become an irresistible counter to L's previous insult with 'Ray Misora'. You know, my name. The thing that you don't have, Ryuuzaki. "I don't have anything to hide."

"Fair enough." L seemed completely unfazed. "Go get your real passport then, and we can use that."

...Oh. Light didn't have a passport. He had never applied for one, because he had never been out of Japan. "Well, we could have used my real name, anyway, when we made the fake one."

Now L was looking at him incredulously. "What's the point in making an illegal passport if you're going to tell the truth?"

Well, it wasn't like Light cared anyhow. No, he did care, and he, like the detective, knew perfectly well why it was better for Light to have a false identity. Light personally did not want to get traced by Interpol if such a desperate situation arose where the thirteen days theory was experimented upon and one of the police leaked his name. L wouldn't want to be found out either because he so very much enjoyed hiding his face from the government. It served both of their purposes, and that was fine for now. It might even be easier to kill L if no one could prove that Light Yagami ever left Japan.

Ding, ding! A computerized bell rang over the speakers, cutting through the noises of the crowd. "Attention, please. Boarding for flight SU576 is now open. Repeat, boarding for flight SU576 for Moscow is now open."

"That's us." Light stood up and stretched, grabbing his backpack. Yes, they were going to Moscow, Russia. L hadn't told him where they had been heading when they arrived at the front desk of the airport's lobby. He, like a cat stretching lazily, had earlier handed one ticket to Light with eyes that just dared him to ask why. Light had not, but wondered if perhaps Russia was where L was from after all. Light glanced over at L, to find that the detective was resting his chin on his knees, and his eyelids were closed. "Ryuuzaki? You aren't asleep, are you?"

"Nhn," came the unintelligible sound as L opened a single, annoyed charcoal eye. He tossed his head slightly before stepping off of the chair. Then in response to Light's accusation, he muttered under his breath, "No, I was certainly not sleeping."

"Okay, what did you call that then? Temporary paralysis?" Light challenged half-heartedly as they walked through the lobby to where the line to board was already quite formidable. There were three attendants taking tickets at a consistently well-paced rate, so he calculated that it wouldn't take as long as the length of the line might suggest.

"Get out your ticket, Ray. And if they ask anything, answer in English."

It wasn't that Light had ever ceased to be nervous from the moment that Rem had failed to kill L. This had multiplied when L had left the investigation. But now, as he followed L down the aisle of the large, packed with passengers plane, he felt a new anxiety fill his stomach like heavy stones. When they reached their row - which was early enough, because L had reserved them first class tickets somehow so their seats were at the front of the plane - the raven-haired youth immediately shoved forward to curl himself next to the window. With wobbly knees, Light sat down next to him. We haven't sat this close since we were handcuffed together, Light recalled without much humor.

L was shifting uncomfortably in his airplane seat. He tinkered with the recliner, and he twisted his body. Light noticed this out of the corner of his eye, and then let out an exasperated sigh when he realized the problem - L was trying to sit using a seat belt, as the flight attendants required until the plane was stabilized in mid-air. This meant no crouching, but rather sitting on one's ass.

Light still had that sinking feeling in his gut, and he bit his lip and busied himself with turning off his cell phone and reading stupid brochures about the different types of planes. The brochures were in a little pouch on the back of the seat in front of him, along with a complimentary barf-bag. Wonderful. And now that he had thought about a barf-bag, he was thinking about throwing up, and damn, why were there so many people on this plane?

"Light-kun?" L asked as the plane began to rumble.

"Hm?" He glanced over at the other boy, who was clearly in a state of discomfort. Maybe he had never been on an airplane before either... no, had he really just thought that? This messy, lanky youth was L, as well as the other two detectives, Erald Coil and Denuve. The question was, where hadn't such a man flown?

"Uh..." His wide eyes looked a little bloodshot, which was a contrast from his pale-as-death face. "Did you pack a blanket?"

"Huh? Oh, so you really are tired!" Light smirked, trying to distract himself from the fact that the vehicle was moving now.

"No, it's not that..." L looked away almost apologetically out the window at the run-way, where the plane was starting to move. "It's just, it's kind of cold in here, don't you think?"

Light didn't think it was cold at all - in fact, to him, it all felt awfully hot. Too hot for comfort. Claustrophobic, surrounded by people on this plane that was beginning to move. But to take his mind off of that, he reached into his bag under his feet. He didn't have a blanket, but he had packed along a white sweatshirt. It was a little old and worn, with a small whole in the sleeve, but it had served its purpose faithfully throughout the years and it was comfortable. He tossed the garment at L with indifference. "Will this work?"

"Thank you, Light-kun." L picked up the sweatshirt - he really must have been cold, because he was shivering. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat again, and then instead of putting on the clothing item he laid it over him as though it were a blanket after all. The peculiar action made Light study L further, who was now somewhat huddled against the wall of the plane, staring without looking at the seat in front of him. He really did look pale. "I don't suppose you have aspirin, either?"

The first thing that Light wanted to say was a scoffing, 'you would take aspirin from a Kira suspect?' but that felt a little inappropriate (though he would have to be open-minded about poison in the future). So instead he said, "I'm sorry, I don't. They probably would have confiscated it in the bag check even if I did."

"Oh. That's okay, it wasn't precisely necessary anyhow."

"Hey..." Light hesitated, letting out a sigh, and then he very assertively leaned forward. He lifted an arm toward L's head and pressed his wrist against his forehead. The detective jerked away in sudden confusion, but Light felt the damage - the forehead was burning. "I think you have a fever, Ryuuzaki. Probably from that evening when you decided to apply your genius so eloquently, and went outside in the rain!"

L didn't answer that, he just leaned his head against the window, using his own arm for a make-shift pillow. The night Watari died. The figure shivered again.

Light turned back to facing forward. The plane was roaring as its wheels slid off the road. The air's resistance made it feel like they were going in slow motion, and it was uncomfortable. His heart rate accelerated, and he closed his eyes to pretend that he was somewhere else.

"Light-kun is tired, too," L commented. "I'd offer you a share of my blanket, only you didn't give me one."

"I'm not tired or cold," he answered irritably. "And keep the damn sweatshirt, you're probably contagious and have your germs all over it by now."

"I see. You're just afraid of riding in an airplane."

"That's not true, either," he snapped. It wasn't true, maybe. The truth stopped mattering between he and L a long time ago. It was the fabrications that always held the weight. Composing himself, he spoke delicately. "I've just never been on one. It's a new experience for me."

L's gaze was on him like a hot iron and he smirked as if Light had never done him a favor by lending him clothes. His vacant expression was twisted by his wide eyes which were offensive. "Poor Light-kun."

Light ignored him, and stared ahead. This was not what he needed. God, he didn't even know what he needed. All he knew was that he was on a plane going to Russia with a ticking time bomb to his own downfall. And the plane was going into the air, and he felt sick, wow he would punch himself in embarrassment later if he was the one using the barf bag and not the feverish detective...

The plane was rocketing through the clouds. Of course it was safe, Light knew. He knew the chances of an air-related accident were very slim. A little bit of turbulence was normal for a plane ride. But he had never felt so powerless without his feet standing on the ground. The truth was, on this plane he was no longer in control. His life was in someone else's hands. He hated that.

He found himself clutching onto the arm rests on either side of his seat. L looked as though sleep had finally claimed him after all, and that was more than fine. Light wished that he was the least bit tired right then, but he wasn't. His heart was pounding and he tapped his foot vigorously to eliminate nervous energy. A mantra might help. L must die, L must die, L must die...

Something cold and clammy wrapped around his right hand, on top of the arm rest. Startled, Light saw that it was L, who appeared to still be asleep, but was tossing and turning uncomfortably. On contact with the younger boy's hand, L grabbed it and pulled his arm forward as though it were a second blanket. But the way he clutched that hand, it was almost like a child's doll.

Awkwardly, Light tried to slip his arm out of L's hold, but the lanky youth had a grip of iron, even in his sleep. Keep your enemies close... Well, L was always aggressive on the rare occasions that he slept, as Light remembered. During that long period Light had been L's prisoner by six-foot-long handcuff, they had shared a bed. More than once Light had woken up without the blanket, or with a foot in his face, or even on the floor.

It was annoying that he was thinking about his night-time experiences with L as the sleeping detective latched onto his hand. But, Light had to admit, it was a hell of a lot better than thinking about how frightened he was of being on this plane.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes

1. Writing might be a little shakey and bare - if it is, I'm sorry. I proof read it and stuff, but this week has been busy with graduation and whatnot. (whatnot being... parties!!!)

2. The Ryuk scene isn't exactly necessary to the plot, but it's more included at this point for symbolic purposes as well as Ryuk's potential purpose later in the story.

3. To clarify, Misa currently has a Death Note and the task force has two (Higuchi's and Rem's).

4. I have so many leftover bagels from my party. They're delicious, does anyone want one? Ha, ha.

Thanks for reading, everyone. :-) Coming up, shounen-ai in Russia! (and it's really actually coming up this time) -Serria