Warnings: Language, possible ooc, future yaoi.

Disclaimer: Pink Feline does not own Death Note.


A Mockery of Death

He was gone.

Dead.

The light in her world had been extinguished.

Killed.

Murdered.

She was alone again.

Alone, in the darkness that was humanity.

He had tried to help the innocent and they had called him evil. He had brought justice to the world and they had hated him for it. He was perfect and for that they tried to destroy him.

This world was corrupt.

Kira.

Light.

She was alone again.

Her family had been murdered, ripped away from her before her very eyes and leaving her alone in a world that was cruel and full of greed and corruption. She had been set afloat alone in the vast and tumultuous ocean that was the depravity of mankind. She had learned to stand alone against the tide, watched as her parents' murderer walked free.

How angry she had been then - she had been there, she had witnessed his crime. How could the evidence be inconclusive!? How could they do this to her? Why did they deny her and her deceased justice? The world grew cold and dark, but she did not break. She would not let them break her. So…

She smiled.

She laughed and joked around.

They loved her, adored her, called her beautiful - and she let them. The media called her cheerful and full of life, the role model of many a young girls.

Still, she could not escape the darkness, could not escape the images of death.

But then.

Kira offered her the justice that the law had denied her. He had seen the evil in the world, the darkness and had set out to destroy it. Eliminate it.

Death visited her.

Ugly, skeletal and emaciated.

Rem

There was a new light in the world, a light in the darkness.

She was no longer alone.

Rem - her Shinigami and newest friend. Rem who brought Kira's secret to her, who gave her the gift of death and traded her eyes. The angel of death who gave her the key to finding Kira.

When she had seen him she had immediately fallen in love. Light. Beautiful, smart and gentle Light. Perfection in human form. Her salvation from the darkness. She loved him, clung to him, obeyed him because he was pure and perfect justice. Once again she had hope and to her eyes the world already seemed brighter. She was going to help him create a perfect world, forever by his side. A world without crime, a world of light and happiness.

Deprived of intimacy, of love and tenderness – Misa had given everything to him, her heart and soul, because she trusted him. She loved him. Needed him like the rose needs the rain.

She had truly loved him.

Now he was dead.

Murdered.

And Misa finally learned to hate.

Hate for the criminal who had stolen her light from the world. Hate for the people who let it happen. Hate for the law that would deny them justice once more.

Hate.

She had nothing left to live for, her purpose in life was gone. Her love was gone. She could not live without him, would not.

But first…

She would see to it that Light received justice, just as he had given her the justice she had yearned for. She would be the one to bring down justice on the criminal responsible for his death, even if she had to kill them all.

----

Thirteen.

Thirteen criminals dead in their cells.

Cause of Death: Heart Attack

Thirteen criminals were declared dead, victims of Kira on the very same day as Yagami Light's funeral. Perhaps it was a new Kira's salute to the first and greatest Kira, or perhaps it was a form of mockery to the deceased god.

L couldn't tell.

Yagami Light's funeral was conducted in the traditional Buddhist funeral ceremony and the detectives were given the time off to pay their respects to the Yagami household. L was understandably absent, having grown increasingly paranoid over the past few days.

The second Kira was still out there, although the other detectives were still unconvinced that Light had been the first, and L could not let his guard down for even a day.

L found solace in the absence of the others. Misa had reacted violently to her boyfriends' death and her incessant crying was breaking down L's already frazzled nerves. L had to refrain many times from cursing the deceased boy for the trouble his death was causing.

Now blissfully alone, L still felt tense but his temper cooled.

The little bronze mirror was placed next to him, always no further than an arm's length away from the detective. Why he felt the need to keep the mirror with him at all times was a mystery, and L suspected that unless the mirror was locked away, the habit would not cease.

L did not refrain from cursing the mirror.

Since the day that Light's body was discovered, and the mirror found, L had become increasingly paranoid that he was being watched. He could feel eyes watching him and the sense grew only stronger with each passing day. It never ceased to give the normally untouchable detective the chills, the hairs at the back of his neck prickling whenever the sense grew strong.

This constant feeling off being watched did nothing to improve his mood and only served to feed his paranoia.

When the reports of Kira's newest victims came in, L practically jumped at his laptop. Finally something was happening, now surely he would be able to put thoughts of a certain handsome youth and stupid bronze mirrors aside temporarily.

Photos appeared on the screen, each depicting a bloody scene. The difference between this Kira and the first immediately became obvious, proof that they were dealing with yet a third murdering fool. Each of the thirteen criminals bore a bloodied mark on their foreheads. Evidently the victims had found various ways in which to draw their own blood, using it to paint a single mark on their foreheads before succumbing to a heart attack.

The symbol was repeated on each victim, acting almost as the new Kira's signature, claiming each death as his own.

It was the Japanese character for moon.

'Tsuki'

'Light'

A burst of irrational anger strained at L's control.

Kira was mocking the death of his friend.

Kira was mocking Light.

The boy and not the killer.

Red-hot fury churned in his gut, and without thought the Laptop was sent crashing into the wall. L made no move to collect the broken machine, remaining tense and unmoving in his chair. His head was down resting almost on his knees, his hair obscuring the rest of his face.

Two weeks of repressed emotion had lashed out in that moment and was even now being wrestled back into tight control.

Events were spiralling out of control, twisting and changing before anyone could fully grasp their significance. First one Kira appeared killing hundreds, then two and now three. The first Kira and the second Kira joined forces briefly before the first seemed to disappear completely. Following that the third Kira murdered the first Kira, who just happened to be L's first friend. The third Kira had wanted something from the first Kira and had killed him for it. That left the second Kira as a wild card now that the first Kira was no longer there to control her.

There just was no end to Kira.

L pushed away from his desk, ignoring the wreck on the floor and entering the bathroom. He placed his hands on either side of the sink, his head bent and eyes closed.

He felt the gaze at his back, those damn imaginary eyes.

L was getting angry.

Light, dead.

First Kira, dead.

An infuriating mirror.

An unknown watcher.

A sobbing and shrieking model.

Depressed co-workers.

Third fucking Kira.

The normally stoic detective was reaching the end of his patience.

This was why he worked alone, why he never showed his face.

Alone, he could not get attached to people.

Alone, he did not have to deal or care for other's tempers and feelings.

His hands had curled themselves into fists, and his breathing pattern had ceased to be steady. To lose his composure to this extent…

Turning on the cold tap, L drenched his face before lifting his head to stare into the large bathroom mirror.

His reflection showed him the same expressionless mask that was his face, and found the face of another watching him from behind his right shoulder.

Whirling around with such speed that he lost his balance and fell back against the bathroom counter, L searched the bathroom desperately. By all appearances L was alone, but he had seen the face in the mirror, that familiar face that he would be unable to forget.

The same intensely intelligent golden brown eyes.

The copper brown hair attractively cropped.

The same gentle masculine face of one Yagami Light.

His breathing had sped up and echoed loudly into the silence. He found himself shaking; a physical response to shock that he had not experienced for many years. Little shocked him these days, not the sight of extreme violence nor the incredibly twisted mentality and brutality that existed in some individuals of the human race.

The face in the mirror had shocked him though.

The boy was dead.

L knew this.

He turned back to the mirror, but the only face staring back at him was his own.


AN: For those who may be wondering, this story is set after Light's imprisonment but disregards the Yotsuba arc completely. Also some elements will still not be consistent with the original storyline even till this point. Misa may appear slightly ooc here, but I actually think she has a pretty strong character. It just tends to be hidden by her clingyness to Light.

Also a quick thank you to those who have reviewed, I appreciate the time you have put into writing them (even if it may have taken but a few seconds to write).