"Is this really necessary?" Light asked, picking up his wrist.
Light and L were handcuffed together by a long chain and Light wasn't too keen about it.
"Yes, as I said you would be with me 24 hours a day so I can keep watch on you. Believe me, i'm not doing this because I want to," replied L.
Light sighed, his hand falling back to a resting place at his side.
Looking around, Light realized that they were no longer in a hotel room. There were no warm colors of brown and red, just cold steel blue walls.
"Uhm, Ryuzaki, where are we?" Light inquired, wondering why they weren't at the hotel he first met the detective in.
"Oh," L walked over to his computer, dragging Light along with him, "after I had my first meeting with Cheif Yagami and the others, I had this building repaired and adjusted to our needs. It was a little worn down, but since the company that occupied it before went bankrupt I was able to buy it with ease. This will serve as our new headquarters. 23 floors above ground and two below, there's two helicopters hidden on the roof."
"Wow." Was all Light could say looking at the image of the building they were in on the computer screen. It looked brand new despite the fact that it had been owned before. Light never would have guessed that this building had been occupied before.
L moved over to the window, the chain snapped taut, forcing a reluctant Light to comply with L's movement.
"I want to solve this case, no matter what," mused the detective, looking out of the window.
Light looked at the man for a second,awed by what he saw. The sun was haloing L's thin figure, making him look as if he could be some kind of strange angel, if those kinds of things existed.
"Me too," said Light, not even sure if L was listening.
L's head swiveled to look at Light, Light swore he saw the traces of a smile on those thin lips.
Light sat away typing away at the computer in front of him. L sat next to him in a swivel chair, staring at the back wall. Light was slightly frustrated with the childish way the detective had been acting, he seemed like he wasn't taking the case seriously anymore. Several small arguments had broken out between the pair throughout the day and L's been seemingly depressed that Light wasn't Kira. To Light, this was more then frustrating. Matsuda had to break up a fight between the pair and the tension between the two was still palpable.
"Ryuzaki," Light started, getting the attention of the detective, "I know you're not feeling up to this case, but come take a look at this."
L rolled his chain over to Light's spot in the of the computer monitor.
"Take a close look at this, it can't be coincidence." Light clicked on the screen, bringing up a list of names.
L let out a soft gasp as he read the names on the screen.
"All of them were prominent business men, CEOs whose companies were leaders in their respective industries. In just over a week, they all died from stabs to the heart. For all of them, no evidence was left behind. There's been a general downturn in the market, with the exception of Yotsuba. In other words, their deaths have worked in Yotsuba's favor."
Light turn to L, "Your thoughts? Based on this I can only conclude that Kira is either supporting Yotsuba or part of it."
"Hmm, could be. But if what you're saying is true, we can consume punishing criminals is not this Kira's intent," L speculated, moving his face closer to the screen.
"Right," confirmed Light, turning back to his screen, "punishing criminals is a diversion for him. It obscures the fact that he's killing people for the benefit of his company. "
Light looked town the man next to him who was engrossed with the screen, "Are you feeling a bit more motivated now?"
Soichiro Yagami and Mogi walked in through the door side by side, grim determination set on their faces. Matsuda took notice to them first.
"Hey Chief! Oh, and you too Mogi, I have some great news. I'm not even sure how he figured it out, by Light has a theory that Kira is somehow involved with the Yotsuba group. Can you believe it?!" exclaimed Matsuda, oblivious to the grim mood the two brought with them.
"Yotsuba?" Asked Soichiro.
Matsuda seemed to notice the mood with Soichiro's tone, because his excitement dropped. "Uh, yes."
Soichiro put a hand on Matsuda's shoulder, "Then that's probably it, good work."
"Huh.." Matsuda's confusion with the air around the chief was written all over his face. Matsuda didn't do well in any situation outside his usual excitement.
"We just spoke to the director and it seems Kira has offered bribes to a number of politicians. Kira made an offer that as long as the NPA doesn't pursue him anymore, he wouldn't lay a hand on any politicians. So that's that, the police caved in to him," stated Soichiro, looking bleak.
Almost everyone in the room let out a surprised gasp. Light jumped out of his chair, surprised by the willingness of the police to give up.
"Mogi and I have already decided on this. Aizawa, Matsuda, if you want to continue working this case, you'll have to hand in your letter of resignation to the NPA just as Mogi and I are going to do." Another surprised gasp echoed in the room, "Like it or not, you cannot pursue this case as a member of the police force anymore."
"H-hold on a second Chief!" Interrupted Aizawa.
"If you continue to work with L you'll be fired. That's all there is to it."
"So Chief, you're gonna-" Matsuda started, getting cut off by Soichiro.
"In a few hours, i'm no longer going to be your chief. However, we all have our own lives, so think it over carefully."
"That's true Chief, especially if you have a family to support." Replied Matsuda.
Silence coated the room for what felt like an hour, before L spoke.
"If you want my opinion, you're better off as police officers."
All the attention in the room was suddenly drawn to the detective hunched in a chair facing toward the black monitor in front of him.
"I was alone when I started this case and while i'm grateful to all of you for staying with me as long as you have, I know that I can do this by myself. I'll be sure to visit you by the department and bring you Kira's head as a reward for all that you've sacrificed."
"Ryuzaki," spoke up Light, still standing from earlier, "I promise as long as i'm alive you won't be working alone. You have my word on that."
"That's right, I'll have Light working with me until I catch Kira, so I won't be alone after all, but as I said, I think the rest of you should remain as police officers."
"But when you first contacted us, you said you would need the help of the police to solve this case!" Soichiro was outraged that L was suggesting they should quit this far into the case, after everything they've been through.
"That's because the police were still trying to arrest Kira, they weren't bowing to him." L picked up a cherry, not even looking at the fruit in front of his face. "Besides, with all due respect, there's a big difference between the help of two or three civilians and the police as an organization." L took a moment to eat the cherry, before continuing. "The police have made their position clear, they don't want to catch Kira, so let's just leave it at that."
"Well I suppose what you're saying makes sense, if we're not police officers anymore we won't be much use to you. However, we're all personally involved in this. All of us have risked our lives to catch Kira. Doesn't that give us the right to decide whether we stay here or return to the police force?"
"Good point." L observed the cherry stem he had tied into a knot with his tongue, "then by all means make your decision."
Light and L were sitting side by side on the coach in their room, Light fighting off sleep while L typed away on his laptop.
"L could you put that damn thing away so I can get some sleep?" Snapped Light, irritability high from his lack of sleep.
L stopped typing for a moment and observed Light. His perfect facade was slipping, his hair was a mess, his coat was uneven, and slight dark circles were beginning to make their way under his eyes. Small things no ordinary person would notice, but then again L wasn't ordinary.
"Yes, I suppose I should."
"Good, now how I am supposed to get changed in this thing?" Light was calculating in his mind the possible ways they could go about changing, but the only thing that would work would be to take the chain off. Light really wasn't found of sharing a large shirt with the other man.
"Oh, i'll unlock it. Just get changed really quick. You can find clothes over there," L motioned toward a dresser and dug out the key he had. "Oh, and I only have this right now for this purpose. I will be giving it back to Watari afterwards, so don't think of trying to steal it."
Light rolled his eyes. "The thought never even crossed my mind."
Light got changed as quick as possible into a loose fitting shirt and sweats. He had pondered taking longer to change, but he really just wanted to sleep now. He allowed himself to be chained once again to the detective.
Light didn't know what L did with the key, he just assumed he put it somewhere Watari would grab it. Honestly, Light didn't care that much. He was just going along with his fate at the moment more than anything.
L walked over to the bed and what Light saw made him stop in his tracks.
"Wait... we're sharing a bed?"
L shot him a look, "Of course, that's the only way this could work."
Light groaned, this was getting worse and worse by the second.
Reluctantly, Light climbed in the bed. He noticed that L was in his usual crouched position. Light really hoped the detective wasn't going to watch him all night.
A/N: Sorry for the delay. Ugh, i hate typing stuff directly from a show, but I really saw no way around it. Anyway, hope it was okay. Updating again Sunday (I hope). Any mistakes can be attributed to the fact I am an engineer, not a writer.
xx
Jay