Disclaimer: Not mine... NOT MINE! Or... the fic is mine, but nothing else!!

Warnings: Late update!! LAAAATE UPDATE! D:

A/N: O_O I have nothing to say... Except... I AM SO SORRY! -Dies multiple times- SOOOO SOOOO SORRY!

Here is the new chapter. A year late. And... uh... that's it. Please read and- PLEASE have mercy on my poor soul. I haven't updated in a YEAR, and my writing is rusty, failing and... completely.. new born!
Yet, I hope you'll make something- ANYTHING out of this. And I PROMISE; I will update a LOT more often.

The reason behind my absence (Which you all probably really don't care about) is that I moved, my computer died (With all my writing) AND I just recently got a new one of my own. Much Love.


Game Over

Chapter Nine

"Secrets"

-

If Light had ever felt like everything around him was alien before, those feelings were nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to what he was feeling now.

The moment he realized L's arms were the ones who were around him, that L's scent lingered in the air, that it was L's breath in his hair, his chest against his back and his fucking hands grasping his shirt, the auburn haired mass murderer was sure he had never felt so weirded out in his entire life.

When he actually became aware of the fact that his arch enemy, his nemesis- L fucking Lawliet, was the person who had prevented him- Kira, supposed-to-be God of the world, Light Yagami, from falling on his ass, the young man (now actually ten years older), practically stopped breathing.

Feeling how his heart skipped what seemed like several beats and how his the oxygen didn't seem to fully reach his lungs, Light could only stare rigidly at Ryuk's extremely eerie grin as he wasn't capable of moving a single muscle.

L's touch made him freeze completely. Even his thoughts seemed coated, fogged. As if his brain was somewhat lagging, like a shoe stuck in gum lying on the sidewalk. His mouth felt dry like sand, but he wasn't able to close it, and not before his eyes started watering did he blink, causing a single, salty tear to slither down his cheek.

He could feel L's heart against his back. Alive, not dead, but alive once more. Beating.

Thump Thump.

Thump Thump.

Again, the image of the detective's closing eyes came to his mind. He remembered everything about that scene so frighteningly clearly. Even now, seve- no, seventeen years after the actual happening, he still recalled exactly how L had looked when he died. He could still remember every single detail of his features.

The way his lashes fluttered against his pale cheekbones, and the way his mouth fell slightly open as he exhaled for the last time.

He had looked so peaceful. So at ease. But at the same time, there had been sadness in his eyes. Hurt, confusion and pain. Loneliness.

Sadness because he was losing, most likely. L hated to lose. He was just like a little kid when it came to losing, he absolutely resented it, loathed it. Yeah, Light figured, knowing that he'd lost the seemingly never ending battle between himself and Kira, must have stung more than anything could ever do.

Hurt, possibly because Light Yagami, his so called "friend" had proven to be Kira, and because he, himself -dying as he was- would never be able to tell anyone. Confusion, because it had all happened so fast. Pain, partly because of the heart attack, but foremost because he had just lost Watari, his pillar through life.

And loneliness.

Because in the end, everyone dies alone.

Light knew this as well. Because he had died too. Died, and ended up in... whatever this place was. With L.

Whom was currently the only force holding Light up.

The moment seemed to last forever, and not even Ryuk did anything to interrupt the crushing silence that seemed to loom over them. It was as if the entire afterlife was watching them. Like, everything from the high, pointy moutain, to the slowly moving rivers and the deep, overgrown forest was paying attention to the scene that was surrently evolving beneath the yet unsoiled sky. The only sound he heard besides his own ragget breaths, was the eagle Light had seen earlier. From somewhere hidden, it was releasing an occasional hoarse screech towards the slowly setting sun.

The atmosphere was vibrant, shivering. And when a slowly swiveling gust of wind picked up his bangs and lifted them from his eyes, he could see that stars were merging east on the now, deep-blue canvas.

The seconds dragged by.

One.

Two.

Three.

It took almost seven seconds for reality to hit in. And when it hit, it hit hard.

With a frantic, desperate gasp, Light noticed how a strangled sound escaped him and he abruptly lifted his arms and dug his nails into the pale investigator's hands. He wasn't sure if he did so because he wanted L to let go, or because he wanted to hurt him. Hell, he didn't even know if he wanted neither!

All he knew was that L was holding him and that it had to stop! Not only because Ryuk was watching, and judging by the giant smirk on his face, absolutely loved it, but because L was not supposed to... Kira did not need L!

Ever.

The detective seemed to be as shocked as him about the situation, because as soon as he Light felt his own body coming alive again, he also felt the insomniac's hands rapidly let go of his clothing, and he managed to react just fast enough to get his footwork in motion and push himself back up into a standing position before L let go of him.

With a voilent push, he detatched himself completely for the panda-eyed male, spun around and faced him with a scolding sneer.

"Get off of me, Ryuuzaki!"

L, still looking a little strained and flushed just scowled at him and returned the snarl. "With pleasure, Kira!"

Their gazes locked and a battle of glares ensued. They stared blazingly at each other for what seemed like an eternity, neither of them uttering as much as a single syllable, until, a foul, deep laughter interrupted the silence. "Hyuk hyuk hyuk," Ryuk's shoulders jumped in unison with his laughter, "you still haven't stopped doing that, I see."

Both golden brown and onyx eyes shifted and pierced the Death God instead of each other.

"What!?" They replied simultaneously, both pair of eyes shooting daggers in his direction.

The offended just offered a smile in return. A grim, twisted smile which made goosepumbs appear on more than one set of arms.
"You fought in life, and you fight in death."
He scratched his cheek with one of his claws, the black nail a sharp contrast to his bone-colored skin. "It's like they say I guess... Some things never change." He waved his finger about a little, as if he was twirling the air around it. "Or.. do they?"

Light couldn't hold back the snort. "Oh, stop being a smart-ass, Ryuk! You know perfectly well that things do change. Just look at this! I thought you said I was going to end up in Mu!" He gestured to the surroundings. "As far as I can tell, this doesn't qualify as nothingness!"

As he said it, he came to think of Ryuk's words, and what he had said about this particular topic.

"Humans who uses the Death Note, are banned from both Heaven and Hell."

This, was most definitely not Heaven, considering L was here. Or more appropriate, he thought with a small frown, considering that they were both here. They were on opposites sides of Justice. And God -if such an omnipotent power even existed- could only approve of one of them. Therefore, it was impossible that this place was Hell as well.

So, it wasn't Heaven or Hell.

He remembered that Ryuk had also told him that when people die, they go to Mu. Nothingness. Light had believed him back then, seeing as he didn't find it likely that either of the places actually existed. Nothingness had sounded a lot more plausible to him.

Then again, he thought with knitted brows, it couldn't be Mu either, because nothingness meant... nothing.

The Shinigami seemed to pick up on his train of thoughts. "You're right Light," he exclaimed lazily. "This isn't Nothingness."

"Then what is it?"

The setting sun's reflection got caught within the Shinigami's round orbs, and a predatory grin spread across his face. "It's something else."

Light nearly lost it. "Yes! I understand that for fuck's sake, but WHAT-"

Before he could rant any furter, L (read: The Nuisance) harshly grabbed him by the shoulder and squeezed. He was about to whirl around and punch him, but something about the way the detective was diggin his fingers into his skin stopped him.

"Yagami-kun", he spoke softly, "did it ever occur to you that the Shinigami doesn't answer properly because he doesn't have all the answers?"

Light rolled his eyes immediately. "Sure, Lawliet."

He almost smacked himsef. Again, he had used L's full name without thinking. Originally to mock him, but somehow, that wasn't really the way it came out. Oh well, he wasn't gonna show L his unease.

"Of course there are things even Shinigami doesn't know, but," and his eyes flashed dangerously in Ryuk's direction, "this one has no other hobbies but annoying the shit out of people by speaking in riddles all the time!" His cheeks flushed a vibrant red as he spoke.

"Yeah, that's Ryuk for you! He just loves getting on people's nerves, and that is precisely what he is trying to do now! Of course he knows why we're here! I bet he's even the one responsible for it! He is nothing but a-"

He took a deep breath before continuing, "-scheming, backstabbing liar!"

Ryuk didn't seem to care about his words, as he was still smiling broadly, and Light couldn't even say he cared anyways. He was mad at L now.

"Besides, what do you know?" He barked, grabbing ahold of the spidery hand on his shoulder, rapidly turning around to face the insomniac. "You used to speak in riddles all the fucking time when we were working on the Kira case, and not due to your lack of answers, but because you simply wanted to act like an asshole!"

"That is not true!" L hissed between gritted teeth, "I acted the way I did because I suspected you were Kira! I did that only to protect myself and the ones around me!"

"You must mean Watari," Light snapped mercilessly, still clamping the other mans hand vigorously, "cause he last time I checked you didn't care for anyone but him! Well, anyone besides yourself that is."

For a moment L actually looked hurt. "There were others..."

"Who? Your successors?" Light faked a laugh. "Those pathetic orphans?" He smirked mockingly, thrilled by the way the previous investigator flinched at his words. "Don't even try, L! You didn't care about them! The only reason you trained them them was to make sure that your beloved name never died with you!"

"You're wrong!" L suddenly yelled. With a powerful yank, he tore himself away from Light, causing the auburn haired male to stumble forward and almost crash in L's now rejecting backside. The detective was standing with his hands in his pockets, his head bowed and with his bare feet grubbing into the grass underneath him.

"The reason I trained them as my successors..." his voice sounded muffled, as if he was talking with his jaws clenched, "was simply because I knew... that I had personally lost the battle already."

Light's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? How could you possibly have lost the case?" He regarded the raven haired male's white clad back, and noticed how he could see the bulks of L's spine through the thin fabric of his sweater. How could L possibly be so scrawny, he asked himself mentally for what had to be the upnteenth time.

With a faint sigh, the detective turned to face him, and when Light saw the sad, almost pained look in his eyes, he stepped several feet back.

"Because I knew..." the insomniac said in a strangely hoarse voice, "that I had gotten emotionally attatched to the case."

Light couldn't find a fitting reply to this, so he fell silent, stubborny refusing to look L in the eyes."Damn him!"

Biting his tongue in annoyance, he let his eyes roam over the figure standing before him. The familiar, yet utterly loathed figure.

L.

Why was it always L?

Even after the detective died and Light was still alive, he had haunted him. Both while he was wide awake and in his dreams. He'd seen those eyes everywhere he went, heard the shuffling sound of his feet against the carpet, his voice... L's voice. He had seen ghosts in broad daylight. Even the smell of L seemed to linger after his death. Black coffee, chocolate, fabric softener and... something undefinable that reminded him of a dusty rag for some reason. In a sudden state of horror, Light realized that he actually knew exactly how the insomniac smelled!"Oh Christ"

, he thought with an annoyed huff. "

The bastard chained himself to me for months! No wonder I know how he fucking smells!"

With his newfound understanding, he quickly discarded any other thought he might have had upon that topic and started focusing on the jerk in question.

L wasn't looking at him anymore, and the anger had completely vanished from his features. His face was once again expressionless and only the pink tinge in his cheeks spoke of his recent outburst. His gaze was directed at Ryuk now and it was evident that he was going to say something.

"So..." He said slowly.

"One of the orphans we spoke of earlier... Nate River." Light almost jumped at the mentioning of Near. But not solely out of his relations to the boy, but because of the way L said it.

For the first time since he arrived here and met him, the detective's voice held something akin to fear. Looking over at his crooked figure, Light noted that he was hesitating, nibbling nervously on his lower lip while his finger danced across his chin.

"Yes?" Ryuk must have seen it too, cause as he eyed the former head of the Kira-investigation, his grin widened undeniably and there was a somewhat morbid gleam in the depths of his golden eyes.

L swallowed before letting his arm fall to his side, and lifted his head to look at the Shinigami before him. The moment his eyes met Ryuk's, they hardened and the familiar coat of mist came to cover them once again, making his face a blank, unreadable mask.

Light had seen him do this many times before, mostly when he was pressured by something or someone, or -as the case was now- when he didn't feel a hundred percent comfortable with a situation.

He suddenly realized that it had to be hard for the detective to ask questions about Nea-Nate River.

The .

He mentally he burn in Hell.

L wasn't affected by his malicious thoughts. He was still regarding Ryuk with those shaded eyes of his. "Did Near continue as L after Yagami-kun passed away?" The last words were uttered in a venomous tone, and coal colored eyes darted towards Light for a split second before they drifted back to Ryuk.

The Death God didn't answer right away. Instead he regarded him for some time before he raised a bony finger and pointed towards the darkened sky.

"It's getting late."

The Investigator didn't even blink. "Yes."

"Which means," the Shinigami drawled on, "it's time for me to go."

"Go where?!" Light wasn't able to hold back the question. Before he could stop himself, the words had left his mouth and he had taken a step closer to Ryuk.

"Light, Light, Light... Where I am going is none of your business."

He snorted mockingly, "and haven't your mother explained to you the concept of not interrupting others?"

The comment merely earned him a scowl, but Ryuk seemed to be satisfied with the reaction, because he let an amused chuckle escape him before turning his attention to L once more.

"Your successor still uses the alias you left him from time to time." He gave a bored yawn, "to fight crime and whatnot. Although..." another chuckle, "today's criminals aren't any fun at all..."

"And by "fun", I suppose you mean complex?"

"Well," the Shinigami shrugged, "at least Light here had a plan, an idea. A vision if you want. And he put quite a lot at risk to get where he wanted."

L's eyes immediately hardened. "You mean quite the amount of human lives?"

"Sure. But nonetheless, he wasn't playing safe all the time. That is what makes a battle funny. When the people engaged in it aren't chained by rule-"

"-Chains!" Light suddenly remembered. "Ryuk! Do you know anything about these invisible chains?"

For a split second, the Death God actually seemed confused. Lowering himself in the air a little, he tilted his head and shot it forward. "Chains?"

"Yes!" The japanese male exclaimed in a rush, afraid the Shinigami was gonna cut him off again. "For some reason, I am attatched to this bastard," he made a quick nod towards L, who was biting his nails again and didn't seem the least interested, "with invisible handcuffs!"

Ryuk's eyebrows raised slowly, as if he was about to make some sarcastic remark. Instead he just kept them there, his expression frozen, making him look like some kind of grotesque porcelain doll.

"Invisible handcuffs, eh?"

Suddenly the blank look his his eyes got replaced with one of understanding. "Oh."

Light's eye twitched. "What do you mean with 'Oh'?! Stop playing, idiot!" He was sick and tired of the Shinigami's games, and he couldn't care less if he was being rude. Ryuk wasn't his companion anyway- And, he didn't have feelings, so Light calling him names wouldn't hurt him one single bit.

"Tell me! Why are we cuffed together? And," he added in a scolding voide, "if this is the afterlife, why are we the only ones here?!"

He had expected some kind of enigmatic reply, but instead, he was rewarded with the sound of wings billowing in the air. In a matter of seconds, and before neither he or L could do as much as lift a finger, Ryuk was several feet above them."What the..?!"

"Ryuk!" He called out, craning his neck to look at the Death God's wrenched, lanky silhouette. "Ryuk, where are you going?! You can't leave!" His voice held a desperation very unlike him.

"What's with the chains?! And what is this place?!"

"Light," the Shinigami's voice was raw, and as he halted in the air for a few seconds Light could see through the gloom that he was no longer smiling. "Whatever this place is... it's not what it used to be." He started moving upwards again. "I have to take care of a few things. Now I know where to find you, so I'm sure we'll meet again."

With those words, he flapped his fur-like wings forcefully one last time, and dissappeared into the starry sky.

"Ryuk! Wait!"

No answer.

"RYUK!"

Only the mountains replied. And when they did, it was with the echo of his own voice.


"...And I suppose flames won't have an effect on it either?"

"Hyuk Hyuk. You're right. This Note is indestructable. You cannot destroy it. Why don't you use it? I thought you were the successor of that great Detective? He always said; "Justice Will Prevail." Here's your chance to make it happen."

"For a God of Death, a fundamental creature of the Universe, you are awfully caught up with the human definition of things." The young man, now five years older than when he last saw him, stated blankly. "You, whom are not tainted by our common belief and our emotions, shouldn't even offer me to use it. It's going against Nature. Me using it to rid the world of 'evil' would be nothing different from Kira using it."

He gave a nochalant shrug, as if he was talking about the weather. "Kira and myself may have different mindsets, but if I used this Note... It wouldn't be used objectively. By using it, I would force my own Justice on the world with a device which originally wasn't supposed to be in the hands of men, and as I am sure you know, Shinigami," his eyes met the Death God's,

"Justice as it was delivered by Nature has got nothing to do with Humans, or their emotions. And L, he failed, because of this. Justice is not made by Humans. So why should we bestow it upon one another?"

"You know... For a Human being to understand these things..." The Shinigami's normally leering eyes now held a fire that seemed to orinigin from somewhere deep inside him, "it is pretty rare."

The boy, now twirling a lock of his perfectly colorless hair just continued to regard him from his spot on the floor. "It's not about understanding," he said simply, "it's about the ability to leave one's emotions out."

Suddenly, he made a move to stand, and the Death God found himself moving back a little, to keep the pace between them. For some reason he couldn't grasp fully, he was more than a little intimidated by the kid. It was just something about those big, dead eyes of his that the Shinigami couldn't figure out. Something slightly inhuman.

It was a weird really.

A human being, a teenager none the less was able to cause a God of Death, a ruthless, untouchable killer, to shy away on instinct. Briefly, he wondered how Rem would have reacted to his presence. She had always been a lot more aware of a person's energy than he was. She had often exclaimed that Kira made her angry or annoyed, and it was no secret that she had cared deeply for another. He, himself usually never cared about humans, but this one... he was different.

Once he was standing up, The Shinigami noticed that he was about Light's height now, and he grinned inwardly when he also reckognized L's way of hunching his back.

Different, maybe. But not completely original.


To be continued...

A/N: Oh yeah. I know I mention how I hate Near. I still do. (Just for the record. IF you should wonder.)