Mr. Yagami's eyes flew open and he tried to stand up, but the ropes kept him sitting down in the chair. He frowned at them and pulled against the ropes in an attempt to stretch them.
"That won't do anything, Mr. Yagami. Even if you got the ropes off, we are surrounded by mafia," L said.
Mr. Yagami turned his head and slumped when he saw L sitting there.
"I am dead. There is no other way you could be sitting here like this," Mr. Yagami said.
"Like what, Mr. Yagami? You have never given me any trouble about how I sit before."
"I mean alive. You died. I saw it happen," Mr. Yagami answered.
"I don't have time to get into to it now, but the short version is 'I am not dead'," L said.
"But why didn't you let the task force know you were alive? Surely we deserved to know," Mr. Yagami demanded.
"You know why I couldn't. I couldn't let Kira know."
"You still think Light is Kira. Light was cleared. The rules in the notebook itself cleared him!" Mr. Yagami said.
"I don't think Light is Kira. I know he is Kira. The rule that cleared Light was fake. It is no coincidence that I died right before the rule could be tested. A rule that would either clear Light once and for all or prove once and for all that he is Kira. The timing couldn't have been more perfect," L said gently.
"My son is not Kira. He is not capable of it," Mr. Yagami insisted.
"You are correct. Light Yagami is not Kira. He was one of Kira's first victim. The Death Note tempted your Light to write the first two names to see if it was real. Once the notebook was proved to be real, Kira was in control. He used Light's hatred of injustice, a fundamentally good quality, to prompt him to write names in the notebook. Kira also used Light's biggest weakness, pride, to suggest that Light was not only doing what was right, but that he was the only who could do it and that anyone who opposed him is evil. Your son died a long time ago, Mr. Yagami," L said.
Mr. Yagami stared at L open mouthed.
"I know that you think I don't know Light well, but I spent weeks handcuffed to him. At that point, Light was actually himself. Without Kira's memories, Light was free to be himself, a good man. If Light had never been allowed to touch the death note again, he would have stayed that way. Kira's reappearance is all my fault. I should never have let Light handle the Death Note. For that I ask your forgiveness," L admitted.
"You think Light is dead?" Mr. Yagami asked, sounding stricken.
L nodded.
The two sat in silence for moment. Mr. Yagami's face was a myriad of emotions as he struggled with L's words and L was expressionless. He waited for the yelling to start, the angry denials. The longer the silence stretched the more L tensed inwardly as he waited for the explosion with closed eyes.
Then he heard it. A sob.
L opened his eyes to see tears streaming down Mr. Yagami's face. The man's body shook.
"Light...my son...Light," He said.
L turned away. Most displays of effection were a mystery to him, but this one felt downright awkward. He wished he had a tissue for Mr. Yagami.
"L_" Mr. Yagami began.
L turned back to him and braced himself.
"_thank you."
Not even L could control his bafflement at this.
"For what?" L asked.
"For helping me find closure. Ever since you told me Light was a suspect, I have been struggling. How could I catch Kira and still be Light's father? Now I know and once Kira is dead, maybe I can mourn Light properly, L."
"Call me, Ryuzaki. We are still surrounded by the Mafia and neither of us is getting out of here alive if they realize my true identity," L said. "Speaking of which. Mello, we need to discuss how we are getting out of here alive."
Mello, who had just slipped into the room, frowned. "It is not like I can just order them to let us go. I have made myself to valuable and I know too much for them to just let me go. That is without getting into how to get you two out as well. We also have the notebook to consider. We can't leave it with the mafia."
"Mello, have you made contact with the Shinigami who owns the notebook," L asked.
Mello looked at the corner behind L and shuddered. "He is right behind you. Seems to find you in particular quite interesting."
"Give the notebook back to him. We already have the notebook with Kira to deal with. It is best that this one is out of play," L instructed.
Mello held the notebook out gingerly.
"Take it!" He said to the air.
The notebook floated for an instant as the unseen Shinigami took hold of it and then it vanished.
"We need to leave quickly. I can only make excuses about where the notebook went for so long before the mafia realize it is gone forever," Mello warned.
"If I know Kira at all, he has already managed to find the mafia's location. He will then send the task force on a raid. They will rescue Mr. Yagami. You and I need only escape in the confusion."
As if to prove L's point, a mafia member burst into the room.
"Mello, there are armed police men descending on the base! What do we do?" He cried.
Mello seized L's arm.
"Scatter. They can't kill an enemy who isn't there. We will meet at the prepared rendevous point. I will hold on to Ryuzaki to make sure he doesn't try to get away," Mello said.
"What about Yagami?"
Mello sneered at him. "Leave him to distract the task force. We have no use for him anymore and shooting a cop will just put pressure on us."
The mafia member nodded and disappeared.
L twisted in Mello's grip. "Matsuda accidentally found out that I am alive. If he doesn't keep his mouth shut and slips up then it won't just be me dead this time."
Mr. Yagami nodded. "I will do my best. Go quickly."
L allowed Mello to pull him along. Most mafia members barely gave them a second glance. They were too busy trying to save their own lives to care. They were almost out of the building before they encountered trouble.
A black clad figure appeared at the end of the hall. He looked like a huge bug with his black bulky body armor and helmet with a visor. He gripped a black M16 in both hands and moved with a swinging gait as he moved from door to door. Fortunately, the figure hadn't spotted L and Mello yet.
The pair darted into the nearest room and immediately realized that they had chosen the wrong room to hide in. There wasn't a stick of furniture to hide behind or even a potted plant.
The sound of the SWAT member's steps came closer and the pair knew they had no time to find another hiding place.
L searched the walls in desperation and spotted a crack in the wall to their right. He pointed to it Mello helped him wrench it open, revealing a small walk-in closet filled with shelves of white powder. They stepped into the closet and shut the door seconds before the SWAT member entered the room.
L tensed as the sound of heavy boots echoed around the room. He almost wished that he and Mello had run for it. Being found in a mafia outpost with a closet full of Cocaine was going to be hard to explain.
Heavy breathing alerted L just before the closet started to slide open. He adopted a ready stance. The only possible way to avoid disaster at this point was for L to knock the man out before he got a good look at L or Mello. L would have a half second window in which to strike and if the man didn't go down that quickly then his entire plan would go up in smoke.
A radio crackled, causing L to jump.
"Alpha 9, we have located Deputy Chief Sochioro Yagami. He claims the package is not in the building. No sign of the suspect known as Mello?"
"This is Alpha 9. Be advised that I have cleared the last hall way and there is no sign of the suspect. I am making my way to your position now," The SWAT team member said into the radio.
It was only after Alpha 9 left the room that L and Mello started to breathe again.
"That was too close," Mello said.
L nodded in agreement.