Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. This is a non-profit fan work.


Break the Haughty - Chapter XII

At first, Light was glad the annoying, completely insensitive detective was gone. But much to Light's dismay, he found he was not comfortable being alone either. He knew there were no rational grounds for his feelings, yet he felt anxious, thinking someone might break into the room or be lurking under the bed only waiting for a chance to attack him. There was absolutely no reason to be scared of such a highly improbable if not impossible scenario, but the fears were there all the same.

"What is it Light?" asked Ryuk, happy to be able to talk to Light again. "Did you enjoy your friend rubbing you?"

Light shot his shinigami a deadly look and slid out of the bed. He would have preferred resting for a bit, but this couldn't wait. Also, he was unable to relax, let alone sleep, anyway. L must have put away his shoulder bag somewhere... Light leaned against the wall for support and looked around the room. Ah, there it was.

"Hey Light!" Ryuk tried to get his attention. "Light!"

But Light ignored him. He went over to where L had stowed away his bag - as gracefully as he managed - and opened it to get out his mobile phone. He looked at it and opened it. Then he pretended to dial and listen to the call. After half a minute, he shut the phone again, muttering a "Damn it!" under his breath. He unpacked his university books and threw the phone into his bag.

"What are you doing, Light?" asked Ryuk, "Come on, talk to me!"

In silence, Light staggered towards the wardrobe and took one of L's white pullovers. "I'm sorry, L." he said, then he put it on. He shouldered his bag and carefully placed one of his books between the door and door frame, so it wouldn't fall shut. "Light!" In nothing but the towel around his waist and L's plug-ugly pullover, Light walked down the corridor and took the elevator to the top floor. Then he got out the mobile Misa had given him and dialed.

"Misa? It's-"

"Liiiiight! I'm so happy you called me! Are you gonna ask me out?"

"No. Misa, I need your help."

"Anything, Light, anything! What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to take over passing judgement for me."

"Really? Why?"

"Something came up. It's not important. Important is, that you pass judgement excactly as I would. The creation of our new, perfect world rests on your shoulders for a while. Do you think you can do that?"

"Misa will do her best!"

"Good. Oh, and Misa? Do you remember the black cotton shirt Lanvin en bleu had in their spring collection?"

"Of course! The one with the pearly buttons!"

"Yes, exactly. I need you to buy this shirt or one very similar to it."

"Why?"

"Don't ask. Just do it."

"Oh... Alright. No problem. I love you, Light!"

"Thanks. Bye."

"Ligh-to!" whined Ryuk after Light had ended the call. "Why don't you talk to me?!"

Light pretended to dial another number and said: "Hi." He made a pause for the fake receiver of his call to respond.

"Haha, pretty clever." Ryuk commented on Light's precautions. "Does that mean we can talk now?"

"I really feel like never talking to you again." Light answered coldly. "You just watched me getting beaten up and then violated. And then you insulted me."

"Do I have to remind you?" the death god said in a sepulchral voice, "I'm on neither side. You can't rely on me, no matter what happens to you in the human world."

"Yeah, I learned that the hard way, thank you very much." Light said snidely. "Anyway, you didn't need to insult me."

"Insult you? What do you mean?"

"Forget it. I'll have to make another phone call." Light pretended to end the call and made a point of not looking at his shinigami. He switched Misa's mobile for his own and dialed the number of his parent's house. His mother answered.

"Hi mum, it's me. I'm at university right now." he lied. Ryuk started snickering in the background, but fortunately, his mother couldn't hear it. "I want to apologise for my short notice call last night."

"Did you enjoy spending the night with your girlfriend?" his mother asked, sounding more worried than interested.

"Yes, we had a lot of fun." Light said lightly, feigning innocence. "Mum, Misa asked me if I would come on a trip with her tonight. She's got a modelling job in Kyoto for the next couple of days. I would really like to come with her. My university schedule and her career leave us very little time for each other. Would it be OK with you, if I went with her?"

There was a moment of silence at the other end of the line. But Light had expected his mother to be caught off guard by his request. Nevertheless, given her relationship with his father and his long times of absence, he was sure she would not decline.

"Well..." she finally said, "I suppose you are old enough. And you are a responsible young man." she added, not without pride. "So if you really want to, you can go."

"Thank you, mum! I'll come by after university and pack my things. See you then!"

"I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too, mum."

Light disconnected the call. His mother would freak out if she saw his face, so he would have to ask Misa to pick up his stuff later. Fortunately for this situation, his mother had already met her. He switched phones again and hit redial.

"Oh Light, another call so soon! Did you miss me?!"

"I need you to do something else for me. I told my mother you and I would go to Kyoto for a photo shoot of yours."

"Oh Light, that is so romantic! I never thought that you-"

"Misa, listen! I cannot go to Kyoto with you. I just want my mother to think that's where I am. So I need you to confirm this story when you go to my house and collect my luggage, OK?"

"You want me to go to your house?!"

Misa seemed speechless for a while and Light quickly used the silence to explain further:

"Tell her I got held up at university and that I asked you to get my stuff. Then bring the bag to Midori Hotel in Ueno and tell the receptionist it's for room 563. Make sure nobody can recognise you!"

"Why can't I just bring it to your room myself? If I come to your hotel anyway-"

"I don't want anyone to see you. It's for your own safety!"

"It's not ecause you have another girl with you, is it?"

All of a sudden her cheerful voice turned into a suspicious, almost threatening tone. Light sighed.

"No, of course not!"

"Then why are you in a hotel?"

"It's none of your concern Misa! If you really love me, just do as I tell you, alright!"

There was a silence at the other end of the line. Then Misa said:

"I will go to your house and lie to your mother. I will disguise myself and bring your clothes to your hotel. But I want to come to your room and see you!"

"No, Misa!" yelled Light. "You need to trust me! I'm not with any other girl!"

"Then why do you want me to come to the hotel, but not to your room?"

"As I said, it's for your own safety! There might be cameras. I cannot risk you being noticed by the police."

"Oh. Are you with the police, then?"

"So to speak. It's dangerous. Please do as I tell you, alright?"

"Alright." "Good. You truly are my goddess."

"Oh Light..."

"Bye."

She was so annoying. But he had to admit, it would have been difficult to deal with the situation without her.

"As if you cared about her safety," snickered Ryuk. "You don't want to be seen with her because you think she could still be connected to the second Kira tapes."

Light shrugged.

"Does it mat-"

A splitting pain knocked the wind out of his lungs. Something pushed against his anus from the inside, sending jolts of agony through his body. Light doubled over, groaning, all composure gone from his features.

"You are bleeding again," reported Ryuk. "It's running down your leg."

Light muttered a curse and stumbled towards the elevator. There would soon be coming out more than blood. He frantically pressed the button and leaned against the wall while shooting pains rocked his body.

"You humans are so funny when you are hurt," commented Ryuk. "The faces you make are priceless."

Light didn't reply. He was breathing loudly, his chest moving up and down rapidly. The elevator arrived and Light forced himself to move, clumsily reaching for the controls. The doors closed and the cabin began moving down.


Author's Note: Haha, I bet nobody, including myself, expected there to be a new chapter for this, ever. But hurray, there is now! I hope you like it, but please let me know what you did not like. Next chapter hopefully in less than 2 years.