Thank you all for your support and for being patient with us! Morcuen and I are working hard to keep up with both real life and this story. Please enjoy the chapter and while I go back to doing math.
Proofread by: Morcuen
Word count: 4600
Chapter 12: With the Devil You Shall Dance
Light shifted his hands so that he was holding L bridal style and stood from the floor. He carried L over to their bed and gently lowered him onto the soft mattress.
"I'll be right back." Light whispered to the sleeping figure before he turned around and headed towards the door. Just as he was about to close the door he remembered all the times he had woken up alone in that very room after L had removed their handcuffs, and hesitated. He remembered how he'd despaired and believed that it meant that L didn't care about him. It wasn't something he wished for L to experience.
He looked around the living room and spotted a notepad and a pen lying on the desk that was standing right next to the bookshelf, both of which were standing against the wall that separated the bedroom and the living room. Light glanced at the bookshelf as he walked past towards the desk. It was tall and wide, and contained a large amounts of books that he'd never seen before, all of which seemed to be written in English, French, German and a great variety of other languages, some which he didn't even recognise. He paused in front of the shelf and traces his fingers along the spines of some of the books before he frowned; they didn't seem to be sorted in alphabetical order. Light stared at the books for a long moment, actually considering sorting the books, before he decided against it; it would take too much time.
There could also be some reason as to why the books aren't placed in alphabetical order as well… They could be sorted by relevance, or by author, perhaps? Or something entirely else. He made a mental note to ask L about it later and then turned back to the actual note he was about to write for the detective. He stared critically at the notepad before he scribbled down an excuse for his absence, in case L woke up. Then he walked quietly back into the bedroom and placed the neatly folded piece of paper in L's clenched hand. That way he could be certain L would find the note when he woke up.
Light walked out of the apartment and down to the main room, where the taskforce already was working half-heartedly on the case. He explained to them that L was busy and would be down later, and that he had sent Light on an errand for him. This enabled Light to simply stroll out of the building without anyone stopping him.
When Light was outside, he cast a look around, to make sure that Rem was nowhere in sight before he took out his phone and called Misa. The phone barely had time to ring before Misa answered in her usual excited squeal.
"Light! It's been so long since we spoke! How are you? Are you ok? Is L being mean to you?"
"No, L's being nice and I'm fine, thank you for asking. I was wondering how you are doing?" Light asked, feigning interest. He was walking hurriedly down the street while talking to Misa, constantly keeping an eye out for the appearance of the Shinigami that loved the annoying human so much. Because of the magical pull at the ties that kept her chained to him, she would appear sooner or later. He'd prefer it if she didn't hear him talking to Misa; that would make her suspicious.
"Misa is doing just fine! I have worked so hard for your sake, and just got another deal for a commercial!" She said excitedly.
"That's great. Are you working right now then?" Light asked. He was trying to figure out where Misa was without asking directly, because if he did she'd interpret it as him wanting to meet up with her; she couldn't know he was there until he revealed himself to her.
"No. Misa has a break right now, so I visited my favourite café, you probably don't know where it is though." Misa said, and Light smirked; despite always trying to shut out Misa's grating voice whenever she spoke, he had paid enough attention to know where her favourite café was. His brain just had the tendency of picking out crucial bits of information like that, and store it in case he ever needed to be extra persuasive or otherwise was in need of the info.
"That sounds lovely. I hope you have a nice lunch-break then. I actually have a short break now too, which is why I decided to take few minutes to talk to you." Light said innocently, he had to make sure it wouldn't seem unnatural if she saw him in the café, or else she would start asking questions. That by itself wasn't too big of a deal, but if Rem heard Misa commenting Light's sudden and unexpected appearance, it would be just as bad as if she overheard their conversation.
"Awwww! That's so sweet! I know how busy you are with your investigation! I'll let you have the rest of your break in peace then, unless there was anything else you wanted to say?" Misa said, and Light frowned; something seemed off about Misa. He'd expected her to at least tell him to talk with her for a little longer, as she usually did, and possibly ask him when they could go on a date together.
"No, that was all. I hope the shooting for the commercial goes well." Light said, smoothly covering up his hesitance and uncertainty.
"Thanks! Bye!" Misa said and then she actually hung up. Light stared in mild surprise at his phone for a few second; Misa had never been the one to hang up whenever they had talked on the phone before. Something was definitely off about the girl. If it wasn't for the danger of something being wrong with Misa, he would have appreciated the change. Unfortunately, Misa, memory or no memory, was the second Kira, and if she suddenly stopped liking Light so much she could prove to be a problem in the future. Light shook his head to clear his thoughts before he changed directions and walked hurriedly towards the café Misa had mentioned.
When Light entered the café, he immediately spotted the strawberry blonde girl sitting in one of the back corners of the café, enjoying a cup of tea all by herself. He walked discreetly over to the counter and ordered a black coffee and a piece of strawberry cake. When he had the food, he sat down a few tables away from her, making sure that he could see her without her spotting him.
"What are you up to, Light Yagami?" Rem asked as she materialised behind him after having slid through the wall.
"I am having lunch." Light said, sipping demonstratively from his coffee, as if to prove his own point.
"Where is L?" She asked suspiciously.
"Back at headquarters. I needed some time for myself after being in the hospital, so I asked to be allowed to have my break here. Alone." Light said with a shrug.
"I see. Then it is acceptable for me to kill him now?" Rem asked, eyeing Light critically.
"Sure, whenever you see fit, just not while I'm here, that'll make the rest of the idiots suspicious. I need to be where they all can see me." Light said nonchalantly. Despite his calm appearance, however, his heart had picked up its pace considerably the moment Rem had mentioned killing L. He could only hope Ryuk had managed to do what he was supposed to do by then, otherwise L would be dead when they returned to headquarters, and everything would be for nothing.
"That is acceptable." Rem said with a nod.
"Good." Light said, discreetly looking around the café, anxiously waiting for something to happen. And finally, right before he was done with his coffee and was starting to feel panicked, it happened. A man, seemingly intoxicated, entered the café, and even if Ryuk seemed to be hiding, Light knew that he was the man he was waiting for.
Light watched with visible disgust as the man walked around the café, obviously looking for something or someone, one of his hands inside his jacket; hiding something.
"What is it Light Yagami?" Rem asked. She had noticed Light's expression and was currently scanning the café for whatever Light was looking at.
"Gus like him-" Light said, and pointed at the intoxicated man "-are the reason I decided to punish people. It's just… disgusting; filthy. Who walks into a café with kids and all when they are so drunk?" Light said with a sneer, not having to pretend at all. At that moment, as he watched the man bump into a mother who sat there alone with her two kids, and then stumbled on without even apologising to her, it was easy for Light to talk about what he'd done as Kira. It was easy for him to remember how disgusted he'd been by the filth of the world, and how simple it had been for him to just kill them off. Like flies. They meant nothing in the greater scheme of things, so why shouldn't he just remove them?
Rem was also looking in obvious disgust at the man, until she saw him sit down by a table, opposite of a blonde girl. Rem was about to look away when she realised who the blonde girl was. And her eyes widened in horror as she looked above Misa's head; Misa's life would end in just a few minutes.
"Light Yagami. What have you done?" Rem asked accusingly, pointing one of her long bony fingers at Light's face. Light stiffened in his seat and focused his attention at Rem instead of the drunken man.
"What do you mean?" Light asked innocently, pretending not to know what the Shinigami was talking about.
"You know very well what I mean." Rem said angrily as she pulled out her Death Note and a pen.
"No! I swear, I haven't done anything." Light said, and made a show of looking frantically around himself until he spotted the blonde girl. He stopped moving when he saw that the drunk man had sat down by the same table Misa was sitting on. The guy was talking in slurs, his voice carrying in bits and pieces across the room. Misa was clearly frightened and trying to excuse herself without upsetting the man.
"Shit…" Light muttered, pretending to just realise the full extent of the situation.
"Don't lie to me, Light Yagami." Rem said angrily, her pen already poised against the paper of her Death Note, ready to write.
"Look at his life-span Rem! If I was controlling him through a Death Note, he would have to die within 23 days! He won't will he?" Light said, struggling to keep his panic at bay. As he'd spoken it had occurred to him that he'd never specified for Ryuk to actually find a human who had more than 23 days left to live. Ryuk wasn't exactly known for being helpful, so it was fully possible that he'd chosen someone who was near death on purpose.
"There are other ways to manipulate people, you have proven this yourself countless times." Rem said coldly. She glanced over at the drunken man and saw something silver shimmer from underneath his jacked.
"Fuck it. If I know she's going to die, and am the possessor of a Death Note, I should have the power to change people fates, even without the Death Note. Right? Because I haven't written her name in the Death Note so that means it is possible to save her." Light muttered as he stood from his seat and walked hurriedly over to the table where Misa and the drunk man were sitting. He knew it was possible in theory, but he suspected that no matter how he tried to avoid the events that were set into motion it would end in someone's death. The only thing he could hope to achieve was convincing Rem that he was innocent.
"Excuse me, I think you should leave." Light said politely, pretending not to have noticed Misa yet.
"Huh?" The man said at the same time as Misa exclaimed her words of recognition.
"Light! What are you doing here! Misa is so glad to see you!" She said happily, immediately standing from her seat and hooking her arm around Light's in an obvious display of affection.
"D'you 'no 'im?" The man slurred at Misa, waving his hands towards Light.
"Yes. He's my boyfriend." Misa said happily, squeezing Light's arm tighter.
"Misa, I think we should leave." Light said quietly, eyeing the drunk man warily. He knew what was going to happen; he knew he'd attack Misa at some point, and if Rem saw it he was certain she'd save Misa. That didn't mean the man wouldn't attack Light, however. The man wasn't being controlled by a Death Note, which meant he could act different than what he was supposed to. It wasn't impossible that he stabbed Light before he attempted to take Misa's life. If the man was going to kill him, then Rem would know. She'd be able to tell that his own lifespan was shortened down as well, and knowing the Shinigami, it wasn't impossible that she'd let the drunk man kill Light before she saved Misa. There was also the possibility of Rem seeing through his act, and then killing him herself, as revenge for having put Misa's life in danger.
"'Oy! Where d'ya think yer goin'?" The man slurred as he stood from his seat and walked shakily so that he was standing between Misa and Light, and the exit.
"Eeep!" Misa said quietly, hiding partially behind Light to get away from the drunk man.
"Missy, Why don't 'cha come with me?" He said, taking an unsteady step sideways so that he could see more of Misa, who in turn moved further out of his view, using Light as a shield.
"Clearly she doesn't want to come with you, so I suggest you leave." Light said, his voice far calmer than he really felt.
"I dun' think so." The man said as he pulled out the knife he'd kept hidden inside of his jacket, and then he launched himself at the two people standing in front of him.
-x-
Rem watched in horror as the drunk man launched himself at Light and her precious Misa. She watched as Light grabbed the arm that was holding the knife and directed it away from himself. She watched how Misa shrieked and screamed for someone, anyone to help her beloved Light. She watched as the drunk man managed to twist away from Light's grip and turn towards the brunette, anger evident in his face. The man lunged at Light again, this time it was obvious that Light would be unable to stop him, and it seemed Light realised this as well because he twisted away from the path of the drunk man instead of attempting to block him, and suddenly there was nothing but a few centimetres between the drunk man and Misa. Misa's scream pierced through Rem's skull, making her ears ring a she watched Misa back slowly away, her hands in front of herself as if trying to ward the drunk man off.
59…
Rem looked at the number over Misa's head rapidly decreasing despite Light grabbing the drunk man from behind in an attempt at restraining him.
56…
She looked on as the drunk man managed to plant an elbow in Light's gut, making the brunette release his hold on him.
54…
She watched Light hunch over in pain, his expression twisted in agony as he struggled to regain his composure.
53…
As Light grabbed the drunk man by the scruff of his neck and pulled him backwards, Rem understood that Light couldn't be faking it. The boy was fighting for real.
51…
Rem watched as Misa cupped her hands in a silent prayer.
48…
And then with rising horror as Misa rolled up her sleeves and walked purposefully towards the drunk man, and Light who was trying to twist the knife out of his grip.
46…
Light and the drunk man were both holding the knife's handle, making it impossible for anyone else to grab it. Despite this Misa chose to grab the knife's blade with her bare hand, and then applied pressure against the sharp side to aide Light in his conquest.
43…
Rem let out a desperate wail as she hurriedly scribbled down the name of the drunk man. Misa's remaining life-span was still being drained rapidly, and it was evident that Light was unable to change that, even if he'd claimed that he would.
9302…
Rem let out a sigh of relief as she saw that she'd made it. The numbers above Misa's head was racing upwards. She watched worriedly at the blood running from Misa's hand, and how the brave, blonde girl did all she could with her tiny little body to help the man she loved.
Rem let out a sigh of relief as, after what felt like forever, the drunk man clutched his chest in obvious pain, and then crumpled to the floor. She watched the shocked expression of Misa who then looked wildly around the room until she saw Rem. She froze and seemed to understand what had happened, even if all she had to go on was what Rem had told her in the bathroom at the building the Yotsuba group used as their headquarters, which wasn't much at all.
"Thank you." Misa mouthed in Rem's direction before she buried his face in Light's chest. Rem watched in satisfaction as Light enveloped the petite girl in his arms and rested his chin gently on top of her head. Light would keep Misa safe while she was gone, he was a better man than most, especially L, and regardless of his promise to Rem he wouldn't allow Misa to suffer needlessly.
As Rem assured herself that Misa would be safe, even in her absence, she felt her body crumble, turning rapidly into dust and sighed. It wasn't painful at all, it just felt a bit strange. She was about to close her eyes as a final controlled gesture before she disappeared completely, when she saw something the made her heart freeze; Ryuk. He was floating slowly into the café laughing merrily, barely able to keep himself floating vertically. And at that moment Rem knew she had been tricked.
That was the last thing Rem thought about before she turned into dust.
"Good news Light! He was already a criminal. You owe me Light-o." An inhuman voice said from behind him, and Light turned to see Ryuk with a satisfied grin on his face. He nodded before he turned his attention back to Misa.
"Misa, do you want to get out of here for a little while?" Light asked carefully.
"Yes." Misa said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Wait right outside, I'll just grab my coat, ok?" Light said. Misa looked at him hesitantly before she nodded and did as he said.
"Ryuk, if you give that Death Note to Misa, then you can have the one Rem dropped. Is that fine with you?" Light asked.
"Makes no difference to me, so I don't see why not. Don't really need two either y'know." Ryuk chuckled as he floated over to the pile of dust and picked up the Death Note that was lying in the middle of it.
Light walked over to the table where he had been sitting and grabbed his coat. He looked at his untouched piece of cake for a moment, thinking of L and his obsession with sweets, and then he decided that L had more than enough sweets available already; he didn't need more.
Light walked out of the café, ignoring the calls of the people wondering if he was ok, and suggesting that he wait for an ambulance. When he exited the café, he was surprised that Misa didn't instantly assault him with hugs and squeaky-sounds.
"Misa, follow me." He said quietly as he offered his arm to her. She nodded carefully and hooked her arm around his appreciatively, clearly in need of the comfort of Light's closeness.
Light led her a few streets away from the café, and into a dark and narrow alley.
"Ryuk." Light said curtly as he looked at the Shinigami. Ryuk shrugged and dropped the Death Note onto the ground in front of Misa.
Misa was startled, and tensed up a bit as she saw the dark object materialise in front of herself, but didn't make a big number out of it. She looked questioningly at Light, despite already being aware of what was going on; Rem had already told her while they were investigating the Yotsuba group after all.
"Pick it up." Light said encouragingly.
Oh Light! You've remembered. Misa thought happily, as she smiled broadly at Light. She crouched and reached out towards the Death Note, and just as she grabbed it, she felt Light's hand cover her mouth right before she screamed.
She was assaulted by memories of Rem, and writing names in the Death Note, and making videos and sending to the police, and admiring the original Kira from a distance and then finally finding her wonderful and handsome knight in shining armour, Light.
"Shhhh. It's ok." Light said soothingly in her ear when Misa finally stopped screaming.
"Misa remembers." Misa breathed out. It was so strange for her to finally have all of her memories back after having known of what she'd done for what felt like such a long time. It seemed surreal to her that she'd been walking around for so long without remembering something so important as being the second Kira; being Light's eyes.
Oh no! The eyes! Misa thought frantically as she realises that she didn't have the Shinigami eyes anymore.
"I don't have the eyes anymore!" Misa said. "Misa will trade for them right away!"
"No!" Light interjected before Misa had the opportunity to address Ryuk. "That will not be necessary. I actually need you to give up your memory again." Light said as he tucked a few strands of hairs behind Misa's hair in what he hoped to be an adequately affectionate gesture.
"Why? Misa has finally gotten her memories back! She wants to be useful." Misa said, her big eyes slowly filling with water at the thought of losing her precious memories again. They were memories of how the Shinigami Jealous had sacrificed himself for her, and how Rem had done the same only a few minutes prior. They were memories of how she had met her beloved Light, and how he had sacrificed his own soul to save the world.
"Because things are dangerous right now, and it is safer for you not to remember. I'd prefer for you to give up ownership of the Death Note right away, however there is one thing I need you to do first." Light said.
"Of course! I will do anything for you!" Misa said.
"Good. Then listen closely, and do exactly as I say…"
-x-
"… and then he clutched his chest and fell to the ground, dead, because of a heart attack! Kira saved Misa again! Yay!" Misa finished her extremely long retelling of the dramatic events at the café. She was hugging Light's arm tightly the same way she had done back at the café, and even rubbing her cheek on his shoulder in a possessive manner. If he didn't know any better, Light would have thought it was an attempt to make L jealous, though of which one of them he didn't know.
"Wow, must have been scary…" L said, his voice monotonous, as it usually was around others. Light studied L intently as L and Misa spoke; L hadn't even commented his absence, nor the fact that he returned with Misa, something that greatly unnerved Light. The detective was masking his emotions so thoroughly, that Light was unable to tell what he was thinking at all underneath his stoic mask.
"Misa knows! It was so scary!" Misa exclaimed loudly, and Light winced at the loud sound, and then decided to carefully reclaim possession of his arm and put some distance between himself and the blonde girl, in case she decided to make another high-pitched sound.
"When did you realize that the scary looking man was after your life?" L asked. It seemed he'd decided to humour Misa for a little while longer.
During this whole spectacle, Ryuk had been hovering surprisingly silently behind Light, quietly paying attention to the conversation, and eyeing the pale, raven haired detective up carefully.
"As soon as he entered the café Misa knew something was wrong, and since a man has tried to kill Misa before, I suspected that he could be after Misa's life!" Misa said dramatically.
"What would you have done if Kira didn't save you?" L asked seriously. At the word "Kira" he glanced towards Light, who was stubbornly looking away ignoring both L's gaze and Ryuk's very amused laughter. Ryuk clearly found the detectives not-so-subtle hints at what in Ryuk's eyes was suspicion of Light's real identity very entertaining.
"Well, Light was fighting him, and I tried to help. That's how I got this." Misa said and indicated her now bandaged hand.
"I see. Well, thank you for your thorough recount of the incident. I appreciate that you told me yourself instead of waiting for the news to reach me through other means." L said, clearly dismissing the blonde girl.
"Misa, you should go now." Light said before Misa had the time to protest at L's sudden cold behaviour.
"Oh. Ok." Misa said, looking genuinely sad. Light couldn't blame her though, the moment she left the building she would have to relinquish her precious memories, again.
"It's ok, we'll see each other another time. I'll show you out." Light said, already guiding Misa towards the exit of the main room, Ryuk floating after them while laughing quietly to himself at the sudden evolvement of the situation. To him it seemed that a great deal of things had happened in the time he'd been back in the Shinigami world.
"Thank you…" Misa said quietly, and Light nodded slightly in acknowledgment of her words.
"Light-kun, meet me upstairs after you've shown Misa out, I have something regarding the case to discuss with you." L said just as Light and Misa reached the door.
"I'll be right up." Light replied over his shoulder before he and Misa exited the room.
"That's the second time Misa has avoided death thanks to a Death Note." Matsuda commented after Light and Misa had left.
"It is rather suspicious, isn't it?" L muttered as he chewed gently on the nail of his thumb.
"But she can't be Kira, or the second Kira though. The discovery of the Death Note and its rules proved that." Matsuda said immediately. It was obvious he didn't want anyone to suspect Light and Misa. In his eyes they were both too kind and gentle to actually be Kira.
"Yeah, wasn't that convenient." L said stoically as he stood from his seat.
"Are you implying something?" Soichiro said, his voice not entirely benign.
"No, Yagami-san, not at all." L said as he shuffled towards a different door than the one Light and Misa had just left through. "I was just thinking out loud…"
-x-
Ah shiet. L is salty.
There didn't seem to be too much interest in the extra content so I'll hold off on that thought. For everyone else struggling with midterm and tests and presentations and essays and the like, hang in there!
