Chapter 12
The End of Two Eras
A day after the capture of Yamamoto, Light was sitting behind a two-way mirror with his father, Matsuda and a few other police officers, who had been involved in L's investigation.
Watari was in the room, standing silently beside the 17-inch Macbook pro, which L used to communicate. It seemed to Light, that the detective was just showing off how he could afford it. Then again, L seemed to genuinely like expensive things. It was fairly obvious by his choice of hotels, restaurants, cars and so on…
But all those thoughts were irrelevant. The reason why they had all gathered (some in person, others virtually) was for the interrogation of Yamamoto Takuya, the largest stockholder of the prosperous Yamamoto corporation over 28 murders of businessmen.
All of L's evidence pointed to him. Light knew because he had went over them on that night, which he had spent working with L. The night directly before that faithful day that had sent Light into the most dangerous situations he had ever been through.
Yes, Light was still recovering from the shock of being threatened with a gun and shoved into a car with no breaks and narrowly escaping death in a staged accident. In fact he still had bandages on his forearms and a shin on his strained ankle, the one that only got more injured during the insane hospital escape with L.
L, who then piloted a freaking helicopter to save their asses, while being chased by Takuya's people, also on helicopters. Light had caught a bit of a cold from the cold night-time air, which had effortlessly passed through the windows that had ended up wrecked by gunfire…
But all in all, Light was fine.
And he was out of the hospital, despite the nurse's insistence that he should rest. There was no way Light was going to miss the interrogation of the man who had almost killed him, albeit indirectly!
"Before we begin, I would like to announce that during the process of the interrogation of this suspect, I would like to conduct an experiment, which might further prove the man's guilt," L's scrambled voice announced from the laptop, suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere.
"What?" Soichiro rested his weight on one strong arm, his face contorted with worry and exasperation.
The whole team of policemen looked weary. That's the effect, which L's little "surprises" had produced in them – they dreaded EVERYTHING the detective said.
It was difficult to explain how unsettled they were when L had asked their chief to chase down a suspect, whom they hadn't even been aware of. They had chased a "mafia organization" for almost a month when suddenly, out of the blue, they had to arrest Takuya Yamamoto.
"We already have solid evidence that Yamamoto is the culprit," L said. "Yuuta Sato, who you know as your ex-colleague from the NPA, tried to eliminate Yagami Light. The reason he did that, was because Yagami Light's suggestions lead the police closer to discovering the true culprit for the murders."
L paused.
"After Yagami Light survived the attack, he signalled to us to capture Sato, who in term pointed to Yamamoto as his employer."
The policeman exchanged quick glances. Some looked at Light and nodded to him in acknowledgement.
"However, based on one testimonial, and all the evidence we found in Yamamoto's hideout, we can't conclusively conclude that Yamamoto is guilty," L continued, but he was cut off.
"But that's the court's job, isn't it!" Matsuda chimed in, with the enthusiasm of a student, who knew the answer.
L remained silent for a few seconds, in which Light could just imagine the man's face and wanted to chuckle. But he sided with L on that one – Matsuda could be quite annoying.
"I don't send suspects to the courtroom. I send criminals to justice," L said, his voice so scrambled that it was hard to know what his tone might have been.
'What an arrogant bastard', Light thought. But he couldn't help but give L credit, because the man had indeed never been wrong when capturing a criminal. None of his suspects were ever found innocent.
"Now, as I was saying before, we need to extract a confession today," L continued over the speaker.
Soichiro nodded and so did the rest. Light remained calm but a part of him was swelling with anticipation. He wondered if L was going to use his list of interrogation questions, which he had prepared just three nights ago. He had never had the chance to get an answer from L about them, so this was going to be his assessment…
"This is where my experiment comes into place," L said. "I would like Yagami Light to interrogate Yamamoto Takuya."
Light's eyes widened, but he managed to erase the surprise from his face. He bowed deeply to the laptop.
"It would be an honour," Light said, accepting.
The whole room was in shock, but no one dared to ask anything.
Light didn't know what L had thought about his questions, but this sounded like an invitation to show his abilities in real life. Thankfully, Light had spent an entire night looking over evidence, and constructing questions, which were going to nail Takuya. And he remembered them by heart, as he delivered them in the exact same words and order as he had written them. Just to show off his memory to L, of course.
And at the end of the nine-hour session, which it had turned out to be, Light felt dirty from sweating in a room all day, quickly eating unhealthy NPA sandwiches, stressing and breathing the dull air-conditioned air.
But he also felt exhilarated, successful and triumphant, because he had, singlehandedly, extracted the "I did it" from Takuya Yamamoto. And even L had congratulated him in the end.
Light was beaming with tired happiness, saying his goodbyes to the members of the police force, whom he had worked alongside on that case.
Most of them were allowed to go home for the night, and were glad the case was closed. Many congratulated him with manly pats on the shoulders and deep bows.
Light felt acknowledged and was smiling in genuine happiness when he grabbed his jacket from the hanger and turned around to see his father doing the same. The two men looked at each other for a moment before they embraced each other, in a father and son gesture, which Light had missed for a long time.
"Would you like to ride with me?" Soichiro offered and his son gladly accepted.
On the ride home they were mostly silent, but it was the good type of silence. It was 22:52 and they were both really tired, but gratified. Light knew that his father's respect for him had been doubled due to this case. For god's sakes - even the world's greatest detective had praised Light today!
When they arrived Saichico was waiting for them and embraced each one of them tightly. She noticed Light's bandages and instantly became very worried, until her husband reassured her, that Light was all right.
Both men graciously avoided the topic of how Light almost died two times during the last three days, and his hospital stays, knowing that his mother would go nuts.
Light ran upstairs to his room. It smelled dull from not having a window opened for more than two days. He opened a window to let the fresh air from outside enter and freshen up his room for his good night's sleep.
Discarding the clothes, which he had put on two nights ago (when he had left to meet Sato, the traitor, and ended up in that mess, which ultimately had solved the case,) Light jumped in the shower.
He was quick but he scrubbed his hair, and body a few times. The brunette didn't remember the last time he had been so filthy in his life! Days spent outside, in the hospital and at the police station had made him… ewwww disgusting!
Sayu, Light's younger sister, was already in bed. She had an exam in the morning, so it was just Light, Saichiko and Soichiro at the family table.
Light enjoyed the homemade food more than he ever had before. After what he'd been through, it seemed like such a blessing to have the simple comforts of home.
However, the peace did not last long, and even though Light didn't know it in that moment, "peace" in the sense that he had always known it, was already gone.
Unknowingly, Light had already stepped his foot on another path, one that would take him away from home, from everything he had ever known as a child and a teenager, and into a completely different world altogether.
So when he saw an unknown caller, Light didn't have an idea that this call was going to change everything and simply picked up, not even bothering to finish savouring his last meal at the Yagami household, as his home.
"Hi, Light-kun," it was L's voice, unscrambled.
"Hi," Light said, suddenly uncertain how exactly to react.
"I would like to know if you are still interested in working for me," L asked.
"Yes, of course I am," Light said.
"I am glad you haven't changed your mind," L said. "I still need to see how well you perform. However, I am leaving the country very soon. If you want to continue, you will have to come with me."
Light's eyes widened. Traveling to another country, with L! That sounded too exciting to be true. The young man really wanted to do it. He glanced at his parents.
He knew they would approve, especially his father, who was going to be proud of him, knowing L and the detective's international importance.
But then again, Light had to stop attending college. That might not fly too well with his old folks… But even if they didn't approve, Light was 19 years old – he didn't need their permission.
"Alright, I am in. When do you leave?" Light asked.
"In an hour and a half," L said.
Light almost choked on the tea he was sipping.
"What? How do I…" Light began.
"Watari has parked in front of your house. Please collect only your bare essentials, since I will pay for any other items you might need when we arrive at our destination. We need to leave in a hurry," L said.
Light's world was spinning. He almost forgot about how cocky it seemed that L had sent his man to pick him up even before he had received an answer from Light, because had to be the last thing on his mind…
He didn't really remember the next part where he agreed to those conditions, politely excused himself from the table and ran up the stairs to grab the largest sack he possessed and fill it up with a few pairs of underwear, the best pieces of clothing he had, and his essentials. He didn't bother taking any personal items, since he neither possessed anything that he really cared about, nor did things like that matter to him.
Saichiko had followed him upstairs. She asked what he was doing, so finally Light had to go downstairs, with his already made suitcase and announce to his parents that he was leaving.
All he had to do to convince his father was mention Watari. Soichiro understood and silenced his wife. Surprisingly to Light, his father didn't look happy that his son got offered a job with The World's Greatest Detective.
In stead, he gave Light a rather melancholic smile and a real, tight embrace before nodding in agreement and letting him go.
Light ran out of his house, remembering in the last second that he hadn't even said goodbye to his sleeping sister, but he pushed the regret aside.
The air outside was crispy and fresh, and there was a faint smell of sakura blossoms carried by the wind. It was May 16, mid Spring, and the most beautiful time of the year in Tokyo.
A shiny black limo was pulled by on the road in front of his house. The neighbourhood was quiet at this time of the night. No cars passing, no people – just a quiet, starry night, the sweet-smelling breeze and a promise of a world of opportunity and challenges.
Watari appeared next to the backseat door, dressed in a long khaki trench coat, with a high collar turned up, and a hat, that obscured his face almost completely. However, upon seeing Light approach, he flashed a friendly, grandfatherly smile at the teenager, whose eyes were shinnying with barely covered excitement.
Watari opened the trunk, and the light form inside illuminated his pale English completion, as well as his bright blue, foreign eyes. Light snapped out of his trance of watching the elder man put his single, lonely suitcase in the huge trunk, and looked back at his house.
The upper floor, where his room and Sayu's rooms were, was now completely dark, the only lights coming from the living room and kitchen windows on the first floor. The door was opened, and light was shinnying through it, and at the doorsteps were his parents. Soichiro had his arm wrapped around his wife's waist as the two of them waved their farewell to their son.
Even from a distance he could see their expressions and it did strike a place in Light's heart. He waved back at them and almost felt melancholic as well. Then he pushed those feelings away. He wasn't weak, so he wasn't going to allow himself to feel sad or miss them. In stead he flashed them a loving smile, waved and got in through the door, which Watari was holding opened for him.
Soon the limo drove away and the familiar streets were flying by, as Light looked out the window, giving way to less familiar ones. They passed through residential areas, parks with blossoming cherry trees, lakes, lights pointed strategically to illuminate the beauty of nature and architecture.
They passed a few temples, and finally arrived to an area of north Tokyo, which Light rarely visited. He was surprised when he found out that L had been staying at a very low profile hotel, because it turned out that they were picking him up!
Somehow the idea of sharing a car and driving to the airport with L, the world's greatest detective, made Light feel much different then what he had felt like before. Perhaps, it was because up until a few days ago, L had just been Ryuuzaki – an awkward and somewhat weird boy, whom Light had been underestimating.
However, after having been saved by said black-haired mess, after being flown in a helicopter by said awkward guy, Light's opinion had chanced quite a lot. Now he understood exactly whom he was dealing with, and he felt a bit out of place riding the same car as L.
But as soon as L appeared, with an enormous multi-coloured lollipop in his mouth and ratty sneakers, which he kicked off as soon as he got in the back of the limo to join Light, the younger man's mystification with the detective quickly disintegrated.
It was still the same Ryuuzaki, and top detective, action-man, ninja or whatever else he was, Light couldn't take him too seriously with that lollipop in his mouth.
L looked over at him with huge, eyes, which looked completely dark in the midnight scene. He looked almost adorable with that lollipop in front of his pale face. Adorable, or creepy, Light couldn't decide. He was a grown man after all!
L had something frail and childish about him, but at the same time, that same thin pale face, opaque black eyes and bony constitution could also be perceived as wiry, exhausted and heartless.
Was he L, was he Ryuuzaki, or was he something strange in general – it all depended on how you looked at him.
He was a contradiction, a distraction, a challenge. Something that Light would need to figure out if he didn't want to just become a pawn of this man, because he knew that L was capable of doing this to him, if he wasn't careful.
And Light hadn't forgotten his earlier ambitions of out besting L one day. This was just a step in the ladder – first getting to work for him, learning his tricks and quirks, and then finally becoming even better.
But there was also that something else about L. There was something about him that was drawing Light in, now even more so then before. Knowing how resourceful and possibly dangerous this albeit weird man could be, Light couldn't help but want to delve deeper. The younger man knew that his competitive streak and desire for dominance was going to lead him down a dangerous path if he allowed it, wanting to know the man and all… He had resolved not to think of L in that way…
So he looked away.
L didn't look at him much either. The ride to the airport was not long at all. Light wasn't that surprised when they skipped all sorts of airport control and just mounted a private jet, which… looked just like a passenger plane of British Airways.
"Did you rent an entire passenger plane?" Light asked in disbelief.
"No," L said. "I own it. It's a good way to disguise my movements."
Light let out an appreciative noise. Of course – if anyone was looking for L, they would be checking private jets, not the "regular" airlines.
L must have had a lot of money to convince British Airways to do this for him though, Light thought… Or they just owed him a lot of favours.
Inside the plane looked like any other passenger plane, but it was empty, except for the inflammable "passengers", which inflamed on the press of a button in the pilot's cabin.
The pilot greeted L, with the name "Lumiere".
Light raised an eyebrow.
"I chose this nickname before I met you, Light-kun," L clarified.
"Yeah, right," Light teased and laughed at his own humour.
L turned away, so Light didn't get to see his reaction.
"This pilot has been working for me for years," L mumbled.
Light realized that the detective was still defending his point about the nickname. It was kind of interesting that L got so defensive all of a sudden. Light attributed it to L's lack of almost any social experience. Perhaps the detective was just trying to make small talk, but getting the timing all wrong.
As the plane took off, both young men were seated on two opposing sides of the business class, each taking the seat by the window, on the same roll. Light had never flown an airplane before, but it didn't really phase him when the pressure built up in his chest and gut when the plane gathered the velocity to touch off the ground.
He was completely calm as he stared down at the twinkling lights of nigh time Tokyo and once again the image of his parents at the doorway, the cherry blossoms and the river flashed through his mind, before he looked towards the future.
They were above the clouds now, and soon flying over the great, undisturbed darkness of the Pacific Ocean. They were going to have a refuel stop in New York, before flying to Luton, the north-most airport of London.
Light didn't know that yet, but what he did know, was that this was the end of an era. It was the end of his childhood, as he now had effectively moved out from his parent's house and was off to his future and career. Everything was about to change now. And it excited him, as much as it filled him with uncertainty and an anxious fear. But he was Light Yagami – he knew he was going to do brilliantly. So as long sleepless hours of flyinght towards the rising sun passed, Light thought about his life – his future, his past, important and trivial things. For some reason it was so easy to just think when high in the sky, above the world, above it's pity problems and to see the big picture.
Light sighed softly as he finally seamlessly drifted off to sleep.
L looked over his shoulder. He had been staring outside the entire time, not daring a glance at his new companion. To L, this was also an end of an era, and the beginning of a new, uncertain one – the type of experience he had never imagined, nor hoped for. He was going to share his secrets, his time and his life with another person!
Of course it had taken a lot of convincing and a whole lot of logic to get Whammy to agree to this really rushed and hazardous decision. Whammy had only agreeded under the condition that Light begins to train immediately. That's why the interrogation had been necessary – to prove to the elder man, that Yagami really had potential.
Of course, Whammy trusted L's word, but now L had to come up with ways to show mentorship over the younger man, in order to keep his own mentor's mind at peace. Whammy did want a successor after all. So, L had to show him that he was working on it. That was the whole point in the elder man's mind.
But L saw Light as more of a potential partner then a successor. But if need be, the partner would succeed him, right? So in the end everyone was going to be happy. Light got a chance to prove himself and an exciting job to satisfy his hunger for thrill and recognition. Whammy got his backup plan. L got…
Well, he got a partner. A trainy. But that wasn't all, was it.
L hated to admit it to himself, but he also felt that he was getting companionship by someone, whose presence L actually desired. L wanted even more than that. He wanted to get to know Light a bit better. It was a frivolous wish, but he wanted Light be his friend.
And there was more than that too, but L wasn't going to think about it, or admit it to himself just yet. It was too difficult to deal with.
But he had to be careful – he couldn't let his enthusiasm show. The last thing he wanted was to scare Yagami. L had scared a fair amount of people when he had showed any sort of interest in them, and it even hadn't been the sort of interest he had for Light.
So the detective was going to be very careful. He didn't want to mess up and end up with Light despising him.
God, why was it always so difficult to deal with people!
And why couldn't it get any easier, now that he actually wanted to do it. It was only getting worse. So, he kept his eyes away from Light, even though he was asleep, no matter how much he wanted to observe him, now that he wouldn't be aware of it, and therefore hate it.
L reassured himself that the chances of getting another opportunity were very high if he didn't ruin them at this very initial stage, so he disciplined himself. Strangely even his appetite was severely lowered now that Light was here. He almost didn't eat through the flight, keeping quiet and not disturbing Light's sleep.
It was 10 AM when they landed in Luton. Whammy walked down the platform stairs, followed by L and Light right behind him.
Light squinted. Outside felt bright, even though it was an overcast day. The sky was grey as far as the eye could see, and there were seemingly endless flatlands around. The air smelled polluted, as airport air usually does. There were many British Airways planes, which lead Light to the conclusion that they had to be in Great Britain.
Soon enough he caught random English signs that said "Airport", "London" ,"Luton" and he at least knew where he was.
Their baggage was handles by the pilot, a cheerful lad in his mid thirties, who had the type of smile that made you want to know him better. But Light hadn't even caught his name. He had just got the "Lumiere" part.
To Light's surprise, there were many boxes and baggages, which they hadn't brought in the limo. It had to be L's equipment, or at least some of it.
With an airport car of their own, their baggage was transported to a pickup spot, where L pointed to grey mini cooper cabrio.
"We'll travel together with a few of our suitcase," he said. His skin looked as pallid as a sheet of paper in the flat English daylight.
A glance at the muted sunlight was enough to give Light the explanation why, even though there was also the fact that this man seemed to spend a lot of time indoors.
Light was beginning to wonder if he was actually English. He looked a bit mixed.
"Can you drive," L asked.
"I don't have a license, but my father taught me how to drive," Light said.
"Ok, get in the car. You will drive," L said, handing him the keys as if on an afterthought.
Light didn't object. Taking the keys he glanced at the piles of baggage that were not being loaded into the mini cooper.
"Watari will take care of the rest," L said, getting in the seat beside him.
And so, Light discovered that he had never driven a manual car before… and that he could learn how to do it in a matter of minutes.
…
