A/N: sorry I haven't updated any of my works in a while. College saps up a lot of energy, especially when it comes to Honors :). This will be slightly shorter than the others, but it is an important chapter. We're starting to reach the climax.

Chapter 13

The moment L touched Raito Yagami's scythe everything changed. His eyes clouded with gray in a millisecond, only to be blown away just as quickly, leaving his sight clearer than that of a normal human. He watched Raito sail past him, gasping at the rolling forked tongue, sharp fangs, and extended wings. A single drop of blood fell from the tip of his middle finger where it had been barely cut by the once-invisible scythe.

Everything, despite the clarity, was moving so slowly. L fell back a step as Raito continued his swing, the edge coming ever so close to Takeshi's neck. The terrified teen stumbled away from his former friend as the human shinigami bore down on him with a growl of anger. Raising the scythe up, Raito brought it down in a fierce swing.

Suddenly, the world jumped back to normal speed and Takeshi dove out of the way, running for the far corner. Raito stood up straight, scythe in hand as the let loose a pained howl.

"Watch out! Yagami-kun has gone insane!" one of the officers behind L shouted as he started to run towards the brunet.

Throwing out his arm, L grabbed the man's uniform and threw him back. He made a motion for all of the officers to stay behind him, although his gaze never left Raito.

Visible to only him and Takeshi was the painfully gorgeous monstrosity that had once been Raito Yagami. The Chief's son had always been tall and toned, but as a shinigami, those two traits had only become more pronounced. He seemed to tower over them all, his head held high in a regal manner. His long legs were spread in a powerful stance and the pointed teeth were gnashed together. Darkness swirled in the brown eyes as Raito snarled and turned to his former friend. The twin wings that adorned his back fluttered slightly in the breeze that drifted down the hall, flinching out to their full six feet of length before contracting again. Raito's angry snarl morphed into a mad smirk as his giant hands tightened around the staff of the scythe.

"Raito?" L asked quietly.

The shinigami turned to him, growling low in his throat. The officers behind L took a step back, even if they couldn't see the additional changes that had been brought upon their boss's son.

"Belo-"

Raito whipped around to snap at Takeshi, who was in a defensive stance, his hands held up slightly.

"Come on Beloved, don't be like that. You just need to calm down. We're going to rule the world together, remember?"

A shiver ran through Raito's body as he recoiled slightly. Whimpering, he stalked in a small circle, hands wringing the scythe. L's eyes flicked back and forth between the two teens, unsure of what to do.

"You said you wanted power and I'm willing to give it to you. It was all for you. You know that right?" Kira laughed softly, holding his hands out to Raito.

L would have snarled at the stupid teen if Raito hadn't done it for him. Raito may have been a genius capable of world domination (and that L was sure of), he wouldn't have done it by the methods that Takeshi had. Mass death, terror, and whatever he'd done to Raito? None of that would have been possible for the Yagami son.

"Don't be stupid, Takeshi," Raito said, finally speaking. He started to pace back and forth across the length of the room, like an animal waiting to be let out of the cage. "I don't want to rule the world, no matter what you think. Am I ambitious? Hell yes, but I don't need to go around killing people by writing their name in a God damn book to do it!"

The police officers behind L exchanged confused glances. L's eyes only widened. Writing names in a book? Could it… no, the Death Books were a legend. He'd researched them himself. Every lead he'd ever gotten had come to a definitive end: they didn't exist.

"You thought you were so clever. A Death Note? The only way to really kill anyone without getting your hands dirty," Raito chuckled.

"Of course, Belo-"

"-Don't you fucking dare call me that! I'm not your boyfriend! I'm not your beloved! I'm not even your fucking friend anymore, Takeshi! Why would I want to be after what you did!" Raito screamed.

"But Raito, without that you-"

"-Would have gone on without ever knowing you 'liked' me?" Raito snarled. "I could have done without that, thanks."

"But Be-"

"-Shut the fuck up Takeshi! I don't want to hear what you fucking think! I could have lived with it if you had just told me like a normal person! But oh no! You had to do… that!"

A shiver ran up L's spine at the raw anger displayed in Raito's voice. Raito's eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at his former best friend, starting to twirl the scythe again.

"It's time for you to just fucking die!" Raito screamed as he grabbed the scythe in both hands and rushed Takeshi.

They started a frantic, wild dance of ducking, avoiding, and rapid swings. L and the others stared at the former best friends as one tried to kill the other. Finally, Raito raised the scythe for the final time and swung it as hard as he could. Suddenly, something darted past L in a flash of blond hair just as the scythe came towards Takeshi's neck.

L's mouth dropped open as he watched the blade of the scythe cut through a blond girl's neck. He waited the blood, but none came. When the girl fell between the two boys, the skin wasn't even broken.

Retreating back a few steps, Raito doubled over as if in pain. He sunk to his heels, rocking back and forth as he stared at the dead body and the scythe abandoned at his side. Grabbing his head in his hands, he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth. Takeshi was inching around the body, staring at it wide-eyed. Slowly, L crept towards Raito, motioning for the other officers to stay back.

"Raito?" he murmured as he approached the distraught teen.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! It wasn't supposed to go like this! I have never done this before," Raito started muttering to himself, his eyes snapping open.

Reaching out, L tapped the teen on the shoulder. Recoiling, the brunet leapt backwards, screaming. L, in an unusual fit of panic, grabbed Raito's arms and forced him to the floor. The fanged mouth was open in a loud yowl, the wings flapping wildly. With a well-placed kick to the stomach, L went flying back, landing hard on the floor.

"Don't move!" he shouted at the policemen who rushed to help him. "Don't move!"

Trashing up onto all fours, Raito cowered away from any of the other people in the room, his eyes focused on the dead body. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to the body, his hands shaking. Kneeling down, he lifted a small lock of blond hair and grimaced, tears dripping from his eyes.

"I- I-" he coughed, lost for words.

"Belov-"

Raito snapped into action, spinning around with a howl. He leapt at Takeshi, tackling him to the ground, his hands secure around the other teen's neck. Squeezing as tightly as he could, Raito put his face close to Takeshi's, hissing angrily.

"Look what you made me do! Look at what you've done! You just had to like my ass a little too much, you fucking asshole! I would have never been in that alley! I would have never had to meet Ryuk! I wouldn't be a fucking shinigami if it weren't for you!" he shrieked.

Slamming the other teen's head on the floor, Raito started sobbing.

"Shinigami aren't supposed to kill people unless their time has come! Death comes swift to those who are lucky! Death waits for those who are lucky!"

Carefully, L came up behind the two teens and laid his hands on Raito's shoulders. The brunet flinched away, but L kept a strong grip on the younger man. Reaching down with one hand, he pulled Raito's claws away from Takeshi's neck, holding them back against the brunet's chest. His other arm he wrapped around Raito's waist, pulling the teen up onto his feet.

"I- I didn't mean to kill her! It was an accident!" Raito sobbed.

"That's right, Raito. It was an accident. It wasn't your fault," L said quietly as the other officers rushed forward to cuff Takeshi.

"My scythe. I killed someone who wasn't supposed to die," Raito murmured to himself, eyes wide with shock.

"Ryuuzaki-san," one of the police officers called. "Kira is in custody. What would you like us to do?"

L motioned the officers away and they slipped silently from the room, the unconscious Takeshi carried between them. Raito continued to shake in L's arms, crying quietly. L continued to hold him without moving until the paramedics arrived.