Something Wicked This Way Comes
An Alternate Death Note Fanfiction
by: aishuu

Part 13: Radio-Cassette Player

L stepped away from the door, trying to conceal the shock that was coursing through him.

He had miscalculated. Against all odds, Matsuda had overcome his predictions. He had never anticipated seeing Matsuda again; they had sent him away, and he'd thought that Matsuda would eventually piece together that they'd gotten rid of him as a liability for the case. And when that happened, L had assumed – with all of his personality models backing him up – that Matsuda had been so shamed that he would never dare show his face in front of L again.

Either Matsuda had more balls than he thought, or was exponentially stupider. Neither scenario appealed to L. It irritated him to misjudge Matsuda; he hated the implicated fallibility in his abilities.

For a second, he wanted to remove Matsuda from the area, step out into the hall and conduct business privately, but decided against that almost immediately. Raito would be able to watch on the surveillance cameras, anyway, and Raito had already noted L's uncharacteristic surprise. Raito was sitting in the perfect position to see L's disconcerted behavior. He didn't make any sound, but was most likely using that eidetic memory of his to record the situation so it could be analyzed later.

"You should come in," he said, stepping far enough away from the door to admit his unexpected guest.

"Sure," Matsuda said as he moved carefully into the room, his limbs locked tight to his torso, like he was afraid of accidentally brushing against something and causing it to break. L had chided the man more than once about his clumsiness, but this was ranging on paranoia.

Out of the corner of his eye, L watched Raito rise to his feet, a welcoming smile for their guest on his face. Over time, Raito had come to relax a bit in L's presence, dropping the majority of his carefully cultivated perfect persona. Raito played many roles for his admirers, but he'd come to show L more of the "real" him as they learned to tentatively trust each other.

The real Raito was sharper than he was around normal people, less understanding of human failing. The real Raito didn't like many people, finding those that were weaker than he was annoying and ignorant. The real Raito didn't respect anyone who couldn't keep up with him, and had no patience for ignorance.

The real Raito was a downright bastard.

Now he smiled at Matsuda with congeniality, and L had to suppress a scowl. He hadn't realized how much Raito's facade irritated him until confronted with the difference. "Matsuda, this is my roommate, Yagami Raito," L said, deciding to observe courtesies to help stall the inevitable confrontation.

"We've met," Matsuda murmured. "It's good to see Raito-san again. I was sorry I didn't get to the funeral." There was respect in Matsuda's eyes when he looked at Raito, holding out a hand to shake. It was a very western gesture, one Matsuda had only picked up in recent months.

"It's fine," Raito replied, his voice warm. "I know you respected my father." He smoothly clasped Matsuda's hand in greeting before stepping back.

Deciding that courtesies had been given enough acknowledgment, L cut directly to the chase. "What is it that you want me to know?" he said. Matsuda's eyes darted over to Raito. "You can trust Raito like you did his father," L said reassuringly. Never mind that he's ten times smarter, and a hundred times less forgiving, L qualified to himself. What Matsuda didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Can we sit down?" Matsuda asked, shifting on his feet as he stood in the middle of their living room. "You're going to be want to be sitting down," he added, verging on babbling.

L raised an eyebrow, but moved to comply, only to be interrupted by the doorbell. Matsuda jumped a bit at the unexpected sound, further perking L's curiosity. He'd never considered the older man paranoid, but things appeared to have changed.

"That should be the pizza," Raito said, his lips quirking with amusement as he glanced at L.

L sighed and pulled his credit card out again, finding the distraction – even of food – unwelcome. Besides, it would be impolite not to invite Matsuda to stay for dinner, which meant some his pizza was possibly going to have to be sacrificed for the sake of good manners.

He was more abrupt than usual with the deliveryman, though he did give a large tip to appease the food delivery gods for his discourtesy. Heading back into the room, he wasn't surprised to see Raito had used the time to get three paper plates.

Matsuda looked uncomfortable as the box's lid was opened, but took one of Raito's plain cheese slices when asked if he wanted a piece. The mozzarella stretched thin as he pulled it away from the main pie, earning an undignified yelp from the policeman as the cheese threatened to slide off.

The pizza's arrival had dispelled the tense atmosphere, and L felt more relaxed with food in his hands – and more in control of the situation. Raito ate slowly, his eyes on their guest. He had neglected to get a knife and fork, which was probably because he was trying to act "normal." Raito was the only person L knew who preferred to eat pizza with utensils. He hated making a mess.

After taking a couple of bites, L decided to move the conversation forward. Since Matsuda hadn't made any moves on L's share of the pizza, he was feeling pretty mellow. "What brings you here?"

Matsuda stared at his plate, abandoning his food. "It's my fault," he said hurriedly. "I wanted to know what's going on. After Yagami-san died, I kept my eye on his family because I thought he would have wanted someone to watch out for them, just in case something went wrong and when Raito moved in with you a couple of months ago, I realized that something was up. It's not mere chance that brings you to live with Yagami Raito, son of the former head of the Kira investigation. Unfortunately, someone else noticed I was interested, and it's my fault."

Apparently Matsuda was smarter than L had been giving him credit for – however, he still had a horrible habit of babbling and an inability to communicate concisely. "What's your fault?" L asked, trying not to get irritated with Matsuda's near-incoherence.

Matsuda pulled a tape player out of his pocket and set it on the table. "I could lose my job if they find I'm letting you hear this, but..." Matsuda's lips thinned as he pressed them together, before taking a big breath. "L, they think you are Kira," Matsuda said.

Surprise caused L to jerk, his usual calm deserting him. The slice of pizza he'd been inhaling slipped from his fingers, falling onto his plate with a soft "plop." Raito reacted with a sudden hiss of breath, setting his own food aside onto the coffee table.

"Excuse me?" L asked, unable to believe that anyone would be idiotic enough to buy that. He had been tracking Kira for over a year and... he pushed his original indignation aside, forcing himself to not get caught up emotionally. This was just another obstacle in his investigation, nothing special.

"Interpol thinks that you're Kira," Matsuda said flatly. He hit the play button on the recorder. An unidentified male voice began to speak in English. It took L, who had been thinking in Japanese for months, a moment switch his mental gear, but the gravelly voice was talking about him.

"-no one else smart enough to perpetrate this kind of crime. His global network rivals that of any government agency, and he has the resources to commit the murders."

A voice, recognizable as Matsuda's, responded. "Do you really think he'd do that? How many crimes has he solved? L stands for justice!"

Matsuda's not unexpected partisanship almost made L chuckle, but the tape was rolling on and he needed to pay attention. A different voice, this one feminine. "Can you think of a better explanation for this? Why else could Kira successfully elude capture? What other person is out there that can defeat L? He's never had trouble solving a crime before; if he's Kira, it would explain things perfectly."

"But why would he want to?" Matsuda, again.

"Power," the first voice replied. "Curiosity. Boredom – take your pick. L isn't the type to seek public recognition – he's one of those that believes that being the power behind the throne is more rewarding. Kira is terrorizing the public, even if most of them refuse to admit he exists. I think L is the type who would get satisfaction out of the knowledge of what he's done."

"It's not unknown for the best detectives to try to commit a perfect crime," the female voice added. "After years of investigating crimes, some decide that they could do it better. They could create a crime which would never be solved. The perfect murder becomes their Holy Grail."

L felt Raito's eyes on him, but made an effort to pick up his food and continue eating, despite a sudden lack of appetite. The tape continued for another ten minutes examining what possible actions that Interpol should take, during which L polished off his half of pizza. Neither Raito nor Matsuda finished their first slice.

The tape finally "clicked" at its end, cutting off the conversation. L had heard enough; he knew exactly what was happening, and didn't like the implications. Interpol was just inches away from putting a warrant out on him. He looked over at Raito, nodding to indicate he wanted the other young man to speak first.

Raito was quiet for several seconds, processing what he'd just heard. "They're looking for a scapegoat," Raito said, speaking in a soft voice. He looked over at Matsuda. "You obviously believe they're wrong, or you wouldn't be here."

"I know L," Matsuda said firmly. "There's a couple of other people who believe in him, but I think it will only be a matter of time before they try to arrest him. I just thought he should know what was going on."

L would have laughed at the idea that Matsuda knew him if the situation hadn't been so serious. Matsuda might have been older than Raito, but he was still a heck of a lot more naive. "Thank you," he said, before turning his attention to Raito. "This may complicate things."

"They're going to shut us down," Raito said flatly. "They'll drag you in, and while they're focusing on you, the real Kira will get away."

"They'd have to catch me first," L replied, "and there's no way they can." He had lived most of his life hiding from the curious, and he wasn't about to let himself be taken.

"Matsuda and I both found you. There's other people out there who are as good as we are, L. You're not omnipotent."

It was annoying, but Raito did have a point. He must be slipping, to allow himself to be so easily located. "We're going to need to move, Raito," L murmured. "We're going to have to drop out of sight."

Raito wore an annoyed expression. "You want me to drop out of Toudai, don't you?" he asked.

"You said you wanted to find Kira. That requires sacrifices," L replied. There was also the possibility that L could leave Raito behind and go under deep cover, but he mentally kissed that idea goodbye when he thought of Raito's obsessive nature. There was no way that Raito would forget about the investigation.

"Won't vanishing put up more alarms?" Raito asked reasonably. He might have been wearing that gentle smile that indicated he was trying to be rational, but L understood Raito loathed the idea of giving up his current prestige. Raito was the kind of person who wanted to have it all.

"They already are onto us," L replied, worrying his thumb with his teeth as he considered the possibilities. "This cover isn't doing us any good."

"How about a different cover, then?" Raito asked.