Tous les Masques Laissés Derrière
(All Masks Left Behind)
There was a brief moment of sanctuary backstage as the curtains closed, before the audience had a chance to react. Ryuuzaki hugged Light around the waist tightly, as if he would never let go, and Light hugged him back, equally desperate. Then they were moving, shifting equipment and instruments. Watari appeared, hugging Ryuuzaki before the violinist shooed Mello, Near, and Matt in his direction.
"They'll be fine, L." Watari said reassuringly. Ryuuzaki nodded, taking a deep breath, and watched his brothers and guardian leave the building with relief.
"I feel better, knowing that they're safe." he said to Light. Light nodded, before promptly being leap-tackle-hugged by his enthusiastic sister.
"LIGHT! That was AMAZING!" Sayu shrieked, practically choking him with the force of her hug. His parents followed close behind, and Mrs. Yagami went to Ryuuzaki, not even giving him the opportunity to speak before hugging him.
When she let go, Ryuuzaki said quickly, "I apologize for the deception. I tried to tell-"
But Mrs. Yagami hushed him, saying warmly, "We completely understand, Ryuuzaki-kun. You and Light are perfect for each other. We're not going to try to stop that."
Ryuuzaki glanced at Chief Yagami, who nodded somewhat gruffly, but ruffled the musician's hair fondly. Ryuuzaki grinned, happy to be accepted, and was promptly hug-tackle-killed by Sayu. "Ryuu-chan, where's Mello? He didn't leave, did he?!"
"Mello, Near, and Matt had other obligations to attend to. They left with our guardian, but you can see him later." Ryuuzaki explained, smiling.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" Suki literally flew into backstage, somehow managing to glomp both pianist and violinist in one motion.
"OHMIGODLIGHTIDON'TBELIEVEITWHYDIDN'TYOUTELLUSYOURBOYFRIENDWASL?!?!?!!?!?" she cried in one breath. Light blinked, completely uncomprehending, and she let go enough to say, more clearly, "That was INCREDIBLE!!!"
"Thank you, Suki…" Light replied, hugging the hyper girl back. "Where are the others?"
"The boys went off somewhere. I think they got stuck in the flood of people going outside."
Light nodded. "I'm sure we'll see them at some point." He refused to acknowledge the potential double-meaning of the statement, instead looking over at Ryuuzaki. "Family and friends out of the way, we should get home before we're absolutely mobbed."
"You're not going to come out and celebrate with us?!" Sayu demanded indignantly.
Light patted her on the head. "Not tonight, Sayu. It'll be a madhouse. Let some of the shock wear off, first. There might be fangirls after my blood for being gay or something. I wouldn't want to subject you to that." Or the Piper, if he chooses to strike.
At that point, Mikami and Misa managed to get in, Misa squealing and glomping Ryuuzaki, who was quickly getting used to having no personal space. Mikami came over to congratulate Light, and said quietly, "I honestly never guessed."
"You weren't supposed to." Light said, smiling.
Mikami laughed. "The other concert, the one at the symphony… That was why he had to leave. His brother wasn't sick. He had to perform with you." He shook his head in wonder. "I've known L all along, and didn't realize."
Light nodded. "And now you do." he chuckled, stumbling under a hug from behind from Misa. "We're going to go home, to let the uproar die down, and we'll see what happens in the morning."
"Good plan." Mikami said. He pried Misa off of her best friend's arm. "Good night, Light."
"Good night." Light watched Ryuuzaki lead their friends and family to a small side entrance. He and Ryuuzaki were going out the back, where there was only a short stretch of parking lot between them and blending into the crowds of Shibuya. From there, it would be easy to make it back to the subway station.
Ryuuzaki came back, and Light hugged him again. "We did it. We made it through the concert."
Ryuuzaki nodded. "And it was amazing, as your sister and Suki and Misa said." He tried to step away, but Light wouldn't let go. "Light, we need to go before the fans or someone besiege the theatre."
Light took a deep breath, stirring Ryuuzaki's hair. "I just feel like, if I let you go now, I'm going to lose you. Like, something bad is going to happen."
"You won't lose me, Light. Not ever."
Light minutely tightened his hold. "But when this is over, and you go back to England…"
"Who said I was going back to England?" Ryuuzaki asked. "Now that the world knows that I'm L, everywhere will be the same. So I will stay here in Japan with you, and force you to endure it with me." He smiled, leaning in to the warm embrace. "I'm not going to leave." he promised.
Light released him, reaching out to grab his hand. "Thank you…" he said. "Now, let's go fight our way through the crowd."
xXx
The back door had been intended to keep them away from the direct path of the crowd. But when they opened the door and stepped out, there was a flock of people there as well.
"Yagami-san!" "L-sama!" "Yagami-san, this way!"
Ignoring the yells around them as best they could, they forged onward in the direction of the subway station. Halfway across the parking lot, a single voice made them stop and turn.
"Light!" Kenneth was elbowing his way through to reach them, and Ryuuzaki leaned up to murmur in Light's ear.
"Let me go on ahead. We'll be less conspicuous alone, anyway."
"But what if…?" Light started to ask, but Ryuuzaki shook his head.
"I'll be fine. Besides, I have a surprise for you when we get home anyway. I need time to set it up." Ryuuzaki grinned innocently and ducked away, leaving Light to talk to Kenneth.
"What's going on, Kenneth?" Light asked.
Kenneth offered a folded piece of paper with Light's name written on the front of it. "This was backstage. You and L must not have seen it. I thought I should bring it to you."
"Thanks." Light took the paper, but before he could open it, people started screaming off to one side of the parking lot. It wasn't fanatical, girly screaming either. It was fear. Light turned to look, seeing the crowd parting, and saw David standing there, a gun in one hand. Light froze, locking eyes with the Uilleann piper. There wasn't time to run. Someone would get hurt.
David's eyes were glazed over, and he didn't seem to respond to the people around him. The crowd surged farther back as he lifted the gun, but he put the barrel to his own temple. People screamed in horror as he pulled the trigger.
Light looked away, unable to watch. He listened to Kenneth's choked gasp, and unfolded the paper he had been given with shaking fingers. He read it through once. It had been written in pen-and-ink, with the type of pen that needed to actually be dipped in the ink. This caused some of the letters to come out thicker and blobbier than others, as the pen was often temperamental, no matter how good with it you were.
Kenneth took a shaky breath next to him, and said quietly, "Does that mean this is over? If David was the killer? I thought for sure he was going to try to shoot us…"
"No…" Light murmured. "His eyes were funny, like Alexei and Vera's. Something's not right." He read the note again, and his eyes widened. There was a pattern to the way some of the letters were thicker than others. It was like a secret message, and it said…
Light dropped the paper, his eyes widening. Ryuuzaki! "Tell the police what happened. I have to go!" He dashed away across the parking lot, the crowd too stunned to stop him, leaving Kenneth to pick up the note and stare at it in confusion.
xXx
It will be Ladies Night tonight, for sure! You and L, together, holding a special concert? It's like a dream come true for them. I'm sure you'll do great!
xXx
Ryuuzaki walked into their apartment, pocketing his key as he flipped on the light in the living room. It was good to be back home.
It had been one of the hardest decisions he had ever made, deciding to reveal his face to the world. After years and years of 'Ryuuzaki' and 'Lawliet' being entirely separate from the persona of 'L', they were finally one and the same again, and everyone knew it. It would be difficult, but with Light by his side, he knew he could get through whatever was thrown at them.
He got up, preparing to head into the kitchen and find the whipped cream. Light would have to wait for the next train, so he would have a little bit of time until his boyfriend got back. But there was a knock on the door before he could even move. He went over, opening the door curiously, and found Genesis standing on the mat.
"Genesis? What are you doing here?"
"I saw you leaving without Light, and I wanted to make sure you were going to be okay." Genesis replied. "I didn't know if it was safe for you to be alone, especially since there's a high possibility that the Pied Piper knows what you look like now."
"He probably does, honestly." Ryuuzaki admitted. "That was kind of the point. I didn't think it was fair to let everyone else be in danger, while I had safety in anonymity. I just wanted to put us all on an even playing field." He wasn't telling the other musician the whole plan, because that was something for only him and Light to know.
"That's really brave." Genesis murmured. "I don't think I would have the nerve."
Ryuuzaki was silent. He wondered briefly what Genesis' purpose in coming was. He could only come to two conclusions, and one seemed more likely than the other. And he would rather hurt the feelings of a sympathetic friend than end up dead.
"Genesis, it was nice to see you, but I'm just going to wait for Light to get home. I'll be fine. Thank you for being worried, though." he said. Genesis looked to the side, and Ryuuzaki started to shut the door.
Quick as a flash, Genesis stuck his foot in the door and let his flute slide out of his sleeve. Ryuuzaki recoiled, starting to retreat farther into the house, but Genesis let a single, impossibly high note fill the air around them, and like so many before him, Ryuuzaki found that he couldn't move a muscle.
Genesis opened the door enough to step inside, and closed it quietly behind him. "Hitting the right frequency of sound affects the brain enough to cause temporary paralysis." he explained to the stunned, helpless violinist, just as he had explained it to Airiin and Jessica. He walked over, looking into Ryuuzaki's ebony eyes, and smiled. "Interesting song… I wonder where that comes from. In any case, it doesn't matter to me." He lifted the flute again, playing a lilting, sweet melody. It spoke of cheer and parades and nice things, were it not being used for such a sinister purpose. Ryuuzaki's eyes glazed over, and he looked at Genesis, waiting.
"Let's go sit in the living room and wait for dear Light, don't you think, L?" Genesis said, a laugh in his voice. Ryuuzaki turned obediently and walked into the living room, sitting down on the sofa without protest. Genesis followed, lounging in one of the chairs and sighing. "Well this is no fun. How about this? You can talk, at least until our other guest arrives." He snapped his fingers and Ryuuzaki, though still mostly paralyzed, was able to blink and shake his head. He tried to move, his eyes now normal and clear, and found that his arms and legs still wouldn't obey him.
"How can a flute even reach a note that high?" he asked warily, eyeing the murderer sitting across from him. Genesis smiled.
"It's not so much the flute… After all, a normal flute cannot control people either." he said. "I've never understood why I can do this, but I finally decided to use it to make my point."
"You're just a murderer!" Ryuuzaki cried. "You've killed innocent people! David went to prison unfairly because of you!"
"Oh, he's dead now, too. He showed up after the concert with a 'surprise'. I hypnotized him in the confusion when people started to leave the theatre." Genesis' smile was childlike. "And the end justifies the means, doesn't it, L? If I'm doing the world a favor, what's a few lives lost?"
"I think you're wrong, and I think you're some kind of madman." Ryuuzaki said.
"Well, that may be your opinion…" Genesis laughed. "But I'm the madman who's captured and killed the great L."
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Aaaaaaand... cliffhanger! Mwahahaha. XD
SO, everyone who guessed that it was Genesis is correct! Sometimes it's so obvious that the person who looks like they did it didn't actually, that you have to go against the norm and make the culprit the person who actually looks like they did it.
...If that made sense to you, have a cookie. :D
I really hate to leave you like this, but I have to go complain at my e-mail now. Ta!
Li