Disclaimer: Death Note is owned by Tsugumi Ohba, and Takeshi Obata. Neither of whom are me.
Author's Note: This fic was originally written for the LiveJournal community of 30 Kisses. We could all use some L/Misa love, let's be honest. This is an alternative timeline (I really can't justify the "AU" label anymore.), and dabbles with the idea of Misa meeting L before Light. Mature reviews are always appreciated.
Rewrite
Theme 16. Invincible
Random moments of cleverness aside, Misa would readily admit that compared to Ryuuzaki or Light, she was not the best plan maker. Hers tended to be impulsive and spontaneous, and didn't always lead to the greatest of successes. If they were successful at all.
That being said, Misa was quite capable of going through with a plan flawlessly, if she so desired. An actress always knew when to follow script, and when to improvise. And she was, if anything, a very good actress. With the circumstances being as they were, Misa concluded that in order to escape her two beefy consorts for a while, doing exactly what Light said, and when he said it, was in her best interest. For the time being, anyway.
Rem, quite naturally, disagreed. However, Misa was expecting that reaction, and had no qualms ignoring the death god's misgivings.
So, when Misa strolled out of her apartment, and pointedly gave both her bodyguards rather dirty looks, Rem followed behind her completely displeased.
To be honest, Misa herself wasn't thrilled with the situation, either. It wasn't for the same reason as her partner, however. In Misa's case, she was worried about how the plan that was about to unfold would pan out. It was simple really, but if she didn't move fast enough, showed one tiny bit of clumsiness, not only would she get caught, but Light would be, too. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and subtly glanced at her watch. One more minute.
She, Rem, and the one bodyguard that had followed arrived at the elevator, Misa hitting the down button and still ignoring both her partner and the man she considered more leech than protector.
The lights in the hallway flickered dimly for a few seconds, and the fire alarms went off, wailing at an ear piercing decibel, warning lights flashing in time. To her credit, Misa jumped and looked suitably surprised.
"Oh!" she turned to her guard, eyes wide. "I wonder if we really have a fire. Misa doesn't like the idea of dying in one."
The man frowned. "Probably some kid pulled the alarm. Either way, we'll have to take the stairs. The elevators won't work now."
They met up with the other bodyguard as they reached the stairway. By that time, the rest of the occupants on the floor were filing out of their apartments, evacuating the building as the alarm continued to sound. Since Misa's apartment was not on the top floor, there were already people in the stairwell to go down in a great rush. She, and her two rather broad companions had to push their way into the crowd. Misa petite as she was, was quickly shoved away from her attendants by people bypassing her.
"Amane-san, please don't go too far ahead," one warned her.
"Fine, fine." With effort, Misa held her ground on the steps against the throng, until she had managed to actually get behind her escorts.
"Amane-san, don't go too far behind."
Misa sighed dramatically. "You two are never happy! Here," she grabbed hold of one of the men's jacket. "Misa will hold on until we get downstairs. Okay?"
That seemed to satisfy them for a the moment, and they continued down a few more flights of jammed stairs without complaint. However, the moment the door for the fifth floor came into view, Misa deviated from the rest of the crowd, releasing her hold on her bodyguard, and making a dash to the floor's entrence. Thankfully, no one blocked her exodus, and she quickly slammed the door shut behind her. She frantically looked around her, already hearing her two shadows yelling. She had expected Light to meet her behind the doorway, but he was nowhere to be found. Instead, a doorjam laid inconspicuously on the ground. Nerves completely shattered, Misa kicked it underneath the door with all her might, and only dared to release the breath she'd been holding when it remained firm as her two guards shook the handle, and demanded she opened it immediately.
Misa literally jumped in fright when her phone went off in her pocket. Shaking, she pulled it out, and whispered in panic, "Light?! I thought you were going to meet me here!"
"Of course, not," Light responded calmly from the other end. "There's no reason for it."
He was right. If the guards had managed to get to her in time, they would've seen Light. L would've very quickly deduced who had thought this whole scheme up, and would probably use it as an excuse to put Light at least under a microscope until the Kira investigation was finally finished. Even if they managed to get to her now, Light simply calling her would prove nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence, at best. It wouldn't be possible to implicate him in Misa's plan to escape. But that didn't make her feel any better. His not being there had made her go from nervous to terrified, and now she didn't know what to do with herself.
"Ah, ah... Misa should go to the other stairwell now?" she asked, taking shallow, raspy breaths.
"Stay where you are," Light instructed. "Wait for one hundred seconds."
Not understanding, Misa still did as she was told, not knowing what else to do. Halfway through her count, the banging on the door stopped, and she could barely hear the muffled sounds of her two escorts talking, before their solid footsteps could be heard going down the stairs.
"They're leaving?" she asked.
"Naturally," Light said, and she could almost see his smirk. "They probably assumed you ran to the other side of the floor, and took the opposite stairwell. They've run down to try to cut you off over there, I'm sure. It's not surprising. They're nothing but hired muscle. Now, finish the count. You've got twenty seconds left. You want to make sure they're out of the stairway so they don't hear you enter it."
It took all of Misa's willpower to make sure she did indeed count to twenty, and not skip a few seconds. Still, the moment her time was up, she bolted down the stairs like there really was a fire in the building, nearly tripping a few times in her haste. Behind her, Rem flinched and frowned at each stumble. Her human could be quite graceless in certain circumstances.
Once at the bottom, Misa poked her head out and into the lobby. Taking a quick glance around, and not spotting either of her guards, she ran to the back exit of the building. Light had said that since most people would be exiting from the front, she'd have a better chance getting out unfettered from the rear entrance. He was proven correct again, as hardly any of the occupants of the building were leaving that way. A few gave her an odd look as she rushed past them, but she paid them no mind. She was so close to freedom, what did she care what other people thought?
Bursting out the doors, she spotted the taxi waiting just like Light said it would be. As she got close, she saw a young man with a hoodie on, the hood over his head and shadowing his features. He turned to her just slightly, a smile on his lips.
"Misa," he said, smoothly. "Care for a ride?"
ooooo
"That was exciting," Misa said, after the cab had arrived at their destination of Toh-Oh University. "But Misa would rather not do it again."
"I can imagine," Light said, his hood still covering his face as he walked past her on to the campus grounds.
With a frown, Misa followed. "Why are we here?"
"It's Sunday, so almost no one is around. In fact, I'm going to take us to the rooftop of one of the buildings I take classes in. We can talk freely there," he pointed ahead of them. "And I doubt anyone will think of this place to find you right away."
"It would be an awful shame if he fell from such a height, wouldn't it?" Rem remarked drily, giving Misa an unapologetic shrug when her partner glared at her for a moment.
Once on the roof, Misa found her nerves returning with avengence. She still didn't know just what Light wanted to talk about. Light himself seemed preoccupied with the view, walking over to the edge of the roof as he pulled his hood back, and stared out into the sky. With the sun over head, he looked more like a god than a human to her, standing so confidently, like there was nothing and no one in the world that could defeat him.
Well. Almost no one.
"Misa," he began, not turning to her. "You told me that you knew that Ryuuga- No, Ryuuzaki was on the Kira case, like I am."
"Yes," she nodded. "Ryuuzaki-san's been Misa's friend for a long time now. He investigated for Misa's parents."
"Ryuuzaki did that?" he sounded interested. "I'm surprised he got involved. I'm even more surprised he didn't succeed."
"Ryuuzaki-san said he was a fan of Misa's. And my sister told me that a lot of evidence was damaged by the police at the crime scene on the night it happened, before Ryuuzaki-san started." She saddened, not liking to bring up bitter memories. "Maybe he would've been able to get him convicted if the police did their job."
"Maybe. Maybe not," Light offered. "How did you know Ryuuzaki was part of the Kira team, anyway? He seems to be pretty secretive."
Misa thought she felt her heart stop for a moment. She hadn't thought about that. She scrambled for an answer. "Misa isn't really comfortable talking about her relationship with Ryuuzaki-san."
"Ah," Light turned to her. "So, you're close?"
She reached up to twirl a lock of hair, fidgeting. "Well..."
"Close enough for him to tell you something he's probably told no one else in the world."
"Um..."
"I'm curious as to what you think of his involvement on the case," he said, suddenly changing the subject.
She blinked. "What?"
"It's just that whenever we talk about justice, or the law, you don't seem to like our judicial system much."
"Well, Misa isn't really a fan," she admitted. "She thinks it fails too much."
"Like with your parents?"
"My parents were good people," Misa said, a little bit of righteous anger in her voice. "They deserved to have their murderer be put in jail, and he wasn't."
"You said Ryuuzaki tried. And he's brilliant."
"Ryuuzaki-san's smarts can't fix the police's stupidity!" she snapped. "They messed up everything! If they had done their jobs right, Ryuuzaki-san would've been able to get the evidence he needed. It was their fault Misa's parents never got justice."
"Never?"
"Hm?" she titled her head.
"Remember? I read the news reports about it. I thought Kira killed the man who was suspected of murdering them."
"He was the man that murdered them," Misa corrected him. "And yes, Kira killed him."
"And that's not justice to you?" Light asked.
"...Misa thinks it is," she said. "But Ryuuzaki-san thinks differently."
"And you think that since Ryuuzaki is smarter than you, he's right." It was a statement, not a question.
"Well, not right, but Misa can see-"
"What if he's wrong, Misa?"
"What?"
It was then Misa realized just how close Light had gotten, his face mere inches away from hers, eyes boring down her own. Close enough to kiss her. Or close enough to grab her if she tried to run away. "What if he's wrong? That his logic, though seemingly sound, has inherit, undeniable flaws?
"Think about it. On paper, the system is set up to work in the people's best interest. But how often does that actually work when in practice? More and more frequently the guilty are getting sentences that are pathetic compared to the crime committed or, like in your parents' case, never sentence at all. And why? Because the system has too many loopholes. Too many ways for it to be corrupted and abused by people who know how to do it, and the lack of morals to go through with it.
"Oh, there are people like Ryuuzaki, who believe that the law should be the ultimate way to punish criminals, and the talent to make sure that it does. But people like him are few and far between in this world. And can you really trust a system seemingly run by idiots?"
Misa laughed, nervously. "Light sounds more like a Kira supporter than investigator."
He backed away, coughing. "Maybe. I suppose I've gotten a little frustrated as of late with the investigation itself. It's getting nowhere."
"Kira is very smart," Misa offered.
"Yes, he is. But, we'll get him eventually. I hope you won't think too bad of me when that happens," Light added.
"Misa would never think badly of Light. But she'll still be kinda sad," she admitted.
"You really are a Kira supporter, aren't you?"
"Now, now. Those are just rumors! Misa-Misa has never made an official statement on the matter," Misa winked.
He chuckled. "I suppose I can understand. Kira has the power to cleanse the world of anyone who he thinks is defiling it. He has a clear vision, and is carrying it out without anyone really being able to stop him. He's even perceived as a god to some people who've become otherwise jaded with what the world has become. They even go so far as to worship him. He's crowned himself king. You could even say he's been crowned by others who agree with his ideals, and is ruling with an iron fist."
Misa turned away, a bitter smile on her face. "Of course, he's missing something, you know?"
"Missing something?" Light repeated, genuinely curious.
She gave him a sidelong glance, and said conspiratorily, "A queen. He's missing a queen. Don't you think so, Light?"
He lifted a questioning brow. "That's a rather dangerous thing to say, Misa. Kira already has avid supporters. That's threatening enough without him having someone share his power."
"Misa doesn't think people who believe in Kira are bad," she frowned. "They just think his justice is right."
"Maybe, but that doesn't mean that they can't go overboard with their loyalty," Light explained. "Kira is very particular about who he's punished so far. If a zealous follower goes past just worshiping, and starts committing murders themselves, then what?"
Misa felt her stomach drop, the world spinning a little.
"And what if someone who didn't really follow Kira just used him as an excuse to kill people they didn't like?" he continued. "Like people who were bullying them? Maybe even their parents?"
"Then that type of person would be punished by Kira for sure!" Misa's head snapped up, her expression burning with rage. "Good people would never kill their parents! Parents are precious, and irreplaceable. Kira would never allow someone to use his name as an excuse to do something so awful."
Light gave her a small smile. "You're probably right. Kira seems like the type to make sure no one sullies his ideals. But that doesn't make him right."
"Why not?" Misa asked.
The forceful question actually took Light aback for a second. "Pardon?"
"Why can't Kira be right?" she clarified. "It's not like he's killing innocent people. He's only punishing criminals, people who've done horrible things. People who've made other, good people sad. How is it wrong to make criminals pay for what they've done if the justice system won't?"
"But does one person alone really have the right to say what punishment is correct?"
"It's not that Kira is the only one to think what he does," Misa said, "it's just that's he's the only one who's able to do what most people think should've been done. That's why so many people believe in him. Because they think what he does is right. They just can't do it themselves."
"Ryuuzaki doesn't think that way."
It was a simple statement. One that Misa already knew. Still, it had the power to completely dowse the flame of her anger, making her feel very small and uncomfortable.
"Ryuuzaki firmly believes that true justice is carried out by the laws already set," Light said, looking her straight in the eye. "That's why we have this investigation to begin with. To Ryuuzaki and the team, Kira is just another criminal."
"Misa knows that," she whispered, squirming a bit under his gaze. "But that's only because Ryuuzaki-san is so good at what he does. Ryuuzaki-san has the ability to make it work. But," she bit her lip, "not everyone can do that. Not everyone is as smart as Ryuuzaki-san. That's why Kira is needed. To make better the mistakes people who aren't like Ryuuzaki-san make."
"Ah, I see," Light looked up into the sky. "So, you think that both Ryuuzaki and Kira are right."
"Well..." she titled her head, pondering for a moment. "Misa never thought of it like that, but yes. Ryuuzaki-san is right, because when the system works the way it should, like he makes it, then good things happen. But Kira is also right, because the law doesn't work all the time, and bad people get away. So really, neither Ryuuzaki-san or Kira are wrong."
"I'm sure neither of them see it that way, Misa," Light offered. "That's why they're still fighting against each other. Neither will budge on their ideals. One day, one of them is bound to overtake the other."
She shivered at the coldness of the statement.
"When that day comes, who will you choose, Misa?" Light asked, his expression one of stone.
Her eyes widened, throat dry as parchment. For the first time in a while, the young man in front of her made her feel true terror. She had always thought, even through all the lies and tangled webs, that somehow she could find a way to keep both Ryuuzaki and Light alive. That she would come out on top, and bring about her own little fairytale come true, where she could have her hero safe, while still having Ryuuzaki by her side. But now, it was suddenly apparent that that would never be the case. Even without her involvement, Light and Ryuuzaki --Kira and L-- would never agree to leave the other be. They would never see the other as a true ally, but as a nemesis. Someone that needed to be eliminated. And eventually it would happen.
Misa didn't even realize she was crying until Light reached out to wipe the tears off her cheeks, his visage much kinder than before.
"Sorry," he said. "That was a rather loaded question. Forget I asked it. Come on, I'll take you home. I'm sure you have your bodyguards and Ryuuzaki frantic by now."
Through her tears, Misa laughed a little. "Ryuuzaki-san never gets frantic."
"Maybe," he smiled. "But I'm sure he's definitely not happy."
"Now that," she smiled ruefully, "Misa believes."