Title: All is Forgotten, All is Forgiven
Author: kathleenrose747
Pairing: L (Lawliet, Ryuzaki, Eraldo Coil, Denueve, Hideki Ryuga)/OC
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I have not, nor will I ever own anything relating to the idea, copyright, persons/characters and creation of Death Note. I also don't own any of the sweets mentioned in here. The only things I own are Michiko Nakashima, Melody Chance, and Piero; characters of my own creation.
Authors Note: I do use some of L's other aliases in the story. Also, L is 30 years old in this story. So yes, we can consider it AU. Please review with constructive criticism. I would also like unadulterated praise, if it is available. :)
February 15th, 2013, Late at night
"Because… for the first time in my life… I'm willing to admit I'm out of my element."
The guard turned off the viewing screen and turned in his chair. "I think he's finally ready to crack. Let the extraction team know." The man at the door nodded pulling out a radio to start opening the lines of communication. The guard at the viewfinder walked over to the door, accepting the giant ring of keys before turning down the hallway to Ruslan's office. He knocked twice and opened the door without waiting for acknowledgement.
"What do you want?" Ruslan looked up from his desk, mid stroke on an order to shut down a business that owed him too much back pay.
"It's Denueve, sir. I think he's finally ready to talk."
"That didn't take long at all." Ruslan smiled widely, capping his pen as he stood. "Shall I come with you to get the information?"
"Not necessary, sir. We'll bring him to you. Would you like the girl as well?"
"Naw. She's made herself as useful as any whore can." Ruslan laughed darkly, looking over at his sword that leaned against the fireplace. "Once she sees what we can do to her associate, maybe she'll become a little more of a willing bedfellow. For now, I'm more concerned about the information I can get from Mr. Mysterious. Bring him here instead of the usual interrogation chamber. I have better access to persuasive techniques here." When the guard didn't immediately move from his position, Ruslan tilted his head, inviting the man to speak.
"Sir… if this is indeed the mysterious L character we've been hearing about, we may want to consider extra reinforcements in the room. I've heard tales from my days in government detail." The guard shifted nervously, making Ruslan laugh.
"For your peace of mind, I would not say no. I figure four men, one to each corner would be enough of a deterrent for him. You and Matvey can stay by him for extra protection, if you wish."
"Yes, sir." The guard saluted and headed out the door. After a quick walk to the barracks room, he barked for four soldiers to go to Rulan for further orders. Yana, a tall woman with a blunt blonde haircut followed him to the cells along with Matvey, a young looking soldier who had, in fact, seen many years in combat before signing up for the Russian intelligence force. They headed down the dark hallway ignoring the pleas and cries from the women around them as they headed to the very last cell. The guard pulled out the key ring and opened the cell, allowing Yana and Matvey to go in before him.
"Denueve?" The guard looked down at the man who held a young woman tightly in his arms. The dark eyes didn't blink as they looked up at him. "Leave the girl here. You are wanted."
"I've been wanted for most of my life. What else is new?" L deadpanned as he stayed on the floor, unwilling to let go of Michiko who was trembling with fear, her face buried in his neck.
"I will leave Yana to watch over your little friend here. She's not one to torture women. She has a lot more fun with stubborn men who refuse to do what they are told." Yana cracked her knuckles to punctuate the statement.
L looked at the three faces in turn and sighed. He put a hand on Michiko's shoulder and gently pulled her away from him. Panic filled her eyes as she shook her head silently protesting the inevitable.
"Michiko… stay strong. We'll get out of here. I promise." L smiled tightly as he stood up. He felt a gentle tug on his pant leg and looked back down.
"Stay safe…" Michiko whispered before reluctantly letting him go, silent tears falling down her cheeks. L squared his shoulders and walked over to the open door waiting for the inevitable blindfold. When he heard the door shut behind him and the two male guards step to his sides he looked over at the taller one, suspiciously.
"There's no need to blindfold you. You won't be coming back." Michiko must have heard what was said because she let out a choked sob before trying to stand. The female guard grabbed her wrists and pulled her back down, barking the word 'stay' in Russian.
"She's a human being. Not a dog. Understand me?" L said over his shoulder. He saw the woman tersely nod, holding a hysterical Michiko down as she tried to fight and scratch with what little strength she had to get to L. To the only safety she knew or trusted. Her cries followed him down the hall, shattering his heart in a million pieces.
How did I let it come to this? How did I let her get dragged so far into my schemes? L thought sadly as he walked up the stone steps, one guard in front and another behind.
Because she worked her way into your life. And you let her. His inner voice spoke gently. He was used to a normally abrasive and harsh voice of reality, but this inner voice was calm.
So you are saying it is my fault.
On the contrary. She is just as culpable, just as accepting of the consequences the voice said. Now why don't we talk about what you're really scared of.
Not making it out of here alive.
No. Not that. The voice prodded L to admit the one thing he was terrified of. The one reality he didn't want to be true.
I never got a chance to tell her how I truly feel. It had all been subjective supposition since that kiss under the mistletoe. They both assumed one cared for the other, but neither of them had slipped up with the 'l-word' yet. He had never gotten to broach the topic fully on that night she had returned to the apartment. The conversation had gone off the rails on her life story and a small implication that he liked her appetite (which he was still kicking himself for), but it had never gotten to where he really wanted to: where did they see themselves as a couple in a relationship outside the professional realm?
"Get in there." The guard opened a door as the other guard stayed close on L's heels to keep him from running. L didn't know the layout of the building, so there was no point. He walked in and quickly assessed his situation. The room was garish and over opulent. Gold trim ran around the top and bottom of the room while the cream marble floor glistened in the firelight. Modern bulbs lit up the rest of the room from sconces set in every six feet around the room. Four soldiers stood watch from each corner of the room while Ruslan sat at his desk grinning like a Cheshire cat. A single wood chair was set in the middle of the room. By process of elimination, L decided he had to sit there. He walked over and sat while his two walking companions stood station just behind him.
Silence filled the room for a moment before Ruslan let out a low laugh. "Well, well, well… you're in a bit of a pickle, aren't you, Mr. Denueve?"
"Seems so." L said tersely. "What made you bring me here?"
"My guards overheard your plea. That you were 'out of your element', as it were." Ruslan stood and walked around his desk slowly, running his fingers along the dark wood. "Only a man who is in a desperate situation would say such a thing." When L did not reply, Ruslan snapped his fingers, bringing a soldier to his side. After whispering something to him, the guard saluted and left the room through a side door. From the corner of his eye, L caught the slightest glimpse of a four poster bed with ropes tied to each post before the door shut. His mind went to a dark place and his stomach dropped, fearing that Michiko had already been subjected to that room.
"You can't seriously believe you were able to keep the wool over my eyes for this long. I know who you really are. I found those tracking devices on my cars. Several inside sources gave me enough pieces of the puzzle that made me almost certain as to your real identity. It wasn't until I let you fight me in the back alley behind that club that I got to see your true fighting style and almost fully confirm who you really are."
"You want to quit extrapolating and tell me who you think I am?" L's heart pounded. This was it. He was done for.
"Oh we'll get to that soon enough. But first… let's talk about your little girlfriend." L's eyes narrowed and Ruslan smirked at the motion. "Pretty little thing she is. Very vocal too. I have to thank you for letting us start our adventures together back at the Lair. It was nice to see what she could do in more traditional settings." L almost got out of his seat if it hadn't been for the guards hands quickly holding him in place.
"What are you implying that you can't outright admit as a man?" L said, his eyes burning into Ruslan to tell him the truth. The extent of what he had done would dictate L's future actions.
"You have to forgive me. My native tongue can be more flowery than most." Ruslan leaned against the front of his desk, crossing his arms as he looked at the agitated man before him. "You want me to admit I fucked her? I most certainly did. And she was a good little fighter through the whole thing. Just how I like them."
L didn't move. Everything inside him stilled to a deadly calm as he processed what had just been said. He felt nothing. He pulled his legs up in front of him and sat on the balls of his feet, the calm radiating through the room and causing some of the men to shift nervously in their stations.
This was the side of L that Melody always warned people about. If he goes silent and his eyes aren't blinking, keep the option of 'running for your life' on the table. Ruslan didn't read the room and, instead, looked over L's body language and read it as 'defeat'.
"Unfortunately, she never did give me much in terms of information. You must have trained her well." Ruslan looked up as the guard he had sent out came back in with a non-descript black notebook. "But that is neither here nor there. Let's talk about you." The guard handed the notebook to Ruslan and went back to his post. "I'll be brief: you know my father was looking for the Death Notes of lore. Whispered about. Feared. And, thanks to some unwilling informant, we were able to come across one ourselves." Ruslan stroked the book almost reverently. "A book that grants death. What more could you possibly want? We tested it a couple times, of course. And each test was as successful as the last."
"And what does your father think of your endeavors?" L spoke softly, knowing full well where this conversation was headed.
"Wouldn't know. In order to take over his whole operation, I thought it convenient for him to suffer a heart attack shortly after writing over all properties and employer rights to me three weeks ago." Ruslan casually flipped open to a page in the book and walked over to L, his finger pointing to the flourished, handwritten notary of 'Abram Oberin' with the words 'heart attack' and the date 'January 25th, 2013, 11:59 pm'.
"I made sure to have the meeting on the 24th, emphasising the fact that my father was getting older and had to prepare for an uncertain future." Ruslan chuckled before walking back to his desk. "Well. Uncertain to him at least."
"So then why do you have me here? Why bring Karina into it?" L was careful to use Michiko's code name. He couldn't be one-hundred percent certain of Ruslan's reasonings as he rambled like a madman.
"Because I have always been intrigued by you, Denueve. Or are you more comfortable with your more widely known moniker?"
L blinked once, acknowledging that the severity of the situation had jumped to 'frying pan into the fire'. "You knew since the party."
"I only suspected it, but when I saw you and your little toy closely inspecting the painting by your former colleague, I was almost certain I had you figured. That was why I deliberately asked for that painting to be delivered to that site. My father was modestly suspicious of you, but I was deeply intrigued. I've heard the stories, the legends. Your name gets around… L."
"Cue the rousing applause." L took in a breath and closed his eyes. "Are you ever going to tell me why I'm here?"
"Because I want what you have. You are a man feared and revered around the world. I must have it. I want to be you." Ruslan let out a sound that was close to erotic in nature. "To have the whole world at my fingertips. For every nation's leaders to bow to my every whim. With your notoriety, I can have it all."
"People lie and act like they're me all the time. What is stopping you from pulling the same trick?"
"Because all of those other clowns get caught and called out eventually. No. I want your whole kingdom. Your operations. Your associates. And this time…" He patted the Death Note beside him. "... this time I will be certain of your death."
"How did you get the information anyways?" L had a hunch where this was headed, but he needed to see it through.
"Your little Russian contact... Terrence, was it? He didn't last very long after we tortured your story of your fake death and a rough idea of where you were operating out of him." L's hands clenched into tight fists knowing where this was snowballing. "We then ransacked his office and found the location of your home in England. It didn't take much persuasion for the hackers under our 'care' to pull up your mental health records from the therapist before the one you currently have employed. Smart of her to take everything offline, but not smart enough to completely erase all possible traces of former records."
"And you really think people loyal to me are just going to roll over and bow down to you? They don't even hold me up on that high a pedestal."
"But they are in awe of you anyways. And that is enough for me to control them." Ruslan flipped open the notebook and pulled out his pen. "L-A-W-L-I-E-T. I assume I have that correct?" Sarcasm flooded Ruslan's voice as he made a show of writing out the first six letters, pausing at the last L. "Oh… about your little woman. I'll be taking good care of her in your extended absence."
"Over my dead body." L gritted out.
"That's the plan, ublyudok." Ruslan pointed out the five cameras in the room. "Now that I have your confession and, soon, your death recorded, it will only be a matter of time before everything that is yours will be mine. Say zdravstvuyte to my old man for me, will you?" Ruslan wrote out the last 'L' and sat back. "Now to hang out for the last six minutes and forty seconds. How does it feel to know you're going to be dead soon?"
"No more different than every other time my life was threatened."
"You are not afraid? Even a little bit?" Ruslan was getting impatient with the cool demeanor L presented. "You have to have some thoughts about what will happen in your absence?"
"The world will turn, I suppose." L put his thumb in his mouth, chewing on his nail, the only sign his nerves were getting to him. "But I'm sure you know I'm more worried for Karina's safety than my own."
"Cut the dur' nesusvetnaya. You and I both know her real name. And it certainly rolls off the tongue in a most lovely fashion. Too bad you will never know the pleasure that her body can bring."
"Pity indeed." L sighed keeping the rage tamped down. "Now if you're done trying to play up her wiles to make me jealous, can I at least speak to her in my last moments?"
"I may be cruel, but I am not completely heartless." Ruslan snapped his fingers and the previous soldier stepped out of the room, coming back quickly with an ancient ТА-57 field telephone set used by the Soviet Union in World War Two. His last words would probably be crackly as hell, but at least he could hear Michko's voice in his last moments of captivity. L accepted the handheld from the soldier who handed over the case to one of the men behind him. After a ring, a woman answered in Russian.
"Put the captive on the line." L said in Russian. The phone crackled as it was moved and Michiko's voice came over the line.
"L? What is going on?" She sounded confused and terrified in one go.
"I don't have much time, Michiko. Do you remember my promise I made you before I was taken out?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you any sooner. And I'm sorry that I won't be there for you when you will be at your most confused and scared. Just know…" he took in a breath. This was not how he wanted to say it, because it would break her heart. But he couldn't leave without telling her. "... just know I love you. I'll see you on the other side. Someday."
"L. What are you saying? I don't understand…" Rusland held up two hands and flashed it twice, telling L he only had twenty seconds.
"Michiko… I'm out of time. Just know this… you're the first woman I actually like that I've said those words to. Count yourself lucky."
"You're making jokes right now?! You idiot!" Michiko let out a broken sob before whispering "I love you too." L nodded to the soldier to take the phone away, Michiko's sobs coming through before the 'click' silenced her.
"Well… L. It's been a pleasure to know you. I hope you rest easy." Ruslan looked down at his watch as it counted down. 5...4...3...2…
1
He looked up, glee all over his face. Seconds ticked past the expected deadline and L still sat there pensively.
"Now don't tell me you spelled my name wrong?" L tilted his head.
"No… this can't be…" Ruslan picked up the notebook. It was spelled right. Everything was right.
So what went wrong...
"You might want to use a real Death Note next time." The anonymous guard behind L spoke up as every soldier in the room pulled their guns and aimed them at Ruslan. Ruslan reached to his side pocket for his weapon, but came up empty. The man who had brought in the notebook and phone tossed the small caliber gun to L, who caught it and stood up.
"Thank you for the coverage, Terrance." L said as the man, much to Ruslan's shock.
"But… I had you killed!"
"Yeah. Well, you might want to actually check your dead bodies before believing the people you hired."
"But I don't understand…" Ruslan fought as two men tied him to his chair and L smiled gently, rubbing a foot behind his ankle.
"You said it yourself: I have the whole world at my fingertips. And now I have your organization. It has taken years to get to this point, but it is finally over for you, Ruslan Oborin." L turned and started walking to the door. "Make sure to put him in a secure holding for transport. I'll be by to check the job. Send a recovery team down to help me assess and relocate the other women. If necessary, call in the W Team. They have a few medical professionals on staff."
Right now, he had some serious explaining to do to a woman who probably thought he was dead. If he wasn't dead now, he sure would be once Michiko got a hold of him.
Now… how in the world do I make reparations for her? She's been through hell. How will I ever get her forgiveness? L shook his head.
I'm not going to expect forgiveness. Or a future. Just focus on getting her to Whammy House, into therapy, and as far away from here as possible.
Focus on the job.
**Surprise! Thanks to social distancing, I figured I would come back and finally finish this story I left hanging all these years ago. I have at least three more chapters planned to finish this all out. If you're an old reader, welcome back. I hope you can forgive me for my lengthy absence. :) **
