"It is really quite simple." Watari stated as he tugged the cloth out of the Yagami boy's mouth. The aged inventor was regretful that he had to treat him in such a derogatory manner right after what was surely torture at the hands of his ward, but it was a necessary evil. Having the boy scream or attempt escape would surely gather attention, and that would cause all sorts of problems.

The old man dragged the chair Misa Amane had brought in forward and sat in front of the brunet, who was still tied up against the wall. He was a handsome lad, with bright brown eyes and a perpetual air of confidence, and considering how smitten L was with him, he had to be quite intelligent. Watari couldn't feel sorrier that this young man had been caught in the crossfire between L and himself.

"The fact of the matter is, the name Misa Amane sees above my head with her Shinigami eyes is not in Kanji, or in Japanese at all. I am certain Misa Amane does not know how to read English."

He saw the gears working in Light's head as the boy bit his lip, keeping his sharp eyes trained on the inventor. "My ward gave me one of the Note briefly to study when he tried to get me to convert to Kira's side. One of the rules inscribed inside stated that the accidental misspelling of a name three times in the Death Note results in that person becoming immune to the effects of Death Notes in general."

It struck Light then, and Watari could see the effort it took him to suppress the smile pulling at his lips. "That's brilliant." The brunet said softly, but despite the seeming lack of enthusiasm, the founder of Whammy's House could see the glimmer in the boy's honey eyes as he re-evaluated the man he had previously only known as L's personal chef and assistant. He was so very similar to L, it made the inventor nostalgic.

Watari remembered the day it had all fallen apart. It had been a day of revelations and unimaginable horror, L was Kira? His ward, his son, was a murderer of thousands (and worse, he was the murderer he claimed to be hunting!). And worst of all, the shameless boy had wanted Watari to help him, as if it was a project for class or a case that needed a helicopter sniper.

Quillish Whammy could never be Kira's accomplice, it went against everything he believed in. But he knew that if he said that to the detective he had raised, L would kill him on the spot. Ah, the pains of being a father. He couldn't turn L in, he couldn't go against him.

It was easy to sneak away past his ward, he was Quillish Whammy, there was precious little that was impossible for him. He snuck away and made it to Misa Amane's house, convincing Rem not to say his real name and begging the model for her help. She had agreed, of course. Watari had known she would agree, he had always been kind to her. There weren't many people who were.

He told her that she needed to kill him, and that he would spell his name out for her. All he needed to do was tell her the wrong spelling three times (she was a bit of an airhead, she didn't catch on to his plan until he was done). A little more preparation with the help of Roger, who had always been easy enough to manipulate, and he was home free, a simulated heart attack, a decoy body buried in his place and three tickets to the suburbs of America in his pocket.

He had washed his hands of L and the Kira case, a grieving father who would spend the rest of his days praying for the redemption of his son and perhaps plotting to break BB out of prison to cause a little anarchy in the Kiradom but nothing major, he could never have done anything to really shake L up…

Until Ryuk dropped his Death Note at his feet one peaceful Saturday morning.

Watari frowned at the brunet in front of him, shadowing his eyes, putting on a balanced, calm voice as if getting ready to break bad news. "I believe I saw an obituary with your name on it, Light Yagami. Yours, your father's, Shuichi Aizawa's and Kanzo Mogi's. Victims of Kira, along with my ward."

A small frown appeared on Light's face. "He…killed Mogi too?"

"I have no evidence to the contrary. All four of you have graves nearby the Kira Investigation Headquarters. Your mother visits it every day and places flowers by the headstones." The old man clasped his hands in his lap. "Your sister, according to Misa Amane, has not forgiven either of you. She is an angry young girl, failing all her classes and refusing to speak with her friends. However, for some reason, she has a special animosity for you, Light. She says you betrayed them, you gave up on them, you never cared for them in the first place which is why you risked your life and died for nothing. She says you are not worth grieving over."

The young man was silent, his jaw tight. Blood rushed to his face as his eyes studied the floor.

"And why are you telling me this?" His voice was gravelly, hardly as composed as he would have wished it to be. As Watari had suspected, Sayu Yagami was a sore spot.

Watari smiled at the brunet. "I was just confirming which side you are on. Are you for Kira or against him, Yagami-san?"

Light raised his head, and his eyes flashed with fire. "I'm obviously against him. He's imprisoned me, tortured me and held my father hostage. I will always be against him."

The words rang with truth.

Watari leaned forward and placed a hand on Light's shoulder. "Yagami-san. You were a great member of the Task Force, equal in capability to my ward L. I would be honoured if you joined me in my fight to take down Kira once and for all."

There was a long, concerning silence. The old man frowned. "Is something wrong, Light?"

Hesitantly, the boy met the inventor's eyes. "Well…it's my father. If…if L suspects I've joined you, he'll kill him. I know he will, he doesn't care about him. He killed Aizawa without a second thought. I can't…" He gulped. "And if you free my father somehow, he'll definitely know it's me."

Watari mused. "Unfortunately, the rule I exploited only applies for if the Death Note user misspells a name accidentally. I cannot protect you or your father in that way. Every one of us in the Anti-Kira movement can read Kanji and have seen your names at least once before."

Light fidgeted in his bonds. "So…so I can't help you. I can't join you."

"Yes, it does seem that way." Watari sighed. "Pity."

He reached out and patted the boy's soft auburn hair before getting carefully to his feet and walking out of the room.

"Seems we will have to do this the old fashioned way."

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A/N: SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE I'LL DO BETTER I PROMISE XD Looks like we have our cliffhanger!