20

Light didn't think the day would get worse with everything that has happened. It went from bad to worse when the official results came in. As expected by everyone, Near came in first with Mello in a close second. The more depressing result was that five of the students were dropped into being candidates and are requested to join the normal classes starting tomorrow.

The strange thing was, instead of feeling sorry for the aforementioned students, most of the students in the normal classes rejoiced. Light asked one of the children why they were happy.

"Well, it means that five students from the normal classes will have a chance at being included as candidates", said one student. "Do you know how much allowance they get? And each candidate of L gets a hefty sum of money when they leave this place."

That explains it. This whole thing sounds so messed up.

As horrible as it looked, you couldn't really blame the students for not empathizing to those children who were clearly suffering. And on the other side of the coin, it was most likely that the candidates themselves look down on the students of the normal class. So it was only natural. Disgusting, but natural.

Light wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, but he really didn't know how to do it. Can he even trust anyone in this place? Should he gamble on trusting someone, or should he play it safe and plan everything by himself? Maybe he should, as he couldn't see himself finding a way out of this on his own.

He decided to just think about it carefully for now. His track record for making fast decisions wasn't really pretty, and it was the same reason why he is finding himself in this situation in the first place. It is better to give it a day or two, and if he is certain, he will act accordingly. He tried sleeping that night while remembering the screaming, the meltdowns, the pain, it was enough to construct a nightmare.

He only had a day to figure out what his decision would be. Early in the morning, while he was still preparing himself for the day, there was an urgent knock on his door. It was Mello, Matt, and surprisingly, Near.

"We need to talk" Mello said.

…

L woke up to a terrible pain in his neck and head. He was still alive, and he was being treated for first aid on an ambulance. Apparently, they were still very lucky to fall into one of the small floaters in the river, which injured L's neck but not enough to cause a major injury. Since the bridge was crowded the people there called emergency services immediately, and managed to take them out of the river and into safety, until the ambulance came and declared them to still be alive, with only minor injuries. Misa was still unconscious though, but she at least has a heartbeat.

Fortunately, Watari became aware of what happened when the people contacted emergency, and identified L as one of the victims. He arrived just in time so that L can avoid further questions on what happened, and Watari was able to take care of everything from there.

The more unfortunate news was that they concluded that Misa was having suicidal tendencies, and should be monitored at all times lest she attempt to do it again. They took Misa to the headquarters, back on her own room, under the careful watch of Watari.

When she woke however, she attempted to do it again, this time with the razor blades found in her shaving kit. They restrained her and she only managed to get a few small cuts in her wrist, nothing life threatening. But it did show them that this arrangement would be too overwhelming for Watari to handle.

L could only think of one thing left to do after that.

"We are going to be chained together until you feel much better, Amane-san" L explained to her as he cuffed Misa's wrist. "You are going to scheduled therapies for you to sort all of this out"

"Why should I be chained to you?! I don't want to see you! You sly bitch!" Misa shouted in outrage.

"I understand that this arrangement is not really the best, but this is the only thing we can do at the moment. I also do not want to be chained to you, to be honest"

"Why are you making me suffer? I just want to end it all"

"I can't do that, Misa." L said firmly. "Besides, if Raito-kun finds out that you ended your life, he would be sad"

"I want him to know!"

L paused for a moment.

"You don't really mean that, Misa-san"

"I mean it!" she shouted. "If I can't have him, I'd rather die!"

"You are tired, Misa-san. You have been through a lot. How about you take a rest for a while." L said, feeling tired himself. "I can be your shoulder to cry on for now"

Misa stopped shouting for now. She looked at L, and started to cry. It was ugly crying, like the floodgates being opened. It was more crying than L could even handle, but he had to endure.

"There, there" L could only say as he massaged Misa's shoulder's who immediately took the offer to cry on his shoulder. He really didn't like dealing with emotions, but it was the only thing he could do. He just hoped that Light was doing better wherever he was.

…

Light followed the three to their secret hang out place, above the library.

"This is an exception okay, Near? You are not allowed to enter here in the future!" Mello reminded Near as they entered the room.

"I already know about this place Mello. I see you going here with Matt countless times" Near pointed out.

"Yeah, but you are still not allowed." Mello was a bit irritated at the revelation.

"Now," Mello started as he sat on one of the lazy chairs. "We have something to talk to you about"

He looked at Light with a serious face.

"Rather, there is something you have to tell us" Mello cleared out.

"What do you mean by that?" Light asked.

"You don't have to hide it, I mean we have an idea but I just want you to confirm it for us" Mello went on. "I know it might be a bit embarrassing, but we don't really care, we just want the truth"

Light kept quiet.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" Mello confronted.

The look on Light's face pretty much confirmed it, but he was still trying to deny it.

"Don't try to fool us." Mello said. "The morning sickness, the picky eating, the need to stay away from cigarette smoke"

"I am not a picky eater! I just don't eat what I don't recognize" Light said defensively. "And I would stay away from cigarette smoke as a matter of preference!"

"Well, to be fair, I would too" Mello considered. "But the doctor visits in Roger's office clearly mentioned you were 5 weeks pregnant"

"What?"

Mello showed him what looked like one of the pencil toppers Near gave him.

"Near told us about this yesterday" Mello explained. "When the results came in, I thought he was just there to brag, but he actually found something important"

Light looked at Near, who was looking down at the floor this whole time.

"How could you do this?"

"I'm sorry, Light for invading your privacy. I could not help my curiosity and just wanted to know more about you" he said without looking at Light's eyes. "I didn't mean to hear about your appointments, and I thought I could keep it to myself, but you looked really miserable yesterday and I couldn't help it"

"Yeah, he is a creep like that" Mello admitted. "It's one of his character traits that I despise, but that is not the problem here."

Light was deep red, full of shame.

"So, are you really pregnant?"

Light nodded.

The three looked like they just solved an important case.

"I knew it!" Mello exclaimed. "Well, I had my suspicions, but Near gave a hard evidence"

"What does it matter anyway?" Light asked.

"What I'm still curious about," Near interjected. "Is L the father?"

Mello also looked curious.

"It has nothing to do with any of you"

"Answer the question, damn it!" Mello couldn't contain himself.

"He is" Light admitted. "Are you happy?"

"Woah…so you are bearing L's child", Mello said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean this child is going to succeed L, okay? Not when I saw how you guys were struggling…"

"But that explains Watari's decision to put you here", Matt added.

"Yeah, he wouldn't put you here if he didn't see a potential to become a candidate"

"Look, I know his intentions, alright? But that's something I don't want to happen" Light answered truthfully. "I saw how dark this institution was with just a few days of my stay here. I don't want my child to be subject to that kind of suffering"

They all went quiet.

"You're right." Mello finally agreed. "To be honest we were only waiting for the day we can leave this place as well. L has a lot of potential successors anyway, but most of them either turned to a life of crime or depression. And they are all dead. I want to make a name for myself"

"Exactly! That's what I was hoping for. I don't want to decide my child's future when he is not even born yet" Light said. "But I don't think I can escape this place, and I am getting confused."

"That's understandable" Near commented. "There are security cameras and trackers all over the place, even the next town over, and Watari has a lot of connections so you can't easily escape"

"Not to mention, you don't even have a plan don't you?" Mello pointed out. "You can't really go anywhere with just the clothes on your back, and your Japanese accent heavily shows when you speak English. You'll be found in minutes"

Light looked down. It's not like he hadn't thought about those problems.

"Well, why don't we help you out?" Mello offered. "We can form a plan together, and we can also try and help you with your English speaking skills"

"You'd do that?"

"Of course" Mello said. "We're friends aren't we? And maybe we'd be on L's good side if we help you"

"I'd do it even if L is not involved" Near added.

"Shut up, Near! I was just lightening up the mood" Mello said irritably. "So it's settled then. We'll help you, and we promise, you can leave this place within a month"

Light was so happy he cried, and hugged both Mello and Near.

"Thank you!"

…