A/N: Hi, friends. So, just so you're kept well informed, by the end of July, this story's going to be over. We're reaching the home stretch. I'll miss this story. I really will. But look on the bright side. We have about four chapters left. And we can commiserate later. Alright? But for now, how are we doing? You need anything? You want to talk? You want someone to blow raspberries on your tummy? You'll have to pair off for that one because I don't think I'll be up for that. But you kids have fun. I'll be around if you need me. Love you x
The more Light could distract himself in the next few days, the better off he'd be. Or so he thought. He shook off any thoughts he had of L and sat down on L's chair. In front of L's computer. Everywhere he looked, all he could think of was that L's not there. That son of a bitch was going to leave this morning without saying goodbye. If something were to happen to him either on his flight there or while he's in Washington DC or on the flight back, the last thing we would've said to each other was our good nights after Nakameguro. And he was ok with that. What if I wasn't ok with that?
Still, Light knew what he had to do. He had an investigation to run. A serial killer to catch. Someone that needed to come to justice. But he didn't know where to start. Even though L would occasionally mutter some things about it in his sleep, it wasn't often things would make much for sense. However, Light did his best to go through L's notes on his computer. His incomprehensible notes that would only likely make sense to L himself, but anyone outside of his brain? Lost. Completely and utterly lost. Come on, L. Why do you need to write your notes in code? This is an investigation. You don't need to speak in riddles.
"Good morning, Light," Soichiro came in first with Matsuda not too far behind.
"Oh…" Light jumped a bit, "Morning, Dad. I wasn't expecting you so early."
"Not much earlier than I normally get here," Soichiro sat next to him.
"What are you doing in Ryuzaki's chair?" Matsuda asked, a bit confused.
"Because," Light explained in simple terms, "I'm taking over while L…While Ryuzaki's gone. I'll be the one everyone answers to. I'll be the one calling out orders. And everything and anything you find, you'll bring back to me. Any questions?"
"Why are you the one leading the investigation now?" Aizawa came in, his shoes in his hand and an angry glint in his eye.
"Because I'm the one he picked," Light growled a little, already in a horrible mood, "I've been following the case passively for the last few months. I'm more than capable of handling it."
"Yes, you are," Soichiro took his son's side. Much like any loving father would. Especially one that doesn't hesitate to dote on said son, "Aizawa…Get to work."
"I didn't say anything!" Aizawa immediately got defensive. Trust me. I've learned to keep shit to myself. Especially here. I see Ryuzaki's not the only one playing favorites.
You don't have to, "And keep it that way. You're not the only one here that's now taking orders from Light. So, you're going to take this one from me. You listen to what he has to say. Anything he asks you to do, you do it. End of discussion."
"Yes, sir," Aizawa's blood went on a low simmer. Unbelievable. I can't believe that even the chief is buying into this bullshit. What would come out of his mouth next would either give him an aneurysm or an ulcer. He wasn't sure which, "So, Light…What do we do?"
"Has anything come up on the scanners?" Light asked, knowing how much this was getting under Aizawa's skin. Someone's jealous that L gives me all the attention, isn't he? Aizawa can also suck it the fuck up. He gets to go home to his wife at the end of the day. I don't.
"Not that I've heard," Matsuda chimed in, "It's been like this for the last couple days. Maybe the killings have stopped. Things have been pretty quiet lately."
That is, until Mogi came walking in, "You might want to hold onto that optimism, Matsuda."
"What do you got, Mogi?" Soichiro asked.
"Three people outside a bank in Shibuya just now," Mogi reported, "All of them dropped like flies at the same time."
"Yikes," Matsuda winced, knowing he spoke too soon.
"How do you know about this, Mogi?" Light perked up. Given the sensitive matter, one couldn't be too careful as far as sources were concerned.
"I saw it happen with my own two eyes," Mogi told him, "I stopped at an ATM and the three people that walked out fell to the ground. All three of them were dead. I don't know why or how, but they all dropped."
"Did you know any of them?" Light wondered.
"I don't think so," Mogi shook his head, "But they all seemed like relatively healthy adults."
"Find out who they were," Light ordered, "Can you go get me the CCTV footage, so I can run it through facial recognition?"
"I can try."
"And Dad," Light asked, "Could you and Aizawa go talk to the witnesses? See if there's any commonalities amongst the witnesses? Maybe there's more to it than what Mogi can tell us."
"On it," Soichiro grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch, "Come on, Aizawa. Let's go."
"Got it," Aizawa let out a little sigh of relief. Thanks, Light. God knows I didn't want to stick around here much today.
"Thank you," Light relaxed a little himself. I'm not in the mood to deal with Aizawa today. Anything to get him out of here.
"Light," Watari came in with a cup of coffee, "I wasn't sure how you took it, but I'm sure you take it with much less sugar than Ryuzaki does."
"I'm surprised he doesn't go into a diabetic coma," Light giggled to himself, "Thank you, Watari."
"You're welcome," Watari smiled a bit, "Is there anything else you need?"
"Not right now," Light sent him off, taking his first sip. And nearly breaking into tears on the spot. A caramel macchiato…How would Watari know to make me one of these? Light simply smiled, swallowing back the lump in his throat, "Thank you, Watari. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome," Watari left Light to his work.
As soon as the facial recognition had matches on the new victims, Light sent Soichiro and Aizawa out to conduct their investigation. However, Aizawa had other things in mind. Despite his commitment to the cause that L had brought into question more than once, Aizawa knew what would happen with the victims. The same thing that had been happening to every victim they've dealt with since L rolled into town. It'll probably come back as a heart attack from the coroner. Or it'll be some late-stage illness or something like that. That's not why we're here.
"Hey, Chief," Aizawa leaned back on the brick wall of the bank, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead, Aizawa," Soichiro allowed, "What seems to be the problem?"
"Isn't it a little strange to be taking orders from Light?" Aizawa wondered, "Especially for you?"
"Light was entirely Ryuzaki's decision," Soichiro pointed out, "I had nothing to do with it. Although, Ryuzaki did ask for my opinion on the matter."
"What'd you tell him?"
"That I know Light can handle it," Soichiro told him, "He's not exactly an idiot, Aizawa. And we've all been on top of this case for months. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes, especially ones like Light's, could be just what we need to figure out why people keep dying. And who's behind it."
"If it were me," Aizawa admitted, "I would've chosen you to take care of this."
"I appreciate the sentiment," Soichiro hid a little smile, "But we need Light on this, too. While Ryuzaki's gone, we need someone who can think the closest to him. And as far as I know, that's Light."
"It's almost eerie, isn't it?" Aizawa figured, "How similar those two can be…"
"I wouldn't call it eerie," Soichiro let it go, "But right now, it's the best bet we got."
"Do you know what Ryuzaki's trip was all about?"
"It's not our business."
"We're in the middle of a damn investigation, Chief!" Aizawa growled, "You'd think he'd be able to save his little vacations for another time while we're out here, busting our asses and putting our lives on the line for him!"
"Aizawa!" Soichiro snapped, shutting Aizawa down quickly, "Look. Light's only going to be in Ryuzaki's place for a few days. I think you'll be able to handle that. If you can stop pouting like a child that was just told no, maybe we can stop with this pettiness and get back to what matters. I won't hear anymore of it. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir…" Aizawa shut his mouth.
"Now," Soichiro calmed himself down enough to deal with Aizawa, "What do we know about these latest victims?"
"According to the witnesses," Aizawa reported, "Including Mogi, they all dropped. All of them had prior criminal records, but they were all reformed for the most part. The popular consensus among the witnesses says poison. Considering the victims were all brought in on drug charges, I'd say that could very easily fit the bill."
"But why would they say poison?" Soichiro asked.
"They all died at the same time…" Aizawa sighed out, "We'll have to wait a bit before the toxicology reports come back, but maybe it wasn't poison."
"You think it was him…"
"Who else could leave three bodies with no marks on them?"
"What a mess," Soichiro grumbled, "We should go back to the tower."
"I'm sure Light's going to want to hear about this," Aizawa agreed, "The sooner we find the son of a bitch, the sooner we can all go home and not have to deal with this anymore."
"I understand," Soichiro stretched a bit, "I'm getting tired of it, too. Remember the days when it was maybe armed robbery or a traffic stop?"
"Is it sick of me to miss it?" Aizawa laughed to himself, "Back when things were simple. I miss simple, Chief."
"We all do," Soichiro understood his plight, "Soon enough. We'll get back to simple."
"God, I hope so."
Soichiro and Aizawa began their journey back to the tower. However, whenever they got back, things were oddly quiet. Almost too quiet. Light had left L's chair and left Mogi and Matsuda to deal with everything else. It had Soichiro nervous. And Aizawa infuriated. What a shock. Light's left his desk. This is supposed to be a professional investigation and yet, he's gone. You should've told the chief to take over, Ryuzaki.
"Matsuda," Soichiro asked, "Where's Light?"
"He just got a phone call," Matsuda reported, "He said it was incredibly important. Mogi and I have been watching the monitors ever since."
"Who was it?" Soichiro took one of the empty chairs.
"I don't know," Matsuda shrugged, "He just said it was incredibly important and took off."
"How long has he been gone?" Aizawa threw himself onto the couch.
"Maybe a minute?" Matsuda thought, "I don't know. I haven't really been keeping track."
"Aizawa…" Soichiro settled him, "Don't start. We just got back. You don't know if it's information or not. Ryuzaki's network is expansive. You never know who he gave Light's number to."
Meanwhile, Light hid himself away in the boardroom and made sure the door was locked behind him. He made himself comfortable in the head chair and pulled the reclining lever back, "So, how's Hawaii?"
"I haven't seen much past the airport," L grumbled on the other end, "But from what I've seen out the window, I'm sure it's too hot, too bright, and too much for me to handle."
"You're in an airport, L," Light chuckled a bit, "How can anything outside of that be too much in comparison?"
"You'd be amazed," L admitted, "But I think I might have to see something outside the airport. I'm giving consideration to just staying here for the night."
"For the night?" Light wondered, "It's the middle of the afternoon here. What time is it there?"
"A little after seven o'clock," L checked his watch, "Hawaii is nineteen hours behind of Tokyo. I know I said I'm immune to jetlag, but this is going to be a private hell."
"You should get some sleep," Light demanded, "Please. You don't need to be tired and miserable. For the sake of unknowing people that don't need to be subjected to you being tired bitchy."
"I don't get tired bitchy…"
"The shiny new phone I'm talking to you on says otherwise," Light teased him, "More so the shattered remains of the old one than the new one, but you know what I mean."
"Alright, alright," L caved, "I get tired bitchy."
"You're like a giant toddler," Light pointed out, "But it's weirdly cute. When it's not being taken out on me."
"Sorry…"
"You're forgiven," Light let it go.
"More importantly than my lack of sleep," L switched tangents, "How has work been? Things aren't too difficult for you, are they?"
"Not really," Light filled him in, "It's actually a lot easier than I thought it'd be. I could get used to this."
"It's not that I don't appreciate you filling in, Light," L winced, "But I'd really appreciate it if I had a job when I get back to Japan, too."
"You will," Light promised, "It's still your seat. Don't worry."
"Have you been sitting in my chair?"
"Ever since you left."
"Dammit, Light," L grumbled, "You're going to put your ass print in my chair and make the cushion out of shape."
"I can change chairs, L," Light assured him, "I didn't realize it'd be that big of a deal."
"It's alright," L let it slide, "I mean…It's your ass, so I'm not complaining."
"Oh, L," Light held his face in his hands, "I miss you."
"I miss you, too," L felt a strange tug in his chest, "So…You haven't had any problems?"
"Nothing I couldn't handle."
"No Aizawa being overbearing?" L wondered. You know as well as I do, Light. One of my biggest worries about leaving you alone was giving Aizawa the opportunity to corner you again. You don't need that. And you sure as fuck don't deserve it.
"He and Dad left a little while ago," Light reported, "I needed to get him out of my hair. As soon as he came in this morning, I knew. I knew he was going to stir shit up and I didn't want to deal with that. We had three more bodies pop up on the scanner."
"And what do you know?" L's investigative nature happily showed itself.
"Nothing yet," Light kicked his feet up on the table, "But we'll figure something out. Soon enough. Hopefully."
Knock, knock.
"What was that?" L worried.
"It's the door," Light got up and grabbed the door. Just as I got comfortable, "Oh…Hi, Watari."
"Hello, Light," Watari greeted him, "Your father and Mr. Aizawa are back."
"Ok," Light gave him a nod, "Thank you, Watari."
"Let me guess," L groaned, "You need to go?"
"Sorry," Light winced, feeling his pain, "But I'll call you later tonight. Promise."
"I'm going to go get a hotel room," L got up from the airport bench, "See if I can get some sleep."
"Good," Light smiled a bit, "I love you."
"I love you, too," L's chest ached. I need to get home to you soon. But I have something I need to do first, "Hey, Light? Could I ask you a favor?"
"Anything," Light insisted, "What's up?"
"Send me a present," L smirked, "You know what I want. I could use a new wallpaper."
And in that moment, Light knew exactly what L was looking for. You dirty, dirty boy, "We'll see."
"I love you, too."
Click.
How am I supposed to go back to the task force after THAT? Light hid his head on the door, a tad bitter (and a little turned on, if we're all being honest adults here) and went back to find the task force sitting together at the coffee table. Huh…I would've thought they'd be doing something, "What's going on? What happened?"
"According to some of the witnesses," Soichiro told him, "It's poison."
"So, what are we doing now?" Light wondered.
"We need to wait on the toxicology report," Aizawa leaned back a bit, "Until then, we're pretty much at a standstill."
"And how long until we get the toxicology report?"
"Standard toxicology takes about six weeks."
"Ugh…" Light rolled his eyes, "Fantastic."
I was kind of hoping to have this wrapped up by the time L got back. Still a possibility. He didn't tell me how long he'd be there. I'm only thinking it's a few days. Light shook off his bitterness. At Aizawa, at L not being there, he wasn't sure which. But regardless, he knew his hands were tied. And his father took notice of his son's exhaustion, "Why don't we all call it an early day? It's not like there's anything we can do right now. Not until the coroner gets back to us."
"Doesn't a general autopsy only take a couple hours?" Light thought.
"A general autopsy, yeah," Soichiro nodded, "But if this was some kind of poison…"
"Then, we'll at least know a cause of death," Light started picking up steam again, "And we'll be able to…"
"Light…" Soichiro settled him, "It's amazing how quickly you've taken to running this investigation, but even the best of them know when to take a break. Now might be a good time. It's better to have all the facts first than make assumptions on part of them."
Light hated that his own father had him cornered. Even worse that he was right. Light started heading upstairs, "I guess you're right. Good work today, everyone. See you tomorrow. Call if you find anything else."
"Good night, Light…" Soichiro was worried. He started to notice what kind of toll this investigation was taking on his son. How tired he was. How determined he was to work as hard as he could. You bit off more than you could chew, didn't you, Light?
Meanwhile, Light went into the apartment he gladly shared with L and aimlessly stirred in the emptiness. I would've thought this would be easier. The place to myself. The peace and quiet. It's not like I didn't have the peace and quiet before. Light threw himself on the couch. It was just easier to deal with when I had another warm body here. He did say he wanted me to send him a present, but I don't think I'm in the place for it. Instead of wallowing in his sadness, Light decided wallowing in food would be a much better idea. However, in his wallowing, he found a note on the kitchen counter. And a black piece of plastic that Light had become very familiar with.
She deserves nice things.
And you don't need to be alone.
-L
That was enough to put a smile on Light's face again. He gets me. He gets us. Nothing made Light happier than L's relationship with his sister. It warmed him inside like nothing else. Even though he knew it could mean disaster for him, he wasn't going to complain. I've hardly seen Sayu since we came back from London. What can I say? I miss her. Light pulled himself together and grabbed his phone off the counter.
"Hi, Light!" Sayu chimed on the other end, melting Light to his core, "What's up?"
"You busy tonight?" Light spun L's black card between his fingers, "I was about to get dinner. L's out of town. I could stand a little time with my second favorite pain in the ass."
"Hey!"
"Thirty minutes?" Light figured.
"See you soon." Sayu couldn't be mad at him for long.