Another Note

OUTSIDE, THE INSISTENT growl of thunder amplified into a roaring crescendo. Another sudden flash illuminated the sky in brilliant white. Every last computer monitor winked and then turned to black. Then the room itself was plunged into darkness.

"Whoa!" Matsuda cried as his screen was lit by standby graphics. "Hey, hey, don't tell me we just lost everything! I was just about to hit save!" He swore as he hit at the keyboard, struggling to peer through the blood-red glow of the room's emergency lighting.

"Watari," L commanded urgently into the microphone of his own computer, his long-stemmed spoon held aloft. "Watari!" He tapped impatiently at the button. "I think there's been a power outage, that's all." His head turned. It was only then that L's face showed fear.

"The shinigami-" L drew a great shuddering gasp, eyes wide with horror.

"Ryuzaki! What's wrong?" Matsuda called frantically.

"It's probably just indigestion," L dismissed him, placing his hand to his chest. "That bread- -"

But L could not continue. His grip slackened; the spoon slid from his grasp, clattering across the keyboard and then onto the polished floor.

Forty seconds can pass in the blink of an eye. It is a mere two thirds of a minute. Missing an appointment by forty seconds would never demand an apology. And yet, L seemed to take an eternity to fall. His body curved over as he slid sideways from his chair, arms trailing uselessly behind him. Light heard the drumming of his footsteps before he had even realised he was running. With a wild cry, he threw his arms around L's upper body. Light's shoulder slammed into the floor as they crashed downwards together. With a pang, he tasted blood.

Light scrambled onto his knees, pulling L around so that he was lying sprawled across his lap. His body felt weightless. The stricken look had not yet vanished from L's face; his eyes stood out in unknown horror. With an effort his mouth moved but L's voice was too weak to be heard.

All around Light, the room seemed to move in and out of focus; its sounds were all at once deafening and then reduced to silence. Dimly, he became aware of himself yelling in panic.

"QUICK! HELP HIM!" Light gazed wildly from face to face. In his arms he could feel the rapid movements of L's breathing, quick and rasping, but quiet. His murmurs were dying away.

"DAD!" Light looked at his father in terror, "DAD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? CALL AN AMBULANCE!" But Soichiro did not move. His face was filled with a hopeless pity. Behind him, Matsuda gripped his head in fright.

"It was the shinigami, I bet! Oh man, she'll kill us all! First Ryuzaki-"

"NOT RYUZAKI!" Light screamed, "he's- he's still alive but you aren't doing anything!" Light glanced down, his insides plunging horribly as he watched the transformation in L's eyes. They were wide with fear as though L was witness to some awful vision. Then, without any external movement their expression became blank, as though he had pursued his unearthly apparition to where no living person could ever follow. His eyelids remained half-lowered; pupils fixed and dull.

"No, no, please! We just-" With a jolt, Light doubled over to retch noisily. Behind him, Misa sobbed. Light straightened up with a frightened gasp, looking desperately to his father for some sign of reversal.

"Why- why aren't you doing anything?!"

Mogi was there beside him, kneeling upon the floor. "Light, let go of him."

But Light was staring around at the wall of impassive faces, at their feeble resignation. "Wh-why aren't you helping him?!"

"Light-"

The student staggered to his feet, the rush of blood roaring in his ears.

"He said it was the shinigami!" he cried as he sprinted towards the stairs, taking two at a time.

"Light!" Misa screamed as she scrambled up after him. "Wait!"

"REM-!" Light's voice tore in his throat. "REM! SHOW YOURSELF!"

On the first floor the door to the room he had once shared with L stood ajar. With an almighty crash, Light flung the door into the wall. He stumbled over the threshold where there came a movement of cool air. Upon the carpet lay a discarded notebook, its pages fluttering in the breeze. Light seized the item, bringing it close enough to gaze upon its writing. There, as though left to contradict him in the most cruel way, the ink shone upon a name which Light had never seen before. The initial and surname were curved across the paper in great, looping script; the final 't' crossed through with a flourish.

The room slanted suddenly. Light was aware of a dull pain in his knees before he realised that his legs had given way. A hand clutched at his shoulder.

"Light! " It was all Misa could say as she too knelt with him. Just discernible through the shadows, Rem's body was bowed forwards. Her face twisted upwards, red eyes burning through the gloom.

"Tell me… " Light tried to lift his head, but his shoulders sagged. His hair was glued to his damp skin where it swept over his face. Beneath, his complexion was mottled with blotches of colour. Light forced the words through gritted teeth. "Tell me… this isn't L…"

Rem also spoke slowly, as though each word exhausted her. "Yes. This name belonged to the detective who called himself L."

Light's index finger traced each letter. At his back, Misa pressed her dampened cheek against his neck. "Oh no…" she managed in a small voice.

Light cradled the book to his chest as his body heaved.

"I know enough about grief to understand your loss. But, to me, this is no more than a name, like countless others I have read," Rem continued bleakly as she rose to her full height. "I know he was your friend, but to me he was just a human, like countless others I have observed."

"But… why?" This time Misa tilted her head to look up at the shinigami. "Why did he have to die?"

"Some things simply cannot be undone, no matter how much we yearn to rewrite them."

At this, Light uttered a sound of disgust.

"What kind of a reason is that?!" he howled. "You threaten to hurt me and then you kill the one person-" His body slumped again as though his will had simply evaporated.

"This was all your doing, Light Yagami."

As Rem towered over the pair of them, Misa cringed and hid her face against the back of Light's sweater. Light closed his aching eyes in defeat.

"You promised that by giving up ownership of the Death Note you would save Misa, but your plan failed." Rem's words plummeted upon Light's ears like leaden weights. The shinigami's face glowed with malice amongst her darkened surroundings. "After your confinement you joined L's investigation team as planned but you did not regain your memories as you thought you would. A person can only recover their memories of the Death Note by obtaining ownership or touching the note. I was there when Hatori was arrested. I saw you let go of the note. Once L had taken the Death Note as evidence, it was only a matter of time until he caught you both. You have been playing right into his hands this whole time."

"Then why did you make it so easy for him?!" Light demanded as he climbed unsteadily to his feet. "You're the one who led Misa to the other Death Note! It's as if you wanted her to get caught!"

"Not Misa, but you." Rem snarled down at him, red eyes alight. "You, Light Yagami, are truly evil. You have brought nothing but misfortune to those around you. It would have been easier to kill you, but in doing so I would have killed Misa too. I know she would not have been able to live without you. So, no matter how much you deserved to die at my hand, I couldn't do it."

Light opened his mouth to argue but was promptly cut off by Rem as she continued harshly. "When Misa asked me about the other Death Note I helped her and, in doing so, I knew I was ensuring Kira's return. But that is how it must be. Now those sixteen criminals have died, it will be you who will be captured. Then and only then, can you finally take responsibility for all you have done."

Clenched fists trembling at his sides, Light stifled a sob. His body shuddered as he fought for breath. It was as the sound enveloped the room - a wild, guttural, desperate gasping - that Misa suddenly realised he was laughing. She released her grip on Light's shoulders, terrified.

"And what about what Misa deserves?" Light roared, "you manipulated her into murdering all those people! What about what L deserves?!"

With that he lunged at the bureau, taking up the candle, and smashed its jar against the wood. Misa screamed as the glass shattered into several shards. Light held the largest piece in his hand.

"If I'm evil then so are you!" he declared breathlessly. "I guess that means we deserve the same punishment!"

Light threw an arm around Misa's neck and dragged her roughly against him. The model yelled out in fright.

"Have you gone insane?!" she cried as she struggled against him. Light held up the jagged shard to her throat.

"Shut up, Misa!"

"What are you doing?" Rem was horror-stricken as she watched Misa thrash violently within Light's grip. The latter shook her so hard that her head lolled backwards. Daringly, Light flashed Rem a grim smile.

"So Rem, what are you going to do? Are you going to watch me kill her?"

"Mm!" Misa tried again to tear herself from Light's grasp, but he only swore and held on more tightly.

"How does it feel to be so powerless, knowing there's nothing you can do to stop me in time?" Light's vision blurred at the edges. He blinked hard. "What are you going to do Rem?"

"No-"

"I'm not giving you much longer to decide!" Light snarled. He pressed down on the glass shard, enough for a trickle of blood to ooze over his blanched knuckles. Rem let out an anguished growl.

"You will pay for this!"

"Come on then!" Light goaded her. Tears were upon his face as he laughed again. "Kill me! I know what will happen to you."

Rem brought her pen down upon her open notebook. Misa's screams were muffled under Light's hand. She bit down desperately but Light clung on, immune to pain and numb to remorse.

"Do it, Rem!" He squeezed his eyes shut against Rem's low curses, Misa's terrified cries, the sick, hollow feeling that permeated through him.

Misa swung out a kick. With a muffled groan, Light's grip on the glass loosened. Misa had almost succeeded in scrabbling to her feet when Light grabbed her around the waist with renewed fury. Misa yowled like a wounded animal as he hauled her against him. "DO IT NOW!"

Rem's pen scratched over the surface of the notebook.

Still Misa screamed and struggled, her blonde hair whipping down violently. Then Light's hands lowered as he finally released her. "Good." His voice was full of savagery. "Let it be over."

Misa crawled into the floor space between them, her head bent over the carpet and shoulders shaking. "Rem! Rem! Tell me you didn't, please!"

Rem's eyes were upon her. "Misa… I once told you that if Light did anything to harm you, I would not hesitate to kill him."

"N-no-" Misa dissolved into tears, a bloody hand pressed to her eyes. Light had sunk weakly onto his knees, his body slumped in submission. "N-no… not Light, he- he wasn't…"

Misa wept silently into her hands. There came the sombre bleep of a siren and the slowing of an engine amongst the drone of evening traffic outside. The distant sound of wheels on gravel was muffled by a pattering of rain against the windows. From somewhere in the building, on the floor below, a door clunked open. In the torturous seconds which crept by, Light did not move but continued to stare dully at the carpet. The Death Note hung limply in Rem's skeletal hand.

Breathing hard, Light looked Rem in the eye.

"What have you done…?" Rem regarded him with suspicion, her purple mouth twisted in contempt.

"I may not have been close enough to the Death Note to read it for myself, but I've heard and seen enough to learn about its rules." Wobbling, Light rose to his feet. "I memorised each one. I knew I would have to in order to take care of all this…"

"If the same name is written in two or more Death Notes within 0.06 seconds, the entry is regarded as simultaneous. Therefore the Death Notes will not take effect and the individual will not die," Light recited fluently. He took a piece of torn piece of paper from Misa's hand. Smeared in blood, the kanji characters 夜神 月 (Light Yagami) stood out on the piece.

"It's not Misa's blood." Light lifted his hand to show a deep cut slashed across his palm. "I used the glass and Misa released a piece from another note hidden in my watch. Of course, we had to time it to perfection, but I was watching your movements the entire time."

Misa nodded. "I'm a total professional, even in times of peril."

"Last night, Misa told me how to kill a shinigami. We both knew all along that this is what we could be forced to do as a last resort. I was confident that if we timed it just right that I would survive but, honestly, I didn't know whether or not the rule meant that you would be spared too," Light admitted. "Misa almost didn't agree to this in case you did die. Despite everything, she does care for you Rem."

"I do!" Misa broke out noisily, "which is why I wanted you to realise that what you're doing is crazy! How could you offer yourself up as a sacrifice for me?"

When Rem refused to answer, Misa shifted so that she was sitting on her heels.

"You really are my friend but I can never love you the way that you love me. You deserve better than that, Rem." At this, Misa's voice lowered to nothing more than a trembling whisper. "Do you seriously understand how easily you could have just… died? You would have disappeared forever. Gone. Nothing. You wouldn't exist anymore."

A glazed look had come into Light's eyes.

"Gone…" Rem repeated fearfully. "Nothing…"

"You can't spend your entire existence chasing after someone endlessly when they don't love you back. If you…" Misa was staring at Light with an expression of utter bewilderment, as though she was seeing him for the very first time. "...if you live your life like that, then… you'll never truly be happy…"

Rem bowed her head solemnly. She approached where Misa sat and stooped down to kneel before her feet. Even at half her height, Rem still stood a head taller than the young woman who sat before her.

"Forgive me… Misa."

No sooner had Misa opened her mouth to reply, but Rem reached out a spindly hand. The model gaped as she felt strangely gentle fingers touch the side of her face. There was something so loving, so human about the gesture that for a moment Misa forgot that this was a shinigami at all.

"...I can only hope that you too can learn something from your words." For one last time Rem stroked a strand of golden hair away from Misa's forehead and tucked it affectionately behind her ear.

"As for you Light Yagami, I truly believe that you will get what you deserve in the end, though I may not be here to witness it. I have no obligation to remain here now that this note is unclaimed. It is time I returned to the Shinigami Realm until I choose to bestow it upon another." Rem lifted the Death Note from the carpet and flipped its black cover closed.

"Take care of yourself, Misa."

Without a backwards glance, the shinigami spread her pale wings wide. Misa dried her eyes with the back of her hand.

"See you… Rem."

Rem passed through the open doorway and out of sight.

"She's gone…" Misa was still resting back on her heels. She pressed her palm into the carpet, clenching the strands between her fingertips. "Light, she-"

"Misa…" Beside her Light sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, his hands wrapped around his legs. The vacant expression had not quite left his eyes. "I can't go back down there…"

"It's okay, it's okay…" Misa moved close enough to put her arms around him. She rested her head on top of his own. Light shivered violently beneath her, even as Misa crooned and smoothed the back of his bloodied sweater. "I'll go talk to your dad."

"I can't go back down there…" Light screwed his eyes shut. "I can't see him like that again…"

He felt Misa's arms tense around him. The model's head jerked upright.

"Matsu! What are you doing?"

Light drew away from her, his eyes following in the same direction as Misa's. Matsuda stood against the doorframe, breathing heavily. In his hand he grasped a pistol. As Misa gave a small shriek and scrambled backwards, Matsuda brought a shaking arm upwards to level the weapon at Light. Whether it was sheer physical exhaustion or the utter absurdity of seeing Matsuda behave in such a manner, Light felt the urge to laugh. He clamped a closed fist to his mouth.

"I… I never believed him!" Matsuda struggled, "I never once believed that you were Kira, Light. I told Ryuzaki over and over again!" At this, the former police detective gave a short, humourless laugh himself. "If he wasn't… if he was still here, he'd be calling me an idiot for sure…"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Light cried. His earlier disbelief had now given way to panic. Light's arms were suspended as though uncertain as to whether or not he should raise them over his head. "Matsuda, I'm not-"

"I heard it with my own ears!" Matsuda yelled over him, his grip on the gun trembling. "You said it yourself - two or more Death Notes. That means you have another notebook!"

Misa threw Light a terrified glance.

"Now turn, face the wall and put your hands behind your head."

Sorry, work has been especially manic and I haven't had a chance to upload anything in weeks. Looks like things are getting even worse for Light... I mean, planning all of that out and you forget to shut the door while you're having a top secret chat with a shinigami? Come on dude! I guess that's what shock and adrenaline does to you, even if you're a genius. And poor old Matsuda... he didn't sign up for this shit.

Thanks again for reviewing and favouriting! This story has taken me over a year to write (+counting) and it means so much to me that you're all still reading it. xx