NOTE: You can also find this work at AO3 under my account TheFeyRa.

AN: Hi all, I'm so glad you're here! This is my first fanfiction – I always wanted to explore how L would be had he had more information in his investigations. I also wanted to explore how one of us would truly react had we actually entered the world of DN. I know many people see L as someone sweet, but honestly I think he has a dark side. I'll try to discuss this more in chapters where L appears.

There will be eventual smut, but this is a slow burn type of fic. It is OC-centric because part of L's charm is his inscrutability, and I wanted to retain that. If you're looking for a cool, fiesty OC, you probably won't find it here. She's a closet dork. Enjoy!

NOTE: The first few chapters are dry. If you'd like to skip, I'll tell you now that L and Rae first meet in Chapter 4, and Rae only starts working for L in Chapter 6.


Chapter 1: Lost

An empty junkyard greeted Rae's incredulous eyes as blind panic rose in her chest. Lugging a great weight on wheels behind her, she had followed the map sent by her Airbnb host from Narita airport, trying to ignore the chill wind blowing in her face from the cold Tokyo autumn. It had seemed strange that many of the landmarks mentioned in the directions were missing, but she had been too distracted by the weight of the winter things she had been wearing (she didn't like the scarf strangling her neck, nor the heavy coat sitting atop her shoulders, nor the warm heeled boots which were killing her feet). She had been looking forward to a warm, clean apartment with complimentary wifi, where she would rest up before heading out, bright and early, to explore the sights and wonders of Japan.

Well, that's shot to hell now, she thought drolly. Now what? She checked her phone for the umpteenth time, hoping to finally receive a message from her curiously-unresponsive Airbnb host. Perhaps it would be better to find shelter first and deal with this later? Mentally searching for the name of the cheaper hotel she'd stayed at in a past trip to the country, she nodded decisively, and dragged herself back to the train station.

Sure, staying in a hotel would be more expensive, but she could always cut down on souvenirs.

"We interrupt your programming to bring you an important message from the ICPO - This is being broadcast all over the world."

Those familiar words cut through Rae's train of rueful thought, like a butcher's knife through a neck. Um, what? She'd come across those words before, but not in reality. She stood, frozen, in the middle of Shibuya crossing staring at the large broadcasting screen, where a smartly-dressed dark-haired man with a sharp gaze was speaking.

"My name is Lind L. Tailor, widely known as 'L'."

She chuckled, amused and heartened that such an old series was being filmed as Lind L. Tailor clutched his chest and keeled over, his forehead planted firmly on the table before him. She anticipated and watched as the real L challenged Kira, wondering if this was how they filmed the old version of the movie before. She didn't recall much of the movie, but like a true fan, she appreciated the sight all the same. Looking around, she hoped to find out more about the upcoming movie from the people around her, but soon detected the palpable blanket of genuine fear and tension surrounding her. Unease stirred in her gut. She was alone for the first time in a foreign country in the midst of what seemed to be brewing unrest, and she had yet to secure accommodation. She wanted her mother.

Could it be-? she thought, squashing the impulse to laugh hysterically. Trembling, she tried to spot filming cameras, to no avail. As all strength fled from her, it seemed as if she were inhabiting a stranger's body, one that was numb and limp and feelingless. This must be shock. I need to contact Mom to make sure.

She was going to have to find an alternative source of wifi. Rae forced herself to calm down. I may be more sheltered than most people my age, but I always make it in the end. Think!

A manga-kissa*! She could go to a manga-kissa. They were cheap and they had 24-hour wifi or something. It could be some sort of Death Note promotional event that they did not publicise. She could contact her family over the wifi, and if she truly were in the Death Note world, she had enough Japanese yen on her, could speak some Japanese, and could live in the manga-kissa for now. She had her IDs, some travel toiletries and spare clothes. She would be fine. Step by step, base by base! She giggled inwardly, recalling a catchphrase from Ieyasu Tokugawa in the Samurai Warriors PS4 game she used to play.


She gripped the edge of the table, trying not to panic. She'd tried to Facebook call her mother, but Facebook didn't exist. Google existed, but could only be used to search for things. Skype was not around.

The manga-kissa she finally found had been a seedy place, kind of smelly and dim. But it was quiet, and provided showers and 24-hour facility use. She recalled how the people around her were using flip phones. She'd thought that was charming at first. But Death Note was set in the early 2000s, when all the technology she knew had not been invented yet. She could try buying a prepaid card to contact her family (if they existed in this world), but it was late and she was afraid. Crime was more rampant in this world than her own. I have to hide this phone, turn it off and save battery. Wait, if she needed to buy a prepaid card, would it be usable with her smartphone? Damn it!

Troubled by all these raging worries, she placed the chair she had been using against the door of the manga-kissa cubicle and slipped into a light, restless slumber on its cold, dirty floor.


*Manga-kissa: Short for manga-kissaten, or cafe, manga-kissa are establishments where users pay per hour for a cheap price to read all the manga they want. It's become a cheap form of accommodation for the homeless or for anyone wanting to save money. It's probably got fewer facilities in 2003, so no bed in this chapter, but there are showers in my story.