Nine Months Due

By: Kaytee Kudo

Category: Death Note

Genre: Romance, Humor

Rating: T (but Chapters 3 and 4 are rated M, which could be easily skipped without missing any of the plot)

Summary: The Shinigami decide to take matters into their own hands and attempt to put the Kira case to a close by erasing the world's memories of Kira. But this is not without consequence…

Other Notes: Alternative ending bordering AU; LxLight, Mpreg in later chapters

Quick Recap from Previous Chapter: The two geniuses finally did it on the night before the planned arrest on Higuchi, however, they were not alone as Ryuuk was watching the entire thing all along, through the Shinigami King's orders. This doesn't look too good...

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note…not even in my dreams…

Chapter Five

Love and commitment; Love means sacrifice

"Hey, congratulations on finally solving the case, Ryuuzaki!" Matsuda once again cheered, which by now is getting annoying.

"…I suppose so, Matsuda-san."

"Oh, hey, you don't seem too happy about it. What gives, L?"

"Matsuda-san must be imagining things, I am very satisfied with the case." L countered the goofy policeman, as he shuffled away from him. "And Matsuda-san must remember to call me Ryuuzaki next time, or he will have to face dire consequences."

Bang!

L closed the door on Matsuda's face. He did not even care to check whether the door hit the man's face or not. He just wanted peace.

He scanned the room first, and once he ascertained that no one was around, he sighed.

Truth be told, he was not happy with how the case went, and saying that he was disappointed was an understatement. He had been expecting greater things from this case, which took him the longest time to solve in his career so far. Cases like this should have been very promising, more challenging, things that attract him on solving the case in the first place, not like this. It was as if it was handed to him in a silver platter, and the only thing he needed to do was announce the culprit.

To think that he studied flying the helicopter just for this case. (He figured he was good at it too, since it took a very skillful driver to fly that helicopter without Raito wincing in pain, given his circumstances)

But after all that impressive flying, it was all for naught. The criminal did not even put up a fight, confessing everything that they didn't even need to put force in him. Talk about a let down case…

Thus concludes the Friday the 13th serial murder case.

What's up with the name anyway? He could only suspect Matsuda for giving the case such a crappy name like that. Yep, it was definitely him.

He needed time to think, reconstruct his life if possible. Because seriously, when a great detective begins chasing low quality cases like this, it only means that he has serious issues to deal with.

He sat in a crouching position in the nearest chair he saw, and began his needed meditation when he felt an object being thrown deliberately in his head, effectively taking him out of his 'meditative' state.

"Ow…" He rubbed his head, feeling pissed off. "I must warn Raito-kun not throw objects at me especially when I am in a foul mood."

He searched around for the boy, with a look that would scare most children, promising pain for the one person he was intending to show this face to. He knew he was just hiding here somewhere…

"Eh, Raito? I'm sure I found him at the bathroom on my way here"

'Weird, foreign voice…definitely not Raito', L thought, and was starting to freak out upon realizing that there was someone (who was not Raito) in the room. What happened to the security? Heart beating a little faster now, he turned his eyes slowly to where he thought the voice was coming.

"Woaahhh!" He fell on the floor hard, as he continued to stare at the visitor he just had.

"Oh, sorry for being rude. I'm Ryuuk, a shinigami."

L stared once more.

"S-shinigami?"

Ryuuk nodded.

"B-but…to have a shinigami actually exist…it defies all logic and reason…" He muttered, causing Ryuuk to blink, and laugh a little.

"Ku, ku, then I suppose you have to prepare yourself for things that defy logic. I assure you, there will be a lot more coming to you", Ryuuk said.

"What do you mean by this, Shinigami-san?"

"Right, because I'm here to tell you this news."

L nodded, urging him to continue.

"Were you disappointed after solving your recent case?" Ryuuk asked suddenly, and L had to agree.

"Of course, needless to say, I am very disappointed at how easy it was."

"Well, that has to be because of me", Ryuuk admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, yeah…" Ryuuk remembered the detective's circumstances, and rubbed his head, looking stupid. "I forgot that you don't have the memories. Here"

He handed his death note, and L took it suspiciously.

"Aaaahh!"

Memories soon zoomed on his head like flashing pictures, the kind you ought to have when you encounter a life or death situation. He remembered Kira, the mass murderer who killed with heart attacks, Raito, him suspecting Raito, Misa, him arresting Misa…and then…

"Raito is Kira" L announced confidently.

"Of course he is" Ryuuk answered. "He got this death note from me and started killing people with it. You were close to discovering it, by the way. However, things changed."

L gave the shinigami a puzzled look, and Ryuuk took it as a hint to continue.

"You see, the shinigami king decided it upon himself to finish this once and for all."

Ryuuk almost laughed at what he said, remembering the conversation he had with the king. He could still see it all too clearly…

"See this, Ryuuk! We've been exposed!" the King exclaimed, throwing the book to the shinigami in question. The book was titled 'Death Note 13: How to Read' and had a neat picture of L and Light in the picture.

"That publication contains all the information about us shinigami. Why, there are things written here that are kept secret from even among the higher ranked shinigami!"

Ryuuk browsed the book. Sure enough, he found his very own profile, complete with an awesome picture. There were also pictures of his fellow shinigami, as well as a description of their features and capabilities.

"If this goes on, I will not be surprised if those humans start a hunt on us shinigami. I don't want this to happen, and so I will demand that you act at once."

"But…"

"If you don't, then I will kill all the apple farmers on earth, so that you won't even have a glimpse of your precious fruit."

"That's too much!"

"So you agree to my terms then?"

"I suppose so. What it your plan?"

Yeah, to think that his love for apples would actually be his downfall.

"So, with his power, you erased all of the world's memories of Kira?" L asked again, a look of contempt clearly written on his face.

"Uhuh. If you mention Kira to anyone, they'll just laugh at you. This includes Yagami Raito."

"That is unjust"

Ryuuk laughed in his weird voice.

"If you should know, without the King's intervention, Raito would have killed you, and will continue to kill countless people, innocents included. That includes one of your successors, Mello. Deaths will increase tenfold until I finally kill him. But with the King's plan, these lives will be preserved, as well as our secrets."

L bit his thumb, deep in thought.

"I see. So erasing everyone's memories of Kira's existence will be beneficial for both sides." He crouched down again. "But I still think Raito is getting the best deal out of this, when he must be punished."

"That will be taken cared of too. You see, erasing the whole humankind's memories required a lot of power. We used Raito just for that,"

L's eyes widened even further.

"What did you do to him?"

'We planted something on him. And…er…considering you…er…" Ryuuk was getting uncomfortable. "Did the deed"

L raised an eyebrow.

"He will now have an ability men were not supposed to have."

"Shinigami-san must make his words clear." L warned, and Ryuuk looked a little terrified at the look L was giving him.

"He is pregnant, with your child I think, seeing as you were the…"

"I understand" L interrupted, blushing once he got the point.

"Which means that from here on, the fate of everyone is in your hands."

"…Please explain a little further, Shinigami-san."

"The king is giving you a choice, seeing that you will be the one most burdened by all of this. If you decide to keep the child, then all is well, the magic will be completed once your child is born and the world will forget Kira permanently. "However, if you decide to get rid of it, everything will revert back to how it was before, and you can expose Raito being Kira."

L was biting his thumb a little harder, trying to concentrate. It bled a second after. He did this most of the time when he is trying to understand very important information.

"I know that you were the one who was most involved with this case, and the Shinigami King acknowledged this, so while he did not give Raito a say into all of this, he did leave the final decision to you. As of this moment, the future of the Human world is in your hands. If you decide to keep the child, then the spell that was casted on humankind will be put to effect permanently upon its birth. However, if you try to get rid of it, then the world will revert to the way it was before, and you can freely expose Raito as Kira."

"I…see…"

L nodded in understanding. So it is up to him now. He was starting to weigh down the two decisions when Ryuuk added something.

"Just so you know, if you decide the latter, I will kill you."

L gnawed on his thumb even further.

"That would make the whole idea of me having a choice inconsistent, Shinigami-san."

"Ah…but it was the King who gave you the decision. As for me, I value those apples so much and would hate it if it disappears because of your decision…But hey, maybe after your death, one of your successors might expose Raito for being Kira, so you're not at a total loss."

L stared unbelievably at the shinigami. That death god really need to sort out his priorities.

"Well, I guess that's about it. I'm leaving you now, but I'll know your decision sooner or later."

And with that, the shinigami disappeared on one of the walls, leaving L in deep thought.

L pondered this for a while. He loved his job. He wanted to fight for justice. He had promised to himself that he will capture Kira even if it meant his death. But, to expose Raito as Kira, can he really just throw the boy to his death?

Also, it's not like Raito got out unpunished. He had to keep in mind that bearing a child, while normal for a woman, can be a humiliating and painful experience for a man. Can that be punishment enough?

Another thing he had to consider were the number of lives to be saved. If he chose to get the glory and let Kira be known again, the only thing he can save was his pride. On the other hand, if things keep on like this, lives will be saved from useless deaths, however, he will not be known to be the one who solved this monumental case, and had to deal with his reputation tarnished by a let-down case.

Thinking about it, no matter what, he will still be L, the greatest detective in the world. As a person, the one chosen to decide the fate of the earth, he had to choose what would be the most beneficial to everyone, not just himself.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to choosing between the Kira case over Raito, his pride or his love. The decision should be easy enough.

Having a child was not so bad, now that he thought about it. He might be a quirky, weird detective, but as a man, he had been also longing to have a child of his own, someone he could relate to, someone similar to him, sharing some of his characteristics. He wanted someone coming from him to carry out his mission in life, not just some heirs chosen for him out of talent. With his lifestyle as a detective this might be the only chance he will get having a child of his own. This might be his only shot on being a father.

He smiled to himself.

"I guess I have to let go"

Just then, the door opened, revealing the said boy, and L sat up straight on instinct.

"Ryuuzaki, I…" he started, and upon closer look L could see tear strains marking his beautiful eyes.

"What is wrong, Raito-kun?" he said gently.

"L, I think… something's wrong with my body", he said shyly, a hint of worry in his eyes.

Without a second thought, L embraced the boy tightly, and began patting him on the back. The boy relaxed after a few minutes.

"I'm scared, L", Raito admitted.

"Shh…It's okay, Raito-kun." L said soothingly. "I'll take care of you."

At that moment, he knew that he had made the right decision. This was the greatest sacrifice he had ever done, and he knew that he would not regret it.