IMPORTANT UPDATE: Short version is, well as you might have guessed. I'm discontinuing this series and just releasing the last (unedited) chapters out of respect for readers. Then, I will release a new unedited version that at least has an ending for my own closure.
Long version: Here goes, I started this story more than 12 years ago, still unemployed and frustrated with the job search with all the rejections and false hopes, and I wanted a release from that along with the dissatisfaction with the ending of Death note (still couldn't accept it, but admittedly I don't think I can do a better job). It took me six months to get a job so during that time I was writing my heart out to distract myself from waiting.
Anyway, with work and life happening in my 20s, I could only do so much and do my best to update as much as possible. I developed a love-hate relationship with this story where I would sometimes forget it and come a year after I would feel guilt and write again.
It came to a point where I have to re-read everything before I can get a good grasp on what I wrote years ago. It was not fun, but I still am proud of the things that I wrote back then, and I genuinely want to finish the story. Well, there came a point where I got stuck with what I want to do plot wise, and am no longer happy with what was happening. I mean sure I can continue it and push through but it was taking a long time and I was no longer happy forcing myself to do the long process and then forgetting what I was supposed to do when I remember to continue it again.
WELL, come 2020, and I am stuck at home again with nothing to do, and I come across this unfinished work that I ignored for 3 years or something. I no longer know how to continue but the guilt of not finishing it still haunts me. So by November (Nanowrimo) I thought to just re-write the whole thing to the best of my memory and edit a few plot points here and there, actually edit a lot of plot points haha. I made it a Nanowrimo project to just sit down for 30 days and finish the whole thing, no matter how bad it turned out, no matter how many grammatical errors it has (English is my second language).
Thinking about it, ending wise, the original story would have taken that direction too, but it was the middle part that I no longer have interest in writing. I'm happy to say that I finally finished the story despite it being rewritten, and I am going to post it soon. In order to avoid it having the same fate as the original, I will post the entire thing with minimal edits, one chapter a day for the coming days, and when I feel like editing I will get back to it and update, or not.
I hope that it won't upset the readers too much. Truthfully, I am doing this more for myself than anything else. I don't regret writing any stories I have written so far, and am proud of having the effort to do so. I just want to give an ending to this so that I can find closure, for my own satisfaction, and move on. I am sorry once again for taking a very long time to this story, and I hope you Months Due
Chapter 21
Secrets
"Are you sure you're not missing something important?" L repeated again as he checked on the plan again.
"We're sure, L." Matsuda replied with enthusiasm as he put on his sunglasses.
Somehow, L wasn't so sure. He knew that he personally saw through every detail in this plan and calculated every possibility and its corresponding reaction, but even so, as he was finally putting everything into action, he could not help but have a nasty feeling that he had forgotten something very crucial. He could not place a finger on it, but whatever it is, it was bugging him.
"Don't worry L, we've followed your orders to the T." the respectable chief Yagami assured.
"And in any case, you have double-checked quite a few times already." Matsuda added.
"Besides, if things go wrong, we've got your back, L", said Mello. "Matt's great at these kinds of missions."
L could not tell if these words were reassuring or not.
It wasn't as if this whole thing was a life or death situation. Admittedly, the conditions of the case does not really warrant this many people. The L from a few months ago would have been more confident with just Watari and probably a handful of the Japanese force. But anyway, even as he was developing the plan L could not shake off the doubt in his head that something could go wrong, and so to be safe he called on to these two, who are the oldest among the kids in the institution, and were naturally more inclined to danger.
Still, L thought, although these two additions to the team was really quite handy, the fact is, this would technically be their first mission. But then again, he reminded himself, that he was able to stop the possible World War III during his first mission. In short, he was really just overthinking this again.
"Alright, prepare to commence"
Then again, this was not the time to be overly philosophical about anything, really, because at this point he needs to put his hundred percent focus on the case. He is, after all the biggest key to this mission.
He straightened up a bit until he realized that it was a bad idea. He was not used to this type of posture before that he could swear that a joint or two on his back cracked at that time. Such was the compromise.
"It feels like a strong case of deja vu," he thought, as he continued to pace his way to his target.
"But this is unacceptable!" exclaimed a perplexed irritatingly familiar voice from a nearby room.
"I'm sorry Miss Amane, but we've done all we could with the doctors and all, but they were firm on the decision."
"I don't care if he's broken a limb or two! He can still work for me, right?" insisted the rising star.
"I'm really sorry, Miss Amane", came the defeated tone. "But we've managed to get a replacement, after all."
"Hmph", whined the girl. L felt that he was nearing his cue.
A door opened in front of L, and he was ushered in.
"Ryuuzaki will be your temporary manager for now, Ms. Amane," the man said as L came into sight with the target he was dreading about for the whole week. Admittedly, ever since the Kira case, he was not really looking forward to meeting this annoying pop idol again.
Misa-Misa looked at him with curiosity.
"Say," she finally said as she was inches from L's face. "Haven't we met before?"
L braced himself.
"I assure you, this is the first time, we have met, Miss Amane," he spoke in a deadpan voice, and his feelings from this morning started to escalate. He really was not looking forward to this.
"I must say, Light. You're really becoming a natural at this!" praised Aiber, in the most perfect way Light has aever heard English spoken before.
"It's all thanks to you, Aiber-san." He said sheepishly.
"Now, now, I told you to drop the formalities." The older man reminded.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Light quickly corrected. "You're really a great teacher, Aiber."
"Why, thank you, Light."
Indeed he was. Truth be told, at first, the teen did not believe that such unconventional methods would prove to be effective. He never really had a proper lesson from the man, actually.
For one, they didn't have a proper classroom. During the first week, they spent the entire day watching movies that range from action, comedy to drama. They averaged about ten movies a day or until Light would start vomiting from either motion sickness or too much popcorn.
After that, they would discuss what they thought about the movie, of course, in English. At first, Light was a bit conscious about how he was pronouncing the words, but all of that self-consciousness was thrown at the wind at the first movie of "The Godfather". Soon, he would be the one who initiates the conversation and occasionally, when he was pumped, would mimic the accent of the actors.
By the time the week was over, he was greeting random people on the hallway, and would frequently quote a movie line or two.
The next week, made him read aloud drama passages as if he was one of the actors in that play. Light was a natural at memorizing lines, but then, Aiber insisted that he say every line with feelings, and if necessary, actions. The older man was strict in this regard and would not settle unless Light would perform it perfectly. Light was hesitant at first, and was not as confident when Aiber forced him to perform his lines in front of the kids but then Aiber made the rest of the children have lines as well and so the teen's competitive instinct kicked in and was able to do the lines perfectly.
Later on, when he felt it was ready, Aiber took him outside and introduced him to some of his friends from the theater, and at one point, he along with Aiber even got a chance to play a part in one of their plays (albeit a very small, insignificant one). That was as Aiber kept mentioning his ''proudest moment' as a teacher. Sure, Light only got one line in the role of newly arrived Asian doctor and it was actually Aiber who outshined everyone in that one act, but still, he kept insisting that Light has talent, and that he should really consider his future in theater.
Light could not help but blush and helplessly eat up all of the older man's praises. It has been a long time since anyone praised him, to be honest. It was not like L was good in that regard. And so, in a span of two weeks, they became like the best buddies as far as anyone could tell.
Speaking of which, he is now insisting on being called 'Light', the English version of his name. Aiber told him that that way, it would sound more natural for anyone to talk to him in English.
Light could not wait to tell L everything that happened to him so far, and he was looking forward to making the detective call him by his English name, if only he would call. He was so excited to talk to the man again, but so far, he has not had a single call with the elusive man.
Light was not sure if it was his fault or not.
Of course, Light made sure to wait for L's call everyday at the set time they agreed upon, but oftentimes he would wake to discover that he had fallen asleep while waiting for the phone call, who knows how many times that phone rang while he was asleep.
The activities Aiber booked for him was taking a toll on him, apparently. There were days when he just wanted to go straight in his room and sleep, entirely forgetting that L would be calling any minute now. Not only that, he seemed to have a liking to afternoon dramas shown on the local television network. He discovered it one day, when he was taking a break from one of Aiber's marathon, and thought that it was silly at first, but by the next ten minutes, he was hooked. Now, he just watches it alone right after Aiber's lesson, and it was usually during the show when L calls.
That must be it, he thought, as he shivered at the thought of a pissed off L cursing for the nth time on his call being rejected. He really had to stop doing that one of these days, but he couldn't help it, as day by day Aiber seemed to increase his workload.
By the time he noticed it, he was already a regular member in the theater plays that Aiber's friends was performing at. Not that he was complaining, really. Light actually enjoyed the theater arts more than he anticipated. But still, he had to remind himself that he could no longer afford those long work hours like he used to when he was just a student, especially now, given his conditions. Besides, he kept worrying about L, and his recent lack of presence.
"Umm, Aiber?" he asked hesitantly one day.
"Yes, Light?" the man asked warmly as he flashed a familiar smile.
"I was wondering if I could…", he searched for the right words. "I mean, since L also gave me some things to do…maybe you could ease up my schedule for a bit?"
The older man looked at him as a growing smile formed on his lips.
"Ah, I am so sorry to not have noticed! Of course you can take a break. You just had such brilliant talent that everyone wanted you to become a regular." Aiber explained. "But we cannot sacrifice your health for that or L might get worried. I'm going to have to explain the situation to them and cancel your future shows. I'm sure they'll understand."
"Oh, but you don't have to cancel everything….I can still…"
"Well, I was actually planning on cancelling everything myself anyway" Aiber interrupted. "I felt that you can already make it to the real world. I didn't think I'd get to see the day"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
Aiber laughed.
"I'm not sure that you noticed but the moment I witnessed your skills, I knew that you have enough genius to become my apprentice."
"A-apprentice?"
"And I was right all along. I was just excited." Aiber caressed his hand. "So, will you become my first apprentice?"
Aiber was admittedly seductive enough to get what he want, but then again, Light had been through a lot to know just what the older guy was trying to do.
"Well, I don't know…so you're not really a teacher, are you?"
"Technically, you really were my first student. L already had the skills when I first met him."
"And what is it exactly that you're a master of?"
Aiber laughed again.
"Light, my dear. I could just tell you, but it's more fun if I show you"
"Are you sure we haven't met before?" asked the blonde girl yet again, that it already got past the stage of being annoying, to just the point of monotony.
"Yes, as I have told Amane-san quite a number of times before, this is the first time I've met you."
"But you really do look familiar", Misa said unmindedly. "Besides, you seem to know my favorites, and you've already memorized my schedules."
"I just try to do my best, Amane-san." L said in a false calmness. "After all, that is what managers do."
"Well, yeah, but…"
"Am I doing something wrong, Amane-san?"
"No…but…" the girl was in deep thought. "I just couldn't help it, you know? There's something strange about you."
L stared at her.
"That is a rude thing to say, Miss Amane."
"Oh, sorry about that!" the girl quickly said. "I'll stop now."
"Thank you, Miss Amane"
L could not help but doubt if he made the right decision about this. The girl managed to annoy him that he was already harboring murderous thoughts, to think that it was only morning.
"But still, you have to admit that I have a point in being curious about you, you know. I mean, Mogi was good but he was not this good. And well, you did happen to just pop out of the blue just like that."
Misa kept on blabbering about her thoughts on the matter until they came to the set. She instantly became the perky innocent looking idol as she was portrayed on television, and the sudden changed just increased L's annoyance.
It was not like him to be like this at all. When he was forming the plan he thought that he would be more patient than this. It's not as if this was something new to L. Contrary to what he kept telling the girl, they did met before, and she was the same peppy annoying little girl back then. The only difference was that she kept her eyes focused on another person, and kept a fair distance away from him.
It felt like a lot of years has passed since that day, when he was handcuffed with the boy as he was investigating the Kira case. He seemed to have been more tolerant back then. He was not as irritated with this girl for instance, and he could definitely keep his calm over a barrage of stupid questions. Today, nothing much has changed with Misa, with the exception that her memories of the Kira investigation was swept clean, including that inexplicable infatuation with the young killer.
Maybe there was a lot of difference back then. It was a wonder for L to realize just how much of a difference an atmosphere can make without the boy. For a while he wished that the boy was still here by his side, handcuffed if possible. This might lessen his stress at least. But then he knew that such a thing is not possible right now, and that he had to suck this up or else everything he worked hard for up to this point would be a waste.
"I'm still thnking of telling the agency about this, you know?" Misa kept telling L as they walked toward the train station. Apparently, the shooting for today was canceled due to an unforeseen event that happened to the show's leading man. L no doubt wanted to investigate this further, but because of the said shift in schedule, the car he arranged for them has not yet arrived, and Misa really wanted to go home and insisted they take the train instead. Not wanting to hear any of L's warnings that it would be too crowded and she would be easily recognized there, she rushed ahead leaving the poor man to run after her. This girl was really getting on L's nerves.
"I mean, we just don't match. I'd rather have a macho guy like Mogi protect me. You know? It seems like I'm stronger than you come to think of it."
L had no choice but to bite his lip in order not to make a rude remark, and just walked on.
"Besides, no offense but you look like you're the one who needs management. I mean, what kind of clothes are that? And you don't seem the type to protect me at all…"
Misa kept on talking on the way to the station. L just wished this day would be over.
"Hey, Ryuuzaki! Are you listening?"
"Certainly, Miss Amane."
"Well, can you at least hold my purse for me? And maybe you can buy tickets for us too."
L resisted the urge to kick her and reluctantly took the girl's purse and went to the ticket machine. It was when he got back when he realized that he made a terrible mistake of leaving the girl alone.
"Hey! Hey! Isn't that Misa-misa?"
"Oh, you're right! Wow she's here!"
"Hey, can you sign this for me?"
"Wow, Misa-misa! I'm your number one fan!"
Throngs of fans already crowded the perplexed actress. L could barely see her face but when she spotted him, she gave a cry for help. He half wanted to leave her, but then that would mean messing up the mission up to this point.
He lazily passed through the crowd and took Misa's hand and quickly tugged.
"Hey, who are you?" said some guy who thought of L to be a kidnapper.
"I'm her boyfriend, of course" L said nonchalantly as he swept Misa and carried her like a bride. It felt like a scene from the bodyguard.
"I am sorry for invading your personal space Miss Amane, but we really have to get out of here."
The girl just nodded and let L carry her through the complaining fans. Soon enough, he saw Mello waiting for them in the corner of the station.
"Yo! We couldn't find you back there, but we heard there was some sort of commotion here, so we came."
"Thank goodness", L said as he let go of Misa. "Can you take care of this? I need to go somewhere."
"Of course!" Mello said as he ushered the still bewildered actress to the car.
The detective meanwhile ran back ahead and contacted Watari. This was his chance to investigate.
"Hey, just who is this Ryuuzaki?" Misa finally asked Mello as she settled into the car.
"He's your manager, of course" Mello replied without a second thought. Matt started to drive.
"Oh yeah…he's my manager…"
Mello could not believe it, but at one look at the girl he felt like this was the start of an unforeseen problem.
End