L and the rest of the investigation team had set up one of the bedrooms in the hotel as the holding room for Light. He didn't have anywhere to go. The door was locked, he was bound to a chair and he was completely alone for most of the day, except for all the cameras that were on him. L watched the tv screen and the two laptops on the coffee table, watching Light still sob in pity.
"He's still crying." Whispered Matsuda as he looked at Light in sadness. L glanced out of the corner of his eyes towards Matsuda, not liking the way the man remorse over Light. "I'm a little thirsty." Said L as he looked over at Matsuda and Mogi. "Perhaps you two should pick us all up some food. I'm sure you two are getting hungry as well."
Mogi nodded his head as Matsuda smiled just slightly and nodded his head as well. "Sounds good, We'll bring food back for everyone." Said Matsuda, his happy enthusiastic voice echoing throughout the room. L smiled at the sight and replied, "Thank you."
Matsuda smiled big towards the older man as both him and Mogi left the hotel room. L frowned towards Aizawa and Ide and tried to ask his question without any bitterness or interest apparent in his voice. "So, what's with Matsuda? He seems affected by Light's reappearance."
Aizawa and Ide were slightly caught off guard by the simple question. Aizawa looked over at L and shrugged his shoulders, "To be honest with you…I don't know…maybe…" Aizawa said and trailed off into thought.
Ide, on the other hand, knew why Matsuda was acting the way he was. After Aizawa spoke he cleared his throat a little and met eyes with L, "Its probably because, well…" He ran a hand through his hair, "Matsuda used to be really close to Light. He had a small crush on him for a little while…" He said, and paused before continuing, "I guess he still feels a little bit of sympathy towards Light, perhaps it's because of the warehouse. Even though it wasn't Light there, he still shot the man he thought was Light." Ide sighed once more and broke eye contact from L, "The kid has too big of a heart. It's gonna get him hurt one day…"
Sato was quiet as he glanced up from his computer and glanced over at L, waiting for a reaction. L nodded his head as he replied, "I figured." L looked away from the two men and made his way over towards Sato and rummaged through his bag for a moment. "If Matsuda gets any closer to Light, it may prove to be a problem." Said L as he pulled out a small digital recorder.
L fumbled with the machine for a few moments before letting out a small sigh. He let his hand comb the top of his hair, pulling out half way as his orange curls fell more to the left side of his chest. "What do you mean?" Asked Aizawa as L glanced back over at the men and replied, "It can be dangerous for everyone if Matsuda lets Light get too close to him. It could be dangerous for me, Sato, and especially Matsuda himself. We need that boy to understand that Light has no pure intentions when it comes to the two of them. Light is a manipulator."
L paused as he glanced over at Sato and continued, "I'm going to go and talk to Light, see if I can't get him to stop his pathetic act. Tell him it's not the God damn oscars." L mumbled the last part as he set the recorder onto a new file.
L placed the digital recorder on the collar of his shirt as Sato nodded to him, telling him that he understood. L walked into the room where Light was being held. L opened the door and restrained himself from slamming it shut; instead he closed it somewhat loudly to get the attention of the only other person in the room. Light heard the slam and looked up at L, the tears still steadily flowing down his face.
"I don't know why you are trying to keep up the innocent act. We know it's fake, and it will do you no good." L said in a stern voice. "It makes me wonder what kind of heart you have. You're obviously a good actor, I mean, to be able to keep the tears flowing for more than an hour and to not falter from your act. I really should applaud you, but I don't waste my energy on criminals as yourself."
Light's eyes widened even more, "I already told you! How many times do I have to tell you that it's not me! Someone is setting me up! When will you believe me?" Light asked in his still pleading tone.
L nodded his head as he walked over towards the front of the desk that was in front of Light and leaned on it, sitting on the top of the pine but still in a somewhat stance. "All right, I'll listen to your pleads and allow you to tell your side of the story, but before we get onto the new murders, answer me this...Were you the first Kira? Did you in fact kill all of those criminals, along with L Lawliet?" Asked L as he gazed at Light coldly. Light knew it would take everything he had to win L over, but then again he really had no reason to. He would be dead in a matter of minutes.
Light's tears fell from the corners of his eyes as he gazed at L in fear and desperation. L wouldn't deny the fact that Light was a handsome man who knew how to play on people's emotions, but he would not be another one of his victims.
"I won't say anything...not until all recorders and cameras are turned off." Said Light, as he looked away from L in shame. "I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to get a confession so you could have a chance to convict Kira in court. I won't be accused for something I did not do."
L let out an amused chuckle as he asked, "You're going to deny that you were the first Kira until I turn off everything?" Light narrowed his eyes towards L and replied, "I will not go to prison because of someone else's crimes."
L narrowed his eyes slightly at Light. He gazed at the expression that showed on his face and the slight defiance and stubbornness in his eyes. The two engaged in a stare down with each other until L broke away from it. L sighed; he realized that Light would refuse to speak until everything was shut off. He growled lowly before placing a hand to his communication piece, "Turn off everything," L commanded, and as soon as he did, the red lights that signaled that the cameras were on, turned off.
L took the digital recorder and turned it off, showing Light so that he wouldn't doubt him. He placed the items on the desk behind him and looked Light in the eye. "There," He said, "All recording devices are off as you wanted. Now, you can say what you want and only I will hear you.
"Thank you." Said Light in a sincere tone as L nodded his head, surprised he was still acting civil with Light. He had always wanted to see Light suffer for what he had done to his 'brother', but yet at the moment, L still held a civilized stature to himself. "Well, what do you have to say in you're defense?" Asked L.
Light sniffled a bit and leaned his head to the side, pulling up his shoulder to wipe away the tears. trying to regain his composer. "I've been living a hard life since I ran away. I was cornered by Mikami my last few weeks as Near was closing in on me. I angered Mikami." Said Light as he looked back up at L in fear.
L let out a sigh as he raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat before replying, "All right, Light. I'll bite. Why was Mikami angry?"
"I told him I wanted to stop at what we were doing. I was digging myself a bigger grave and I didn't want to get caught, so I told Mikami I no longer wanted the Death Note. He had come to see me as a God...And when I told him this...He saw me as a man; A weak man, so he told me to continue. He went mad on me, trying to convince me that I was a God. That I had to continue what I was doing, otherwise...He would write my name into the death note." Said Light as he seemed to think back on the event, sadness in his eyes.
"So you setup a man to take your place and act like you?" Asked L as Light nodded and replied, "Yes, once I set up the whole thing I left, ready to make a new life. I wanted a clean slate, away from all the death, away from Mikami...Away from the Death Note."
L let everything sink in. It sounded credible, but there was still something that didn't fit. "You were on a plane just recently. On the way to Tokyo from a small perfection. What were you doing in that area?"
Light looked confused as he replied, "I was on a trip with my class. There was a fashion show in Kochi and we all pitched in to go." Light looked worried as he asked, "Why would that be questioned?"
L watched Light's actions. If he was acting, then he was better then the professional's L had seen before. Light's reactions were perfect. Nothing seemed to throw him off guard. "The reason I found you in Tokyo was through your passport, and the reason I question your reason there is because where we had Mikami held captive was not far from there. He escaped, along with the Death Note the same time you were there." L shrugged his shoulders and smirked at Light. "More then questionable, is it not?" He asked.
L was waiting for Light to slip up, but it was going to take more then that. Light looked at L in shock. "Mikami is still alive?!" Fear captivated the younger man as L's smile faded, feeling as if the fear was genuine. "And he has the Death Note?...Then I was right, he is the one setting me up!" Said Light, anger coming into his voice as he thought of Mikami.
"So you do admit to being the first Kira." L said, searching for a definite confirmation, as he looked at Light with unwavering eyes. Light looked down, as if in shame and nodded his head. "Yes," He said softly, "I was the first Kira. But…like I said, I wanted to stop. I didn't…I didn't want to hurt anyone else…" Light said quietly in a low tone of, what seemed to be, regret.
L was torn internally. He just admitted to being the first Kira, but he didn't want to continue. Mikami apparently made him continue and drove Light to sending in another person to take his place as he ran away. But, how did he know that Light still wasn't lying to him? This man was Kira for a number of years, and his acting skills might be better that what he expected. L sighed; Light could still be tried for the hundreds, possibly thousands, of deaths that occurred when he was Kira, but he wasn't sure if he could be the one committing the crimes this time. They were going to have to catch Teru Mikami to know the full story and lock the Kira's up for good.
Questions tugged at L's mind that Light had not answered, but he decided to ask one that had been bothering him since it had happened, "Did you kill L Lawliet?" L asked Light.
Light starred at L with regret in his eyes, he could see the interest, or perhaps the need in L's eyes. "You knew him personally...Didn't you?" Asked Light as L nodded his head and crossed his arms, waiting for Light's answer.
"L...Or should I say, Lawliet, him and I had a strained relationship. Lawliet admired Light and visa versa, but L was chasing after Kira. The two relationships collided." Light was cut off as L asked again. "Were you the one to kill him?"
Light starred at L for a moment before replying, "I didn't write his name down. Another death god did, but it was I who cornered the God to do so."
L's eyes narrowed slightly as his teeth and fists clench. So it was Light. He had made another death God kill Lawliet. At least L knew the truth of it all, but he tried to calm his rising anger. He couldn't lash out against Light, no matter how much he deserved it, and even if all the cameras were off; if the others saw Light with two black eyes and a busted lip, at the very least, they would make it so that L could no longer be in the same room as the murderer.
L's slightly long nails dug into his palm uncomfortably as they drew slight blood from the pressure. L closed his eyes and decided to breathe; the air was thick and tense with unspoken words and L's anger that radiated off of him in waves. L opened his eyes to once again meet the eyes of Light. The anger was no longer rolling off of him; instead it simmered slightly, but never disappeared. That was expected though; L would not be able to even think about ever forgiving this man for killing his 'brother.' L sighed and ran a hand through some of his hair, thinking for a moment.
"So then it comes down to finding Mikami. To see if his story matches yours." Said L as Light nodded his head and replied, "I would be willing to make a bargain with you, if you would consider it."
L leaned off of the desk and took a few steps forward, standing directly in front of Light so the young man had to look upward towards the questioning hazel eyes. "What is it?" He asked as Light quickly replied, "I'll help you hunt don't Mikami. You know I can do it. Your mind combined with mine, we can bring him down."
L pondered over the concept, it wasn't a bad idea, but he knew there had to be a catch. "And what do you want in return?" Asked L.
"I don't want to die...and I don't want to go to jail." Said Light as L narrowed his eyes and replied, "You want your crimes to just disappear?"
"No, I want to pay for them, but in a different way. I would get the death penalty or if I'm lucky, life in prison. If I help you take down Mikami and let you get a hold of the death note...All I ask in return is that my punishment becomes a life dedication to the NPA." Said Light as L frowned at the thought and replied, "You're talking about a collar."
Light nodded his head as L became angry again. He killed Lawliet and yet, he may just be able to walk away a free man if he played his cards right. It made L sick. L shook his head as he replied, "For right now, you're just going to sit here, while I speak to the others." L turned around and made his way to the door and opened it to find Matsuda just about to enter the room.
The young agent smiled at L as he raised a bag next to his face to show that he had gotten L some food. Just like that all of L's anger disappeared. "That's very kind of you Matsu." Said L as Matsuda nodded his head and handed the food to L as he replied, "Sorry it took so long, the traffic was horrendous, especially for it being 10 o'clock. Usually the rush is all gone by 8."
Light heard what Matsuda had said and slight shock, but mostly anger bubbled in the young God. L turned, noticing the slightly shocked look on Light's face as he asked with a smug smile, "Problem?"
Light shook his head as L turned towards him and replied in a cocky manner. "Just to let you know I don't believe your story. It's well thought out and the others may buy it, but I think you're in contact with Mikami. And I think he was at that airport when you were there. You knew I was coming for you. You knew I would find you. So, I would put my money on the fact that you had Mikami there, waiting to use his shinigami eyes to see my name."
L let out a small chuckle as Light looked at L in confusion. "What're you talking about?" Asked Light as if he was completely lost as L shrugged and replied, "No matter, whether it's true or not, I have nothing to fear from Mikami. He can't kill me."
"What do you mean?" Asked Matsuda as he looked at L in confusion and shock. L didn't look at Matsuda, just glared at Light as he replied, "Because...I was born with no name."