Misa hovered above her boyfriend's bed, teary eyed. This was all L's fault. And Mr. Yagami. How could they do something like this? Light had volunteered to be bound and detained in solitude for two months. And after all of that, he still held his head high; he was so happy to be cleared. Was that not good enough? Was this all just a clever ruse to shatter him? To bulldoze him over and over until he was no longer recognizable? Maybe the real targets were his loved ones. It sure looked like it. Her gaze shifted over to Sachiko. The woman was destroyed, telling stories of Light when he was a child to Misa, her voice barely above a whisper. Sayu wasn't much better. Sometimes, Sayu would take Misa to their house- to Light's room. There, the younger would yell and cry into her shoulder, vowing to find the monster who did this to her brother. If only she knew.
"The bullets were blanks," L explained, not a shred of remorse evident in his tone. "I admit, it was a bit of an oversight on my part. I should have done more research on how blanks fire at close range, but needs must. It was a test to see if either of you were Kira. As such, I trust you will not inform his family about this. We wouldn't want them compromising the investigation, now, would we? I suppose I needn't tell you what would happen if you were to tell them."
Misa had never wanted to punch someone more. How could they not have known what would happen? They're police! They had to have learned about this in training, right? Her blood boiled. She just wanted her Light back.
Even when he woke, it wasn't the same. There was just so much fear and betrayal in his eyes. Hell, he couldn't even speak!
Well.
Not to his family, anyway.
Misa was sitting next to Light's bed, watching T.V. with him- Sachiko and Sayu had gone home for the day- when she heard it.
"Misa." It was coarse and quiet, but undeniably Light.
Light was getting really sick of this whole 'not speaking' thing. He didn't realize just how much he used to talk. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get his mouth to move- dread pooled in his gut at the thought of it. Each time, a small voice would whisper: What if they helped him plan this? You can't trust them. You trusted your father, and look where that landed you. Don't be an idiot.
He knew it wasn't logical. He knew that Sachiko would never hurt a fly, much less her own son. And Sayu was far too angry about his injuries to have known about it. That didn't stop the tingling, electric fear lancing up his spine. It ran through his face, wired his jaw shut. It filled his mouth with sand. Turned his tongue to rubber. Some intuition told him that this wasn't typical of a head injury. He pushed that thought away.
It wasn't until he was alone in his room that he finally allowed himself to reflect on what had happened on that horrible, horrible day. His dad. He was...dead. How could Light have forgotten? He tried to kill his son and then killed himself. He felt like ice had been poured down his shirt. And now, he realized, L was going to finish the job. Why hadn't they just let him die? Were they going to let him get better only to execute him later? If so, then why was Misa still alive and free? It made no sense. He couldn't very well ask Misa what happened, why she looked so guilty around his family.
But then, Misa was in his hospital room, the two of them alone for the first time since he had woken up two weeks ago. The ever-present weight on his chest eased, if only a bit. His mouth opened on its own, letting out a single sound. "Misa." It- it worked? He wondered why he was able to speak all of a sudden. Was he fixed? No matter. He needed to talk to her while he still could.
She shot to her feet, crowded closer. "Light! Are you okay?"
"Misa. What happened? In the car, I mean. Is he really-" his voice cut off and his body tensed. God, he couldn't bring himself to say it. "Did he actually…kill himself? Why am I alive? Why are you alive? We're going to be…executed anyway. None of this makes any sense."
Misa looked absolutely livid at the mention of the incident. She turned away from him, fists clenched. "Light," she gritted out, "None of it was real. It was all a stupid test from L and your father to see if we were Kira."
No. It felt like the healing cracks in Light's skull had widened, blood flowing into his eyes and staining his vision; dripping into his ears, distorting the words into something irrational and ugly. That had to be what was happening. There was no way they would go this far. He must have misheard Misa. Light wrapped his arms around himself, nails digging into the soft skin. He shook his head. "That's- that's impossible. They wouldn't. Dad shot me. He would never endanger someone for the sake of a test."
"The bullets were blanks. They thought you wouldn't be harmed."
"What?" The hurt was replaced with anger. "Bullshit they didn't want to hurt me! Are you kidding? Blanks still fucking explode! Every officer knows that! No. That can't be true."
"That's just what L told me. God, I just want to wring his neck!"
Light's hands shook. "Do Mom and Sayu know anything?"
"No. I'm not allowed to tell them. Nobody's had a chance to talk to Mr. Yagami. He didn't say anything when he was here-"
"What?!" he scrambled further forward on the bed, "He was here?! No. No, no, no. He can't be around them. What if he hurts Sayu? Did he do anything while-" he froze, eyes fluttering.
"Light?" Misa asked. There was no acknowledgement that she had said anything. Just as she was about to tap him, he snapped back into action.
"Did he do anything while he was here?"
A/N: Alright boys, here she is! Sorry for the wait!