CHAPTER 4

Light couldn't bring himself to fully zip it and retreated underneath the covers.

"I-I can't do it," his words sounded jumbled, "I-I'm not gay. I can't be."

"Perhaps bisexual, like myself," L mused and fixed his pants to its original form, slightly shaking his head, "although I have to say I am very disappointed. . . It has been quite some time since I've felt such excitement, hmm."

To Light, the detective looked like an adorable pouting panda child who lost their favourite candy. He could feel his heart pound in his chest. It was so loud he was afraid L would hear the erratic rhythm as well. He should not be feeling this way. It is wrong. Terribly wrong. Perhaps Light is bisexual. No, he can't be. Inside the brunette's troubled mind, a war of heterosexual vs homosexual spiraling out of control.

"Good night, Light-kun," L stated sourly, still feeling down from the delayed action.

"Same, Ryuzaki," Light murmured, pinching himself, desperately wishing these odd feelings would disappear in the morning.

When Light woke up, L was already long gone. His side of the bed already neatly fixed in every way. What a perfectionist. Funny how he likes to tidy up everything but himself. Seriously, he wears the same clothes every day, doesn't fix his hair, and manages to always look sleep deprived yet cute. Wait. What. No, you are straight. Straight, Light Yagami, straight. I realize my last name spelled backwards is 'I am gay'. But, that is completely irrelevant to this situation. . . right?

Hold up.

He was gone?!

Light almost jumped at the sight of not being handcuffed to L. He could just jump in delight of freedom! The overjoyed young man attempted to, but, fell on his face and groaned in pain. What? He looked back and realized his hands were handcuffed to the head of the bed. Damn that bastard. Damn him all the way to hell and beyond. He struggled to get out. The chains didn't budge a bit.

"Screw you, L!" He yelled in anger, "What did I do to deserve this crap anyway?!"

Not giving up, Light continued to do everything in his power to get out. Ryuk simply burst out laughing at his attempts.

"Leave it to L to do this to you," he chuckled, floating in the air, legs crossed casually.

"Don't just watch, help me, Ryuk!" Light seethed.

"Why should I? Do I gain anything from this?"

"Goddammit Ryuk, I'll give you another apple, okay," he sighed, "just free me from these handcuffs."

"Alright, now, we've got a deal," his grin widened and almost as if it was magic, the cuffs were off.

Light blinked. "How?..."

"Shinigami stuff, anyway, the apple?"

"Ah, yes, let me grab one downstairs first," he chuckled and began to walk to the hallway.

"I'd be careful if I were you," Ryuk lowered his voice, "I sense an unfamiliar presence among this house."

"If you say so," he said slowly, checking his surroundings.

Despite Ryuk's words of advice, Light still went downstairs to the living room where L usually sat, eating unusual amounts of food during research. Also, the rest of the team hung out there often to help with the Kira investigation. Sometimes, Misa would show up, only to ask about Light. The brunette sighed. His girlfriend could be such a hassle. The only reason why he was still dating her is because of her Shinigami eyes. Honestly, if he had never picked up that Death Note, he'd just be another prestigious honour student. Maybe even still dating Kiyomi Takada. Light had to admit though, life was awful boring back then.

Now. . .

He was given the power to become the god of this world.

He could erase crime from its existence and bring forth justice.

Light believed he was making the world a better place by eliminating threatening criminals. Yes, one day, the world would be crime-free and an Utopian paradise. Everybody would be thanking him for creating such a heavenly place. This world is rotten, and those who are making it rot only deserve to die. Someone has to do it, so why not him? Even if it means sacrificing his own mind and soul, it's worth it. Because the world... can't go on like this. Is there anyone out there other than Light who'd be willing to eliminate the filth from the world? That's just it: there's no one. But he can do it. In fact, Light is the only one who can. With the Death Note in his hand, the world will change.

With a somewhat crazy smile on his face, Light proceeded to sit on the couch, failing to the notice the crouching figure on his left.

"And good morning to you, Light," the said person greeted, sucking on a lollipop.

"Holy crap, Ryuzaki," Light almost jumped, "you scared the hell out of me! Since when were you so quiet? And what happened to 'Light-kun'?"

L shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly replied, "Oh, I never realized how loud and noisy I can be, Light-kun. Am I bothering you?"

"Not really," the brunette easily lied, still recovering from his recent shock.

"That is good to hear," he answered, continuing to focus on the sweet food in his mouth.

Light blinked. L sure was acting weird today. Is it because of that lollipop? The student stole a few glances at the crouched person. He still wore that stupid white long sleeve shirt. Still didn't wash his messy black hair. Still didn't get sleep because of those dark circles. Wait. They do look a little bit darker than usual. Is that. . . expensive black eye shadow smudged underneath his eyes? Even his eyes seemed different, a lingering dead look within. It was missing that calculating, insensitive gleam. His skin was awfully smoother than usual too. Did L always wear white foundation? He doesn't seem the type to wear any sort of makeup.

"You seem quiet as well," L stated.

Light's brown eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Who the hell was this person was sitting beside him? This can't be Ryuzaki or the L he's come to known and grown to find incessantly annoying! Plus, 'L' isn't mentioning anything about how they aren't handcuffed anymore. Something was definitely off.

He firmly demanded, eyes hard. "Who are you?"

"Ryuzaki, of course."

Ryuk came floating in and complained, "Where're those apples you promised, Light? And that scent of that strange person is even stronger here."

"I'll ask you one more time," Light stood up and took a few steps away, "who are you?"

A/N: Ugh, kinda have writer's block with this, haha! I honestly have no idea where the plot is going at this point... xD Help?