Jack
Three months went by. I was now quite used to the routine of packing up and switching hotels now. And now that L knew I took sleeping medication, it was a bit less awkward to try and explain my long sleeping hours or my need for tea first thing in the morning. Every night around ten I would bid L goodnight and retire to my room. He would then wake me by pounding on my door around eight or seven, depending on his mood.
There were some nights that I stayed up until the sun rose pouring over notes and different strategies. Because we had such a long time for the opening ceremonies at To-Oh Academy, we had a lot of time to go over just about everything regarding Light Yagami. We dove into his school records, any jobs he'd had, and I'd even managed to snag some medical documents online.
"Oh, he's AB positive," I told L over my laptop screen.
"Are you in his health records?" L asked incredulously.
"Yuppers," I replied, scrolling through the documents. "And looks pretty squeaky clean, to be honest. No surgeries, no hospitalizations. No broken bones, not even cavities. I'm telling you he's too perfect. I'm fairly certain he's an alien."
L grunted and came to sit by me. Well, perch, per usual. "You know this is illegal."
"Are you going to put my in handcuffs?" I winked at him with a sly grin.
L didn't look amused, let alone fazed. Oddly enough, we were getting quite good at the whole fake dating thing when we were out in public. I was starting to wonder if our increased banter was a result of that. After all, as my father always said, people don't tease those they don't like. They insult them blatantly instead.
"So, if Light is an alien as well as Kira, how do you propose we fight the extraterrestrial?" L asked, ignoring my comment.
"I saw a movie once where water hurts them. But I've seen Light open a door, so I don't think he's that kind." I frowned, tapping my lower lip with my index finger as a show of pondering. "Hm. Perhaps he's the Thing—have you seen that one? The one they've remade like twelve times? But if that's the case we might be screwed I don't think they ever killed it—but it was frozen once upon a time. That's it!" I smacked my fist into my palm. "We trap him in a freezer!"
L actually smiled a little. I was quite pleased with myself. Sometimes I wondered if he was just putting up with me, but when I actually got him to crack a grin, even a small one, I liked to think even if that was the case, I was growing on him. Like some sort of cancer, most likely.
"I'll start working on that, just in case it does turn out he is not of this world," L said.
I laughed. It was easy to tell when the detective was in a good mood when he went along with my nonsense.
All the while, Nox hovered and prodded me verbally anytime I got too close to revealing vital information regarding the Death Note. My notebook had to be moved since my lovely time of the month had come along a few weeks after stashing it there. Since we moved hotels every third night, I had to come up with a safe location where L or Watari wouldn't accidentally come across it.
I asked Nox for suggestions since he was the one so intent on keeping all this shit secret, but he just scoffed and waved me off.
"I'm not the one trying to pull off the impossible, Jack," he had said. "Figure it out."
In the end I did. Sort of. For a week straight, each night I would retire to my room an hour before I actually took my medication. This led me to be particularly groggy in the morning, but it was worth it. I took my satchel and with a thread and needle and one of the two blankets I kept with me, I stitched in a pocket of sorts. The blanket's fabric was so close to the satchel's, it wasn't terribly noticeable unless one was looking for it.
I then set it up so that there was some extra cloth on top of the pocket that could be tucked in. The pocket itself was so tight to the side of the satchel, only the Death Note could fit inside. Once it was slid into place, I tucked the fabric over it, concealing it's binder from sight. I knew my satchel was the one thing L hadn't gone through since it was with me when I went with Watari to the two police officers' homes. So the pocket would not appear to be anything new. For good measure, I placed a similar one on the other side and placed in a few bits of cardboard to simulate the same weight and stiff effect.
Now the Death Note was always on my person if I left the hotel. It was a little risky to keep it with me. If I somehow lost the satchel I'd be screwed royally, but I didn't have much of an option here.
It was a week before opening ceremonies for To-Oh Academy now. Things had gone as L predicted. He and Light scored at the top of the entering class and were therefore chosen to present an opening speech to the rest of student body. I had been to graduations before, so I could only imagine that this was going to be equally as boring. I remember being forced to sit through a ceremony where the speaker could not stop mentioning the word "plateaus." That had been the joke for the next several months among my group of friends.
"Let's go do something," I said, setting down my chopsticks. We had just finished our lunch and I found myself a touch stir crazy. "I want to go by Akihabara again."
L looked up at me from his noodles. It was a bit odd to see him eat something that wasn't coated in sugar. However, the small bowl of ramen was alone among a plate of chocolates and candies.
"What for?" the detective asked me after slurping up the rest of his meal.
"I loved it there," I said. "There were arcades- Sega themed arcades! Like three of them! And a Pokemon card shop! C'mon, this time of day the subway won't be busy, we wouldn't even have to bother Watari."
"Don't you think we have more pressing matters?" L asked, delicately picking up a chocolate between his forefinger and thumb.
"Like what?" I groaned, throwing myself back into the couch. "We've already gone over all the case notes like four to five times over. We've discussed the plan to confront Light more times than that. I know everything there is to know about this case and what we know so far backwards and forwards. I'm going to loose my mind staying in the hotel rooms. I want to go walk around!"
L let out a long exhale through his nostrils. He popped the chocolate in his mouth and took his time chewing it. Once his throat finally bobbed, showing he'd fully devoured the sweet morsel., he met my gaze.
"If we do this we're only going to be out for five hours, understand?That includes the time it takes to get down there and back." L said. "No more."
Five hours was actually pretty generous for L. I beamed. "Of course! And I highly doubt Light will be over there. It's too... rambunctious for him."
L gave a small nod. "I would admit it would be a surprise to run into him over there. But if we do, I think we can manage."
True enough. We had spoken about my time with Light on the train; analyzed it. Light was tricky. He was too clean in every sense of the word. The fact that he didn't make it a point to hide his amount of intelligence could be seen as several things.
If he wasn't Kira, he just happened to be a gifted student in an unfortunate spot during this investigation. If he was Kira, it could mean that he thought showing off his cleverness so openly would make us think he wasn't the mass serial killer after all- that Kira would be a fool to advertise it. Or, the third option, was that it was the second but a touch of complete and total arrogance. Of gloating. Showing off just what he is capable but we had nothing to take him down with as of yet.
Light had nothing to worry about if he wasn't Kira. Once we ruled it out, we would recruit him as part of the task force and move on. However, if he was our target, L and I were more than prepared for him. There was no chance in hell he'd be getting our names. Well... he might get them if he had the Shinigami eyes. Yet then he'd only be getting L's, and if L just upped and died while we were investigating Light, well that would cinch it. It would damn him to being the most likely suspect tenfold.
Yet the idea of L dying made a wasp nest erupt in my gut. I wasn't about to let that happen to someone who had helped so many lives.
Either way, I was pent up and needed distraction. So the two of us left the hotel, taking the subway over to my favorite district in Tokyo. Luckily the trains weren't nearly as busy. Playing up our act, L and I switched between holding hands and having arms around one another. I had gotten so used to it by now that touching him was no longer an issue for me. In fact it was almost second nature. Like he was just another part of my own body that was sometimes there and sometimes not.
When we arrived in Akihabara, I beamed at the sight of lights and tall building with massive banners of anime strewn across them. There was J-Pop music coming out of speakers that lined the main block. A few anime opening themes even played. I took my headphones off from my head and hung them around my neck instead. L stared at me when I did so.
"What?" I demanded. "There's music all around us, Ryu. Shouldn't be that surprising."
"It's just odd to see is all," L replied, glancing away.
We headed into the first Sega arcade I could find. The giant sign on the outside was fairly easy to spot. I delighted in all the lights and sounds around me. There were five floors of nothing but games and vending machines. The first floor was mainly crane machines, which were doable but I had my heart set on something more involved.
I bounded up the stairs, L just behind me. The second floor was a various array of different fighting games and such. I went through the aisles, my smile never ending. Nox was looking around as he drifted after us. The Shinigami looked a bit awed.
"Humans sure have a lot of toys," he muttered.
I ignored him, pausing by one of the games.
"Pokemon Tekken!" I squealed. "Ryu, play me."
"Excuse me?" L said.
"You're not just here to be pretty," I told him. Then I paused. "Pretty in an odd sort of... broody way."
"I do not brood." L looked a touch insulted.
"You slouch, your hair is in your eyes, your pale as snow, and you've got circles under your peepers like you haven't slept for weeks, and I happen to have it on good authority that you haven't." I folded my arms, smirking at him.
He glanced toward the machine. "Pokemon, is it?" he murmured.
"Yeah!" I didn't mind him changing the subject because he was actually sitting down.
I sat at the machine next to him and we both connected them to one another for a VS match. I had no idea how L would be at video games. I'm certain with practice he could be a master at it. But at the same time, tech was my jam. I had been playing games since I could hold a Gameboy.
When we loaded into the game, I chose Gengar as my fighter. Gengar was by far my favorite Pokemon, had been since I played Fire Red. I don't know what it was about him, but I found him oddly adorable and terrifying at the same time with his big grin and menacing glare.
L meanwhile chose Lucario. I frowned a bit. Lucario was a Fighting Steel type. Gengar was Poison Ghost. Fighting moves did not affect Ghost types, but Poison moves did not affect Steel. It was a good Pokemon to come out even against Gengar. Was L looking for a fair fight?
Now, in Pokemon Tekken, it wasn't like the standard Fire Red I'd grown up with. It wasn't turn based, and we weren't issuing commands to our Pokemon as the trainers. We were the Pokemon. The game dropped us down in the center of a Pokemon Gym arena type deal, and 3, 2, 1, FIGHT!
L's hands were like lighting. His thumbs darted across the controls and he rushed his Lucario at me. Swiftly, I jumped up to avoid his first attack, slamming the buttons into what I hoped would be a combo. I knew the concept of this game, but I'd never played it before. But all fighting games had combos.
My Gengar's tongue flailed out of his mouth, smacking Lucario across the map. I smirked. First blood was mine. But L game back strong. I guessed this was his first time playing too, because he kept trying different button combinations like I was. His Lucario was fast, and my poor Gengar was trapped in a flurry of blows, cutting a third of my health. I finally figured out there was a block move and started using it to my advantage. L figured it out shortly after.
We went at it for some time, and were fairly evenly matched. I realized that despite my previous consideration of types in our Pokemon, that didn't seem to matter in this game. It was just button mash to victory. Although both of us mastered a few combos a few minutes in. In the end, I discovered there was an ultimate type move. I fired it and it slashed the rest of Lucario's health bar out of existence.
L slowly nodded as he set his controller down. "Interesting," he said.
I laughed and flexed. "That's why you don't mess with the master."
L grunted softly. "This is what you do in your down time?"
"Not this specifically," I said. "Just games. But for the record, I think me figuring out that Ult move was what cinched it for me. Have you played games before?"
"Some, but none like this." L got out of the seat. "What else did you want to do?"
I led him up another floor. Nox was always hovering nearby. He never left me alone, probably concerned I would give something away to L about the Death Note. But I didn't want to think about that damned notebook right now. I didn't want to think about Kira or about Shinigami. I just wanted to focus on my hand in L's as I pulled him through the aisle of games. Of the lights and pumping music around us. The other young adults scattered at the machines, some alone, some with friends and laughing with one another.
I just wanted to pretend, if only for an hour, that I wasn't in a war with a serial killer. That I was just another girl with her boyfriend. Just out to have fun, to relax.
The third floor was music games. DDR and other things. One that I found fun was something sort of like a piano version of Guitar Hero. There was a touch pad strip that one would place their finger tips on. While the bars when across the screen, it monitored hand movement and touch. L was devastatingly good at it. I watched him for a bit, mesmerized by how fast his reaction time was.
"Would you like some pointers?" he asked without looking back at me, still playing the game flawlessly.
I let out a laugh that sounded like the nervous twitter of a bird. "Nah, I got it!"
I did get it. But not as well as L.
One of my favorite games we game across was a table flip game. That's right, it had a small plastic table with hinges on the back, and the entire purpose was to flip the table up at the right moment to cause as much destruction as possible. There were different rooms to choose from. A bride at her wedding with the table the cake sat on, a man at his desk at work, a kid at school...
"Ryu, Ryu!" I beckoned him over excitedly when I found it. He had stepped away to get a drink from the vending machine.
"What is this?" he asked blatantly.
"You flip the table!" I was more than excited. "There are so many memes about flipping table—ah, you probably don't know memes."
"I know there's one with a Shiba Inu."
"The doge!" I beamed at him. "Anyway. Try it! Bet you can't beat my high score."
L looked from the game to me then back to the game. He silently held out his drink to me. It was warm citrus tea. The fact that Japan had vending machines with heated stuff was probably the best perk of this country.
The detective picked a location. He did the man at his office job, which was good. I had done the bride at her wedding and wanted to see the other options. L gripped the edge of the table. "Does it matter how hard I flip it?" he asked.
"I would assume so," I replied. "But you get points with the more stuff you break."
"Why am I not surprised you love this one?"
"Don't judge."
L's lips twitched with a slight smile. There was a small jolt in my belly at the sight of it. Like there was a small frog in there that did a small hop. I was used to feeling random crap in my stomach- stress did that. But it was usually something uncomfortable. Nausea. Knots. Wasps. Snakes. But this little frog... it wasn't exactly... bad. This little frog seemed quite happy, actually.
L flipped the table. It bounced up at smacked back down and I nearly winced, thinking that it was going to break. For such a lean dude, L had some strength hiding in there. The character screamed, "THIS IS SO STUPID!" in Japanese and the virtual table on the screen went flying. It showed its initial takeoff three times with slow motion and still frames for effect.
As the table crashed through the office building, L took out nearly all the NPCs, (which was extra points, mind you), and several computers. He even managed to send one flying out the window because of the chain reaction he'd caused. I went over to watch at his side, seeing all those numbers rack up.
"Day-um," I said. "Remind me never to goad you into a competition again—you overkill it."
He ended up taking the number 3 spot on the leader board. I had number 6.
"Not number one?" L murmured. "Hm. I wonder what I missed."
I knew L well enough that he probably spent that time in the beginning analyzing everything he could about the simulation. The NPCs walking paths, how many things would be in the way, if he could cause a splash damage effect if he did it right. For him to have missed something miffed him.
"To be fair, this is your first time playing it," I said. "The number two and one have probably been down here every single day for the past month to get that."
L shrugged and glanced over at me. His face was oddly close. I only then realized that our arms were pressed together. When I was watching the score mark up, I had leaned into him to get a close look. I hadn't even realized it.
"Woop, sorry," I leaned away.
"Don't apologize," L said. "We have an act to sell, remember?"
I shrugged, but I still could sense some discomfort in L's tone. I handed him his drink and we went on exploring the arcade. There were less interesting things upstairs. Mainly more fighting games and crane machines. I did end up winning a rather adorable Totoro plushie from one.
Once I'd had my fill of the arcade, we headed out and started wandering the streets. I found a manga shop and grabbed a few volumes of Monster. The first and second ones in Japanese would be delightful to have. At one point, L disappeared for a bit when we were in a figurine shop. All the glass displays were so close to one another the aisles were only wide enough for two people across and even then it was a tight fit. I was a bit concerned when I couldn't find the detective.
"Nox," I whispered, glancing over at the Shinigami. "Did you see where he went?"
Nox laughed. "What do I look like, his keeper? You're the current owner of my Death Note, Jack. I could care less about your pale boyfriend."
"He isn't—" I began but shook my head. "Never mind." I turned and went around the corner.
Almost smack into L.
I yelped and stumbled back, terrified of causing a domino effect on all these blasted display cases, but L caught my arm and pulled me up.
"I apologize," he said. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"S'okay," I rasped, trying to calm my stammering heart.
"Who were you talking to?" L asked.
Well shit. "Oh. Uh. Myself. I looked over and you were gone and..."
L tilted his head. "I thought I heard you asking someone where I went."
I shrugged. "That someone was me. I have some interesting old habits that haven't faded. Sometimes if I asked myself something when I was a kid, I would remember."
A blatant lie. But I wasn't going to tell L I was talking to a god of death. Nox was tutting behind me.
"We've had this talk, Jack. Don't be so careless when speaking to me," he drawled.
Ass. I knew that, but I thought he might have at least told me which way L had gone. Speaking of...
"Where did you go?" I asked the detective before he could question my odd statement.
"Ah." L lifted a small bag. "You said I still owed you a Christmas present... back in your first email you sent me about this case... So here."
I blinked. That had just been a quip I thought was funny at the time. I loved me some sass and I figured L at least knew that much. But all the same, I was quite curious what he had gotten me.
"That's... actually pretty sweet," I said. "Thanks, Ryu."
L shrugged and handed over the bag. I eagerly peeked inside.
It was a pair of headphones. But not just any old pair. These were high end- noise canceling, needed batteries to work fully headphones. And to top it off, they were absolutely adorable. They were yellow with red accents, and there were two little plastic white wings about each headphone. There was a blue star on each side. I thought my heart was going to explode with how preciously awesome these suckers were.
"Ryu!" I cried, looking up at him and beaming. "These are amazing, seriously!"
"I wasn't sure if you would like those ones or the ones with the cat ears," L admitted, gesturing half-heartedly toward the bag in my hands. "But I kind of take it you're a dog person anyway. Besides, wings symbolize a lot of things."
"I suppose they do," I said. "Where did you find these?"
"Upstairs," L replied.
I nodded. Almost all the buildings in Tokyo were like five different shops stacked atop one another. So that's where he sneaked off to.
"I could have whisked away when you weren't looking," I whispered to him with a wicked grin.
"I took that into account," L said. "But to be honest, I've come to the realization that we work well together. In person even more so than over IM. And you know that as well as I do."
Of course I did. I knew this case was going to take a certain level of trust between the two of us, and one couldn't really build trust with someone they've never seen the face of. That was why I set up to meet L in person as soon as possible when I arrived here. But I couldn't help but wonder as we went on with our venture through Akihabara if there truly was solid trust between the two of us.
I went back to when we first met. Of course, met was a strong word, as we did not ever see one another's face. I had been popping around the Unites States, using my skills every chance I got to screw over dickheads. Now my definition of dickhead ranged far and wide: Those who stole, those who bullied, those who encouraged hate, those who raped or molested, those who killed or hired others to kill for them. Those who dealt in dangerous drugs, those who exploited others to gain. I was like the Batman of the internet. A ghost who used tech to her advantage to expose all the dickheads I could find and usually threw salt in their wounds in the process.
I eventually found myself in LA. Though not being a hug fan of such huge and bustling cities, I was still certain I would find plenty of cases to work, which is why I forced myself to put up with the crowds. At the time, I only listened to my music about half as much as I did now. I patrolled the streets, listening to people. I listened for complaints, for hints, for leads to anything that might keep my attention for a time. The more elaborate, the better. I always loved a challenge.
Then the murders started. The Wara Ningyo Murders. The LA Locked Room Killings. There were a few other names of equal amounts of grisliness, but nonetheless they caught my attention quite quickly. Victims were drugged then murdered in different ways, with voodoo dolls nailed to the walls. Wara Ningyo, the dolls were called. In the first victims home there were four, in the second there were three. And in the third- big surprise- only two dolls.
The odd thing was, the victims were not seemingly connected in any shape or fashion. One was a thirteen-year-old girl. That had really gotten my blood going. The killer left behind no evidence. They killed their victims differently each time, like they were experimenting. I was instantly enthralled with the case.
Eager to dive in, I began poking around in different data bases to see which police stations or even FBI agents were already working on it. Of course the police knew about the murders, but it appeared it wasn't quite big enough for an FBI investigation.
Now at this point, I was fairly well known in the States. Well, Jack was. My calling card, the Jack of Hearts, and of course only speaking in text with the police. Luckily, it was fairly easy to prove who I was when I took over all the computers in a station. Not just anyone could do that. Several officers already told me I would be under arrest if they ever found me. But after I helped them solve some cases, they changed their tune a bit. But I knew I was still wanted. I never actually introduced myself as Jack in person, that would be a moronic move.
After some time, I noticed that an FBI agent that was on leave was investigating the murders. Naomi Misora. I wasted no time in taking over her computer and sending my message offering to help.
Her response was a touch annoyed.
"Again?" her text read. "Don't tell me I have to destroy this computer too."
It was then I discovered someone else had been the one to prod Naomi into this case. She claimed it was L.
I had heard of L. A world famous detective that had made my case work look like child's play. Thing was, I didn't have nearly as many connections as he surely did. I asked Naomi to get us in touch, but she refused. She had heard of me, vaguely, and didn't want to work with my type. Said I was too reckless.
Taking the rejection a bit too personally, I set out to contact L myself. It took a lot of work. I started with finding all the known cases he'd worked on. When I did that, I did notice something odd. All of them involved ten or more deaths or at least two million dollars at stake. So what was he doing looking at a case with only three dead so far? I dug deeper, seeking out all the contacts he'd ever had. I hacked into their systems, poked around for anything of use. Anything at all.
In the end, I only found one address. It was something L had given a police station in Kentucky of all places, after helping them with a murder case of fifteen deaths. They found the presumed killer dead, but L let instructions for them to email him if anything else of similar note ever came up.
It was something.
I typed up an email, placing the image of my playing card icon first before explaining I wanted to assist with these LA murders.
And that was when things got interesting.
L hadn't contacted Naomi- it was someone else entirely pretending to be him. The two of us launched into an investigation of our own, deciding not to tell Naomi so that we might lure out the imposter. L even went so far as to station people across the street from her to keep an eye out for her safety.
We switched to speaking over IMs on a private sever of my own. Its defense was off the charts, and it was a fast, easy way to speak. Eventually, we began to banter a bit. We would poke and prod one another for information of each other's private lives. It bloomed into a competition of sorts. Perhaps I took it too seriously.
There was nothing tying to L online hardly at all. But I dug very deep when I wasn't working on the case. I found bits and pieces of things. There were some blogs of people who speculated about L. Some claiming there were others like him. Others that went by letters or other odd aliases. When I followed that rabbit hole, I found one old blog that had been deleted. But when I hacked into the server, I was able to recover it. It spoke of an orphanage for geniuses. The author of the post claimed he was part of it, but was cast out. He was bitter now and was ranting about it.
But the name was all I needed.
Whammy House. It was in England and still standing. Now, L had a network of people at his beck and call. He was able to bend the ear of any police agency, any FBI headquarters, probably even the president. What I had was Austin.
Austin and I go back. Way back. I actually had known him all my life. He was the only person in the world at the time that knew I was Jack. Austin was well off. He worked for an agency of some kind. He was never able to give me any details, but he was skilled with computers just as I was. Maybe not quite on my level, but still enough to land a job that didn't allow him to name who he worked for.
I had called Austin that night, explaining I needed a favor. He had laughed at me at first.
"You'll really go to any length to win sometimes, won't you?" he said.
"I'll reimburse you for the flight- I'm needed here," I said. "C'mon Austin, you gotta admit this would be amazing if we found it!"
"L might have done the world a lot of good, but I've heard he can also be ruthless," Austin pointed out. "You really want to be on that end of the barrel?"
"Oh my Lanta, Austin just do this. You and I both know you can get in," I whined. "Pleeeaaase I'll get you something cool."
"Something cool."
"Yeah! Like a remote control airplane!"
"We are both adults and I am older than you."
"But REMOTE CONTROL AIRPLANE Austin!"
"I'm not sure I even want to know anything about the guy. That makes me a loose end if he ends up getting pissed you know anything," Austin groaned.
"It's not like I'm going to tell him how I did it!" I retorted. "Seriously, I'm not a moron."
Austin was silent for a moment.
"Okay, I'm not a moron all of the time!" I grumbled.
At least that got a laugh out of him. "So... Whammy House?" he said.
"Yup. Sounds weird, right?" I remember leaning back in my bed, kicking one leg up in the air to examine my sock.
"Sounds... familiar actually. I think I remember Mom and Dad talking about it."
My leg fell on the bed with a flump. I sat bolt upright. "What do you mean?" I demanded.
"I dunno," Austin responded with a defensive tone. "I just remember, them saying the name. Not a name easy to forget. I was like, four, what do you expect from me here?"
It was just way too weird. Way too odd. My childhood was honestly anything from normal, and I kind of loved that. But at the same time there were certain parts that just made it annoying, especially when I was looking for answers about myself.
"Austin," I breathed. "When you're there... looking for L's information... I want you to look for one more thing."
In the end Austin found half of what I requested. And I made certain, oh so very certain, to reveal my winnings to L very carefully. For one, I waited until the case was over. When we had successfully exposed Beyond Birthday with assisting Naomi Misora, who eventually came around to talking to me and becoming a penpal of sorts. Then, when L was messaging me for the last time, I let the bomb drop.
He'd switched his user name to Ryuzaki. He decided to use the name as an alias from now on, as a sort of badge that he'd defeated BB. BB, who was also an orphan from Whammy House. I remember the screen quite clearly.
Ryuzaki: I appreciate all your assistance, Jack. As... interesting as our time together was. Perhaps one day, we can help one another again.
ButtNugget: I'll be happy to spam the email you gave me whenever I want to pick your brain, Ryu.
Ryuzaki: Ryu?
ButtNugget: A nickname for your nickname.
Ryuzaki: How quaint. In any case, I hope you have good luck with your future cases.
ButtNugget: Likewise. I'll make sure all trace of this IM is deleted. Oh, and Ryu? I won.
Ryuzaki: Won?
ButtNugget: The challenge. The competition, the game, whatever you'd like to call it. I won.
There had been a long moment before L had responded. I remember my hands were shaking slightly. My smirk was starting to hurt my face.
Ryuzaki: Isn't it about time we stopped with games? The case is solved, Jack. I don't feel that I need to put up with your antics at this point, no matter how much you helped.
ButtNugget: Don't worry. I'm not a snitch. I'd never give you away. But you and I have a lot in common. We're both curious by nature. I just want to make certain though. Ryu, what's my name?
Ryuzaki: Is this a trick question?
ButtNugget: You don't know it do you? You don't know what my birth certificate read.
Ryuzaki: I admit, you hide yourself very effectively.
I was able to sense the strain in his responses. With how long it took him to message back. He knew what I was implying, and it terrified him that I could be right. That I wasn't bluffing.
ButtNugget: Why thank you. You, on the other hand, are too famous for your own good. L Lawliet.
And that was when I destroyed the server. I left it there just long enough for him to see it. For him to realize that he had underestimated me, and then any trace of that conversation was destroyed. I left LA that night, because I knew there was weight to Austin's warnings. L was ruthless. He wouldn't want someone he didn't fully know or trust running around with that knowledge.
"You guys have something in common," my brother had said when he called to give me the information. "You like to hide the truth in plain sight."
So that's what brought me back to the present, to my current turmoil. I knew L's name, the one thing that could definitely get him killed in this case. Unless Kira wanted to invest in the Shinigami Eyes or a gun. That was a lot of trust that L was forced to place in me. Shouldn't I do the same? But the issue was if L knew my name, I knew he'd do research. He would do everything he could to dig up every single piece of me he could. I wanted to show L I trusted him, but... my past wasn't something I wanted to tell anyone just yet.
When we got back to the hotel, we played our game over some royal milk tea. L had managed to win a few times now. He now knew a few facts about me. I was allergic to cinnamon. I loved the smell of wet pavement. I had spent a summer in Ireland. I had a single sibling.
I had also gotten some truths from him, however. L spent five years of his childhood in England. I could have gathered that because of where Whammy House was located, but I didn't bother mentioning that. He also had never seen a movie in a theater. That was something I insisted on rectifying one day. He hated the sound of the accordion. He was a cat person, no surprise there, but preferred not to have pets; too distracting, he claimed.
Tonight, however, I decided to raise the stakes a bit. I knew there had to be trust between us. It was why I showed my face to him. But everything I'd been doing so far was practically the opposite. It was time to give L something he could work with. I wrote out my three statements, my two lies and one truth, shuffled them behind my back then passed them to the detective.
L laid them out and leaned forward, toes gripping the edge of the couch cushion.
"I was thrown out a window and into the sea as a baby," he read the first one then looked at me. "Are you serious right now?"
"Read the others!" I pressed.
L looked back at the papers. "I was crowned the world's finest rhino rider when I was five." He took a deep breath. "Jack, if you don't want to take this seriously tonight-"
"Just keep going!" I snapped.
L picked up the last piece and frowned. "I was adopted..." he said the words slowly, then turned his head toward me. "You were adopted?"
"Is that the one you choose as the truth?" I asked. "I don't know, that rhino one is probably the most-"
"Yes, I pick this as the truth," L cut me off. "Is it true?"
"Nah, the ocean one is."
I was only able to keep a straight face for about half a second. I laughed and shook my head.
"Yes, of course that one is the truth."
"This is... this is a heavier truth than you usually provide," L noted. "And so obviously too. If you wanted me to know, you could have just told me."
"And give you a free truth again? Nuh-uh no sirree buck-a-roo." I waggled a finger at him. "I suppose you want another truth, huh?"
"I suppose," L replied. He still seemed to be in somewhat of a shock.
"Well," I sighed, leaning back into the couch. The cup of tea I held warmed my always freezing hands. It was a comforting feeling. I tucked my knees up by my chest, socked toes curled over one another. "I don't know the full story. It wasn't like my parents couldn't have kids. They had a son who was seven when they adopted me. I was four, but I don't really remember much. I don't know my real parents or where I came from."
L turned to face me. He was still sitting in his ridiculous bird-like pose but his gaze was intent as it fixated on mine.
"Jack. You don't have to tell me all of this." His voice was delicate and low. A doctor speaking to an ill patient. I wasn't sure if I hated it or not.
"I'm fully aware of that," I said. "But I think... I think you deserve to know something about me, L. Something that might..." I shook my head. "Anyway. So my parents didn't tell me about it. I actually overheard them talking about it in the other room on the night after my eighth birthday. It's funny, because at the time, I was mortified. They'd lied to me. Betrayed me. I wasn't even a real part of this family, not like my brother."
"Did you confront them?" L asked.
I shake my head. "No. I never did. I wish I had. Just to tell them it doesn't matter. They're still my parents. Still my Mom and Dad."
"I just..." L's brows furrowed. "You were four when you were adopted, but you still have no memories of anything before that? People usually have at least a few."
"Yeah, dunno." I shrugged. "Part of me thinks it's probably repressed shit. But every time I try to remember... I got nothing. Well... I think I had a friend. Someone I cared about... but then again that could be my imaginary friend I had when I was five." I laughed, my voice small and weak.
"I'm sorry you don't remember," L murmured.
I didn't say anything else and L didn't speak for a long time. We sipped our cups and I sat in the sound of music in my right ear and the horrific looming silence in the left. It took all of my self control not to put my new headphones completely on.
"Thank you for telling me," L finally said.
I looked at him and saw he was staring at me again. His face was almost unreadable, but there was a sense of warmth in his eyes. He genuinely meant those words.
"Maybe I'll tell you more one day," I said to him. "I figured you would find it interesting that we have something in common. But think of that as your reward for humoring me today. I needed some time out on the town." I smiled.
L shrugged. "It was entertaining to see you so pleased."
"Oh, well, happy to oblige."
L let out a small grunt of amusement. "We won't be able to do that again for a long time. Once we make out move on Light, things will be different."
I knew that all too well. It was going to be quite tricky when Light was around. "We won't be able to play our game," I pointed out.
L let out a long breath. "I suppose you're right. Perhaps we'll have to pick it up when we've finally solved this case."
"Are you planning on keeping me like some sort of pet, detective?" I accused with sarcastic outrage.
"You are like a parrot, I guess," L said. "Except I don't know who keeps talking to you and teaching you such... interesting sentences."
"Oh, gee, thanks."
"In any case, no, you're not my pet, Jack. You would be free to leave. But we do seem to work well together. It's just a thought." L got to his feet. "I'm going to order us some dinner."
As L walked away I found myself pondering his words. I'd always worked cases alone. With the occasional help from my brother. But even that was over the phone or email. L seemed to have only worked with Watari. But maybe... maybe the three of us working together... the cases we could crack. The world we could shake. I was a critical thinker, but L saw things I didn't. He pieced things together faster. Whereas while L could do some basic hacking, he wasn't nearly on my level.
Staying with L... well, I already knew he was my friend. So why not?
I remembered how warm his hand was in mine. How oddly comfortable I felt with his arm around mine. How I didn't even notice when our arms were pressing. Like he was an extension of myself.
I wasn't going to let Kira ruin this. I wasn't going to let him take L. I glanced at Nox. No matter what it took, I would end this. But I had to tread carefully. So damned carefully. If I could just get some time without Nox there... maybe, just maybe...
"Ramen again?" L called to me. "Or something new?"
His voice startled me. I shook my head and looked over to see him staring at me from near the phone. It was pressed to his chest. His head was slightly tilted to the side, awaiting my answer.
"Do they have waffles?" I asked.
"Waffles?" L blinked.
"What's wrong with breakfast for dinner?" I asked incredulously.
L shrugged and raised the phone back to his ear, speaking in Japanese. "Do you have waffles? Yes, some of those... two will do. With syrup." He looked toward me, reverting to English. "Whip cream?"
"Duh," I replied.
"Yes," L said, once again in Japanese. "Lots."