Human Shinigami
They spoke for a long time, figuring out exactly what L could remember. His memories seemed to cut off about the time that he began to work on real police cases. Light was now certain in his theory that each challenge he completed would bring back more of L's memories. But with most of his memory still hazy, L was insatiably curious.
"Light-kun?" he asked. Light, sitting against the wall next to the bed, looked up to acknowledge the question. L tipped his head to one side and asked, "How did we get here? I know that you told me I was captured and brought here, but how?"
Light swallowed thickly. Trust L, even an L who hardly knew him, to ask the one question that he really didn't want to answer. He sat silently for a long moment, considering how best to answer without overwhelming L or himself.
"I made a mistake." he whispered. That was the undeniable truth. Knowing L was getting ready to ask another question, he went on quickly, "You were working on a case, the hardest case ever. A criminal that the public called Kira, who killed with the help of a supernatural notebook and a Shinigami."
"Shinigami?" L said skeptically. "But they aren't real."
"They are. You just don't remember. But I made a stupid mistake, and a Shinigami took your soul away. And I came after you." Light said. He hesitated, then, remembering something that L had said to him the night before everything had gone wrong, murmured, "Ohne sie, ich bin verloren..."
"You speak German?" L blinked. Light glanced at him.
"No. It's something you said to me once. What does it mean?"
L smiled slightly, and replied, "Without you, I am lost. You must have been my best friend, for me to express such a thing. From what I remember of my childhood, I didn't particularly like other people, except for Watari."
Without you, I am lost... What had L said? Something about nightmares; Light kept the nightmares away... The detective, in his odd way, had cared about Light. And Light had worse than killed him, not realizing his own feelings soon enough. If possible, he felt worse than ever.
He scrambled to his feet, saying quickly, "I should go. Who knows how many challenges are left?" L opened his mouth as if to say something, but then simply shut it and nodded. Light turned to face the door out again, and bravely walked over to open it and step through. As soon as he crossed the threshold, everything went black.
xXx
The first thing that returned was sound. Light could hear a little girl crying, and the voice of a young man saying something that he couldn't make out. Feeling returned next, and he realized that he was being held by his upper arm, unable to go anywhere. Last was sight, showing him that he was in a children's playroom, the brunette girl on the floor in front of him was the one crying, and that everyone else was much taller than him.
"It wasn't nice to ruin Linda's drawings."
Light looked up, following the hand that gripped him firmly by the arm to find that it was attached to a young man with bronze hair and grey-green hazel eyes. They locked gazes, and the young man continued, "Do you understand? Promise me you won't do it again."
Light nodded numbly, connecting the crying girl with his chastisement, but not understanding what was going on. The bronze-haired boy released him, and a voice that Light recognized spoke.
"Come on, After, he was just having a little fun!"
Light stared, unnerved at having to look up at Beyond Birthday, as the red-eyed L lookalike giggled. The other boy, who Light assumed was "After", frowned at him.
"Beyond, you know what Roger or Watari would say if they were here."
"But they are here! L just got back today, you know that, right?" Beyond asked, his eyes fixed on a spot somewhere above After's head. "He solved that huge case with the jewel-smuggling ring!"
"I know." After looked away, patted Light on the head absently, and left the room. Beyond giggled demonically, and trailed out after him, leaving Light and Linda. Linda refused to look at him, so he followed the other two, finding himself in a wide hallway. He stared left and right for a moment, having no idea which way to choose, and arbitrarily decided to go left.
xXx
Eventually he ran into other children, who grinned hugely and called, "Come play with us, Mello!"
Light supposed he was supposed to be Mello. "Maybe later; I'm kind of busy right now." Where had he heard the name 'Mello' before? It had been in the other challenge; Noir had said he worked for someone called Mello, who was helping the mastermind, someone called Near...
"You work too hard, Mel! Come on, one game wouldn't hurt!" A red-headed boy broke away from the group and came over to clap him on the shoulder. "Seriously, with all the studying you do..." He trailed off, blinking for a moment before understanding dawned on his features. "On second thought..." He turned back to the other boys, yelling, "Actually, Mel promised to help me with my algebra. I'm out too."
There were groans and complaints from behind them as the redhead grabbed his hand and steered him down another hallway. "I'm Matt." he said as he walked. "And you aren't Mello, are you? We knew you were coming, but not whose guise you'd take first. We just knew it would be one of the kids."
"Matt?" Light felt confused, yet again. Was that the ultimate goal of the Labyrinth, to make him feel stupid?
"Yeah. I'm Mello's best friend. I'll explain everything once we find your other guide." Matt dragged him up the stairs, around several corners that had Light wondering how big this place was, and finally stopped in front of one of the doors that lined the hallway. He began to bang on it, yelling loudly, "OI! NEAR!"
Near?
Light wasn't sure what he had expected, but the extremely young-looking child in oversized white pajamas who opened the door wasn't it. The pale, white-haired boy didn't seem much like the leader of a rebellion, but then again he had no idea of the time frame associating each challenge with the present. He could be looking at the past, the future, or an alternate universe altogether. But it was the boy's eyes that got him, impossibly black like L's.
"Matt and Mello." Near said quietly. "Why would you two be looking for me?"
"This is him, Near." Matt said. "The guy we're supposed to help."
Near's large eyes travelled over to stare at Light, and Light felt uncomfortably like the younger boy was staring into his soul, somehow.
"They made him be Mello? Interesting. At least it's only temporary." Near said. "Please, come in." He stepped out of the doorway, and Matt dragged Light into Near's room, shutting the door behind them.
"I promised him I'd explain."
"Of course." Near sat down in the middle of a half-finished castle of legos. "This is Wammy's House."
Light started at the name, which he also recognized from the previous challenge, as well as what L had remembered. Wammy's House, where L had grown up. But what did this have to do with him? This challenge didn't seem like something of his at all.
Near smiled faintly. "I know what you're thinking. But because your prize is someone else's soul, they will test you with that person's nightmares and trials as well. This is L's piece, not necessarily the only one you will face, but the first."
Matt sighed. "You're Mello now, but you'll be L later, and you'll be faced with the same tragedy L was. He got out alive, but this, in a manner of speaking, is your game now. You have to find a way to escape too." He scuffed his shoes on the carpet dejectedly. "It gave you one of the house's worst days to contend with. I wouldn't want to be you right now."
"What's going to happen?" Light asked.
Near shook his head. "We're not allowed to tell you. Otherwise, we'll be taken out of the challenge. You'll have no help then, whether you need it or not."
Unnerved, Light considered. If he had to bet his life on it, he guessed that this had something to do with Beyond Birthday. The illusion in the Sorrow's River had already admitted to being a murderer, and L had been genuinely unhappy the only time that the LABB murder cases had been brought up. Perhaps it would be better to spend the day following Beyond, to see if he could discover what was going to happen.
"If I decide to follow Beyond around, is that a bad idea?" he asked his guides.
Matt shook his head. "He's fond of Mello. They both have that sort of rebelliousness about them, so I doubt he would be annoyed. No one else is supposed to notice if you act any different, so it doesn't matter if you don't behave exactly like the real Mello."
"What can you tell me about Beyond?" Light asked.
Near, oddly enough, smiled. "You already know one important fact about him. Think about it. You know why his eyes are red."
"Red..." Light thought for a second, and gasped, "Shinigami eyes?! Does he have a notebook? Is there a Shinigami attached to him?"
Near shook his head. "He has had these eyes from the moment he was born. No one can explain it, likely not even the Shinigami themselves. But Beyond Birthday is a cruel person, underneath everything."
Light rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it." he said, remembering the first challenge.
Matt grinned. "Come on. If you're determined, we'll go find him."
xXx
Light went with Matt, spending a good portion of the day trailing Beyond around the house. When it became obvious that they weren't going to learn anything useful, the rest of the day, for Light at least, was a second childhood. He played video games with Matt, played soccer outside with some of the other children, and just goofed off. It was the first real fun he had had in a long time. It defied his logic, why a challenge should allow him to have fun, but as Matt pointed out, this was just the buildup. The real challenge began that night.
He showed Light where Mello's room was, and told him to go to bed. The next part would begin when he woke up. Light obeyed, confused but trusting the redheaded gamer to lead him through this.
When he woke, he found himself dozing in front of a computer. Experimentally, he climbed out of the chair. Skinny limbs, black bangs hanging in his eyes, white shirt and jeans, everything was much shorter now... He was L.
He wandered out into the hallway, realizing that he was in a private suite of rooms on the highest floor of the house. He made his way downstairs, wondering what this challenge was that he was supposed to have to face. In reality, L's house didn't seem like the most threatening place on earth. It was a house full of genius children and teenagers, after all. But remembering that Beyond Birthday was among those children and teens, he almost reconsidered.
He found Near and Matt on the third floor, waiting for him.
"There." Near said, pointing to a room down the hall, where light blazed from under the closed door. "You will find your challenge in there."
"We cannot pass the door. That's not how it happened. You will be on your own until the challenge concludes." Matt said. "Good luck."
"Uhh... thanks?" Light turned to face the door, and bravely walked towards it. When he glanced back for support, Near and Matt had vanished down a different hallway. Well, that was encouraging, all sarcasm intended. He carefully pushed the door open, and stepped inside.
The first thing that hit him was the metallic scent of blood, and as he really looked around, he realized that it was everywhere. The walls and floor were splattered in it, making the whole room an eerie, dim red. Light continued to look, horrified, and realized that there was someone lying on the bed. He crept closer, and recognized After from this morning. His wrists were slashed, still oozing blood even though he was obviously dead. A folded piece of paper with the ornate gothic 'L' sat on the side table.
"This was your fault." Light jumped as the door slammed behind him. He whirled to see Beyond Birthday contentedly licking jam from his fingers, before dipping them back into the jar he held. Light repressed a shudder. In this circumstance, it looked far too much like blood.
"This was your fault." Beyond repeated. "I watched the numbers tick down. Read the note he left." He giggled as Light glanced at the paper.
Light picked it up hesitantly, and read in shaky, tear-splotched writing, I'm sorry, L. I wasn't good enough. Hurriedly he set it down and turned on Beyond. "You did this! It's a lie!"
Beyond giggled again. "Nope! I admit, the decorations were me..." He gestured to the blood splattered everywhere. "But darling After cut his wrists on his own. He just felt that he couldn't live up to your expectations!" He set the jam jar on the dresser, licking his fingers clean and bending to pick up the knife that Light hadn't seen, lying on the floor by the bed. "A wasn't good enough, and B can't be L if L is still around..."
Light saw what was coming and dodged around him, heading for the door, but Beyond kicked him brutally in the side, slamming him into the wall. It wasn't the graceful kick L had used on him once either, but a harsh kick meant to hurt. It seemed Beyond wasn't a perfect mimic after all. But Light didn't have time to think about that as he was thrown to the floor, and Beyond knelt on his lower back, preventing him from getting up. He felt the back of the white shirt tear under the knife, and Beyond laughed again, sounding ever more deranged.
"I'll prove that I'm better than that useless A!" he said cheerfully. Light hissed in pain as he felt the knife sink into his back and cut, trailing a burning line across his skin. Beyond hummed as he worked, a simple tune that Light almost thought was a worse torture to listen to than the knife skating across his back.
He made a muffled, pained sound into the carpet as the knife cut especially deep, and Beyond giggled. "Does it hurt, L? Do you think it hurt A, when he cut his wrists open?" Light was aware of blood, running down his back to pool on the carpet, mixing with A's blood already there. He bit his lip to keep from screaming, and Beyond sat up from his work.
"I think that will be good enough. Roger and Watari will know how much you endured before you died. But by the time they find you, I'll be long gone!"
Light began to scream in earnest, not words, just a long howl, hoping that someone would hear. Watari, this Roger person, Matt, Near, someone, anyone... His scream was cut off as a bloody sock was stuffed into his mouth, gagging him.
"No, no, no!" Beyond said. "I didn't take you as one to panic, L. That's interesting. Well, it proves you're human like the rest of us." Light sensed, more than saw, Beyond lift the knife high, prepared to plunge it into his heart. In a last desperate, adrenaline-fueled attempt, he twisted violently, throwing Beyond from his back, and scrambled to his feet.
Beyond hit the corner of the desk in the corner, and got up, scowling and rubbing a cut over his eye. "You shouldn't have done that." The playful childishness was gone, and the L doppelganger lunged at him, his eyes gleaming fanatically. Light dodged around the room, throwing whatever he could get his hands on at the murderer, including the bloody sock he pulled from his own mouth. It didn't deter Beyond in the least, and he finally slammed Light into the corner, pressing the knife to where his heart beat.
"Die." Beyond hissed, and Light closed his eyes, but felt Beyond ripped away from him with such force that he stumbled. Watari had kicked in the door and charged the doppelganger, saving Light's life.
Beyond got to his feet, laughing hysterically, and threw the window open, climbing down the stonework of the outside like some sort of huge insect.
"I ordered Roger to close the gates. He won't get out. L, are you okay?" Watari asked.
"I think so." Light whispered. He knew he was still bleeding, and he knew Beyond would get away, but he didn't say so. "Thank you, Watari."
"He would have murdered you, L. Matt and Mello came to get me; they heard screaming."
Light almost smiled, but it turned into a grimace as his back pulled. "Thank them for me, Watari." He walked slowly to the door, knowing what he had to do, and stepped through, feeling the pain vanish. Another challenge complete, and more insight into L's past. Though now, knowing what he had been through, Light felt like he could understand why L was the way he was. Maybe that was the challenges' ulterior motive; to teach him more about the one he loved. But for now, another one was over, and he was one step closer to bringing L home.
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Does that satisfy people's need for torture? XD I love writing sadistic!Beyond.
Another challenge, more memories... Anyone want to give me suggestions for the last challenge? It's not next, but when I get there.... I don't really like the one I wrote down in my notes. Ideas would be wonderful!
As always, enjoy!
Li