0.0 "Another chapter!" I hear you cry. Yes, boys and girls (and possibly aliens too ;]) I have once again managed to update when I said I would. Let us pause for a short while, and just appreciate the moment.
Aaaanyway, still no real slash here... :( though there are slashy undertones. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the next chapter *coughcough*
Disclaimer: There is a 100 percent chance that Emma does not own Death Note. You like my L impression? You couldn't see it, but I was also all curled up with my thumb on my lips!
Light thought it strange that his spirit needed to sleep. After all, sleep was designed to allow the body to rest, and the brain to sort through the day's events. Right now, Light had neither a body nor a brain – so why did he need sleep?
He had also thought it rather odd that he had woken on the roof. Certainly, his last memories of yesterday were of time spent on the roof, conversing with Wicked, but surely he hadn't fallen asleep up there... it was cold, wet and windy, and though he had no physical form, he was not immune to the bitter chill.
Light watched the sun rise above the many skyscrapers stretching into the distance, the light bringing with it the beginning of his second day without his body. He had only this day and more afterwards to find an answer that would satisfy the strange goddess – for Light was now convinced that she could be nothing else. How could he find an answer in such a short space of time?
For the first time in longer than he could remember, Light was truly afraid.
He wasn't sure how much time he had wasted simply watching the people below him get on with their ordinary lives, but eventually, he was woken from his thoughts by the sound of the door opening. He had hardly a moment to wonder who it could possibly be before he saw the slouched figure step into the frigid air and crouch down next to the wall.
Ryuzaki? What's he doing up here? Light wondered to himself.
He considered staying up here, above the air and sound pollution of the city, but eventually decided against it. He didn't feel particularly comfortable invading Ryuzaki's privacy in this way, for solitude was clearly what the man was seeking.
Of course, it was also very cold, and the wind was raw. At least, Light tried to convince himself that that was why his cheeks were blazing as he turned and ran through the door, taking the steps three at a time as he raced towards the warm interior of the building.
L was sitting on the roof – or, as close to sitting as he ever came, which was essentially crouching with his hands resting upon his knees. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket, awkwardly holding it against his ear with the tips of his finger and thumb.
"Yes?" He asked, already ninety-three percent certain of who it would be.
"Ryuzaki, please come down. The task force are restless without you, and I have made some chocolate éclairs." Watari's voice hardly carried above the chiming bells, but L pushed them to the back of his mind, instead gathering his thoughts and standing up.
"I understand. Please inform the task force that I will be down shortly, and would you mind making me a cup of coffee?" Though L tried to keep his voice steady and emotionless, something about the muted pity in Watari's tone made his situation a whole lot worse.
"I will see to it," Watari responded kindly, and hung up without saying goodbye – there was little need when one considered that L would be seeing him downstairs in a minute anyway.
Until then... L thought he might watch the rain, and listen to the bells ring a little while longer.
"Hey, where are you going, Light?" Ryuk asked, flying behind Light as he walked quickly through the cold streets. Light was still trying to adjust to the way the wind and the rain didn't strike his solid form, instead passing straight through him, but he couldn't ignore Ryuk. After all, no one but the two shinigamis could even see him! Wicked's words from the previous day still rang in his mind, but he couldn't imagine what she meant by them.
Alright, so lately, I might have been thinking about Kira as a separate person to me, but logically, I know that we're the same being. How can I find a reason for me to stay alive if I don't also find a reason for Kira to stay alive?
Light just didn't know what to do.
"I'm going to visit mum and Sayu," he said, to answer Ryuk's question.
"Oh. Why?" Ryuk asked, and Light seriously considered telling him to butt out and mind his own business, before he remembered that this was the only company he'd have until he either woke up... or died.
"Because I don't know whether I'll be able to see them again after this," Light said, and was horrified to feel the sting of tears threatening to spill. No! He was supposed to be a god! Gods didn't need family, they didn't cry over something so inconsequential.
Light stood outside of his home, staring at the door, unsure as to whether he should walk in. Shaking himself, he walked forward up the path, internally shouting at how ridiculous it was that he was considering it wrong to enter his own home. Yet, how long had it been since he had last been home? How long since he had last seen his mother and his sister? Light wasn't sure, but he knew that it had not been recent.
Somehow, Light managed to catch himself before he called out to his mum and Sayu, remembering at the last moment that neither of them would be able to hear him. Besides, Ryuk would no doubt spend the rest of eternity laughing at him if he did do something so foolish. Instead, he followed the sound of the TV in the living room, where he would no doubt find Sayu, if not his mother.
Surprisingly enough, he found them both sitting on the sofa, curled up together as though they were cold, though Light was sure that the room was plenty warm enough.
"I'm scared, mum. What if he doesn't get better?" Sayu whispered, and Light was shocked to see tear tracks glistening on her face. Light thought hard, but he couldn't imagine who Sayu meant. Who did they know that was ill? Perhaps one of her friends from school.
"He'll be alright, Sayu. Your father will take good care of him, and Light's always been a fighter," Light mother whispered, and Light wasn't sure whether she was trying to convince Sayu or herself. In fact, he wasn't sure of anything anymore.
So, his father had told them that he was ill, had he? Light supposed he must have also told them that it was serious, and perhaps contagious – he had no doubt made up some story about how he had to be quarantined, and that was why they weren't allowed to visit. Maybe it had been Ryuzaki's idea to do so, or perhaps Soichiro had thought of it himself. Either way, Light was quite grateful that they would not have to see him in such a state. He didn't want that for his family.
Sighing, Light seated himself as near to Sayu as he dared, wondering absently why he could walk through walls and doors, but could sit on a seat... well, not quite sit – he hovered perhaps half an inch above the cushion, but that was a mere detail. Maybe it was something to do with willpower. He had wanted to walk through the walls and doors, but he didn't want to fall through the sofa.
Unthinkingly, Light rested his head against Sayu's shoulder, like he used to when they were children. He hadn't expected her to notice; after all, nobody could see or hear him. However, to his great surprise, Sayu shivered slightly, and glanced towards him, appearing surprised when she didn't see anything.
"Sayu?" Light asked quietly, after glancing quickly around to make sure that Ryuk was busy looking for apples in the kitchen. Sayu merely turned her face away from him, and wrapped her arms around her mother, burying her damp face in the cotton shirt. Either she couldn't hear him at all, or she had convinced herself that he wasn't real – Light couldn't quite decide which was more likely.
Still. He thought he knew what his answer would be when Wicked arrived that night.
This was the second day of Light's mysterious ailment, and L was still at a complete loss. This was unlike anything he had seen or heard of before. He crouched before the computer screen, growing more and more tense with each second that passed, though no sign of that was made visible to the task force. In fact, one of the only people who would have notice L's unusual behaviour was currently lying in a hospital bed, apparently dead to the world.
Not to mention, quite possibly dying, if the shinigami had spoken the truth when L had questioned it... her. Rem was a female, as L kept reminding himself. It was just so strange to see a god of death, and of course, Rem didn't really look male or female.
L had surveillance cameras set up in Light's makeshift hospital room, but so far, only Watari was keeping watch over the boy with them. The other task force members had already been to visit Light in person, but L had refused. He wasn't entirely sure why – he thought that Light probably wouldn't want so many people seeing him in such a weakened state. Really, the boy's pride and arrogance bordered on obsessive sometimes.
"Ryuzaki?" Soichiro asked, his voice unsure as he walked into the room. It sounded as though he was alone, which L found unusual – often, the ex-police chief had at least Matsuda following him around like a loyal puppy.
"Yes?" L responded, keeping his eyes trained upon the various screens in front of him, though he hadn't been able to take in any of the information for almost two hours. Perhaps it was time for a break...
No! Every time L shut his eyes – which admittedly, wasn't often – all he could see was Light collapsing to the floor in a crumpled heap of tangled limbs. At first, L had feared a heart attack, brought about by some other notebook; L himself had almost died of fright. Having established that Light was still alive, L had turned, in a moment of uncharacteristic rage to yell at the shinigami. He was afraid, angry, and he needed someone to blame for this. The god of death was the most logical option.
"The doctors say that they're not feeling hopeful about Light. They say that his condition is decreasing alarmingly fast... That he may only have a few days left. Ryuzaki, I would like to request that you take me off of the task force until this whole mess has been sorted. That's my son in there, and I can't continue to work like this when he might... when he could..." Soichiro broke off abruptly, but L understood what he had been trying to say. After all, L had been having similar thoughts all day.
"I understand," he whispered softly. "You will, of course, be relieved of all your duties, and you are free to do as you wish."
"Thank you," said Soichiro, and he turned and left, the door closing with a soft click. L waited until he was sure the other man would be out of earshot.
"A few days?" He muttered under his breath, his head falling forward onto his knees.
"Oh Light, what it wrong with you?"
Light was so confused. He had already seen that the majority of the task force had visited his body; though he refused to enter the room, he had seen them coming in and out of the doors leading to the building's hospital wing.
Ryuzaki, however... well, he hadn't been once. Light wasn't sure whether he should be relieved or angry at that fact. Relieved because he didn't really want anyone to see him like this, and angry because Ryuzaki didn't seem to care enough about his first friend enough to go and visit him on his could-be-deathbed.
"Feeling conflicted, Light Yagami?" Wicked had once again managed to appear behind him without him noticing; damn, but how did she do that?
"I have an answer for you," Light responded, anticipating what her next question would be, and deciding to get there first. One brow rose, white eyes fixed on Light's face.
"Oh? Pray tell," she said, her voice mocking. Light ignored that, and dived straight in.
"My family. I'm Sayu's only brother, my parents' only son. If I die, they're sure to miss me, and we don't have any other family. Who would they turn to?"
"Each other? Light Yagami, you grow closer to the answer with each passing day, yet at the same time, your chances of satisfying us grow less. You are on the right path, but still, you are looking far too hard. Think Light Yagami, who would miss you the most, do you think? Who would have no one able to comfort them if anything happened to you? Light Yagami, you are looking too far away. The answer is right in front of you; you are just too blind to see it.
"Think hard, Light Yagami. Tomorrow is your last chance." With that, Wicked vanished once more, and Light was rather stunned to see what was going on behind her.
Review? Please? Do it for the children!... I mean, Do it for L and Light! The poor boys are in total denial (like a couple of friends of mine *coughnudgewink* but I can't reveal names) so let's put them out of their misery!! Review for them!