Fighting for no reward… Cold in the rain, I'm tossing and turning, your words ever burning my heart… Love's an electric storm, of pleasure and pain, where thunder and lightning are crashing and striking…

Chapter 19: Electric Storm

The following afternoon in the apartment, hope still existed in some form or another. L knew that the very fact that he was still alive was a testament to the fact that this Light was stronger than Light Yagami ever was. If he was strong enough to keep Kira at bay, perhaps he was strong enough to fight him off altogether.

That was what L wished for, but he knew it wasn't something he could count on. Kira's influence was incredibly strong.

He had read all the rules listed in the white notebook, and while some of them had seemed silly and over-specific, a few had stood out. One in particular stated that there were only allowed to be six active Death Notes in the human world at one time. A seventh would have no power. But at the bottom of that page, there had been an unfinished rule, one that read, "If one human is the owner of all six Death Notes…" This one interested L greatly, and he had questioned Ryuk as to why it was unfinished.

"It never actually applies." Ryuk had said, munching on an apple. "And I was getting bored writing all those rules. I wanted to finish as quickly as possible."

"And you wouldn't mind telling me what the end of that rule actually is?" L asked.

"You don't really need to know, do you?" And that was all Ryuk would say on the matter. L had complained, and even tried to bribe him with apples, but Ryuk wouldn't talk. So L had continued to look over the remainder of the rules, even though he had a hunch that that particular one was somehow important.

Now, it was late afternoon, and a minor thunderstorm rumbled away outside the windows. L was watching it from the couch. He had asked Ryuk to leave him alone for a while, and the Shinigami had flown off somewhere.

"Strange…" he mused to himself, watching lightning flicker in the distance. "It really doesn't bother me anymore…" He hadn't been scared of thunderstorms since that night Light had come in. Possibly it was because Light had always been there whenever it seemed bad.

L wished he could take it all back. This was why, as a detective, he had never allowed himself to get close to anyone. Watari and the children had been the exception. But anyone else… Attachments just served as a distraction, and emotion clouded judgment. But he had let himself get attached to Light, and now that he was gone, it hurt. It hurt a lot. Even more so knowing that it was Kira, yet again, who had taken Light away from him.

L forced himself to push away all thoughts of Light. He had to try to figure out what the group with the remaining Death Notes was planning. Other than another Kira and another reign of terror, he couldn't see what greater goal they might have in mind. Drevan, the one Taro had identified as the leader, seemed to be similar to how Light had been in many ways. But he was obviously much more careful, possibly using the remainder of the group as pawns to cover for him. Emi, from what Taro had said, seemed loyal to him, but he couldn't say the same for Himeko and Mizuki. He didn't know enough about them to determine that. Taro had quit out of guilt and fear, and Teil had apparently hated all of them enough to try to betray them. It was a shame that he had died before being able to tell them anything. And, of course, he had no way of knowing what Light would do…

L grumbled to himself, frustrated. He was thinking in circles, and everything seemed to keep coming back around to Light. Glancing at the refrigerator, he wondered if it might be best to call Near, because if the white notebook had the answers, it wasn't giving them up anytime soon. He wished that it were a simpler matter to get information out of the Shinigami.

Speak of the devil, Ryuk chose that moment to drift through the wall. He snickered, then said, "You're about to have a visitor."

L turned as someone knocked on the door. He heard the sound of a key in the lock, and hissed, "It's Light! Go away, Ryuk, I don't want him to see you yet! Go see Taro or something."

Ryuk laughed, but floated up through the ceiling and disappeared. L slipped the white notebook into the front waistband of his jeans, pulling his shirt down over it to hide it. He didn't want Light to see that he had one just yet, and there was really no better place to hide it at that point.

The front door opened, and Light walked in, immediately looking towards L. L scanned the space around him, looking for Zellogi, but didn't see him. Maybe…

"L?" Light said quietly. He took a few steps forward, then stopped again. "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. You were right."

L watched him warily, but it didn't seem to be a lie. "So then…?"

"I burned the notebook." Light said quickly. "I'm so sorry."

L looked down at the carpet. He wanted to consider the option that it might be a trick, but… "Light… I… I forgive you." He walked over and gave the other a hug, silently thanking whatever gods might exist. Light smiled, releasing him and heading for the kitchen.

"How about I make some coffee and we can talk?" he said. L nodded, going over to sit on the couch. The white notebook pressed against his stomach, but he didn't pull it out yet. For the moment, he wanted to enjoy the fact that Light was no longer Kira. He'd tell him about Taro and the notebook later.

Light returned with two cups of coffee and sat down. He handed one to L, who took a long drink before asking, "Where did you stay last night?"

"College dorm. I have a friend who stays there." Light said. "I just told him I had a fight with my roommate and needed somewhere to crash for the night. He was fine with it."

L nodded, taking another drink of coffee. Light watched him for a second, then asked wryly, "So, anything interesting happen while I was off being insane?"

L considered telling him then, but shook his head. He stifled a yawn, muttering, "I'm tired… I don't know why…"

"You probably didn't sleep well. If you slept at all, that is." Light said. "Just take a nap. I'm not going anywhere."

L nodded, curling up against the side of the couch. Light watched him fall asleep, and smiled to himself. He got up, walking over to look down at L as Zellogi walked through the door into the room.

"I don't believe that actually worked." the Shinigami said disbelievingly. "This is the world's greatest detective?"

"He saw what he wanted to." Light said softly. Almost a mirror of L, he murmured, "Emotion clouds judgment."

"So now what?" Zellogi asked.

"I do as I said I would." Light replied. He leaned over, gathering the sleeping detective into his arms. "I'm sorry, L." He left the apartment, kicking the door closed behind him and going to get in the car that had brought him here. With L securely in the passenger seat, he drove away. The drug that he had used in L's coffee would wear off in a few hours, but until then he would be safely unconscious.

xXx

They drove for a long while, eventually reaching a house just outside of the city. Light picked up L and carried him inside, stopping in the front hall as he saw who stood there.

"Excellent. He believed you, then?" Drevan asked, his eyes on the floor.

"Yes." Light replied. He half-turned so that L's face was out of view. "Remember your promise."

"Certainly. I will not see his name." Drevan turned away, looking back towards a different room. "He won't be killed, simply held here where he cannot interfere. After all, he has managed to spoil a perfect world once."

"Yeah." Light moved towards the stairs, saying, "I'll go put him in his room. He'll sleep for at least a few more hours."

Drevan waited until he was gone to turn around, frowning. This was an unexpected complication, Light's reluctance to kill this L. As if worrying about the current L wasn't enough. He had thought that the First Kira would be all too happy to get rid of the eternal thorn in his side, but apparently that wasn't the case. Contingency plans would have to be made, but until then, at least L was locked away where he couldn't do any harm to Drevan's goal. Drevan's frown became a smirk as he considered how close he was to his objective. The only kink in his plan, besides L, was fairly minor in comparison.

Where had Taro, and more importantly, Taro's notebook, gotten to?

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Shorter chapter this time. Sorry. The next few are kind of like that.

The chapter title, and lyrics, come from the song "Electric Storm" by Delta Goodrem. It was almost "Snow" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but Electric Storm won because it had thunderstorms in it. :)

I survived band camp! School starts next week, which means it's just a few weeks until I get my laptop back! Yay!

To anyone who really wants to murder Light right now, please, consider the bright side: At least he's aware enough to not want to kill L. :P

Luv, hugs, and CAKE!
Li