Hmmm I gotta say I don't like Light so much simply because even in the anime and manga he's a bit of a diva- which is actually a pretty hard character to write about because you kind of want to kill him while you'r writing. Ugh...any way please enjoy this next update. And for those of you who are keeping up with my Harry Potter Elite story, I am updating there today as well- such is the benefit of writing story's in advance and making sure they are complete before uploading them as I've now learned. My archive is a little less terrifying by the way, for those of you who have been keeping up with some of my other stories, I've made a rather sizable dent in it last year, hopefully I can empty it by the end of this year and make room for new stuff. Anyway, enjoy!
Mistress Slytherin
WARNINGS:
HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS
NOT FOR THE EYES OF THE YOUNG
VIOLENT SITUATIONS
BLOODSHED
AU
MAJOR CHARACTER DEATHS
DOMESTIC ABUSE
Let me know if I missed anything?
PART 1
Chapter 2
Standing Ovation
"Any change?" Mogi said exhaustedly. It had been a month since Light had been shot six times in the back by an overzealous swat team.
A mix up.
That's all it had been, information had been leaked to them that Kira had been sighted in the building. No one knew who gave the tip but it had been a nearly fatal disaster. The swat had been told to shoot on sight no questions asked- understandable considering that this was Kira they were talking about, but it had ended badly. Light had jumped to protect L, had shielded him with his body and Watari had jumped to close the doors but it was over in seconds. Watari had been shot twice but that still hadn't stopped him from scolding the idiots with a force that rivaled an army. If it hadn't been for their bullet-proof vests Light and Watari would be more than dead, if Light hadn't shielded L with his body L, who was practically naked when they found him, would have been dead. And Matsuda….Matsuda in his typical air-headed way had forgotten his vest- he didn't make it. But at least the others were alive…ish.
But he wasn't sure that this was the better alternative.
Across the room wide dark eyes stared up at him.
L had in fact recovered in the following month, only a little, but enough that he could still speak, that he could still function enough to demand that he not leave Light's side. Of course it struck Mogi that the other side of Light's bed was void. The chief had thrown himself into the Kira case convinced that this was Kira's fault.
"Light-kun has not yet shown any signs of waking." Watari said softly. "He has been speaking though and moving which the doctors assure may be a sign that he will wake soon." The elder man said pouring a cup of tea and handing it to L who heaped spoons full of sugar in it and stared at it, gaze distant and faded before he set the cup and saucer aside untouched. Almost as though summoned Light mumbled restlessly.
"Mnnfnn-ira….mmmmnnn!" His hands twitched.
"What's he trying to say?" Mogi asked softly when Light scowled in his sleep.
"He's saying 'kill Kira'" L said so quietly that it was just above a whisper.
"He has been saying this for nearly an hour now." Watari said quietly. "Need to kill Kira..." He said somberly. Mogi felt his hands tighten into balls at his sides reminding him of the carrier he was holding. The chief was most definitely not father of the year, but Light was always on his mind, it showed in the way his hair had become white and his face aged just in the last few weeks his eyes hallowed and just the slightest bit frightening to look at. Instead of sitting beside Light's bed though he sent sweets for L.
"Here, I think its carrot." Mogi said holding it out to Watari who accepted it with a thin smile and moved to a side table where he could cut a slice for L who's gaze had returned to Light.
"Light-kun. Wake up." L said softly but clearly. Mogi jumped when Light gasped loudly and his eyes shot open the machines going off with frantic wild beeps. Honey colored eyes turned as Light panted and settled on L flickering unseeingly as he panted and gripped the sheets.
"L!…gods L!…" Light swayed his eyes flickering as his eyelids sank down. Nurses pushed past Mogi knocking him into the counter on the side as he stared in shock at the scene.
"-going to have to ask you to leave the room." The nurse said loudly her arm on his hand. Mogi wondered how many times she'd said it before getting through to him. He nodded confusedly and stumbled as he made his way out of the room vaguely hearing Watari arguing with them. Mogi slumped against the wall on the other side of the hall before his brain kick-started and he fumbled for his phone. The doctors had said that there was a high chance that Light might never wake up again but there he was! Eyes open!
"Chief! He's awake! Light-kun is awake!"
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Light drank deeply from the cup his mouth feeling dry and tasting of something foul but his eyes were on L looking over him checking for injury.
"Light-kun has been asleep for a month." L said breaking the tension in the air. Light gasped but the nurse tutted and started asking him questions- what was his name, how many fingers was she holding up, etcetera Light's answers were curt and grew increasingly agitated until she finally finished and swooped out of the room with an air of professionalism.
"A month?" He whispered turning back to L. L nodded slowly and accepted a piece of carrot cake from Watari who looked visibly relieved when L actually took a bite. Light shook his head. It didn't matter, not really a month was nothing-
"You died a couple of times." Ryuuk said scowling at him. "But you made things fun so I brought you back." He said with a shrug. Light stared at L.
"How?" He whispered aloud.
"I made you eat a paper from the death note, you really suck you know Light-kun."
"You were shot remember Light-kun?" Watari said handing him a cup of tea which Light gladly took.
"Why?" He said frowning.
"Once a human ingests a page from the death note they can't be killed with the death note, the paper becomes a part of you- actually you can't die at all once you eat it, it's made out of the same substance that we Shinigami are made of, you'll be one of us one day, oops, the Boss isn't gonna like that…" Ryuuk said his grin falling away.
"Someone told the authorities that Kira had been sighted in the building where we were retrieving L, we think that B was the one to tell them this though we are unsure of his motive since he seemed to want to worship Kira before." Light felt the blood rush from his face. Immortal? Him? A shinigami?
"And B? What do we know about him?" Light said rubbing his face tiredly. Watari frowned.
"Light-kun I think it would be best for you to rest before returning to work. L is safe again and there is no rush to find B." Watari said a note of worry in his voice his eyes darting to L who was stiff, his fingers white around the porcelain of the tea cup. Light nodded slowly.
"He was part of my bet with Rem, I figured he would be the best choice- you had already killed him though so I had to erase his name to bring him back- the guy's a real nut job Light-kun." Light felt his expression tighten as fury raged through him, he still had no real information about this bet and if it was truly over. Sometimes he wished he had the power to destroy Ryuuk. But he couldn't blame the Shinigami completely, this was all because of him, because he was Kira and that had to stop.
"Whatever the case L is safe, that monster wouldn't come after him as long as he thinks that Kira enjoys fighting with L." He said with a nod. L gazed at him with sad tired eyes that made his chest tighten- of course, why would L trust Light of all people to protect him? But Light….Light needed to take care of L now. L was his responsibility, Light would follow him to the ends of the earth and that scared him just as much as it encouraged him.
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"Thank you for letting me know Mogi." The chief said sighing on the other end. "Tell him I'm glad he's alright." He said distractedly. Mogi felt his face fall and his heart sink with some sort of twisted betrayal.
"Tell him- you mean you aren't coming?" He said in disbelief.
"My wife and daughter will be over in a while, Light will understand, we're getting close to catching Kira now." The chief said distractedly again. Mogi frowned. It wasn't his place to say anything about the man's family matters…but it sounded like…like he didn't care. Mogi suddenly had to wonder if the man was relieved because his son was awake or because they would have Light's brilliant mind back on the case.
"Of course sir." Mogi said quietly before hanging up. Light was brilliant, they'd all said it before- but he was unsettling at times, just how brilliant he was, how well he knew the system, every law by rote almost…almost as if he'd been raised on it, fed it in the morning with his breakfast and reminded of it throughout the day. Mogi shook his head, Light was just intelligent that's all, and the chief was right, they'd gotten a lead on who exactly Kira might be masquerading as in the Yotsuba group. He sighed and rubbed his face. This job was making him paranoid.
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Dealing with family members was always trying for Light, since his father had been away for most of their childhood, he'd been the man of the house, dealing with Sayu's issues at school, helping his mother carry stuff or replace light bulbs. But the worst had always been the crying. He hated to see them upset because that meant that he'd failed them somehow, he hadn't been good enough, hadn't protected Sayu from those jerks at school or hadn't helped his mother and been around to make her feel less lonely without their father. Many nights he'd stayed up with them letting his mother smother him with an embrace because she missed her husband or was frightened for him. As he grew older though the crying stopped and his mother became used to him being gone sometimes for weeks at a time.
Light had always been there for them though, except for recently.
Between Light turning himself in to L for observation, his own single minded determination to find L and now his apparent coma and near death he felt as though he hadn't seen them for ages. The worst part though was that it showed, his mother's hair was grayer than he remembered her eyes haunted and tired, puffy from the tears she'd undoubtedly shed. Sayu looked brittle, as though she would shatter at any moment. But she was angry too, at Light, at the world, who knew? But it had hardened her and robbed her of her laughter and the innocence in her gaze.
It was like being shot six times all over again.
"I knew it couldn't be you Light-kun." Sayu said first her hand reaching up and wiping her eyes. Light frowned. As far as he knew they weren't supposed to know about his imprisonment-
"You're father told us." His mother said her eyes glittering with a hatred that he'd never seen in them. "He came home drunk and told us that you were Kira, that you'd been arrested!" She said a storm starting in her quietly spoken words. Light felt himself pale, the color draining from his face. How selfish had he been? In his pursuit to change the world to take responsibility for the protection of all the good and just people- he'd broken the one's closest to him.
"Mom-" But then she was sinking down into the chair and sobbing into her hands.
"I told him you wouldn't, that you couldn't be Kira! You're always taking care of us Light-kun! You're our hero! How could he think-?" She shook her head. "Such a good boy helping your father even after everything-" Light stiffened.
"Mom it's nothing, its fine I wanted to find Kira I joined the case by myself-"
"No Light-kun I am your mother and I know you too well, your father was always dragging you along to the station, taking you to crime scenes- the things you must have seen! But I allowed it because I thought at least this way you would get to see your father! At least this way you could know him!" She said fiddling with her purse and pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her face with. "It was wrong Light, it was wrong of us to encourage this; police work is so dangerous-"
"Mom please this is- there's no reason for this, what happened was just an accident that's all! I'll be fine now!" He said panicking a bit as he tried to placate her. He didn't get it. What happened? Where was all this anger towards his father coming from? Sure his father had his faults but he was a busy man and he worked hard to protect them all even if the law got in the way a lot of the time.
"You idiot Light-kun you were shot six times! You were in a coma and nearly died!" Sayu said stomping her foot her fists at her sides trembling. Light hated it, hated that he had to see them like this, but he had to do this, he had to kill Kira and fix L it was his responsibility now.
"I'm sorry." He said softly his eyes falling to his hands because he couldn't meet her tear filled eyes and know what he had done and how it was destroying everything he cared about. And he did care he realized, for all his bemoaning having to be the perfect son and the perfect brother, for all the bitterness he felt at his accomplishments and how meaningless they were in the end- he cared about his family.
"Idiot!" Sayu burst out her expression twisted her hands tight fists at her sides. "It's not your fault, can't you see?" She scowled before turning and running out of the room. Light stared after her trying to figure out how everything had just spun so wildly out of control. His mother took a shuddering breath and dabbed her eyes seeming to come to a decision.
"No Light-kun you do what you need to do; you're a grown man now I see that- I can't change the way I raised you now can I?" His mother said with a sad nod. "Just be careful and come visit us some times okay?" She said tiredly. Light felt his chest squeeze impossibly and his eyes which hadn't cried even a single tear for all the hundreds he'd murdered- itched and made him blink rapidly.
There was a lot that needed to be fixed.
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Rehabilitation was a long and arduous process. For Light who was naturally an over achiever the idea that he could in fact push himself too hard and damage himself worse was frustrating. Within a week after waking up though he was pronounced well enough to return home which the doctors found miraculous but not entirely suspicious. There was some debate about whether he should return to headquarters or not but in the end Watari was the one that decided that both he and L could use some time away from the Kira case and so with some maneuvering Light was moved back home and a camping cot was added to Light's room for L. Watari of course would take the guest room for the time being, but L refused to be away from Light for some reason and had point blank said that he would be quiet and try his best not to annoy Light. Light drew the line at letting L into the bathroom with him when he showered though, so though Light was exhausted he placed a chair outside the door and L contentedly sat down with a book of Light's and began reading veraciously. Light was glad for the alone time as he locked the door and slowly stripped the hospital pants and shirt that he'd been wearing. It smelled like sick and sterility and he was more than ready to stop smelling like some foreign person and back to his own scent.
"Light-kun." He nearly jumped at the sound of Rem's voice and glanced at the door letting her know that he wasn't alone. Rem followed his gaze and nodded. "I'll keep this short then, I can't keep going without Misa-chan." She said her eyes showing her torment. Light stared at the mirror and nodded before reaching up carefully to tug at the bandages wrapped around him. His nurse had said that he should probably have someone help him but there was no way Light was having his mom or his sister do this, it would break their hearts to see the bullet wounds, besides, thanks to Ryuuk feeding him the paper from the death note his wounds were healing more quickly than they normally would. Combined with the month solid that he'd been healing while in a coma he figured he could definitely handle a simple shower. "Ryuuk told me that he fed you the paper from the death note, he was gloating about it, how fun it would be to watch it destroy you." Light's eyes widened and his breath hitched his hands stilling from where they were peeling away the gauze. Destroy? He stared at Ryuuk in the reflection and she nodded urgently. "It is true that you can become a shinigami through ingesting the paper of a death note however you need more than just the note to survive the transformation, you need an apple from the shinigami world." She said holding out said apple. "You will begin to decay if you do not eat it and you will be little more than a wraith though it will take a hundred years or so for this to happen, you would become a mindless creature with a never ending hunger that cannot be sated." Light narrowed his eyes and continued to peel the bandage of not quite believing it. Rem looked panicked but not as though she was lying.
"I would not risk Misa-chan's life Light-kun!" Rem said sounding frightened and more than slightly obsessive. "Make her the owner of one of the death notes and I will give you this apple!" Light stared at her for a long moment. Give Misa one of the notes? He lifted his hand and pointed to his head demanding with his eyes. Would he lose his memories again? He didn't know if he wanted that, he wanted to remember what he'd done so that he was never tempted with it again. "No, once you have ingested an apple from the shinigami world you do not lose your memories." Rem said shaking her large head. Light considered it in his mind-
Knock-knock!
"Light-kun are you in need of some assistance?" It was Watari. Light frowned at the mirror and sighed. No matter how confident he felt he simply couldn't reach some of the bandages. He pulled a towel around his waist and opened the door.
"Sorry, I thought I could get it…" He said wincing. Watari nodded briskly and pulled Light's shoulders carefully guiding him around so that he could peel the bandages off.
"I must say, despite being a bit inflamed from your earlier exertions these are healing quite well." Watari said carefully pulling the gauze away. Light winced at the slight pain, he was already sore, he had a feeling that by the time he got out of the shower he would be needing a strong dose of pain killers before simply falling into bed.
A cool finger traced one of the puckered wounds causing him to flinch slightly and turn back finding L staring at him with a blank look.
"It has occurred to me Light that I may have been too hasty in my judgments of you." L said frowning. "I am often inept when it comes to people, I understand a great deal of human psychology and yet I cannot seem to hold a conversation correctly, it is one of my greatest flaws though I doubt you will find many." He took a step back his eyes studying Light's back distantly. It was the most L had said in the week that Light had known him since waking up. "Point zero-one percent." L said frowning heavily. Light blinked in slow shock. It was definitely time for Kira to die; he never wanted to hear L spout percentages against him like that again. Watari chuckled.
"I believe what L is trying to do is to apologize." He said amused as he tugged off the last of the bandages. Light felt a twinge of pain that had nothing to do with the holes in his back. He shook his head.
"There is nothing for you to apologize for." He said shaking his head. Because there wasn't, L had paid the price for his choices as Kira and that had to stop.
"You were shot six times, dropped out of college, were forced not to see your family and were accused of being a mass murderer Light-kun, either you are far more giving than I had assumed or you feel guilty for what has happened to me." L said gazing at Light calmly.
"You were supposed to be attached to me under twenty-four hour surveillance L, the only reason you left the building was because I ate your last piece of cake." Light said frowning. L stared hard at him.
"It really was a grave offense." He said with a slow nod. "Yet still I must apply all of the facts and one of those facts is that I was impatient with you and did not allow you to eat a proper breakfast the way you're body was accustomed to." He said with a nod. "Of course you were hungry enough that you would risk even my ire and eat my triple chocolate mousse cake." He said with a nod. Light snorted; of course L would remember the type of cake.
"No, actually I was annoyed with you so I ate it to piss you off." Light said with a shrug. L's lips turned up into a slow creepy smile and Light knew intuitively that they would be fine. "I'm glad you're alright L." He said uncharacteristically before turning and darting back into the bathroom closing the door sharply behind him cutting off Watari's amused chuckles. Light glanced at Rem who was waiting patiently before turning on the taps to the shower and waiting for the glass to fog up before nodding slowly and stretching out his arm palm up. Rem set the apple into his hand and he dropped his towel stepping into the shower, ignoring her angry scowl as he quickly shoved half of the shriveled disgusting apple into his mouth nearly gagging at the taste of rot and ashes. He ate the other half out of sheer will power and swallowed thickly feeling ill for it.
"Hey Light-kun…whoa!" Ryuuk rose his eyebrows and Light rolled his eyebrows pouring shampoo into his hands. "Light-kun what did you do? I feel all sorts of weird, what is Rem doing here?" He said turning to Rem suspiciously. Light scrubbed his hair even harder and brought his fingers to his nose wrinkling it slightly in disgust and pulling his fingers away before looking dead at Ryuuk.
"I give up." He said seriously causing Ryuuk's jaw to drop.
"Nonononono! Light-kun you can't!" He whined.
"I'm just going to cut it anyway." Light said tugging at his hair.
"No Light-kun you can't be serious I was having so much fun! Rem what did you do?!" He demanded turning to Rem who was smirking.
"I told him the truth, what you didn't tell him about ingesting the death note."She said crossing her arms smugly. Light poured more shampoo into his hands and scrubbed some more, his hair really had actually gotten a bit long…
"Fiiine, I guess I'll just have to wait till you're shinigami to play with you again, well, it was fun while it lasted!"
"Oh no you don't, that note book goes straight to Misa chan and you know it." Rem seethed.
"Why? Just cuz Light-kun gave it up doesn't mean that you'll get it back!" Ryuuk said darting through the wall as Rem's eyes widened in fury. She glanced at Light who shrugged. Really what did she think he could do? The only power he really had, that he'd ever had, was to be able to keep the note and use it or give it away and forget. At least this time he wouldn't forget, and it was out of his hands. He rinsed his hair and continued with his shower wincing as the water bit into his wounds.
With time everything would heal.
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"Chief." Mogi said pinching the bridge of his nose. "I didn't want to say it before because I'm pretty sure it's none of my business, but see, now it is my business. If you think that Light-kun is Kira fine, show me proof, but we can't just watch him again. There's no reason for him to be under surveillance, we know that he can't be Kira, even if Kira could plan deaths for months in advance we have proof that some of the criminals killed, were on the news after Light-kun went into a coma and we do have proof that the Yatsuba group is harboring Kira, possibly paying him to kill off their competition. You can't keep this up chief!" He said shaking his head. The others nodded. The chief had been watching Light-kun obsessively since he'd woken from his coma and the Kira case had all but stopped in its tracks.
"Chief he took six bullets for L; do you think Kira would do that?" Aizawa said tiredly. "If you're so sure it's him go home and watch him there." He said shaking his head irritably.
"I'm sorry chief but they're right, I agreed to help only because you had proof that the Yatsuba group was working with Kira but we haven't actually done anything to stop the killings-" Ide started.
The chief stood sharply and they collectively took a step back.
"Do what you want." He hissed before grabbing his coat and striding out of the room leaving them to sigh tiredly and wonder if they'd done the right thing confronting him.
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L has always been in the habit of watching people, whether it be through a surveillance camera or across the room, he watches, catalogues, makes his assessment, and then moves on- always. So it comes as no surprise that after nearly a year of assuming that Light is the mass murdering Kira, he still watches Light obsessively. But his assessment of Light has changed- perhaps this was the real reason he'd been so focused on Light. The slight falseness that he portrayed constantly, not once did he allow his mask to fall-
But they did fall slipping under the pressure L had put him through.
Only a slip here and there- and L had been watching.
Mostly it was while they were on the Kira case. Light was almost always so calm and controlled that L had wanted to do nothing but poke and prod and annoy until Light's temper slipped and he kicked him. But now he recognized that Light's slips outside of L's prodding were evoked by someone else in the room, someone L had doubted had so much of an impact on Light.
His father.
Light had made his assumptions about Light's father and then moved on, not focusing on him, not paying attention to him. But there had to be some reason for Light's uncanny abilities on the crime scene. Light had the bearing of a senior officer and had easily outranked anyone on their team when it came to taking the facts and putting them together the way they aught to fit. He could even keep up with L on most occasions, something he'd never thought possible before meeting Light.
And then there was that day in the hospital when Light's masks had truly fallen and the horror let loose in his expression.
One thing was certain to L at least.
Kira would never be able to cry for his family.
And Light did.
So L was watching him again curious about his daily life. Of course Light was rather wounded and had slept in till near midday due to his pain medications but Light was not and had never been a very slothful person. Once he was awake he was struggling into his clothes (while ignoring L's stare), cleaning his room which wasn't really dirty just a bit dusty (while ignoring L's stare), and then slipping out of the room and down the stairs a heavy frown on his face as he noticed certain small things that normally wouldn't bother people (while ignoring L's stare). L took note of these things as well, the slight squeak of a door hinge, the two burnt out light bulbs on the staircase, the window with a crack in one pane, the wiggly handle on the bathroom door, the toilet that seemed to be letting out water when it wasn't supposed to- little things that darkened Light's gaze with each mental note until he couldn't hide the haze of anger and something else, something dark.
"Oh Light-kun! You should be resting dear, I was about to bring you some food!" Light's mother proclaims with a worried smile as she gestures to a tray laden with hearty porridge, a slice of buttered toast and a glass of juice. L notes that they are all things that were specifically noted on Light's special diet plan while in the cooker there is fresh rice and fish grilling on the stove undoubtedly for lunch. Light smiles falsely.
The draft under the door leading outside, the wobbly chair at the end of the table, the drip, drip, drip in the sink-
"I'm feeling fine mom, just hungry." He says lifting the bowls and plates from the tray and taking them to the table before returning for the other knick knacks that will be needed to set the table.
L used to assume that Light did it as a sort of lie, to say to the world 'hey look! I'm a dutiful son!' but there is no one watching now and it is obvious to him that Light and his mother have been doing this particular dance for years (while ignoring L's stare).
L seats himself in his typical crouch and watches them as the peporations are made. Light doesn't seem to notice or mind that his meal is getting cold, instead he is alert, eyes catching more small details that L notes are increasingly stressful to Light.
Eventually Watari comes down the stairs impeccably dressed as ever while still managing to hide the gun at his waist and the handcuffs he always kept in his pocket. His footsteps make a soft thumping sound and Light's stare is drawn to the stairs when one squeaks rather loudly. The dark look passes in an instant though and Light is immediately returning to his task of filling glasses with ice and placing them on the table.
"Ah Light-kun I did not think I would see you up so soon." Watari says in surprise, there is genuine worry in his tone though and L's ears perk up.
"I was feeling better." Light said with a true smile. L did a double-take, he'd noticed that the two had bonded a bit, but this was a bit more than what he'd been expecting. Watari took his seat on the end of the table beside L and glances at him briefly probably assessing L's confusion and giving him a mild knowing smile that only served to confuse him more. A slice of cake is set before him and L's wariness is washed away.
"Light-kun!" Light's mother scolds but Light is already scooting into his chair (the wobbly one) and waiting for her to sit down.
"Ryuuzaki-kun is in the habit of eating sweets." Watari says with a small smile. "When I first found Ryuuzaki-kun that was his only and dearest wish- to eat as many sweets as he possibly could for the rest of his life." L blinked. It wasn't like Watari to give such information away. It wasn't harmful to him of course but it was still…well…more than Watari was in the habit of saying to anyone. Light's mother sighed half heartedly but she wasn't about to tell a guest in her house what he should eat and so she sat down and they began the process of eating. Light's motions were slower than normal and his expression was blank, tight around the eyes which were tense. Light was most certainly in a great deal of pain from his injuries, but he was hiding it, though L didn't know why.
L frowned and poked at his cake.
Light had taken six bullets to the back in order to protect him. He had been willing in that instant to sacrifice himself for L who really had very little worth to the world outside of his position as L- a position that had a line of people ready to become the next L. L was expendable; he had always been even as an unknown child starving in the frigid streets of Russia. The child that had never tasted cake until the night Watari came to him bribing him out of the dilapidated crush of a building he'd been living in scribbling equations and formula into the muddy dirt to ease his restless mind and distract his cramping stomach. But Light had taken the bullets for him and had died there on the hospital bed several times before being stabilized. It wasn't something that even he could ignore as a social nicety that he simply didn't understand. When everyone else in the team had abandoned him (as he very well knew they would) Light had fought on and in the end it was Light that had found him.
Though even B seemed to think that Light was Kira.
In his insane ramblings he'd come to the same conclusion that L had come to- that Light must be Kira. L didn't know how, he was certain he hadn't said anything about it mostly because he had been doubting himself and his accusations against Light for some time. He wanted Light to be Kira, the ultimate enemy, because Light was so much like him and he presented the most complex mystery that L had ever faced. But now he can't seem to believe that it could be possible, because Kira wasn't capable of sacrificing himself, no, Kira sacrificed everyone else.
"LIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGHHHHTTTT-KUUUUN!" The shrill voice made him blink away from his thoughts and see that Light had flinched visibly at the grating voice and then wince as his wounds were aggravated his spoon falling from his shocked and useless fingers.
"Oh my…" Light's mother said as the front door burst open and the sound of scrambling shoes filled the air. There was a quiet male overtone and Light frowned visibly as Misa-misa burst into the room followed sedately by a tall broad business man. Misa-chan seemed to struggle for a moment, perhaps with the urge to hug Light, yet to L's surprise she didn't, instead tears welled up in her eyes.
"Forgive our intrusion I'm Kyosuke Higuchi of Yotsuba Corporation." The man said holding out his hand. Light's lips turned up cautiously and he lifted his hand greeting the man curiously.
"Yotsuba Corporation." Light repeated glancing at L whose eyes widened as he made the connection. Kira was supposed to be one of the elites from the group though they had yet to figure out which.
"Yes, I am also Misa-chan's fiancé." He said with a thin predatory smile. Misa-misa looked suddenly nervous as she jumped from foot to foot.
"Misa is sorry Light-kun, Misa-misa is so sorry, but well, you were dead! They told Misa-misa that you had died in a gun fight and Misa-misa was so saaaad! But then she met Higuchi-san and Misa-Misa thought he was a creep at first but Higuchi-san it turns out that is just misunderstood and Misa-Misa loves him now so Misa-Misa can't be with you any more you see?" She begged with wide eyes. Light-kun stared at her for a long moment before her rambling seemed to make sense to him.
"I hope that there won't be any misunderstandings?" Kyosuke Higuchi said settling a possessive arm around Misa. Light blinked and nodded slowly.
"No, I understand, I mean I was dead for a while, or so I'm told, and I'm glad Misa-chan was able to find someone to love while I was gone, congratulations." He said looking relieved. Misa-Misa was tearing up leaning heavily into Kyosuke Higuchi as she sniffled against him.
"Misa is sorry Light-kun but Misa-Misa can never see you again, if she does, she might be tempted and Misa-Misa never ever wants to do anything to hurt Higuchi-san!" She said shaking her head frantically. Light blinked at her slowly and nodded.
"Okay, I understand." He said with a nod.
"I'm glad you understand." Kyosuke Higuchi said with a creepy smirk. Light winced and stood.
"Actually, could I have a word with you alone?" He said mildly. L stood naturally as Misa-Misa was guided to an empty chair and given a cup of tea. L followed them into the other room ignoring Light's rolled eyes and the other man's curious glance as he pushed into Light's personal space and set his chin on Light's shoulder just to annoy the teen.
"Going to give me the warning speech?" Kyosuke Higuchi said wryly.
"Uh no, look I just wanted you to know that seriously there are no hard feelings. Misa-chan followed me home one day and created this fantasy that we were going out, I couldn't really do anything without hurting her feelings but see, just to make it clear, I'm not really interested in her." Light said wrinkling his nose. "I'm glad she's happy and really it's a relief, she's pretty and nice but well, she isn't my type." He said with a shrug that nearly dislodged L's chin, in retaliation L wound his arm around Light's chest and stubbornly replaced his chin on Light's shoulder smirking when Light's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Kyosuke Higuchi stared at Light in mild confusion for a long moment before glancing at L and back at Light again, then back at L, then back again his eyes widening.
"Ah." He said clearing his throat uncomfortably. "I see, well, that makes things clear I suppose, no hard feelings, I will make certain that Misa-Misa doesn't bother you any more, I can't say I'm surprised after finding out about her Lolita fascination, but then she is a very fascinating girl." He said with a smile. Light relaxed a bit and held out his hand.
"Good luck and just so you know Misa and I never- well, you know, I think we only kissed twice." He said with a wince. "Rather, she kissed me twice." He said with a slightly ill expression. Kyosuke Higuchi let out a laugh and his eyes relaxed even more.
"I get it, good to know then, I'm glad that we won't be having any problems then Yagami Light-kun." He said with a nod. Light smiled a false smile and tugged himself away from L with a slightly annoyed look before gesturing towards the kitchen where he could here Misa-chan speaking animatedly.
"Seriously." Light said clapping Kyosuke Higuchi on the shoulder. "Good luck." He said shaking his head. The man chuckled slightly.
"Come on Misa-Misa, we need to get to the florist before it closes." Kyosuke Higuchi said with a nod. Misa stood hurriedly with a loud scraping sound from the chair and rushed to latch onto the man's arm.
"Bye Light-kun!" She called out before following the man out of the house slamming the door behind her.
"Well!" Light's mother said indignantly. Light shook his head.
"Finally." He said shaking his head.
"Light-kun!" His mother scolded making him wince.
"I was polite mother! I tried to tell her nicely to leave me alone but she kept insisting!" He grumbled.
"So you let her continue to believe that she was your girlfriend?" L said tilting his head to the side.
"Well it kept the other girls away." He said with a shrug. "And I was trying to focus on my studies and the case; I didn't need a bunch of girls following me around." He said reaching for his glass.
"And she just started to follow you one day?" L said curiously. Light nodded.
"Well I suppose it's happened before." Light's mother said with an amused expression on her face. "Remember when you were in elementary school and that girl saw you on the bus on your way to school? She didn't even go to the same school as you!" Light's mother supplied causing Light to wince slightly.
"Really?" L said lifting a finger and placing it on his bottom lip thoughtfully.
"Yes, I believe I mentioned that there were several warrants to keep girls from stalking Light-kun remember? They were in the preliminary report. You asked if he had any previous criminal records." Watari said as he took a sip of his tea. L nodded slowly.
"They were irrelevant; I didn't pay any attention to them." He said with a nod. Light frowned.
"That's careless of you Ryuzaki; if I was Kira it would have been possible that I was using one of those girls." Light said frowning.
"Yes well I had assumed that you were using Misa-chan." L pointed out.
"Stop!" Light's mother said appearing suddenly upset; in fact L was terrified that she might cry at any moment. "I don't want talk about Kira in this house!" She whispered. "My son is a good boy and he nearly died for your sake! I refuse to hear such baseless accusations again!" She said her tone sharp and clipped. L didn't know what to do, he truly hadn't thought that it would upset her and this banter with Light had become casual enough that he didn't think about how it might alarm people.
"I'm sorry mother; we won't talk about it again." Light said stiffly his face pale. Light's mother stood suddenly and snatched up their dishes including to L's dismay his half-eaten cake. He opened his mouth to speak but Light dug his fingers into his left calf and shot him a warning look causing him to clamp is teeth together. He supposed it was alright after all he had distressed her quite a bit; she could have the other half if she wanted it.
"It's time for your medication Light-kun." Watari said producing the small bottle of prescription pills. Light nodded and popped the cap rolling two into his hand and swallowing them back without water. L watched fascinated by the bob of Light's Adam's apple before Light stood suddenly and handed the bottle back to Watari.
"Thank you for lunch." Light said politely before turning to the stairs. L murmured his thanks as well and followed behind Light without a thought.
#$% #$% #$% 3$%
"What is the meaning of this?" The chief said his voice low and gravelly though he seemed refreshed from the first full night's sleep he'd had in a while even if it had been alone in his lonely office. Ide glanced at Mogi before returning his gaze to the screens.
"We've managed to set up surveillance in the conference room where the Yotsuba group will be meeting." He said calmly. Mogi nodded slowly.
"If this works then we have all the proof we need that they are using Kira, the graphs and coincidences weren't enough but this will nail them." He said returning his gaze to the screen where the uninteresting conference room was set up.
The chief was quiet for a long time.
"I see." He said finally his voice low, angry and dangerous.
"I'm sorry sir, but I can't let you waste any more time watching your son when there is hardly any evidence against him." Ide said looking resolute. "I think that maybe this case has become too personal for you-"
The door slammed loudly behind the chief before Ide could finish.
"Well that went well." Mogi said his hands shaking.
"I would not want to be on the other end of his anger right now." Ide said shaking his head.
"Think we should warn Light-kun? I mean I've seen the chief angry before…" Aizawa said warily.
"L and Watari-san are with him, Light-kun will be fine." Ide said his gaze returning to the screen.
They were so close….
#$% #$% #$% #$%
Before nightfall Light had replaced all of the light bulbs that needed replacing, fixed the sink and toilet, replaced the seal on the door and oiled the squeaky hinges. Watari had been more than a little exasperated to find this out of course since Light was clearly supposed to be on bed rest but L found it amusing. Another facet that he hadn't paid attention to in Light, another thing that he'd missed in his need for Light to be Kira. Now Light was standing precariously on a ladder gloved hands pulling out the broken pane of glass and carefully placing it into a trash bag to be disposed of.
"Light-kun?" Sayu said staring up at him in shock.
"How did this window break?" Light asked as he reached for the replacement and carefully set it into the space.
"The kids down the street hit it with their softball, it didn't go through but it left a crack- why aren't you resting?" She said shaking her head. Light smiled faintly.
"You know me Sayu; I couldn't just sleep all day." He said shaking his head. "I've done enough sleeping lately…" He muttered to himself. Sayu's expression hardened and became sad before softening and full of love and self-loathing. L watched the transition with interest. Unlike Light every emotion could easily be read from.
"Yeah I know you Light-nisan." She said somberly her expression falling. "That's why I know that you feel guilty for not being here, that's why you're fixing the window. You always used to do that stuff but I didn't notice." She said softly. "You were always fixing the house, doing the things that dad should have been doing, you were always so responsible." She said sadly. "But you don't have to be any more Light-kun, mom and I can take care of ourselves, you should go, live your life not stuck here trying to fix what can't be fixed. No matter how many broken windows you fix, this home will still be broken and the cracks will show."
Light stared at her in shock.
"Sayu-" But she was already slipping past L and into her room leaving Light to face the sound of her door slamming. L watched Light carefully. Watched the blood drain from his face as he slowly clambered down from the ladder his expression one that L had never seen before. It made L want to reach out and cling to Light. It reminded him too much of the young boy he'd been strapped in the ruins of Russia, cold and alone.
"Light-kun-"
"LIGHT!" Light flinched and nearly stumbled as the front door slammed open and Chief Yagami stormed in his eyes alight with something dangerous. "How could you Light?" The man said his eyes glittering as he prowled closer. "I raised you to do good! I made sure you knew the difference between what is right and what is wrong!"
L felt himself freeze as the man grabbed Light by the back of his shirt and threw him against the opposite wall. L couldn't move, it was loud and Chief Yagami looked fit to kill. L knew eyes like those-
-Red glittering eyes staring down at him with so much hatredand fanatical love, so much violence-
"Father?!" Light gasped his body jerking in pain.
"I let you come with me, I taught you what the real world was like and this is what you do?! I backed you! I supported you and went along with L's crazy idea to protect you and this is how you repay me!" The man roared gripping the front of Light's shirt and punching him squarely causing his nose to let out a sickening crack.
L couldn't move, couldn't do anything to protect Light. Watari was gone doing shopping with Light's mother- what did he do? What could he do? He couldn't move! He was frozen in terror.
"Father!" Sayu stood at the head of the stairs watching them in shock her eyes filling with tears.
"Go to your room Sayu or I swear you'll be next!" The man roared. Sayu's expression twisted and she let out a sob.
"I hate you father!" She gasped before rushing back to her room. L watched her go in horror, no, she couldn't leave! He didn't know what to do! He couldn't stop it! He was useless!
"This is your fault Light!" The man roared lifting Light by the shirt and slamming him against the wall his hands wrapping around the pale column of Light's throat. L was certain Light's wounds had reopened that time.
"Fath-ugh!" The chief's hands wrapped around Light's throat tightly his eyes ferocious and glittering with madness.
"I'll kill you Kira! I'll kill you for all you've done to my family!" Light's eyes widened, bulging as his father choked him. L snapped to attention. No! Not Light! He managed to make his shaking limbs work and reached out grasping the man around the middle and pulling with all his strength but the chief was beyond him and knocked him back violently causing him to fall into the ladder.
L watched with wide eyes as the trash bag on the highest step flew off with the force of his fall and was propelled forward.
SHHHHICK!
The thick triangle of glass cut right through the chief's work shirt and sank deeply into his back causing him to choke and gurgle.
Light stared at the piece protruding from the front of his father's shirt bloodied and jagged.
Light's mother screamed from where she stood at the base of the stairs watching it all unfold.
Watari subtly slipped his gun back into its place.
Sayu wept as her trembling hand set down the pen her father's name staring up at her accusingly in her own short bubbly Kanji.
Ryuuk chuckled lowly his eyes glowing in the dim light of the room.
Oh…this would be fun…