A/N: I don't own Death Note. Thanks for the reviews. XD (Answers to some questions: Dark Mage Makai- When Light said "I discard it", he was actually referring to Arik's Death Note. I don't think that Light needed to say, "I discard it" over a piece of paper. ruuzakisama- The name Ivan Konstatinov was a complete coincidence. I had no idea there was actually some crazy murderer with that name. XD How weird!) Anyway, thanks to all of you who kept up with this story for so long. I think there's about 2 or 3 chapters left. XD
Chapter 28: Genius's Curse
L knew from the innocent yet confused expression on Light's face that all his memories of being Kira were now gone. Light scanned the room like he had just seen it for the first time while L quickly hid the piece of Death Note paper in his pocket.
Then Light pointed at the New Kira's corpse in shock, "Arik's dead! How did that happen?"
Light definitely doesn't remember any of it. How should I explain this? I know that an autopsy report will be made on Ivan Konstatinov later. L claimed, "I'm pretty sure that he died of a heart attack."
"Do you think that the original Kira killed him or perhaps it was the Second Kira?" Light headed toward the corpse.
L picked up Arik's Death Note that laid on the floor and closed it, "Why do you think it may be the Second Kira?"
"Because the Second Kira only needs a face to kill. And I know that we haven't been able to discover Arik's real name, I doubt that it would be easy for the original Kira as well."
"Good observation," L sighed.
Suddenly a deep voice commented beside L, "Light has already figured out that someone with the Death God eyes killed Ivan. I wonder what else Light will figure out."
L turned to face a tall, emaciated Death God who was grinning at him.
The Death God hovered around L, "I'm Reficul. Light can't see or hear me right now. And if he touches your Death Note, he'll remember everything once again."
L silently mouthed, "My Death Note?"
Reficul laughed, "Well, Arik's dead and Light discarded it. So you own it now."
Light kicked at Arik's corpse then smiled, "I know it's kind of wrong. But thank God that someone killed this bastard."
L nodded in agreement while the Death God snickered even more. Then Light gazed out the window at the flashing sirens of the police cars. L ignored the levitating Death God and walked toward Light.
I wonder how Light's mind will make sense of everything. And how much does Light even remember about our relationship? L stood beside Light and glanced over at him. Then L decided to test Light's memory by clasping Light's hand. Light didn't seem to be fazed by it at all, which was a good sign.
Light still faced the window while looking relieved, "It's finally over, Ryuzaki. Whatever plan that you and Suzette made must have worked."
L slowly nodded. So he remembers Suzette, or rather what I told him about the plan. And I told Light about that…after Arik almost raped him. Light probably still remembers all the abuse.
Suddenly, they both heard the sound people of running toward the room. Then the police squad hastily broke through the door with their masks on. L prepared himself to begin his stream of lies as the squad advanced.
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After about twenty minutes, L and Light were finally escorted out of the building. In front of the building, Arik's dead body laid on a stretcher along with dozens of his followers' corpses. L and Light strolled through the maze of police cars until they spotted the investigation team. Everyone in the investigation team immediately rushed toward them.
Matsuda had tears streaming down his face as he seized both L and Light in a crushing hug, "I love you guys!"
The other members of the investigation team tried to pry Matsuda off, "Knock it off, Matsuda! Show some restraint for God's sake!"
L and Light were closely pressed together while Matsuda kept latched around them both. By now Matsuda was just hysterically spewing out nonsense. Finally, Mr. Yagami roughly yanked Matsuda off of them.
Then Mr. Yagami wrapped his arms around his son, "Light."
Light had a surprised look on his face but he stayed still for his emotional father. L just smiled then walked a little distance away from the welcoming investigation team. The Death God still hovered around L's head.
L turned to face Reficul and spoke quietly, "How long do you intend to follow me?"
"Until you die or discard your Death Note. Besides, Light promised me some entertainment. And it was definitely delivered when Ivan died. But now I want to see how everything ends," Reficul grinned, baring his crooked, sharp teeth.
"I see," L glanced over at Light who was happily talking the investigation team. L asked, "Light gave up half of his life span, when he made some kind of deal with you, correct? So how much longer does he have?"
Reficul smirked, "Not telling."
L glared at the Death God and threatened, "I wonder what happens when someone burns a Death Note."
Reficul flinched then stated, "Light won't live as long as most people. But he still has quite a lot of time left."
"Can you give an age?" L requested.
"No," Reficul shook his head then claimed, "Light seems like the kind of person who cares more about the quality of life over the quantity anyway if you ask me."
L just nodded in agreement. No matter how much time Light has left, I'll make sure it's worth his while. L turned to watch the innocent version of Light trying to calm down Matsuda while conversing with the others. L knew what he had to do now: Destroy all the evidence against Light and create the biggest cover up that's he ever known.
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In the early morning, L was still going through all the video camera footage that was confiscated from Arik's base. L and Light had finally arrived back at the office building with the investigation team late last night. Light had insisted on helping L look through the footage. But of course, L had declined the offer. There was no telling how Light would react to seeing video footage of himself doing things that he didn't even remember.
Then L played some footage when someone referred to Light as the first Kira. L quickly deleted it. The London police force trusted L so much that they gave him all the original footage. But it would be an obvious problem if L completely destroyed all the evidence. So L searched through it all and only deleted anything that incriminated Light.
Next, L sadly watched some footage of Light screaming while New Kira followers were forcibly holding him in place. On the screen, L recognized the blonde female doctor who mercilessly injected a needle into Light's arm. I'd love to delete this, but no one refers to Light as Kira in it so it's safe, I guess.
L scrolled down through the file of videos on his computer. Then the door off to the side opened and Light entered the dim workroom.
L minimized the file and turned to face Light while still sitting in his chair, "What is it Light-kun? I thought you were getting some rest."
"I'm fine," Light sat in a chair beside L, "You're the one who stayed up all night working. Why won't you let me help you?"
L sighed, "I'm almost done. There's really nothing that important in these videos anyway."
"Then why do you insist on looking through them alone?" Light cleverly guessed, "Is there something in there that you don't want me to see? Did Arik video tape me being…abused or something?"
"No, there's no footage of him trying to rape you," L bluntly replied.
Light flinched then snapped at him, "Well, thanks for being so subtle."
"Sorry," L gazed into Light's youthful eyes, "Just let me view all this video footage alone. As soon as I finish, we're going back to Japan."
Light stubbornly stayed in the chair, "My father told me about the results for that 13-day experiment. The 13 day rule was proven false so I have no proof to say that I'm not Kira anymore."
Light turned to face L with a worried expression on his face, "I'm a suspect again, right? Is that why you won't let me look through any of the footage? The fact that I'm a suspect never stopped you from letting me help before."
L glanced back his computer, "I never said that you were a suspect again."
"But that's exactly why you had the 13-day experiment done in the first place. You did it to try to incriminate me," Light pressed for some kind of explanation.
If I'm not careful, Light could figure everything out. And I don't know if memory-less Light could handle that. "You're not Kira," L lied straight to Light's face.
Light looked so utterly surprised, "What?"
"You're not a suspect anymore," L avoided eye contact, "You should go tell your father the good news."
Light just nodded as if he were in shock. Then Light stood and walked toward the exit. Before Light left, he asked, "I'm really not a suspect anymore?"
L kept staring forward with his back facing Light, "That's right. Now can you go tell Mr. Yagami?"
"Yeah," Light's voice sounded so pleased as he closed the door on his way out.
What a switch of roles. Now I have to be the liar. L clicked on the file once again, to finish deleting all the evidence against Light.
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In the late afternoon, L, Light, and the investigation team had arrived at the airport. They all sat in chairs while waiting for the plane to begin boarding passengers. L sat in his special way while he still could, before a bossy stewardess could tell him otherwise on the plane. Light sat beside L and grimaced as L munched away on sugary candy.
"Hey, detective!" A female voice called out in Japanese.
L glanced up and spotted Suzette heading towards them. L quickly finished his bag of candy then stood up.
"Hi Suzette. I'm glad that you're alright," L grinned while Light also stood up.
"Yeah, and it's all thanks to you," Suzette happily smacked L on the back, "Thanks for bailing me out. I would be in prison right now if you didn't call the police and tell them that I worked for you."
Mr. Yagami asked as he stood off to the side, "You work for L?"
"Tch. No. I just made a call for him," Suzette stepped toward Mr. Yagami, "And your voice sounds familiar. Were the one who answered my call?"
"That was you," Mr. Yagami quickly recognized her voice.
"Damn right," Suzette smirked as she pulled out a cigarette from a pack, "Do any of you guys have a light?"
One of the members in the investigation team lit her cigarette. Suzette immediately started smoking, "Thanks man. Oh, and L, Arik died of a heart attack, right?"
"Yes," L nodded as he ignored the Death God hovering behind him.
"That's awesome," Suzette laughed loudly then playfully elbowed Light, "Congratulations, kid."
"What?" Light gave her a confused look.
Damn it. "Suzette, can you come with me?" L led the oblivious nicotine-addict away while Reficul snickered.
Once they left the others' sight, L explained softly, "Light doesn't remember being Kira because he discarded ownership of his Death Note."
"Oh shit. I didn't even know that it was possible to do that. Sorry," Suzette apologized, "I almost screwed everything up, didn't I? But why did Light get rid of his memories anyway?"
"It's easier this way. He can't revert back to the killer that he was before," L placed his hands in his pockets.
"Oh," Suzette slowly nodded, "So, you don't trust him."
"I trust him," L claimed.
Suzette just shook her head, "No, you don't. Not that I blame you. The kid is a murderer. I'd want to make him harmless too if I were you."
"It's not a matter of making Light-kun harmless-" L just stopped in mid-sentence. He knew that he wasn't fooling anyone, especially himself. L was completely aware that Light was liable to go on a killing spree at any moment as Kira.
"Well, I hope everything works out for you," Suzette blew out some smoke in front of L's face.
"Thank you," L covered his mouth, trying not to breathe in the smoke.
Suzette laughed at his reaction, "Sorry. If you had an addiction, you'd know how hard it is for me to stop."
"I have one," L answered with a hand still over his mouth.
"Really?" Suzette seemed amused, "What are you addicted to?"
"Sugar," L's response was muffled by his hand.
"Aw. That's cute," Suzette snickered, "Is Light your sugar?"
"What?"
"Nothing," Suzette laughed harder then threw away her cigarette. "Anyway, good luck with everything."
L smiled back, "What are you going to do with your life now that Arik's gone?"
"Well," Suzette sighed, "First of all, I've got to pay my respects to Stephan. I wasn't able to go to his funeral."
"Sorry to hear that."
"It's okay," Suzette grinned again, "Because it all worked out. That bastard, Arik is finally dead. Now everything can return to normal again…well, as normal as things can be, I guess."
"Yeah," L agreed even though he knew full well that things were never going to be the same again. Through all the terrible things that Konstatinov had done, Light was forced to rely on L. Light confessed to being Kira because he needed L's help. If Konstatinov had never shown up, Light would still be Kira right now. And L would mostly be dead.
"Well, I think your plane is about leave." Suzette called out as she walked away, "See you later, detective! And I'll never forgive you if you don't send me a wedding invitation!"
L stood still in shock. Wedding invitation?
"Ryuzaki!" Light rushed toward L and grabbed his hand, "Come on, hurry up. Our plane is about take off."
L and Light quickly boarded the plane that was bound for Japan. The investigation team had already taken their first-class seats, which were two seats per row. L and Light sat down beside each other. Light took the window seat as usual while L forced himself to sit like a normal human being. The plane took off in matter of minutes.
After awhile Light spaced out and quietly gazed at the chair in front of him.
L noticed Light's sulking, "Light-kun, is something wrong?"
"No…Why did Suzette tell me congratulations?" Light unexpectedly asked.
"Well, Suzette is quite eccentric," L created an excuse, "Maybe she just knew how relieved you must be because Ark's gone."
"Yeah," Light turned to face L, "Nothing Arik did makes any sense."
This could be bad. "Why would you say that?"
"Why did Arik kidnap me and not kill me?" Light seemed so confused, "Why did he find me so fascinating? Why did he monitor my every move and drug me? There's was just no reason for it. Then when he beat me up that one time then let me go free to lure you into a trap… Why did Arik believe me when I said that you weren't L. It makes no sense. It's almost like Arik wasn't really treating me like an enemy. But since I want to capture the original Kira, shouldn't Arik have just killed me?"
Out of frustration, Light placed his head in his hands, "I don't get it."
Light-kun, you really can be too smart for your own good. L sighed, "Well, Arik's mind wasn't exactly functioning normally. You can't expect a maniac's actions to always make sense."
"Well, that maniac has killed countless people. So why hesitate to kill me? Why was he so damn obsessed with me?" Light gave him a desperate look, "What the hell did I do to deserve his interest!"
L declared, "First of all, you did not deserve a single thing that he did to you."
"Then why! Why didn't he just kill me!" Light obviously needed some kind of explanation for his suffering.
L placed a hand over Light's mouth as a stewardess passed by. L explained in a hushed voice, "The only one who will fully know why is Arik and he's dead. Just try not to think about what happened."
Light moved his head away from L's hand, "That's easy for you to say. It's like I only remember half of what happened at Arik's base and the parts that I do remember make no logical sense at all."
L suggested, "Well, you were drugged most of the time. That's probably why you can't remember."
"Damn it. There some things that I can't remember even before I was drugged. I feel like I'm missing some kind of important information that could simply explain everything," Light admitted.
L considered telling Light to stop thinking so much. But hell would freeze over before Light's mind ever took a break. The fact that Light's so intelligent could very well be his curse. If he figures out that he's Kira… I don't even want to think about what his reaction will be, especially when he doesn't even remember being Kira.
L decided to test how Light's memory loss affected his recollection of other situations, "So, Light-kun, you can't remember things that happened before being drugged." L bluntly asked, "Can you tell me what led up to our second kiss? What were we talking about before we kissed?"
Matsuda's curious face appeared over the seat in front of them while Light turned red.
Light answered even though he looked embarrassed, "I remember that we had ice cream…and…well." Light glared up at Matsuda, who nosily watched them with wide eyes.
Suddenly Light exclaimed, "Can't we talk about this later!"
L switched to speaking English, "Just tell me what you remember."
Matsuda complained, "No fair, I can't understand English."
Then Mr. Yagami yanked Matsuda back down to his seat, "Shut up and sit down. Personally, I'm thankfully that I won't know."
Light smirked at his father's reaction then replied in English, "Anyway, I remember going into an ice cream store, where there was some rude girl. Then we walked around St. James Park and…"
"Well, what did we talk about?" L asked even though he knew that Light wouldn't remember.
"I don't know. But I remember that you hugged me then…" Light stopped in mid-sentence.
"We kissed. Can you recall why you stopped the kiss?"
"Arik was coming," Light leaned against the back of his chair. "What were we talking about?"
"Oh," L quickly answered, "You were just worried because Arik was coming and you didn't want him to kill me. So you were acting kind of guilty."
Light nodded, "But it still doesn't make any sense that Arik believed me when I said you weren't L."
L had no plausible excuse to explain that one. He just stayed silent while Light leaned his head against the window. After awhile, Light closed his eyes and slept.
I have to keep an eye on Light. If I'm not around and full of excuses, Light will probably realize everything. And Light wouldn't be able to handle it, not with the way he is now. L watched Light as the teenage genius slept.
L noticed how Light was jerking around in his sleep. Sleeping against a window can not be comfortable. L sighed then pulled Light over toward him. Light's head rightfully rested on L's shoulder.
Then Light glanced up at L with barely opened eyes, "Ryuzaki?"
"Yes?" L smiled at him.
"Your shoulder…is bony."
"Okay," L suddenly placed Light's head in his lap instead.
Light's eyes popped open while he was now staring directly up at L.
"Is that better?" L smirked.
"…Yes," Light admitted as he looked the other way, "But other people will see-"
"Oh, from our conversation before, I'm pretty sure that this doesn't surprise anyone." L responded in a genuinely happy tone.
"True," Light relaxed while laying halfway in the detective's lap.
L asked out of curiosity, "I know that the drugs affected your memory so what do you remember the most from what happened in Arik's base?"
"You told me that I could live with you," Light replied without any hesitation.
He remembers what I told him the most. L grinned, "Really? So what do you say?"
Light gazed up at him with wide eyes.
"Will you live with me?" L asked.
"Yes!" Light answered so quickly that L started laughing.
End of Chapter 28