Chapter Fourteen

Faking Love

He was alone.

The night had gone by and the sun was beginning to rise. Light rays leaked in through cracks in the shades. The floor was cold, and my skin was covered in goose bumps. The back of my head throbbed. It had stopped bleeding, finally, but it probably needed to be dressed.

Light usually tended to his own injuries, but the will to do so just wasn't in him.

He just kept thinking about Shiori…

Or fake Shiori…

Or real Shiori…

Or fake….

Real…

Or fake…

His head spun, and not just from the injury.

One moment he heard her bubbly laughter, the next her blood chilling scream.

Her smile turned to a gasp of pain.

How could Light ever try to forget her?

She was possibly one of the best things that happened to him in his life, and the world took her away, her and Mikami.

Where was Mikami? Light had never checked up on him since he had chosen to forget his past life. It was for the better. If he had gone to Mikami then he too would have been taken away from Light, and most likely suffered, and it would have all been Light's fault.

If Light did check up on Mikami and learned that his life was horrible, Light would never forgive himself. He probably could have done something to help along the line but since he decided to be selfish, Mikami could have never gotten the help he needed. It would be his fault.

Shiori…

He missed her so much.

Shiori. Shiori.

"Shiori."

His voice broke the silence, almost echoing off the walls. The apartment, save for computers, a dresser, a filing cabinet and a bed, was virtually unfurnished and undecorated. The heat was off. Light rarely put it on.

The walls were an ugly gray, and in the corner the wallpaper was beginning to peel. He could hear the snoring of one of his neighbors through the wall, and the sound of a television set that had never been turned off. There was also the sound of early morning traffic and the soft roar of light rain.

The charms lay in his open palm, where he stared at them, as he had for the past hour. The more he stared at them the blurrier they got, and the memories of the happier times blurred with them.

Real…

Or fake?

Had Shiori really chosen to hang out with Light, or did she have no choice, driven by loneliness.

Had he been a good friend? No… he let Shiori and Mikami do all the work. He was barely there, even then. They deserved a better friend.

Shiori had loved him… he had known it for a long time.

He had known it even back then.

He had loved her, too, in his own way. Not the way she had loved him. But if she had confessed to him, he has no idea what he would have done.

There was a knock on the door.

Light turned his head to look at it, wondering who it might be. No one even knocked on the door but his landlord.

Was his rent due? Light couldn't remember the date anymore…

Whoever it was knocked again, this time more forceful.

Light figured if it was his landlord, maybe he'd go away if he just ignored him, but he was wrong. The person on the other side of the door gave one more loud knock before speaking, "Light Akino. Open the door."

Light pushed himself up, head swimming. He did not recognize that voice.

"Light Akino, open the door." The forceful voice commanded. This time Light was able to pick up traces of an accent. This person was not a native-born speaker.

"We know you are in there. Open the door, you are under arrest."

This took Light by surprise.

That was when he remembered his bag. Shit. He had been thoughtless and dropped it. Not just anywhere, but at the fucking scene of a crime. Right next to a fucking body.

Panic seized him and he jumped up to his feet, but dizziness took hold of him and his vision blurred and he stumbled onto a fork.

He swore at the sudden new pain, dropping the charms onto the floor. The sudden loss of them made him feel cold and he started searching the floor desperately for them. A knock drew him out of his frenzy.

"This is your last warning or we are breaking down the door!"

There was no way he could escape. And that would not be the wisest idea, since he was in no condition to even attempt. The police, if they were the police, knew his home location, and his computers, though safely encrypted, were at risk.

His decision made, he replied to the man outside. "I'm coming to the door now. Wait for me to unlock it. I'm not resisting." He tried his best to make his voice sound cool and even, but it was hard after the night he went through.

He stumbled over the short distance to the door, using the time to get his mask on his face. A glance through the peep hole revealed two men not in uniform, one blonde and fair skinned, wearing sun glasses and smoking a cigarette. The other had a hat pulled low over his face and the collar of a trench coat popped up. His face was shrouded in shadow. He undid the dead lock and then the lock in a timely matter, making sure the clicks and clinks were loud and clear to the men waiting outside.

As soon as he opened the door a rough hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. Before Light knew it both of his hands were behind him, secured in a pair of metal handcuffs.

"You're coming with us." The blonde man growled, shoving Light against the wall.

"Not so rough." The other man commanded.

"Sorry. It's just nice to be on the other side." The blonde man grinned, releasing the pressure pinning Light to the wall. "Light Akino, you are under arrest for suspicion of murder."

"Aren't you going to read me my rights?" Light said in a joking tone.

"I can't promise you any damn rights. You'll get what you get."

Definitely not the police. The paired looked like a couple of private detectives, but Light also doubted that.

"Control yourself," The other man said to the blonde, and then to Light he added, "It's best you remain silent until we get to our final destination."

"Where are you taking me?" Light demanded.

"You'll find out soon enough." The blonde said.

"I cannot disclose the location we are going. Just be silent and don't resist anything we do, and this will all go by quickly." Said the other.

Light decided to take the advice of the other.

The blonde man, the seemingly younger man, which Light guessed by the sound of his voice and the way he followed the orders of the other man, lead Light from behind by holding onto his arms, asserting his dominance over Light in the situation. The other man lead them down the three flights of stairs at a fast pace, taking no time to appreciate the authentic whitewashed cinder block walls and the beautiful florescent lights.

He led them outside and to a black car with dark tinted windows. The car was very nondescript, the license plates still from the dealership it had come from. He opened the door for the blonde to shove him in back, ducking down his head so it wouldn't bump the ceiling.

He smiled at Light as he buckled him in.

"Safety first," the blonde smirked. He reached over and grabbed something that had been sitting next to Light and held it up for Light to see.

He held a blindfold and head phones. When he put them on Light, his sense of sight and hearing went away. He felt the vibration of the car door slamming and the engine turning on, and the pull of gravity as the car began to move.

The ride was about an hour long, but Light half suspected that it was more to confuse him then. He spent that time trying to figure out what was going on. They must have found his bag next to the kitchen killer's, and connected it to him. But Light had his wallet still in his pocket, which contained all his identification cards, and the bag had no ties to him, he was sure. And if they had found the bag, wouldn't it be the police who would arrest him and bring him in for questioning, not some no name figures? It might be a private separate investigation.

L was working on this case, Light knew, so it was very possible that Light was on his way to be questioned by the head honcho himself. That thought almost excited Light, but that would make this situation more complicated. Light cursed himself for not trying to escape, but he knew the fire escape was rickety and would have caused enough noise to reveal his intentions to the men, and his head, which still throbbed, may have caused him to fall.

If it was L, how did he connect him to the crime? Were there any witnesses? Light could only remember seeing Shiori, or fake Shiori since Shiori WAS dead, anywhere near where he had seen the body. But what if someone had come along shortly after his… episode.

They could have recognized him from the book store and reported him to the police. But if that was the case, wouldn't he have been detained earlier? One does not simply let his prime suspect (or only suspect, as far as Light knew about the case, since no other names were even being batted around according to the police database) have time to escape, nor does a witness who saw Light leaving the scene of a fresh dead body wait a few hours to report what he saw. But maybe someone did see him and report it, and it took this long to figure out where he was?

The possibilities swam around in Light's head. He tested the handcuffs and found them secure.

Shiori was now only a little bit on his mind. It was as if she was sitting next to him in the car, allowing him to be distracted as long as he didn't forget.

Maybe this wasn't about the dead teenager and fake Shiori (Real Shiori?) at all. Maybe someone had finally connected him to his work as Kira. If that was the case this could be a syndicate or other wanting to take their revenge on him for putting one of their members behind bars. It was possible. With Misa stalking him, his work must have been getting sloppy.

But he had been told he was being arrested for murder.

So it must be the dead teenager.

It must.

"Shiori…" Light whispered, then immediately clamped his mouth shut. Fuck. He was in a car, prisoner to potential hostiles. He should not be mentioning her name here.

Why shouldn't you? You are being arrested for murder and you killed me, said Shiori's voice. It was a crueler and more resentful voice of Shiori then he even remembered her having.

I didn't kill you. The gunman did. He thought back. A muscle in his jaw twitched.

You did. You did and you know it. She replied, her voice almost sad.

The rumbling of the engine stopped. Light counted fifteen seconds before a hand was on his shoulder, guiding him out of the car. Light wondered briefly if they were going to remove the headgear, but the hand on his shoulder instead gave him alight shove, indicating the he should walk. A second hand appeared on the arm of the same side, guiding him as he walked.

He was inside a garage, Light guessed. It was cold and the ground felt like concrete, but there was no trace of wind or smell of fresh air, only the faint scent of gasoline and the blonde's cigarette.

They led him to an elevator, and Light could feel the rising sensation and it lifted him up to whatever awaited him.

Light amused himself wondering if there was any elevator music or not.

The slight jolt of the elevator told him it had stopped, and he felt himself being led down what he assumed was a hall, carpeted judging by the softness of his steps. More shuffling around and then he was seated on a chair in a room, still blind and deaf to the world.

Light could only guess if the two men were there, but the absence of the smell of smoke suggested he was alone. He leaned back into the chair, taking a moment to roll his head around and assess how badly it still hurt. The pain, though not as sharp as it had once been, made him grimace.

After a few minutes Light sensed he was not alone, but could do nothing but wait. He felt hands brush against his as they removed the cuffs. His hands free, Light brought them in front of him and rubbed his wrists in turn. He didn't dare to try to remove the headgear, instead waited for the person to do it himself. And act of obedience or defiance, Light was not sure.

"Thank you." He said aloud, stupidly since he'd not be able to hear a response. A minute more passed and then his noise canceling headphones were removed. The silence he had been… enjoying… ended and he could hear the hum of electricity in the walls.

Who ever was in the room with him did not speak yet and Light waited patiently, putting on a passive face.

"You can remove the blindfold."

That voice… Light knew that voice. But it couldn't be…

He stopped himself from ripping the blindfold off and instead did it slowly. At first Light was blinded, but as his eye adjusted he saw Ryuzaki sitting across from him.

Ryu-fucking-zaki.

The ravenette stared back at his, as if challenging him to react.

Light's memories of his time spent with Ryuzaki flashed before his eyes, from the first meeting on the bridge to the questioning after he had regained consciousness, to the nights and bed they had shared and the unspoken things they had kept from each other.

What the hell was happening?

What the hell was going on?

It makes me wonder, Shiori intruded into his thoughts, the cruel Shiori, the fake Shiori, the true Shiori, her voice ever venomous and amused, It makes me wonder…

Was that all real…

Or fake?

I'm going to stop this chapter here.

Next chapter coming soon!

Thanks for all the reviews! I read every single one, and I love to hear what you have to say. I've really gotten into the story again so I'll probably be updating consistently until the end.

My school is getting some remodeling done and it can be a bit annoying. Roofers are so shingle minded.