Chapter Nineteen

Racing to Love

"Okay, just sit down and explain."

"Thank you."

"Now can you explain why you are here again? Start from the beginning and use full detail."

"Yes. My name is Katsuyuki Ohno and I am a taxi driver. Well, not too long ago I picked up a passenger. I'm not sure how long, but after five minutes of indecision I decided to come straight here. Anyways, I picked up this passenger. I sensed from the beginning that something was wrong. He looked really stressed and upset. He had me drive him to the amusement park down the road, but it's closed this time of year. It struck me as suspicious. I came here because I'm worried that the boy might try to take his life."

"Can you describe your passenger?"

"Male. Japanese. Young. Lower twenties. Tall. Five-eight, five-nine. Brown hair. Skinny. Too skinny. The youth these days don't eat enough. Too distracted by all this technology."

"And you last saw him outside the main entrance to the amusement park where you dropped him off?"

"Yes. Are you going to send someone to go check it out?"

"We'll do what we can."

"Well if you don't do something soon it could be too late."

"I'm sorry sir. I'll make sure someone heads over there… Sir. I'm sorry, but can you describe the man again?"

"Lower twenties, five foot eight, brown hair."

"Excuse me a second… Does this picture match your description?"

"Yes! That is the man. How did you get this picture? Is he a wanted criminal."

"Wanted, yes, but not a criminal. I'm sorry but I can't give you any more information. Excuse, but I have to go make a call."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

L arrived with the first of the responders.

As soon as word reached him that there was a confirmed Light sighting he could no longer wait behind his computer for the pieces to fall in place. He had to take action.

Watari was there, luckily, and was able to drive him.

And by some dumb luck the amusement park was close. Switching hotels to one across the city proved to be a beneficial decision.

L felt so stupid for not realizing right away how Light's name was spelled out by the first names of the victims, confirming his theory that the killer carefully chose his victims.

In his quick research over the amusement park he found that the park was known for its nightly fireworks during the summer. It made sense that the part of the riddle in which the killer mentioned where the girl saw fire was the fireworks of the amusement park.

The place where Light Yagami went on his last day alive before faking his death.

He had been known to go with two friends of his, one who was shot before his eyes and died in his arms. L figured there was a ninety percent chance that the girl of the riddle was this friend of Light's. Shiori Akino.

Whose last name just happened to be Light's false identity's last name.

It was all coming together.

A traumatic event like that made sense why Light would have killed himself or runaway.

And it seems that that place was chosen by the killer to be Light's grave.

L slid on the police vest he had stored in the car, as to not be stopped by the police once he got to the park. In the scramble to get to Light L would be generally ignored, and if he was stopped he came equipped with a police badge that proclaimed him a higher rank then any officer here.

Once out of the car he joined the small crowd of police officers, glad to see they had just unlocked the entrance. He weaved through them and managed to get inside the park, being ignored by the officers around him just as he predicted. Inside the park now he stopped, taking in the vastness of it all.

His eyes swept over a nearby map, memorizing the entire layout. It would take too long for him to search the entire park. His legs twitched and L knew he couldn't waste time standing there, so he picked a direction and ran, hoping that it was the right direction to get to Light.

No officers followed him. They went elsewhere, fanning out to cover more ground. L ran alone in silence.

It was dark. Apparently no one had found the switch to turn on the streetlamps that lined the paths. A short while after L started running he made out the shape of a human in front of him, and his heart skipped a beat.

Did I make it in time? Did I find Light before Light found the killer?

The human shape in front of him, closer now, began calling out and L felt his heart drop. The voice was female. It wasn't Light. Was it the killer?

L stopped and took up a defensive position as the shape continued to run towards him, still calling out.

L noticed the voice was not threatening, but fearful and desperate. The shape turned into a blonde woman, holding a wig in one hand, with no visible weapons. He relaxed his position but tensed up again as soon as he made out the words.

"Help! Dear god, help! Light's in trouble! There's a crazy man with a knife! Help!"

She was close enough to L that she stopped and he could see her shaking and crying.

"Misa was told to leave and not come back but then she saw you! Please officer, you need to help!"

L noted she talked in third person, and that her name was Misa, but that was not relevant right now. She was not Shiori Akino so L didn't know why she was here.

"Where are they?" L demanded. His heartbeat was now rapid and he felt a weird feeling coursing through him. It was fear.

"At the Traditional Gardens, in the gazebo!"

L started running again, not wasting anytime. He knew where that was from the memorized map and the direction from which Misa ran. She was not out of breath so he knew he was close. Misa ran behind him, not sure what else to do. L tore off his police walky-talky off the vest and tossed it back to her.

"Call for back up! Tell them everything!" L commanded. He had to trust that she would do that, since he had no time to waste.

Now L's run turned into a sprint and he prayed that he would make it in time.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

L arrived in time to see a man drive a knife into Light's chest, laughing manically.

"Your death will be painful and slow, Light. So you can truly feel the pain of this world and know why you have to save others from pain. Accept that you are a god!" The man said, giving the knife a twist, causing Light to convulse and shriek.

When L heard Light scream his vision turned red. Before he could get to Light, the man, who had not noticed him yet, stabbed Light once more, driving it in deep and leaning over Light, staring him in the eyes, seeming the reveal in Light's every shudder of pain.

L launched himself at the man, knocking him off Light. The man immediately tried to push L off but L would not give up trying to hold him down, so they rolled around on the floor of the gazebo, unknowing to L just like Light and the man had done just moments before.

The struggle caused them to roll out of the gazebo and into the pond. L somehow got the advantage and began beating the man with his fists with all his fury.

That man had hurt Light! He was going to pay!

L was satisfied with the crunching sound of a broken nose and he punch the man in the face, and in the jaw, and the ribs and stomach. Anywhere that he found an opening he hit, ignoring the pain of his fists.

The man at first seemed very angry but them he just began laughing. L couldn't stand it, using it a fuel for his own anger.

A voice broke through his rage. It was Misa, the blonde girl.

"What do I do? What do I do?!" She shrieked.

The red L saw washed away. The anger was gone, replaced suddenly by fear. Light was in danger. Light needed him. L released the man, who slumped into the shallow water, and ran over to the spot where Light lay.

The sight of Light was enough to make L want to turn around and beat the man again. Light lay on the floor of the gazebo, pale and stained with splashes of blood, eyes wide open yet unfocused. Misa was crouched over him, her hands hovering over the stab wounds.

"What do I do?" She cried out again.

L pushed her away and looked at Light closer. He looked horrible but he was awake and alive. His breathing was shallow and fast. Even though his eyes were open he didn't seem to see Misa or L by his side. He just stared up above himself, as if he was looking to something in the distance. He was no longer screaming in pain, and was instead eerily silent besides the ragged breaths. His wounds were hemorrhaging at an alarming rate. L knew he would need transfusions and was running the risk of bleeding out. L pulled off his shirt and wadded it up, pressing it on the wounds in an attempt to stop the flow.

"Stay awake!" L begged to Light. "Stay awake."

It was no good. Light could not hear him L could tell Light was going into shock. He grabbed Light's wrist and checked his pulse, not liking the weak beat he got back or the cold-clamminess of Light's skin. His eyes began to roll up and slowly closed, despite L's attempts to rouse him by gently shaking Light's head.

"Stay awake! You are not allowed to die, you hear me?" L ordered Light, but with no response from the brunette.

He heard in the distance the sounds of others arriving and Misa calling out to them but all he could focus on was the sound of Light's breathing, the only sign that Light had yet to crash.

"Stay with me, you idiot!" L yelled out.

The next thing he knew he was being pushed away like he had pushed away Misa as the EMTs took over.

L could do nothing but watch helplessly as they swarmed over Light, placing him on a stretcher and eventually into an ambulance.

Silently he followed the EMT team to the vehicle and by some miracle they let him follow them in, but all they let him do is sit uselessly in the corner, watching in horror as they try their best to keep Light alive long enough to make it to a hospital.

The ride to the hospital was short, thankfully. In no time the ambulance doors opened again to reveal a fresh team of doctors who take Light away through the emergency entrance.

L rushes after them. It was like he was in a dream. He suspected he was in his own state of shock as well, but knowing he was in shock didn't stop the feeling of floating as he followed the doctors through the hallways.

His shock was nothing like Light's shock. Light's shock was worse. It lowered his already too slim chance of surviving by fifty percent. The odds were turning on L.

After what seemed like an endless labyrinth of hallways, Light was brought into an operating room. L tried to follow him in, but a doctor stopped him, leaving him alone outside. L stood there lost for what seemed like an eternity until someone guided him into a private waiting room and left him alone.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXX

When Watari showed up L was pacing angrily around the small waiting room with clenched fists. His own shock was over and all he was filled with a rage that wouldn't allow him to sit still. When he saw Watari he stopped his pacing and waited impatiently to see what he had to say.

Watari didn't say anything at first but handed L a white shirt. L took it reluctently and put it on without a word. Watari then sat down and signaled for L to do the same; L just stared at him and stayed standing.

"Light is still in surgery. He is alive, for the time being. There are lacerations on several vital organs but as far as they can tell at the moment he will not need any transplants if… he survives long enough. They are trying to stop any internal bleeding and patch up the sources when they can. He also had a head injury that they believe has given him a concussion. They managed to stop the bleeding on his head and predict that as long as they prevent an infection from occurring, the gash itself will cause no more problems, but until more time goes by and Light wakes up they won't know the full extent of the damage."

Watari paused to let L soak in all the information. L didn't respond. Watari didn't wait long to see if he would.

"The police arrested the Kitchen Killer, but had to take him to the hospital to treat his injuries. A different hospital than this one. He was not in critical condition but quite… damaged from what you did to him. They identified him, with the help of Misa Amane. Amane was that girl who assisted you and the police and paramedics to finding the location of the Killer and Light."

"The Killer? Who is the Killer?" L asked, his voice low and firm. He wanted to know who did this to Light. He needed to know. His fist twitched at the thought of hitting the man again.

"Teru Mikami." Watari didn't bother saying more, knowing that L knew the man and his association to Light.

Mikami was Light's childhood friend. He had been there at the amusement park the day Shiori Akino had died. It was reported that he had left for home before the event took place. The mystery of what had brought Mikami to this point was tantalizing, but what seemed more important right now then questioning Mikami was ramming his fist into Mikami's face once more. L's hatred towards Mikami for hurting Light bubbled inside of him and he had half the mind to find the other hospital and this time beat the man to death.

"Don't. You know that he has to answer to the law. You have done your part." Watari knew L too well. Somehow his guardian still seemed to know what he was thinking.

L knew he was right but didn't want to admit it, so he continued to be silent.

"Ms. Amane is being questioned right now. She's being very helpful. When she is done I'll give you a full copy of the transcript. They will attempt to question Mikami but they don't think he will be very useful in his current mental state. They want to question you, too. The police are under the impression that you are Rue Ryuzaki, Light's current boyfriend, and that you had found out he was going to meet with the Kitchen Killer and joined the police to help find him. This way explains why you are here and so concerned for his well being and will allow you to remain at his side. You are also his emergency contact. I altered his medical information to make it so. You will have to answer a few of their questions eventually but they can wait until you are ready."

L felt grateful and relieved. He didn't have to worry about being further separated from Light.

"Thank you." L walked over to Watari and put a hand on the man's shoulder. The old man seemed a bit surprised at the gesture, but put his hand over L's to be reassuring.

Watari's had was warm and welcome, but L couldn't help but think about how cold Light's skin had been.

L took his hand away and sat down in a chair at the far end of the room.

This was hard. L was not used to feeling so much… feeling. One second he was angry the next he was morose. He hated this. The one thing L always had control over was his emotions but now they were all coming out and L had no idea what to do with them.

He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. His hand was shaking, but he couldn't tell if it was from the feelings or the lack of sugar in his system. He suddenly felt very tired.

"Send for my successors. I leave it up to you and them to finish up here and take on any new cases until…"

Until Light died? Until Light survived and woke up? What then? Not having all the answers felt wrong. The future was one big, uncertain mess. Was this what it was like for normal people?

"As you say." Watari nodded. He stood up and walked over to L and reached into his pocket, pulling out something and placing it in L's hand. It was three simple sugar cubes.

There Watari went again, proving he knew L too well.

Watari started walking out of the room, but before he could leave L spoke to him once more.

"What if… he doesn't make it?"

Watari sighed and looked at L with a heavy look he had never seen before.

"I do not know. You will figure it out if it comes to that, but now all you can do its wait and pray."

Praying he'd leave to Watari.

But Watari was right.

Waiting was all he had left to do.

Thank you, Readers, for all your reviews! This story now has over 200! When I hear your opinions and reactions it really makes this story fulfilling and reminds me why I love to write.

I read each and every review, so thanks for making me smile! Please continue to review!

Sorry about the big cliffs I've been dropping, but where I end each chapter is just where it feels right to me. That, and its fun to watch you all squirm, like I am a puppet master and you are my marionettes.

I have not done an author's note for the last two chapters because I felt like there was just no place for them, since the story was so intense.

This chapter was a bit hard to write, it took longer then expected. I'm still not sure if it is right, but I'll keep it how it is for the time being, probably forever.

What do you call someone with no body and nose?

Nobody knows.

O_O