A/N: Hello again my wonderful readers!
Oh, and if anyone's up for a quick laugh, check out my new little side project called Kinky Handcuffs.
The Art of Drowning
Some Lies Run Deep
It was late. The rest of the task force had left hours ago, and even though Ryuuzaki had finally taken the handcuffs off, Light stayed. Ryuuzaki was questioning Rem once again, and Light was hesitant to leave the detective and the shinigami alone together. He knew Rem wouldn't say anything to jeopardize his secret, but he also knew that Ryuuzaki was a master detective. He didn't want to take any chances, not with victory so close at hand.
"So the only way for another human besides the owner of the Death Note to see your kind is if that human comes in contact with the notebook?" questioned Ryuuzaki.
"That is correct," answered Rem.
"Tell me, do shinigami like apples?"
Light felt his mouth curl in the slightest of smirks.
"Not necessarily. Our internal organs have evolved past the point where our bodies require nourishment," replied Rem.
Ryuuzaki nodded, once again studying the notebook held between his thumb and forefinger.
"But is it physically possible for a shinigami to consume food of the human world?"
Rem hesitated. "I have not indulged myself, but I cannot speak for others of my kind."
Ryuuzaki quirked his head. "But is it possible?"
"I do not know."
Ryuuzaki sighed, setting the notebook back down. He took a sip of his tea, silently regarding the shinigami across from him. He glanced over to where Light was diligently working at his computer.
"Raito-kun, you are free to return to your home. The rules of the Death Note have freed you from suspicion, and I do not require your assistance this late in the evening," said Ryuuzaki.
Light shrugged. "I'm not tired yet, and besides, I'm still cross-referencing all of the names written in the notebook with what we have on file."
"There are victims of Kira who do not have their name written down in this notebook," remarked Ryuuzaki.
"Yes, I've noticed that," answered Light, his eyes never leaving the computer.
"The possibility of there being a second notebook is quite high," said Ryuuzaki.
"I came to the same conclusion as well. That is why I'm cross-referencing the known names of criminals killed by Kira and those written in the notebook. We need to know how many deaths this second notebook is responsible for," said Light.
"We'll have to concentrate our efforts in locating the second notebook now," replied the detective.
Light nodded. "And we'll have to be on the lookout for any more deaths."
"Yes, I don't believe Higuchi is the first Kira, or even the second for that matter. There might be more than two notebooks out there," remarked Ryuuzaki, idly flicking a container of cream off the coffee table, his gaze never wavering from Light's form.
Light regarded him silently, not letting the amusement he felt show on his face. The fake rules he had Ryuk write in the Death Note had cleared him and Misa of suspicion. Ryuuzaki could think he was Kira all he wanted, but he wouldn't be able to do a thing without evidence. His plan was falling into place perfectly. Soon the detective would be dead.
"You're probably right about that," Light finally said.
Ryuuzaki shifted, bringing his thumb to his mouth. "Rem, can there be multiple notebooks in the human world at one time?"
Rem took a moment to answer. "I do not see a reason why there could not be."
Ryuuzaki hummed in agreement, opening a bag of panda shaped cookies. A few moments of silence followed as Ryuuzaki crunched through his snack.
"Do shinigami ever develop a close relationship to those who own their Death Note? Or are shinigami immune to attachment?"
Light stiffened. He regarded Ryuuzaki and Rem from the corner of his eye.
"If such an attachment was to form between a shinigami and a human, the life of the shinigami would be in danger. If the human's life is threatened and the shinigami interferes in anyway that would lengthen a human's lifespan, then the shinigami will die."
"Interesting," replied Ryuuzaki. He rolled a panda cookie between his fingers.
Light relaxed. There was nothing in what Rem had said that would lead Ryuuzaki to suspect that Rem herself cared for a human deeply.
"And is that the only way for a shinigami to die?" asked Ryuuzaki, biting off the head of a panda cracker.
"No," answerer Rem, but did not elaborate. Ryuuzaki glanced up from his bag of cookies.
"Is it possible for a human to kill you," he asked calmly.
Rem scowled. "No. The only other way for a shinigami to die is if a shinigami neglects to write the names of humans in their notebook."
"Why is that?" questioned Ryuuzaki.
"However much longer the human's natural lifespan is upon their death, whether it be months or decades, is added to the lifespan of the shinigami. If a shinigami does not write the names of humans in their notebook, the shinigami will eventual die at the end of their lifespan."
"Hmm, how very interesting," replied Ryuuzaki.
Light studied the detective from the corner of his eye. There wasn't anything that the detective could glean from Rem's answers. Perhaps Ryuuzaki was merely curious about the death god.
"Are the shinigami a social bunch?" asked Ryuuzaki. Light noticed the detective had begun building a tower out of small cream containers.
"It depends on the individual. I, myself, am not. I prefer to stay away from the other shinigami," said Rem.
"I imagine it would get lonely, all by yourself," remarked Ryuuzaki lightly, placing another cream on his tower.
Rem didn't say anything in response. Light turned slightly in his seat. What was the man playing at? Why would he care if a death god was lonely? Where were these questions leading to, and could it possible incriminate Light or Misa in some way?
"Personally, I would be bored without another person to conversate with," continued Ryuuzaki.
Light winced. Who the hell would say - he hated it when someone made up - ugh . . . conversate?
"Ryuuzaki, 'conversate' is not a word," Light said through gritted teeth. He may have been angrier than what the situation called for, but he absolutely despised that particular pseudo-word. Of course, he hadn't heard someone use it in years, but still . . .
The detective merely quirked his head. "Yes, I am aware of that Light-kun. However, I find that language is constantly changing. I would be doing mankind a disservice if I did not endeavor to help the evolution of modern language by contributing new and interesting words."
Light froze, the detective's words slowly penetrating his mind.
Ryuuzaki's answer had struck a chord within him. Those words . . . that argument . . . it seemed so familiar. He was suddenly hit with a violent sense of déjà vu. It was almost as if they had had this conversation before, but no, there was only . . . one person . . . that he could remember that would say something- that had said something- . . . . . . .
Light turned in his chair to stare at the curious detective sitting on the other side of the room.
No . . . it couldn't be.
Light paused, his mind coming to a screeching halt as he stared at Ryuuzaki, before lurching from his chair, staring at the detective in abject horror. It couldn't be! It couldn't possibly be!
Ryuuzaki, for his part, leaned back from Light's maddened stare, eyes widening slightly.
"Are you not a fan of evolution, Raito-kun?" asked the detective innocently.
Light stumbled to the detective, who in turn pulled his knees tighter against his chest, tensing. Light stopped inches away from Ryuuzaki, staring down at the man sitting on the couch with wide, almost crazed, eyes.
It was the detective's guarded eyes that he took in first. At first glance, most anyone would have trouble distinguishing their true color. Ryuuzaki's eyes seemed black, and Light had originally assumed they were, but if you looked closely enough, you could see the dark grey that lined the abnormally large pupils.
The hair was another give away. Black, messy, naturally windswept. Not many people had hair with so much character.
And then it was the little things. The love of sweets. Constructing tiny towers out of sugar cubs, marshmallows, even cream containers. The way he chicken pecked the keyboard with two fingers. The way his head quirked slightly whenever he was curious. He hated shoes. He was blunt almost to the point of being rude. He was paler, the rings under his eyes were darker, he was taller and more hunched than ever before, but despite all this, he was exactly the same.
And Light hadn't realized any of it until the very moment that the detective had uttered the detested word that had once upon a time managed to get Light into his fair share of arguments - conversate - that blasted three syllable noise masquerading as the favored imaginary word of . . .
But he was supposed to be dead. Why wasn't he dead?
"Is there a reason you are staring at me, Raito-kun? I must admit, your sudden fascination with my person is slightly unsettling," said Ryuuzaki, his eyes wary.
He didn't answer, and despite Ryuuzaki's question, Light continued to stare. What could he say? What the fuck could he even say? So many questions ran through his head, but the only thing he could even manage to push past his lips was . . . .
"L Lawliet?"
Light was once again by himself, brooding over the predicament that L had left him in.
After the death of Higuchi and the introduction of the Death Note into the Kira investigation, L had dedicated a lengthy amount of time to both the study of the Death Note and the questioning of the shinigami Rem.
Light was thankful that he had yet to contact Misa about digging up the other notebook. If he already had Misa writing down the names of criminals again, then it would have inevitably led Rem to writing L's real name down in her notebook to protect Misa.
Light shivered. Yes, it had been very, very close.
But now . . . .
Twenty three days.
That was how far in the future the Death Note could control its victims, and according to the detective, L was now 65% sure that Light was not the first Kira. L also theorized that Light had somehow been controlled by the original Kira from the beginning, which had led L to believe that Light was the real Kira, when in fact he had only been a proxy.
Of course, L being L, he had to go into great detail on how exactly Light, and for that matter Misa Amane, was just one of the serial killer's puppets whose sole purpose was to take the fall for being Kira.
So, in lieu of taking Light's confession at face value, L decided that the safest option was to wait until the twenty three days had passed.
If Light wasn't dead sometime within the next twenty three days at the hand of Kira, then L would further investigate the possibilities of Light truly being Kira. His other theories ranged from Light still being under the control of Kira through means L was unfamiliar with, to, and Light had to stifle a laugh borne out of frustration with this one, that Light was a follower of Kira and was sacrificing himself on his own accord for his idol.
And if Light was dead within twenty three days, then L assured him that the detective would be very upset at losing his friend and would stop it nothing to catch Kira in order to avenge his death.
Everything L said made perfect, logical sense. It was because of this that Light acquired an overwhelming urge to slam his head against a wall.
Twenty three days. That was all that stood between Light and death, or if L still refused to believe him, then further confinement and investigation. Of course, Light knew the detective wouldn't make a move until he had all the answers he was looking for, so it could be longer.
He sighed. There was really no use for it. Light would have to tell the detective the whole story starting with him finding the notebook. Hopefully if Light told L the location of the second notebook, then L would forego his other theories and skip the twenty three day wait, but then again, this was Lawli.
Wait! Rem! Of course, why didn't he think of it? He could have Rem prove to L that what he said was true. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? Surely the detective would be forced to act if the shinigami confirmed that Light was indeed Kira. Now all he had to do was get the detective and the death god in the room with him, possibly even the rest of the task force too.
With this in mind, Light smiled. Soon he wouldn't be such a liability to humanity anymore.
. . . and Lawli would be safe.
"I have my suspicions, after all, he knows his real name, but the boy has not said a word as to how."
"Continue to keep the situation under control, my friend. He must not know Yagami's true identity."
"But what if the boy was to -"
"Then I would expect you to take care of it. If the boy has made the connection, then he must be silenced at all costs. I will not see all of our hard work be for naught."
"Yes, I understand, but -"
"Don't tell me you're becoming soft."
A pause. The figure shifted the phone.
"Of course not."
"Good, see that you don't. Keep me informed. You know what to do if things start to deviate from the plan."
"I do."
"Yes, and I will contact you in three days. This situation might be too far gone already. It would be wise of you to start planning for the boy's demise immediately."
"I understand."
"See that you do."
EDITED: 7-3-09
A/N: Yes, there aren't any Lawli and Light flashbacks in this one, unfortunately, but we had a pesky plot bunny lay an egg at the end, didn't we! Yippiee! I hope everyone enjoy how Light found out Ryuuzaki was Lawli! I mentioned in earlier flashbacks of Light and Lawli of Lawli's habit of making up words to bug Light.
I HAVE A SHOUT OUT!
I just recently read an up and coming new fic called Hacker of the Past by frnight. I am absolutely stunned by the quality of this writer's work! I seriously haven't run across a story this good in a long time! It's an AU, with Light being a criminal hacker screwing with the world's governments and L on the case trying to catch him. Very very awesome, and it never gets boring for even a second. Please go check it out if you're in the mood for a good story! It's saved under my favorite stories!
Okay you guys, y'all know the drill, SAY SOMETHING!