Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. Spoilers for series.
A/N- I hope that I am not losing readers with my plotting. Please leave me feedback because I do not want to write a story that isn't any good. Please, please review!
Thank you to all those who reviewed last chapter. I appreciate it so much!
-Everything to Save-
Chapter 10 –
The park was almost empty as L walked through the winding pathway that led into the woods. Up ahead, he could see three teenage boys standing around in a circle. The detective squinted; they all seemed vaguely familiar to him. As he came upon them, they broke out of their circle and stared at him seriously, though the one in black leather and blonde hair called out his name, and ran over and hugged him.
"Mello? Is that you?" L asked in bewilderment, as they parted from the hug. The teen looked about five years older than the young boy he knew from Whammy's House, plus this teen's skin was grayish and he had a bad scar on the right side of his face.
As the teen nodded somberly, L looked over at the other two teens. One was wearing goggle like glasses and had pinkish hair, there was blood from the bullet holes that covered his striped shirt and vest, and his face was streaked with blood. "Damn buggers made me waste my last smoke," he said weakly.
"Matt?" L whispered, as the teen nodded in agreement then stumbled back against Mello who did his best to hold him up. How could these two boys be standing here talking to him when they looked like walking corpses? L thought in horror.
The last boy looked like a ghostly apparition due to his white pajamas, skin, and hair but seemed like nothing was wrong with him. He wore a crown on his head and on closer inspection; there was embroidery on his shirt that said "L, The Second"
'I hadn't made my choice of who would succeed me yet. What is going on here with my possible successors?' L thought, an uneasy feeling coming over him.
"Why are you all here? It's a long way from England to Japan," L said, as he nervously brought his thumbnail to his lip and chewed it, staring at his three potential successors, until his dark eyes met the crowned white-headed boy's similar ones. "Why are you wearing that shirt and crown, Near?" he asked.
"Because I will soon be the only true L," Near responded seriously, as he twirled a strand of his white hair around his index finger.
"How can you be the L, Near? I am still alive and you are supposed to be just a small boy right now. You are not ready yet, nor had I made my decision," L said looking over to the other two teens in bewilderment.
All these boys grown, while in real life they were still minors. L realized that he was seeing them as their future selves. So that meant that Matt and Mello must be………….
"Big-headed twit Near is the only one of the three of us to survive against Kira, though he couldn't have won without Matt's and my help," Mello said sharply, as he gave the white-haired boy a jealous glance.
Near ignored Mello's glance and looked at L seriously. "If you want to survive, please do not let Yagami Light gain control of the notebook again. Watch for torn pages and pieces of note. Rule 13- it is a fake rule, so is the rule that if you burn the notebooks everyone who had contact with it will die," Near said, his dark eyes meeting L's.
L rubbed his thumb against his lip. "What kind of notebook and rules are you talking about, Near? Where can I find it and how does Light-kun use it to kill with?" he asked seriously.
Suddenly, the three teens vanished leaving L alone in the forest. Scraps of paper began to rain down on L until they covered the floor of the forest. As L bent down to retrieve one of the scraps of paper, he felt something hit his head with a loud smack before bouncing off and landing on the ground below.
L bent down and reached for the item that had hit him. 'What in the world is this? 'he thought as he realized it was a black notebook with the words "Death Note," written on its cover.
The detective picked it up and began to flip through the pages. It was filled with the names of criminals. L's stomach dropped as he saw the names of Lind. L Taylor, Ray Penbar and the rest of the FBI agents sent to Japan. Then he found Naomi Misora's name, her cause of death was Suicide: death by hanging. L clenched his fist and felt undeniable sadness wash over him at the thought of her being killed by Kira. She was a brilliant agent and a remarkable person. It was not fair for her or any of these people to die like this.
"Light-kun killed all these people just by writing their names down in this notebook?" L said aloud to himself. He did not really want to believe it; he did not want to think of Light killing people so cruelly.
A sound of laughter in the distance made L look up, as a second notebook landed at L's feet. Picking it up gingerly between thumb and forefinger, he knew that this had to be Misa's notebook. He looked up from the two notebooks in his hands and saw two monstrous figures in the distance, both over seven feet tall.
"Death gods! My Lord, those must be Gods of Death," L whispered to himself, as he fell to his knees at the sight of them, his heart racing out of control, both notebooks falling out of his hands.
Suddenly, the two monstrous looking Gods stood towering over him. L looked up helplessly, noting that the one that was bone-white picked up one of the notebooks and looked down at L.
"L Lawliet, beware of causing any harm to Misa, such as prosecuting her for any crimes. It is Yagami Light who she has sworn to please. If you let harm come to Misa, I will have no choice put to write your name in this notebook," the bony creature replied in a fierce voice.
"You really do exist! I thought it was just a Japanese myth," L whispered, his dark eyes wide. "Tell me Death God, what is your name?" he asked.
"We prefer being called 'shinigami' and I am the shinigami called 'Rem." I am loyal to Misa and nobody else." she replied firmly.
As L stared at Rem, the other shinigami bent down in front of the detective. L looked into the creature's red glowing eyes and sharp razor like teeth. The shinigami was dressed in black with a motorcycle like belt and tough demeanor. "So you must be Light-kun's shinigami?" L asked as he looked at the shinigami's long claw like hands.
Suddenly the shinigami started laughing uncontrollably. "Yes I'm Ryuk, and you're as good as dead, L." the shinigami said between laughter, as he swiped his claws at the detective.
L screamed.
OOOoooOOO
L woke to find himself lying on the floor and to someone screaming before he realizing that it was him.
Immediately the door to the extra bedroom opened and Watari was at his side.
"What is it, L?" the old man asked, as he grabbed the detective's shaking hands and held them tightly. "Are you alright, my boy?"
"I had another dream, Watari. If it's true, there is no doubt that Light-kun is Kira," L whispered to the old man.
"I thought you had already concluded that outcome, L." Watari responded.
"Correct, but now I know how he kills," L replied, as the old man's eyes widen in surprise. He went on to describe the entire dream to Watari, who listened intently.
"These dreams I'm having- what if they are misleading me? How do I know what to believe?" L asked Watari, looking up at the man with torment in his eyes.
"Follow your heart, L. If you can find these notebooks, then you will know that your dreams are true," Watari responded, his eyes meeting L's.
L chewed on his thumbnail deep in thought before answering. "Yes, a supernatural killing notebook would explain how Light-kun and Misa-san were able to kill without being there, and supposedly Misa has the eyes of a Death God," L mused.
L held on to Watari, as both men got to their feet and sat down in the two armchairs that were in the guest bedroom where L had gone to get some rest and recover from his hang-over after taking some ribbing from Mogi and Matsuda. In addition, L had felt decidedly more nauseous after listening to Light-kun make sweet talk to Misa as he planned a date with her. His nap was interrupted by more of those strange dreams.
"The notebook is the source of power that makes Light-kun 'Kira". The question remains though- would Light have resorted to killing without the notebook? Or was he unlucky enough to be the one who happened to find the notebook and being the curious youth that he is- tried it out and became addicted to it?" L replied, as he hunched in the chair his left hand tapping long fingers against his knee.
"Perhaps it became like a drug to him," Watari agreed.
"Whatever the case, I must make sure that I find the notebook and keep it from Light-kun. He must have planned ahead and passed the notebook and the power to go with it to someone inside the yotsuba group and so has lost his memories and power and is no longer 'Kira". That is why Light keeps vehemently denying that he is Kira. I must find the individual who has the notebook now and once I do, I will have the evidence I need to convict them," L spoke rapidly, his mind working over-time, excited by all the new theories.
"Slow down, my boy," Watari gently replied. "Are you sure you're ready to sentence Yagami Light, perhaps to his death?"
L looked sad as he brought his thumb and rubbed it against his bottom lip.. "I don't wish to convict Light-kun. It's Kira who I want to prosecute and bring to justice, but if he no longer exists in Light then I'm not sure what to do," he replied somberly.
Watari, being a keen observer of L, studied the young man for a moment. "Are you in love with Yagami Light, L?" he asked carefully, knowing the answer but wanting to see how his ward would respond.
L sighed as he mulled over Watari's question. "I don't want to discuss my possible feelings for Light-kun. He's still my suspect and…things have become complicated between us to say the least,"
"I've been observing Yagami Light and I realize that he's your suspect, and was your adversary, but the boy's feelings seem to have changed towards you. You must be blind not to realize that he wants you not only to believe that he's not Kira, but he desires you as a lover." Watari replied, reaching out and gripping L by his shoulders and staring the detective in the eyes.
To his surprise, L blushed and arched his eyebrow at Watari. "Remember when I asked you to equip all rooms with surveillance cameras except my own personal quarters? I demanded that despite the possible dangers- that I wanted my privacy, remember? Unfortunately, circumstances made it necessary for Light-kun to sleep since I chained him to me. I cannot remember what happened last night after I returned home. You didn't per chance install a camera in my room after all?" L asked.
Watari looked away from L and down at the floor, before looking back sheepishly at his ward.
OOOoooOOO
Light sighed, as he got ready for his date with Misa. Matsuda was chained to him and annoyed him by talking non-stop.
"What's the matter, Light-kun? You don't seem very eager to see Misa-Misa," Matsuda asked, as he leaned over and looked at Light.
Light forced a smile. "You're mistaken, Matsuda-san. I'm very eager to see Misa." He then focused his attention back to his appearance.
"Oh. Sorry about that, Light-kun. My mistake," Matsuda replied, then turned as Ryuzaki and Watari walked into the bedroom.
"Are you feeling better, Ryuzaki?" the young task force member asked.
At hearing Ryuzaki's name, Light immediately spun around in his chair and looked over at the detective. He could have sworn that the older man blushed at him as he briefly met Light's eyes then quickly looked away.
L looked over at Matsuda and nodded. "Yes, Matsuda-san. It seems that a nap was all I needed to bring me to my senses," he replied. "In fact, I feel well enough to accompany Light on his date with Misa tonight," he replied, while Watari walked over to Matsuda, and unlocked the disappointed young detective from Light.
Nobody noticed the triumphant smile that passed over Light's face, until Ryuzaki turned to look at him and stared at him quizzically. The teen quickly dropped his smile. He did not want Ryuzaki to know that he was secretly pleased. Instead, he set his face into a scowl as Watari connected Ryuzaki to Light.
Light turned to Watari. "Why does anyone have to accompany me?" he asked.
"You are still Ryuzaki's suspect, Yagami-kun. You have already been told the details of your situation to which you agreed," Watari said firmly.
Light turned to look at Ryuzaki. "You can watch through the surveillance camera since you are a voyeur," Light sneered at Ryuzaki. He was still hurt that the detective had been so intimate with him last night and then didn't remember it, also he wondered why Ryuzaki would have come on to him right after a date with another man. Light was upset that he let the detective take advantage of him, but the teen had enjoyed every minute of it.
"That may be your incorrect opinion, Light-kun, but as long as you are my suspect this is necessary," L said, as he held up his chained wrist.
"Well, let's go then. I can't wait to see Misa." Light lied, as he took off towards the door and to Misa's floor, dragging Ryuzaki uncomfortably behind him.
As the two men left, Matsuda remarked. "Light-kun didn't seem the least bit excited to see Misa before you chained him to Ryuzaki,"
Watari sighed. "That young man is confused about what he wants,"
To be continued-
A/N – Please review: )