In Another's Shoes:
Summary: A short trip outside of the investigation headquarters has several unforeseen side effects for Light, L, and Misa. Each is forced to learn and adapt to their new situations, whether they like it or not.
Disclaimer: Death Note is the copyrighted property of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, not me. If I owned Death Note I would be the happiest person on this beautiful little planet. But I'm not the happiest person on the planet, and therefore it is not mine.
Chapter Five:
As L stared into the familiar blue eyes of the petite blond model standing before him, he pondered the situation. Misa stood before him, but something was off. The girl had an uncharacteristically serious expression twisting the pretty features her face, suspicion practically oozing from her flawless skin in viscous waves. Her eyes were narrowed, brows furrowed with eminent distrust. Gone were all the bubbles and blushes and giggles that L had grown accustomed to enduring from day to day. Even her body language was different, much more defensive and assertive. She looked like a lioness, ready to spring for his throat at the twitch of a hair. Neither of the two blinked, neither displayed weakness.
"Who are you?!" She whispered; even her voice was changed. It held none of its normal feminine drama, no shocked disbelief. This new Misa spoke low in her throat, in a whisper that rang with more power than any shout. The very softness of her tone demanded an answer.
L just stared, his face impassive, though anyone who knew him well enough would recognize that his silence was a thoughtful one. His hands, shoved deep in his pockets, tapped his sides in an unconscious habit. He was used to moving them while he thought; they were always busy stirring a cup of coffee, stacking candies, typing, or delicately lifting documents up to his face.
"I said, who are you?! What are you?! Answer me!" Oh my, the detective recognized that tone, that stance. Now this was interesting, very interesting. In seconds, L's mind had already considered and rejected a number of theories, though he already had a rather strong hunch as to which was correct. If he was now, in all appearances, Light Yagami; then Light must be… Oh this was interesting indeed. L's thumb snaked up out of his pocket towards his lips as he finally responded to the enraged blond in front of him.
"I would have thought Raito-kun would have already comprehended the situation by now."
The girl's face once again lost all color, but through the shock, her eyes glimmered with recognition, no small amount of surprise, and comprehension.
"Ryuuzaki?" She said it slowly, cautiously, the mind behind her blank face working a mile a minute, just as L's had not a moment ago. L only nodded in reply.
"Then that must mean that…" She trailed off, glancing back at the unconscious form passed out in the bathroom.
"It appears Misa-san has not taken the situation rather well. I think we should wake her up before discussing this matter any further."
Light agreed, eyes still distant, and the two moved to pick up the unconscious man's body, hauling the limp form toward the bed. It was clear Light was having a harder time with the heavy lifting. As they were doing so, L glanced over at Light, and paused. Light lifted his head, eyes asking quizzically why they were stopping.
"Raito-kun, aren't you a little bit drafty in that?"
Light looked down, as if first really comprehending the clothing (or lack of it) that he was wearing. His face flushed a dark crimson, his eyes flashing in fury before he again regained control over his nastier emotions, burying them with a practiced ease. Light knew that if he hadn't been busy carrying Misa's new body at that moment, he would have definitely punched L, which would have started a fight; a fight he probably would not have won. His usual stamina, strength, speed, reflexes and height were now completely lost to him. He frowned, looking down in disgust at Misa's small delicate hands and soft, feminine curves. It was very humiliating, being in a girl's body, a weak body. Light hated feeling weak.
Light lifted the jean-clad legs in his grip higher, taking up more of the burden in a fit of stubborn determination. Light Yagami wasn't weak.
….A moment later, light's knees buckled a bit under the additional weight, forcing him to give up a portion of his load. Even if Light Yagami wasn't weak, Amane Misa definitely was.
After the two had successfully transferred Misa to the bed, Light strode calmly and evenly (no matter how fast he wanted to dash, he still had his dignity) over to the large wardrobe to put on some decent clothing. He made sure not to look in the mirror on the door as he opened it. It was just too disconcerting, seeing Misa there.
Light silently dreaded the time when he would first have to test his new 'plumbing'. Hopefully, not for a few hours at least…
At that, his bowels twinged forebodingly.
Oh god...
Misa awoke, for the second time that morning, in an unfamiliar bed. Her head ached from where it had hit the cold bathroom tiles. Her head was still fuzzy, her memories foggy and vague. What had she been doing? How had she gotten here? She groaned slightly and buried her face back in the warm and all-too-inviting pillow. She heard, from a few meters away, voices held in quiet discussion. At the sound of her moan of pain and confusion, the conversation stopped. When the voices spoke again, it was in whispers, which she was only just able to discern.
"… I think I should wake her, Raito-kun. If she sees you immediately after rising, she may fall back into hysterics."
Misa buried her head farther into the soft fabric of the pillow, trying without luck to ignore the voices. She wanted so badly to fall back into that beautiful, warm, dreamless slumber. A hand gently fell on her shoulder and shook it slightly, interrupting her sluggish train of thought. However, when her love's angelic voice spoke above her, Misa's mind sprang immediately into gear.
"Amane-san, please wake up. There is much to be done, and you've been unconscious for a while." Light's voice was as smooth, perfect and calming as ever. Misa felt a rush of love and affection fill her heart while hormones pumped into her blood. The combination woke her better than even the finest, most expensive coffee.
Light was here! He was so kind and compassionate to care for Misa enough to come wake her up. Misa's let loose a brilliant smile as she propelled her body from out of the covers and into a high-velocity hug, squealing her joy. She threw her arms up over Light's head, snuggling up to his firm chest while clasping her hands high enough to feel the silky hairs that reached down his perfect neck. After a good affectionate squeeze, Misa gazed up into her love's gorgeous eyes, looking up through her lashes as seductively as she could.
Her boyfriend's face was as emotionless as ever, though he looked just a bit… disturbed. Anyone with less emotional control would have read as being completely creeped out.
Misa just smiled and giggled and declared her undying love for her wonderful boyfriend. After a few minutes of this, she looked down at him, frowning.
"Raito, why are you wearing Ryuuzaki-san's clothes? They're disgusting."
Still expressing that same non-emotion, he replied in complete monotone;
"That's because I am Ryuuzaki, Misa-san."
She stared at him, brows cinched together. "Raito, that's crazy! Has Ryuuzaki given you drugs? Has he?! I knew that pervert was going too far!" She surveyed the room, looking for the scruffy detective who was surely the cause of the matter. Nobody drugged her Raito and got away with it! Her eyes rested, however, on someone who was completely unexpected.
This someone was a girl who looked identical to Misa, from her slim, yet curvy figure to the silky blond hair that cascaded down her back. She was, however, dressed in a tomboyish fashion, wearing loose, plain jeans that showed none of her curves as well as a boy's collared shirt. The girl's hair was tied back in a neat, loose ponytail.
For a moment, Misa just stared, wide-eyed and puzzled at her carbon copy, before her mind reached what seemed like the only logical explanation.
She gasped softly "Does Misa have a twin sister? Misa never knew!" She ran over to the girl, looking her over from all angles in wonderment and awe.
"What's your name? Wow, we really do look alike! It's so amazing! Where did you grow up? How many centimeters tall are you? I bet we even share the same cup size…" The questions and comments flew out of her mouth at such a speed that it was astonishing that she could still be understood. The Other-Misa did not answer anything, and showed no reaction at all to the inspection. Finally, Light turned and interrupted Misa's inquisitive babble.
"I am sorry, Misa-san, but you do not have a twin sister."
Misa's eyes became even rounder at that.
"Eeeeh? But she looks just like me! Is she my twin cousin? A clone?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Misa noticed the chain that ran between the girl and Light, linking them together.
"Raito, why is she chained to you? I thought you were always chained to Ryuuzaki… And where is he, anyways? I bet he's spying on us!"
The Misa-Twin-Or-Possible-Clone finally turned and looked at Misa, her expression revealing nothing.
"But I am chained to Ryuuzaki, Misa."
Misa just blinked her confusion. She looked back and forth between them, from Light to the Misa-Clone and back. She clearly was missing something here. Light spoke to the Misa-Clone;
"I believe the easiest way to get this over with, Raito-kun, would be to show her. We do not have all day to explain this situation. The investigation team will be arriving."
"But we also do not have all day for her hysterics, Ryuuzaki. We can't have her fainting again." This was said by the Misa-Clone.
"Then we shall have to break it to her gently, then. Will Raito-kun do the honors? After all, Misa-chan is his girlfriend…" The last remark was almost mocking.
"Shut it, Ryuuzaki." Was the scathing reply.
Misa puzzled as the other two spoke. The longer the conversation went on, the more confused she got. Why was Raito referring to himself in the third person now? Why was the Misa-twin calling Raito 'Ryuuzaki'? Why was she talking in such a masculine way(a)? Why was he calling the Misa-clone 'Raito'? What was going on? Misa sat, her brows furrowed in thought, trying to figure out what was going on. Nothing seemed to make sense. Perhaps Ryuuzaki had drugged her Light. Maybe Ryuuzaki had drugged Misa too... That's right, Misa was probably hallucinating right now. This was all to strange to be real.
Misa was snapped out of her thoughts when the Misa-clone-girl approached her, one hand held behind her back. The other was pointing to herself.
"Misa, I am Raito, and that," Indicating the auburn-haired boy beside her, "Is Ryuuzaki. We have all, for some inexplicable reason, switched bodies."
Misa just stared.
"You see, you are no longer yourself either." The girl held up the mirror to rest in front of Misa's face.
Black eyes, rimmed with flesh scarred from years of sleeplessness, stared back at her, widened in surprise. Black, sleep-mussed hair fell over a familiar, pallid white face.
After a long moment, Misa blinked.
The eyes blinked.
Misa reached a hand up to her face.
A pale, long-fingered hand appeared in the mirror, exactly copying her movement.
As the mirror-Ryuuzaki poked his cheek, Misa felt the impact.
No.
For the second time that morning, Misa screamed.
Thankfully, Misa's hysterics quieted considerably after the small mirror, and with it the harsh reality of her new features, was removed from her sight. Over the course of a half-hour, Light and L not only managed to sooth the shaken model, but also to get her to accept the situation with only a minimum of panicky disbelief. She was still shocked, confused and horrified, but she was intelligent enough not to deny it.
The trio had then made their way to one of the small living-room style rooms that were interspersed throughout the headquarters.
L had then chained Light to the sofa, and had excused himself. Light entertained himself by stretching languidly across the cushions, acting for all the world like it had been his decision to stay on the couch, and could leave at any time if he wished to. Still unused to thinking of her apparent clone as Light yet, Misa went immediately for a special cabinet filled with popular magazines that were kept there specifically for her. Watari always kept it stocked with the newest editions. For a while, Misa forgot her new freakish transformation, happily immersing herself in gossip and scandal.
L arrived a long while later, accompanied by Watari. The old man was pushing a cart bedecked with plates of steaming, freshly prepared eggs, bacon and toast, and (of course) a selection of cakes and sweets. L sat down in his usual crouched position, which looked all the more unnatural since it was Light executing it, while Watari began to set out the plates. Light quirked an eyebrow when Watari happened to serve each person the appropriate fare (a hearty breakfast for him, reduced portions of food to Misa, cake to the inhuman gargoyle and coffee for all). L must have convinced Watari of his identity and the situation, which would explain his extended absence. They were all ravenous (even Misa, who had for the last week been keeping a steady diet) and dug into the food in silence. Only when their plates were empty and cleared away by Watari did the three begin to talk. L began.
"Well, this is certainly an odd circumstance, and I am not quite sure what to make of it. This is supposed to be impossible, but then again, so is then event of massive amounts of criminals being stricken with heart attacks over a great distance. We should attempt to determine the cause of this, and then look into if it is reversible. We can determine what to do about the rest of the investigation team from there."
Light cringed at the thought of his father seeing him like…. Like this. Of anybody seeing him like this. He felt weird, disconcerted, and worst of all, he had to pee. He had been taught about the female anatomy, sure, but it was another thing entirely to have to learn how to use it himself. What made it worse (if this whole thing could get any worse), was that if he had any…. problems, he would have to ask Misa for help, and Misa was inhabiting the body of L. He shuddered internally at the image of L explaining (or worse demonstrating) to him the proper way to clasp a bra.
Talk about creepy.
Not that Light was ignorant about the subject. He'd had plenty of girlfriends before, and he had learned just how to please them. Light, himself, took more pleasure in manipulating them, influencing them, making them love him. It was always so easy, it almost made him sneer in disgust…
Light's thought was interrupted by a high-pitched squeal, coming from Misa. He turned to face her to see her staring down at her hand, surprise evident on 'her' new features. Rather, she was not looking at her entire hand, so much as the ring laying on its finger.
"Raito, Ryuuzaki, the rings! Look, look at them!"
Light realized what she was getting at as soon as he looked down at his. A thrill jolted its way up his spine.
The ring he was wearing was the same one he had put on last night, translucent inscribed with a symbol in deep crimson.
He was in Misa's body, therefore his ring should be pink.
Yet, here was his own ring, gleaming glassy and crimson in the light. Light looked over at L, whose auburn head was lowered, staring intently at his ring, fingers splayed wide. He examined it, pulled it off and twirled it around in his fingers. After a few seconds of this, his ring slowly began to lose its golden color, the metallic sheen draining away into neutral white.
L, observing this new development, held out his ring, and indicated for Light to exchange his for the one now resting in L's palm. Light slipped the gold band off of his now slender, well-manicured digit and handed it to L. The detective now wore Light's ring and Light similarly put on the ring L handed to him. Color slowly returned to the rings under the trio's watchful gaze. The band on L's finger turned bright gold and Light's to a familiar glassy translucence.
During the next half hour, the three experimented with the rings. They tried swapping rings in various ways, putting them on different fingers, slipping all three rings on one finger at once. It seemed that, no matter which rings were used or how many, the rings would change into the colors indicating the person whose mind inhabited the finger they rested on.
Though the three of them experimented with the rings as thoroughly as they could, their real concern was what they were going to do while in each others' bodies. Having no idea how long this would last, or if it would change, the trio agreed that it was best to make plans assuming that their 'displacement' was not going to reverse any time soon, and to react to any further surprises as they came.
But first things first, L removed the handcuff from the leg of the couch and attached it to his wrist, just where it belonged.
(a)In Japanese, there are both feminine and masculine ways of speaking. Generally, girls are suppose to speak more politely and use longer and more intricate forms of verbs (the longer a word, the more formal it is) while boys use shorter forms of the same words. There are also male and female ways of referring to oneself.
Sorry it took so long to get out with this new chapter, but a few things interfered with my progress. Life and its difficulties, writers block and an insane craving for Harry Potter Fanfiction, to be specific. But now I am back, and I promise my (very few fans) that they will see the end of this story, one way or another!
You see, I have a policy that any fanfiction writer who abandons a story should, at the very least, write out a brief summary of the rest of the story, all the way to the end. There is nothing worse than reading a good fanfic and getting to the last update, only to realize that you'll never, ever know what would've happened. Never.
So, be gladdened to know that I won't just leave this story to go to pot. I may not update for months on end, but if I end this story, I'll end it.
Remember, reviews are an author's inspiration!