Brightest Star of All

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Ryuzaki (or any other characters, for
that matter).

This is the second story which L shared with me, from when he was working on a case in the States. It's not a very long one, but L never did waste words.

L was standing alone on the roof of his current hotel. It was night, and since he was in a rural area, quite dark. It was late enough that most of the townsfolk would be in their homes. The air was a bit chilly, but not cold, even though it was almost winter.

Because there was no moon, the stars were visible. They shone like diamonds upon a swathe of black velvet. L scanned the sky and was able to pick out different pictures - constellations, as they were called. Canis Major and Minor were the dogs. Cancer the crab. Gemini, which is made up of the twins Castor and Pollux. And of course - Orion the Hunter, standing proudly in the heavens. The constellation itself was quite large, and L could just make out the third star in the sword by squinting his eyes.

To be honest, it actually wasn't even a star at all. Given the name Messier 42, the Great Orion Nebula was composed of a group of stars - a trapezium - lighting up clouds of dust and gas. It functioned as a nursery for young stars and helped them grow into the supergiants they were destined to become. "Much like the orphanage where I grew up", L thought. "A home for those who are in ways greater than the rest of their species."

And there was another similarity between those stars and him. Stars eventually destroy themselves by doing what they are supposed to do, fusing elements. He, the greatest detective, by solving cases, creates enemies who wish to take him down. And when he is taken down, eliminated, killed, he shall go down like a supernova. A star whose demise is not noticed for many years because of wide expanse of space. In this way, he won't ever be missed by the very people he serves. But he will leave behind a legacy - a remnant of himself to light up the void of his absence.

Enough talk of death. As of now, I am still alive. I really should choose my successor, though…. L slowly returned from his musings.

At the edge of the horizon, L could glimpse the oncoming dawn. It had to be around three in the morning. He had been outside for much longer than he thought. His musings finished, he headed back inside to where his latest case lay quietly waiting to be solved. His clients, on the other hand, weren't so patient.

"Back to work it is, then."

Of course, we know that L never did choose a successor, instead he had two, M and N. And they lived up to his name, didn't they?

This just came from a headcanon I had about L. I wanted him to know a thing or
two about an object in the sky, so I picked the Orion Nebula, which is my
personal favorite. Please do review, I would greatly appreciate it. Hope you enjoyed reading, and have a blessed rest of your day!