May 28, 2011
8:33:31 PM

L's head was spinning.

"Then... what is your real name?" he asked in a whisper.

Mido paused before answering.

"Edward. My real name is Edward Rothschild."

He said it as though that explained it all.

And, amazingly, that was as much information as L would have ever needed.

Even that close to death, L's mind worked amazingly fast to place the name.

Edward Takeshi Rothschild: his billionaire father, James, had been a member of the English parliament, and his mother, Yumi (whose maiden name was Mido), had been a descendent of Japanese nobility. They'd lived in Dover and London until their son was thirteen.

Until they'd been killed.

The official story was that it had been a car accident - and technically it was. But very few car accidents involve bullets and a member of the government.

MI6, the English equivilant of the CIA, knew that it wasn't a true accident, but even then they were completely baffled. Although they had their resources and manpower, they were unable to track anyone down as the culprit.

That was where L came into play. Sure enough, he caught the person responsible - a native New Yorker named Lind Tailor. Later, L would use him as bait to prove that Kira was in Japan, but... that was getting off-track.

It said in a file somewhere that when Edward had learned of his parents' fate, he developed a strong will to survive - after the initial shock had worn off, the police said he'd been intent to learn how to defend himself. For a few days he was protected in police custody, and then he was given an alias that L was never told and taken to the closest thing he had to family, in Japan. His mother's cousin, Eigo Mido, essentially became his guardian, and it was practically guarenteed that the boy would be safe.

Edward Rothschild nearly disappeared.

But then... incidents kept happening. There was a bomb on the subway that detonated just a few minutes after Edward's new "brother" would get off to head to his workplace. His "mother" received threatening emails from anonymous senders. His "father" was almost mugged. It got progressively worse, and L was told of every single thing that might have been relevent to the case. It was a good thing, too - he managed to trace the crime back to Tailor before any more real harm was done. Had it taken much longer, they all very well might have died.

But to L, that was the end of it. The case was closed, and the file belonging to it went in a cabinet somewhere to be forgotten.

And chances were, Edward Rothschild wouldn't have ever crossed his mind again.

"That's why you know karate and how to use a gun," L murmured. "That's how you were able to live underground this whole time without being paid. That's... that's why your so paranoid."

Mido was too busy trying to bandage L's stomach to look up. "Yes."

"That's why you lied..."

That caused the doctor's head to snap upward with an expression that was confused and almost horrified. "What?"

"You lied," L said simply, "when you were saying that you brought me back to catch Kira. You really did it because..."

Because I saved your life when you were thirteen.

Mido's face softened and he offered a small smile. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth... You saved me, I gave you another chance."

He turned back to his work. A few seconds later L felt a very distinct pain cutting through his abdomen, and he forced himself to hold back a small shriek.

"God dammit," Mido swore. "Ryuzaki, are you in a little bit of pain right now?"

"Only if the ocean contains a little bit of water," he retorted.

"...Point taken." Mido stood up and ran over to a cupboard. After digging around in it for a few seconds, he pulled out a syringe and a vial filled with clear liquid. "Do you know what this is?"

L guessed. "Insulin."

The uncharacteristic sarcasm was lost on the doctor. "Its a very strong sedative," Mido explained. "It will completely take away the pain, but it'll make you very tired; I'll give it to you only if you promise me that you'll try your best to remain conscious."

"I'll promise," L murmured back, "but only if you swear that, if you can't stop me from dying, you won't bring me back to life again."

L hadn't planned on saying that; it just came out. The instant he said it, though, he knew it was the right decision.

Anything to discourage Mido from bringing back another Light Yagami.

The doctor stared at him. "I swear I won't let you die again, but... in case it does happen... are you sure?"

L nodded.

"Alright then..." Mido said with sad eyes. "You have my word."

"And you have mine."

L was fairly sure that was a lie.

As much as Mido was optimistic, L was more inclined to look at the facts. He'd been shot in the stomach, punched, kicked, and hit on the head. He had been expecting that he'd be dead by now, and although he wasn't gone yet, he knew the odds he'd survive even to see May 29 were less than 5% and fading fast.

He barely noticed the needle being inserted into his arm. But he definitely noted the effects of the drug: even three seconds later, he felt significantly sleepier.

"Mido-san... were you telling the truth?"

"About what?"

Mido's face became blurry. "When you said that I was your friend."

"Of course I - dammit! You promised to stay awake!"

"I... am... awake..."

Things were fading fast.

"Mido... I..."

"Ryuzaki? Ryuzaki?"

The drug was too strong - now L could barely make out the outline of the doctor against the bright lights above his head.

"DAMMIT L, SAY SOMETHING!"

He had to speak. One last time.

"Just... thank... you."

"L!"

L didn't hear him anymore; only one distant, remeniscent thought passed through his mind before he gave in to the drug's effects.

I... I knew it...

I wasn't wrong...

And...

I...

Won...

Finally.

With a final shuddering breath, L closed his eyes.