Author's note: I'm sorry it took so long to get this out for you guys- orientation lasted for three days and I've been completely exhausted. I will do my best to catch up and get at least one chapter up a day. This one is shorter than usual, I'm afraid, but the next few should be longer. Also, for those who were not aware, the age of adulthood in Japan is 20.

December 20th, 2003

4:17 pm

"Light!" Paying no attention to the other men in the room, Soichiro Yagami crossed the room and enveloped his son in his arms tightly before drawing back and examining him closely to make sure that he was okay.

"I'm fine, Dad," Light said, smiling a little. "Really."

"Chief Yagami." Light's father turned to the man who had been standing next to his son, only now taking note of the mask. "I am L."

Soichiro drew fully away from his son and faced the detective seriously. "I would like an explanation for all of this."

L beckoned the two newcomers into the sitting area, and Watari moved to make tea for the conversation as they hesitantly followed him. L gave the two a brief run-down of the new developments in the Kira case and what it meant—or rather, he attempted to make it brief. Matsuda had a tendency to interrupt with questions, and it got to the point where L and the Chief had to order him to stop asking questions and simply listen through to the end.

When L finished, Soichiro was pale. "My son is being stalked by a mass murderer."

L's hand made that funny half-motion to touch the mask again. Light couldn't see glasses around the edge of the mask, so he guessed that L might have some sort of oral fixation. "Your son's help will be crucial in catching Kira."

"No." Soichiro said firmly. "I forbid it. I don't care if you're L, or Daneuve, or God. I will not have you endangering my son like that."

"Dad," Light said, placating, "I have to do this. It's me he's been after all of this time, I need to confront him!"

"I said no, Light!" Soichiro turned his intense stare to his son, and Light almost backed down under its weight. "You are 17. Until you are an adult, it is my job to make sure you are healthy and safe, and I will not allow you to be used as bait for a dangerous serial killer!"

"Just because I haven't reached majority doesn't mean that you can make all of my decisions for me!" Light finally shouted back at his father. "You're gone all of the time, risking your life, coming home in the middle of the night and leaving before anyone else is up. And why? Because you say that some things are worth fighting for—that justice, and making a better world, and stopping criminals, is worth fighting for. So don't be so hypocritical as to try and put your family before this investigation, when work has always come first with you!" Soichiro looked as if he had been slapped. Light continued, "I'm not asking for your permission, I'm asking you to help me with this. You don't have to, but I'm going to do it with or without your permission!"

The room went very quiet. Watari had stopped shuffling glasses in the small kitchenette; Matsuda looked as if he wanted to be swallowed by the sofa and never spat up. Even L looked a little bit tense, but it was impossible to tell his expression through the mask.

"I'm sorry," father and son said at the same time. Both looked a little startled, and hesitated.

"I'm sorry," Light repeated, "but I have to do this."

Soichiro nodded, looking pained. "I know. I don't like it, but I'll help you any way I can. I do love you, Light, and your mother and sister. Very much."

"Yeah," Light looked away, swallowing. "I know."

L coughed loudly. "...Now that we have your cooperation," L broke the awkward silence with his deadpan. "We should discuss the plan to actually catch Kira."

Watari entered then, setting down a tray of tea and cake, then, looking pointedly at L, removed his hat and sunglasses. He was an older man, but had the look of someone very sturdy. He had neatly trimmed white hair and classic glasses, and looked very much like a British gentleman.

Behind his mask, L heaved a heavy sigh. "I suppose you're right. I cannot expect you all to trust me with your lives when I have not revealed my own face." His pale hands slowly removed the mask.

Light's first thought was that L was much younger than he thought he would be. His second thought was that he had never seen someone quite as bizarrely attractive,. He quashed that thought quickly. His eyes were wild and dark, and the bags under them put Light to shame. His hair, whether from the mask or just in general, was exceptionally untidy.

"Light," he said abruptly, snapping him out of his thoughts, and Light's hand shot out instinctively to catch the cell phone that had been launched very quickly and forcefully at his face. L's lips quirked minutely for a fraction of a second. "Good reflexes."

"Thanks," Light muttered, still working off his shock. He's crazier than I thought.

"You are going to answer that phone when it rings tonight," L said. Light tensed, fingers gripping the phone turning white, but nodded. "You will congratulate Kira on his good work in taking care of the FBI agents, tell him that he has redeemed himself. You will say that this rotten world is now fit for you to rule it as a God, and that you would like to bestow a gift on your servant. The details are not so important- what matters is that you manage to get him to meet you somewhere. Your journal mentions that he thanked you for your 'gift', and the killings started shortly after."

"So he hasn't always been able to kill," Light spoke to his phone. "He obtained the ability recently, and attributed it to me."

"That's certainly what it appears to be," L agreed. "I would like you to tell him that his work is complete, and that you would like to take back the gift. But that can wait until the actual meeting. We just need to be sure that he brings whatever he's been using to kill."

"Isn't this all a little risky?" Matsuda spoke for the first time, looking between L and Light. "I mean... what if he's suspicious? Light hasn't answered his calls in weeks, right?"

"It is a little risky," Light admitted, "but acting quickly is the best option. The longer we leave this alone, the more people will die. Also, I should be fairly safe until the very end—Kira is under the impression that he's been acting under my orders. As long as I play along, he won't want to harm me."

I hope.