L decided Light wasn't dead, although he couldn't think of a clear reason why he'd jumped to this conclusion. He barely knew the facts, yet a strange inkling reinforced Light was still out there. Of course, if he was alive, there was a high chance he was Kira. After a few days, Light became a suspect. He never told Soichiro, though; it would break the man's heart. The idea troubled L. He had practically raised Light; he had been Light's mentor. They grew up together. When had Light strayed?
When they were young, Light always wanted to play the bad guy. He yearned to defeat anything in his way. L tried to calm the boy's urge to be the "bad guy", but Light always did what he wanted. He was spoiled and relentless, but Lawliet loved him. L, on the other hand, couldn't. L couldn't love a murderer.
He stopped himself, realizing he was jumping to too many conclusions. Only L's suspicions led to Light's guilt. But facing the facts, there was no real proof that Light was Kira. Strangely, L pined for him to be Kira. It made the investigation easier, and it meant Light was alive...
"Ryuzaki?" a head poked through the door, breaking his train of thoughts. L silently thanked the intruder. His resistance to his feelings for Light began to falter again. The more he thought about Light, the more he yearned for his friend.
L turned his head to face Sheriff Matsuda. "Yes?"
"'Member that fella who claimed to know Kira? The one who was jailed 'cause he stole food, then refused to leave 'less he talked to someone 'bout Kira?"
"Yes, what about him?"
L stood up, sliding his long, delicate fingers into his pocket. He was terribly bored and the idea of speaking to another 'witness' made him nauseous. Every week, multiple people claimed to know who Kira was, yet they either tried to kill L or were just searching for attention. L kept his identity in the shadows, but since Kira began his reign of terror, the name 'L' became famous. Many knew he was a detective, hunting down the murderer. For that, bandits had a tendency to side with him, while others were mad with vengeance. Civilians wanted Kira around to enforce the law. He cast a shadow upon crime, smothering it with his silver finger. Of course, the civilians who worshiped Kira were becoming criminals, themselves. How hypocritical.
"I think he's tellin' the truth."
A criminal telling the truth? Apparently, the kid didn't have a record or a warrant, so it was his first arrest. He couldn't pay the bail, so he'd sat in the jailhouse for two weeks. When it was time to leave, though, he refused, swearing he knew Kira. It struck L as odd, but he had asked Matsuda to look into it, just in case. And loyal Matsuda did so.
"I would like to speak to him. Tell Watari to bring him here."
Matsuda hesitated a moment. "Well, actually he wants to talk to L."
"L," L repeated.
"Yeah. You said you knew'im, right?"
"Yes. I work close with him. He would reveal his identity to the task force, but he's still judging whether or not you're all trustworthy. Can you blame him? To some people, he's the one fighting against justice-he's the evil one. But, Matsuda, you must understand, his trust for you all is slowly growing. It's nothing personal, just continue your jobs and he will reveal himself to you. Now, since this boy has appeared legitimate, I would like to have a follow up conversation with him. Then I will decide whether he deserves L's attention."
Once again, Matsuda was silent. A pleasant treat to L's burning ears. He rarely had peace now that the task force lived in his quarters. Normally they bothered him for one reason or another. He just wanted to be left alone.
"Well?" L peered at the sheriff.
"Oh, yeah, I'll get right on that," he scurried out the door, leaving L to his thoughts again.
Light cried as L cradled him. His chest heaved from the hysterical sobbing. "I don't want to go, I don't want to go, I don't want to go."
"It's okay," L cooed, running his fingers through the young boy's hair. "I'll be right next to you."
Light trembled as he stood up straight, his hand never left L's grip. He took a step forward and regret immediately shone in his eyes. "I can't do it."
L chuckled, placing his lips on Light's forehead. Young Light tossed his arms around L, gazing up at him. "Okay, L. If you promise to be here, I'll do it."
With that, the two walked towards the edge of the cliff. Light glanced back one more time before leaping off the side. L watched as he fell into the dark abyss below him, suddenly realizing he shouldn't follow. Light's scream for L echoed up the canyon, but L just turned around. There was nothing more he could do. He glanced down at the hand Light had held only moments ago to find he, once again, had six fingers. It was a dream.
Light had fallen into the pit, and L didn't stop him...but it was a dream. He calmed his nerves and collapsed on the floor. "Light?" he called.
"Yes?" He turned to face the grown Light, standing over him. A devious smile appeared on his lips.
"Tell me you're okay. That you're alive. That you're not Kira."
"I'm alive," Light promised, running his fingers through L's hair. Suddenly, he tugged L up by his locks and pulled L's face close to his own. L didn't struggle, but hung limply as Light towered over him, his grin growing. His eyes flashed a violent crimson. "Do you want me to be Kira? Are you so ashamed of your feelings that you hope I am evil so you can kill me yourself? Hide in that room all your life, but you will never escape the clutch I have on your heart."
Something pierced into L's chest. He tried to catch his breath. Frantically, he struggled to fight the enormous Light, but it was no use. "It's just a dream," he repeated over and over. Why wasn't his subconscious listening to him?
"It's just a dream!" he shouted one last time before the strange Light vanished, leaving the crumpled L as a heap on the floor. The canyon vanished. L was alone.
In all his experience lucid dreaming, his subconscious had never fought with him. Normally, it agreed and obeyed his wishes. That night was disturbing. It felt so real. It was like someone invaded his thoughts, controlling the world surrounding him. Whatever it was dared him to find Light. L huffed as he rose from his bed. The ideas of destiny and a higher power were utterly ridiculous. If a higher power did exist, it was sadistic and cruel. L suddenly felt like a puppet as he questioned his normal morals. He rarely questioned himself, since he was normally right.
Did abandoning Light really drive him to become Kira? Had he created this new monster? L gazed out the window, longing for answers. His whole life based around finding the truth, and he couldn't even do that. His father's death was still a complete mystery, one he revisited every day. Yet, the man who murdered his father continued to roam the Earth, along with Kira. The amount of terror in the world was too overwhelming for him to handle on his own.
L suddenly wondered if he was losing control of his normally meticulous life. All because of this Kira case. Everything had been so easy before the case. He had all the time in the world to think and ponder, taking down criminals and proving their guilt. He saved hundreds of people and found justice for many more, yet still others continued to die. And if Light was Kira...that would be te biggest loss of all.
Someone knocked on his door. "Come in."
"That boy is here," Watari informed L. L stood up and followed him across the hall.
The boy was about sixteen with shaggy burgundy hair. He slouched over the desk in front of him, strangely interested in a knot in the wood. Goggles perched on his nose, hiding his eyes from L's view. He was skinny, too skinny. His eyes remained focused on the desk in front of him as L walked in.
"Are you L?" he asked.
"No," L lied.
"I want to speak to L."
"He's not available at the moment. You can tell me whatever you have to tell him, and he'll decide whether you're worth his time."
The boy suddenly laughed, wiping his mouth his his gloved hand. "Worth his time? Who does he think he is? God? The information I have is more important than his pride. I told that sheriff enough already. I ain't gonna talk 'til I get to speak to L."
L closed the doors behind him and perched in the chair on the other side of the table. "If I tell you where L is, you are sworn to secrecy. You will give me every right to kill you."
"Yeah, whatever. I would probably be much better off than I am now," the boy chuckled. There was a complete obliteration of hope in his laugh. L studied him farther; his submissive posture, his lack of eye contact, his crooked, pained smile.
"Take off your goggles," L instructed. The boy obeyed, revealing two different color eyes. The surprise failed to phase L as he examined the boy's eyes. Grief and pain clouded them. Gazing into the boys eyes, L oddly felt he could trust the boy. Finally, he admitted his identity.
"You're L?" the boy scoffed. "I gotta admit, I'm a bit surprised. But, doesn't matter much to me. I can be skeptical, or I can just tell you. What's the harm either way? Name's Mail Jeevas, by the way. But call me Matt."
"Alright, Matt, tell me everything you know."
"Let me start off by sayin' I met Kira before he became Kira. I can't help but blame myself. Somethin' happened to him when I first met him that triggered his blood lust. I could've stopped him, and I didn't."
"What's his name?"
"Light Yagami."
It was all moving too fast. Light tried desperately to fight off the body guards as Beyond hid outside. Coward. He should've never trusted the bastard. Cool metal suddenly poked his cheek. He froze, immediately recognizing the bitter smell of burnt gunpowder. His eyes scanned the room until they fell upon Mello's crumpled body. His chest heaved up and down as he tried to catch his breath. The boot of the man above him swung into Mello's chest again.
"That's enough," someone called from the door way. A tall, lean man with straight black hair walked in. Light immediately recognized him: Reiji Namikawa . It was his house they had broken into. According to his sources, Namikawa was out of town on 'business'. Apparently, his sources had tricked him. How could he have fallen for such an easy trick?
"Which one of you is Kira?"
Mello pursed his lips. Light waited for Namikawa to continue. "If I kill one of you, there is a fifty percent chance I will be ridding the world from the most feared criminal. The man whose name ever bandits tremble from. But, I want Kira around."
"Why?" Light asked. Namikawa was a curious man. After researching him, Light figured out he was the brains of the group. He was controlled, poised, and rarely showed flaws. He was the reason the Yotsuba group succeed so well.
Namikawa ignored the question and continued his speech. "Frankly, I'm happy Higuchi's dead. I know that sounds awful, but his presence was extremely trying. I always wondered when I would see my name plastered on a wanted poster. With him dead, though, my risk for getting caught has dropped tremendously. For that, I thank Kira. Of course, I'm still debating whether to kill Kira. If I let you go, will you still come after me? I think you shouldn't, since I've given you the gift of life. But, you may go after my comrades. Or-" he stopped suddenly.
"Or?"
"Or we could go after L."
"You mean the detective whose been trying to catch me?" Light sneered, no longer worried about masking who he was. "Why would you want to help me?"
"Because once Kira's gone, he'll go after the Yotsuba group. Having Kira after us was bad enough. We've had to make special precautions for everything. But if L catches us, we're done for. He'll have the entire government chasing after us. We'll be dead before we could take another threat."
"You want to use one threat to destroy another? I'm a bit insulted."
"Don't be, my comrades are still quite scared of you. Please, men, let go of Kira and help his friend up. We have a lot of arrangements to make. If you could please call your other friend inside, that would be most acceptable."
Light helped the panting Mello up. Mello leaned on him, trying desperately to catch his breath. After a few seconds, Mello struggled from Light's grip and left the house to grab Beyond. Everyone exited the room, leaving Light and Namikawa alone. The cool smile planted across Namikawa's lips hinted that he had been planning this meeting for a while. Light sighed and sat on an awaiting couch, his eyes never leaving Namikawa.