Chapter Thirty-Two - Kira

We sin.
Sin whispers.
Whispers from the mouth
Of Demons.
The Angel of Death cries.

"He's really done it this time, that bastard," the clown-faced Shinigami complained to his silent companion. "It's too bad it has to end now, I was having so much fun!"

"He has his own reasons for ending this, Ryuk," Kuru, the bear Shinigami, deadpanned.

"But he's had plenty of time down here. It's my turn."

"Then why don't you go help your human?"

"Nah, that would be too much work."

"You're hopeless, you know that?"

…

"I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"Are you going to go back to the Shinigami realm when this is all over?"

The bear was silent for a few moments, contemplating the thought. "I think I will. Vile will be in good hands."

"His human?"

Kuru laughed, shaking his large head, "It's more like he belongs to her."

Makoto shivered, his spine tingling with a semi-familiar sensation. Loud breathing caught his attention, and he slowly turned around, eyes widening. The Task Force watched his sudden change in demeanor, their own voices halting when they noticed his disquiet.

L especially was intrigued by his sudden change in attitude. He watched as the teen's eyes flashed with recognition and a little bit of fear. He was staring at thin air.

The Shinigami Vile slowly opened his bone-plated maw, strings of saliva oozing out. He then pulled something out from under his tongue, which had been the cause of his extra drool. The cellphone was coated in a layer of spit, but that wasn't really important.

Makoto's eyes widened, realizing the implications immediately.

The Task Force jumped in shock as a phone materialized in mid-air, hovering above the ground and dripping with a wet substance.

"Why are you here?" Makoto asked, sounding reasonably confident, as though he'd spoken with whatever it was beforehand. L watched intently, leaning forward in his seat in trying to catch even a glimpse.

"I think you know that by now," the Shinigami chortled before tossing the phone carelessly at his human's friend. Makoto caught it between his hands with ease, grimacing at the viscous fluid coating it.

"I-Is there a Shinigami there?" Matsuda stuttered, absolutely terrified and hiding behind a disgruntled Aizawa.

"Yep," Makoto replied, before wiping off the phone and flipping it open. After a few clicks of the buttons he gasped in surprise. "No way …"

"What is it?" Ryuzaki questioned the teen, jumping to his feet and invading the hacker's personal space. Makoto frowned before handing the sticky phone over to the eccentric sleuth. L took it delicately in his thumbs and forefingers, scanning the text quickly.

"What's going on?" Mr. Yagami asked.

"We need to leave, now, and bring your guns," L said gravely.

"I was going to give you one last chance to join me, but after that stunt, that's not going to work, isn't it?" Light calls over the roar of traffic, hands deep in his pockets.

"Not a chance," I reply, eyes shining in the near-darkness. The air smells like smoke.

"If you're all the way out here, then you must be ready to die, right?" A grin spreads across his face to match mine. If I wasn't so giddy he'd be terribly threatening.

"I've been ready to die the entire time, Kira, I just don't generally count on it," I snicker.

He scowls, lip twitching in a snarl. I can practically feel the hatred radiating off of him. I am provoking him deliberately. Ho boy, I haven't had this much fun in a long time.

"So you're here to kill me, are you?" I chuckle, watching as a fire truck screams down the road beside us. That must be for the asylum that I may have, ah, accidentally set fire to. "It's not like I didn't expect that. You were planning to do that anyway."

"There's nothing you can do about it either. I told you that I've won."

I laugh outright, nearly howling. His eyes crackle and his whole body seems to twitch. I'm sure he wants to slaughter me in the most painful way he can, though he hasn't made his move just yet.

"You know what, Kira? I came to an important conclusion during this case."

"You're just stalling, Red."

"Maybe so, but you want to hear me speak."

He twitches.

"So, anyway, back to what I was saying before you interrupted me, I've come to an incredibly important conclusion, one that really put everything into perspective. I hadn't even considered it before, and of course Kakushin helped out a little when she yelled at me," I laugh awkwardly, remembering how angry she had been. She'd accused me of things that were entirely justified and absolutely true.

Blew me out of the water!

"We are so alike that it's scary, you know? We'd do anything, well, almost anything to get what we want. Don't you agree, Kira?"

"Get to the point," he growls.

"We treat this like a game. It's never really been about your perfect world, L's justice or my morals. It's always been a game to us, nothing more, and nothing less. I think all of us know this on one level or another."

Light looks shocked, and I don't mean the kind of shocked when your parents turn up for a surprise visit, I mean that I completely flipped his world around. His eyes glaze over for a few moments, and they look bloody in the dim light of pre-dawn. Look at you Kira, a demon in your own right, birthed from the boredom of a chained teenager, and now you're looking in a mirror.

I would call you God of Death, but you are no God. You're a serial killer, a mass murderer. The title 'demon' fits more.

And what does that make me, someone who took his offer of a battle for the world – someone who made the people of this life my pawns?

It makes me selfish.

So now it's my job to end this.

Kira's eyes sharpen, but he seems more amused than anything else. His shoulders slump and for the first time since I've known him, he laughs. It comes from the bottom of his stomach and it's absolutely genuine. This surprises me, as I wasn't expecting it. I'd hoped that he would be angry and charge me.

My hand tightens on the gun hidden in my oversized pocket.

"You know, Red, you're right," he chuckles, calming down to stare me right in the eyes. I do not falter, but I do not move either. "This is a game, between the three of us. You've been good playmates, you and Ryuzaki. Although I'm surprised that he's given you so much free reign. How'd you do it?"

I gape for a moment before smiling ruefully, "Trust." They must have found my video by now, and I feel as though I betrayed them. I hope you won't hate me after this is all over, L. I've enjoyed being your friend.

Light laughs again, "That's ironic, coming from you, the woman who has told the most lies. Nobody's been able to read your cards, not even the 'World's Greatest Detective'. You've played him."

I flinch. He's turning this around.

"No, he just didn't want to look."

He laughs, but it sends chills up and down my spine. The sensation thrills me, but I still have the bitter aftertaste of guilt in my mouth. Light stalks forward until we're almost touching. His eyes are crimson to match mine, and he stares me down with intense bloodlust. I can feel his hot breath against my skin.

"I've come to my own conclusion, Red. I agree that this is a game, and that's why it's going to be all the more satisfying to kill you," he growls in my face.

"Why?" I whisper, daring him with my eyes to continue. Go on. Make your move, KIRA. Kill me if you can! I fucking dare you!

"Killing you is what I want to do and not what I have to do."

"I'm glad we agree on something then."

He does something that surprises me again. Light hugs me, his chin settling on my shoulder and arms tight around my body. My breathing stops and I tremble in his embrace. The fabric of his jacket is rough against my collar bones. His hair tickles the side of my face. I can almost smell the blood that he's bathed in.

He's warm.

I hear a small click, and my eyes narrow. My instincts are screaming at me right now, and despite myself I can't help but grin. I pull the gun from my pocket and press it against his navel, my finger feathering the trigger. "Take off your watch and drop it on the ground."

He chuckles, "So that's why you're so confident."

"It never hurts to have insurance."

"So it seems," he mumbles, and I hear a heavy thud, signaling that the watch is on the ground.

We're silent for a few moments, neither willing to give way. We're both incredibly stubborn, to our last shuddering, helpless breath. His fingers clutch at the back of the jacket I stole, digging painfully into my skin. I jab at his stomach with the barrel.

"You're not going to kill me," he hisses.

"Are you sure?" I reply with similar venom.

Dawn breaks in a flash of brilliance, temporarily blinding us both. And in a moment of shock and horror, but one of action and instance, he kisses me.

The shadow of death looms, the numbers ticking down to the ultimatum.

The bells ring extra loudly that day.

Matsuda watched the other members of the Task Force in concern.

Aizawa and Mogi were staring at their hands, eyes distant. They were thinking over everything that had happened the past year, their actions and the actions of those around them. There was tremendous grief in them, in the revelations of the truth and what they were on their way to do.

Mr. Yagami looked ready to have another heart attack. He seemed a lot older than he actually was in that moment and Matsuda didn't blame him. The Chief had just learned that his son was the most infamous mass murderer in history, his campaign spreading terror through the world and the trail of bodies rivaling that of a war. Matsuda respected him even more than he already did in that moment – he must be incredibly strong to be able to even function with the revelation.

Matsuda himself hadn't even begun to suspect that Light was Kira, but then again, no one really did. Only Red and L did, and they were the ones leading them forward.

Of course she had been working behind the curtains, lying to all of them, but she was a key player regardless.

And then there was L. Matsuda couldn't read the elusive detective, not when he was like that. He'd gone into a frenzy after reading whatever was on that phone. But now he had recoiled into his shell, thinking. His eyes were glassy and his thumb had started bleeding.

They were all afraid of what they might find.

It's warm and hot and messy, and I bite down on his tongue, hard enough to draw blood. He jerks and twists.

Bang!

He roars in pain, like a wild beast – angry, enraged and vengeful. The demon lashes out at me with one hand, but he can't stand. I back away, watching without emotion now. It screams a screechy death cry, twisting and shuddering in agony. The poor thing, how it must hate.

Light clutches at the bullet wound in his side. Blood drips onto the ground, sticky and wet, pooling around his knees and staining everything red. The sunlight paints it copper, but the smell is unnerving and overpowering. My teeth ache, it makes me itch.

I watch as he huffs, his wild eyes lifting to meet mine. His composure is gone now, and I see the diseased animal that he's become.

It's time to put him down.

As I robotically shoot two more holes into him without expression, I can't help but inwardly pity the thing in front of me. His fall from glory was not an easy one. Light was eventually a worthy opponent, though I take no pride in slaying this beast.

But it's alright. This is what I need to do. It's been my responsibility since I decided all those months ago – a whole year ago – that I wanted to help the investigation and take him down. I've been too caught up in my game, in my own emotions …

Oh, but I enjoy it, and that's why I'm so selfish. I've been more alive than I've ever been before, and I don't regret a single moment.

Light is still alive. He tries to drag himself forward, his bloodstained and shaking hands clutching at my ankles. He's a dead man walking; nothing more than a shell of his former self.

"You … I'll kill you … I'm god!" he tries to get to his knees.

In the end I can't put a bullet between his eyes.

I can hear sirens. The police have arrived, no doubt here to find out what is really going on. The third player comes to greet us in the final moments of this age. Light's hand snakes it's way around my neck, but he's so far gone that I don't even care. It tightens considerably – I can't breathe.

"Why can't you just die already? You and your pet detective will burn in hell! I'm the god of the new world! I am Just–"

He never gets the chance to finish. Light slumps against me, and all I can do is hold his body up. I look over to see Vile standing with the Task Force, his notebook open in his hand. I can't tell if he's smiling or not.

The others shout in shock, horror and disbelief. I don't blame them. Their words are meaningless to me, and motions blur. Mr. Yagami is crying, cradling his son in his arms. Aizawa has a gun pointed at me, shouting something I don't understand nor care to. Matsuda looks panicked, while Mogi is trying to deal with everything in his own, silent way.

My gaze instead focuses on L, who is walking towards me against the advice of one frantic Aizawa. He stops in front of me, his hand held out. My hands don't shake as I give him the gun.

"Is it over?" he asks me, cutting through the droning and buzzing around us.

"Yeah," I say as tears come.

I hug him, crying like I did when Light sent me a message with the bodies of the dead. This time it's not guilt or anguish. It's relief.

It's not a game. Lives are not to be played with.

But whether we like it or not, we've won.

"I should hate you, but that was one hell of a show."

"You think so?"

Ryuk watched the scene unfold, focusing on the body of his human in the arms of his father. Vile chuckled, closing his notebook and tying it back on his waist.

"I can see why you want to stay here, I got to say I'm a little jealous," the clown-faced Shinigami commented.

"Don't be."

"Humph."

"Maybe we'll meet again sometime Ryuk. Besides, in another century or two you could always try again."

"Yeah, maybe," Ryuk chuckled before turning his back on his elder. Feathered wings sprouted from his back as he poised to take flight.

"Here," Vile said, tossing a bright red apple over his shoulder. Ryuk startled, but caught it between his claws.

He stopped, but then his toothy grin widened, "Light kept his notebook in one of his drawers. Tell your human that."

Vile gave a chortle as the other Shinigami flew off.

He supposed it wasn't so bad. The war was over, but humans were violent creatures, there would always be another.

A/N: Almost done! Two more chapters to go. This chapter was completely rewritten, and while Light still gets shot three times, this is completely different than last time. :')