Welcome to the penultimate chapter! There's just one more after this one, and then it all ends. I'm going to tell you right now that some of you are going to be disappointed by this chapter. Some of you are going to look at what I've done and say, "Really? That's it?" But this is how I want the story to be, and if the writer so sayeth, then so it shall be. And so to those of you who will inevitably be disappointed, I apologize.
To akai: I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by this chapter!
To one of my lovely guests: I'm concerned about disappointing you...but still, even if it doesn't end the way you like, I'm glad you've had a decent time reading :)
One last thing. This chapter is short. Rest assured, part two of the epilogue is longer.
Chapter 27: The Endless Lake
Light's eyes slipped closed, and L knew that he had lost consciousness. The detective's eyes fell shut, mimicking his fallen lover's state. He was sitting in a large pile of sand, Light's body barely tangible beneath his fingers.
What a sad ending…
L wouldn't open his eyes. He wouldn't. Instead he let his thoughts jump to Kira, whom Light had vanquished, and Beyond, who was lying mere feet away. He thought of the task force and successors, who were still completely silent, tied to their respective trees. He thought about all he had done to get himself here, how he had fought to the last breath to protect the love of his life only to have him sprawled out dead before him. There wouldn't even be a body to bury…
Tears ran down L's face. What a sad ending… he repeated mentally. What a sad, sad, sad…
L finally opened his eyes. He clutched at Light's body, pulling the teen up to his chest and burying his face in his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Light." He slipped himself out from under his lover, standing and shaking the sand from his clothing. Light lay in a pile of the stuff, his skin pale and eyes screwed shut. He looked so small… after all, he had only been a teenager.
L stooped to pick up the knife Beyond had used to cut him. He was sure that he was injured, but he barely felt the sting. Instead he trudged over to Near on unsteady legs and cut his bonds. Immediately the white-haired teen lurched forward and hugged L fiercely.
"L," he choked. "I'm so sorry…I should have listened…"
L stepped away from Near coolly, not speaking a word to him. Instead he moved to Matt, slicing away the ropes. Next came Mello.
L vaguely saw Near moving towards Light. The teen dropped to his knees beside the fallen shinigami. Matt joined him, then Mello. All three successors knelt around Light, their expressions somber. L looked away and moved to cut Soichiro's bonds. Light's father didn't move from where he stood. He just leaned back against the tree bitterly, tears running silently down his face.
"I'm sorry," L murmured. "I failed you. I didn't protect him like you asked."
Soichiro paused. Then he clasped a hand to L's shoulder. He sighed. "You did what you could. You have nothing to be sorry for."
"It's my fault."
Soichiro didn't respond. It was as good as an agreement.
L moved on and freed Matsuda and Mogi. Both men did nothing save for take a few steps towards Light. L heard a conversation going on in hushed tones behind him. He ignored them, leaning his head against the trunk of the tree Matsuda had been tied to. His eyes slipped closed. He just wanted to sleep…
There was a sudden, loud gasp behind him.
"L!" Matt cried, launching himself to his feet.
L turned to face him wearily. "What is it, Matt? I am not in the mood to converse with anyone at the moment, so—"
"L, he's breathing! Light is alive!"
L froze. No, it wasn't possible. It wasn't. Light was dead. He, a shinigami, had written someone's name down in the Death Note in order to extend the life of another. He had broken one of the rules of the shinigami, and had paid for it with his life. There wasn't even a body. He had turned completely into sand.
"L, are you listening?" Near called to him. "Didn't you hear Matt? He's alive! He has a pulse!"
There was no body. L wouldn't believe it. "Stop taunting me," he rasped. "He is dead. There is no body."
"L, you were holding his body before you cut our bonds!" Mello snapped. "He's not dead! Now get your ass over here and care for your damn boyfriend!"
L turned his head. He wouldn't hope. He wouldn't. There was no way that a shinigami could survive doing what Light had just done. He voiced that exact sentiment. "It is impossible for a shinigami to live through purposefully extending a human's life using the Death Note."
"He wasn't a full shinigami when he did it, you dolt! Remember the whole, 'bullet hitting him midway through the transformation' thing?"
A spark of hope. No! L fought it back down. It was impossible… wasn't it? He slowly turned his head and began to walk forward, as if in a dream. "Light." He wasn't even aware the name had left his lips until he saw the look the successors were giving him.
As he approached, Near scooted out of the way to make room for him. L's eyes fell upon the impossible—Light's body.
His body!
L gasped audibly, dropping to his knees beside the scarlet-haired teen. His fingers pressed into his throat, and L was stunned to find a weak flutter of a heartbeat. He was alive! "He's alive?" L choked out, hardly daring to believe it. "How?"
"He still had his humanity," Near reiterated. "All that sand must be his shinigami form dissipating… look at his back! His wings are gone, and all his other shinigami aspects are gone as well!"
L ran his hands along the smooth flesh of Light's back. No wings. And that godlike glow was gone as well, most likely contained within the sand piled around the teen's body. Yes… the boy lying before him was completely, unmistakably human. Barely breathing, but human.
L looked up at the successors, a desperately hopeful look on his face. "I can't believe—I just can't—"
Near placed a hand on L's shoulder. "We need to get him back to headquarters," he instructed in a whisper. "He's barely breathing."
L nodded numbly. He hardly registered the words. All he knew was that Light was alive. Light was alive, and though he didn't know if he was going to be okay, he was alive, and that was what mattered. Everything else could be worked through with time.
"I'll carry him," L announced determinedly, looping his arms beneath Light and attempting to lift him.
"Woah, woah!" Mello protested, gently removing L's arms from the teen. "You can barely walk, L. We don't need you dropping him and making his condition worse."
L blinked numbly at his successors, but he still saw reason. He released Light reluctantly and stepped aside for the task force, who had just arrived at his side. Soichiro stooped and brushed a hand across Light's forehead, brushing hair from his face. Then he scooped his son up and cradled his form to his chest, Light's body looking frail and small in his father's hold. He glanced to L and nodded shortly. "Let's go."
"But what about all the evidence here?" Matsuda protested.
Near picked up Light's Death Note, then moved and pulled Beyond's off him. Across the clearing, Mello moved to retrieve Misa's from her lax grasp. "This is all we need," Near said. "As long as we have the notebooks, everything else can wait."
L had to agree. He took a step forward, ready to move, but gasped as his legs suddenly gave out from beneath him. Oh… he was still bleeding.
"Lean on me," Near requested. He grabbed one of L's arms and looped it over his shoulders, taking the detective's weight.
L's eyes met Near's, and he saw the silent apology there. The detective gave a small smile and nodded, accepting Near's help and leaning into him. "Thank you," Near said, and L chuckled tiredly.
"It's not your fault," he whispered.
Near gave him a relieved look and began to help L move from the clearing. L's eyes sought out Light, cradled in his father's arms. Content, L allowed himself to relax as he began the long trek out of the forest and back to headquarters.
†††
Light was asleep.
He'd been asleep for almost five days now, and had fallen into a light coma. L was assured time and time again by Watari that his brain activity was still moderately high, meaning that he was likely to awaken before too long. It would just be a few more days, weeks at most. Until then, L waited beside his lover. It was a very familiar position for him—he'd waited at Light's bedside in the hospital, after getting him back from Beyond, when he was under attack from Kira—and now he waited at his bedside while he recovered from Kira's reign of terror. But this time, unlike every time before, L knew that Light was going to wake up. He knew that his eyes would open, that his breathing would increase steadily, that he would find L with his eyes and smile warmly, his lips parting as he spoke some light, loving greeting. He knew that his lover was going to be okay. There was no one left to threaten him, no one left to hurt him. When he recovered, it would be for good—for L would make sure that he was never physically harmed again.
But L had gotten sidetracked—he'd been thinking to himself of the physical condition of his lover. Said lover's physical condition was mostly unchanged. He had a few bruises and scrapes, and there were lingering traces of a light concussion, but other than that he seemed perfectly fine. His mental state was the worrying part. He'd been hooked up to an IV and a feeding tube, and various sensors covered his flesh. Monitors beeped endlessly beside him.
Two days after Light had fallen into a coma, the Shinigami King had visited L. Or rather, the King had reached across dimensions and pulled L back into his presence, back into the realm of the shinigami.
L knew he was in the shinigami realm when he found himself standing back in that garden outside Wammy's house, the little boy standing before him with a knowing smile.
"You won," the child said. "Kira is dead."
"Yes," L replied, completely unsurprised that he was in the shinigami realm. "But have you achieved your goal? Is your so-called blueprint fulfilled, or can I expect more meddling from you in the future?"
"My perfect world has not been achieved."
L's eyes widened, and he very nearly attacked the King then and there, but his next words halted him entirely.
"But the foundation has been laid, and so long as things go the way they should, you and Light will create my perfect world together. You will catch criminals, solve cases, and eventually, things will be the way they were meant to be."
And L understood. "You mean…we're meant to go out and bring into existence a perfect world? Together?"
"That is exactly what I mean, yes. I have a feeling that you will meet and go beyond my expectations. I have done what I can. I will interfere no further."
Relief. Cool and sweet, it passed through L's entire being as he realized that he'd succeeded. It was really, truly over—or at least, it would be soon. "But Light is still asleep," he protested softly. "He has fallen into a coma, and I fear for his mental state. How are we supposed to create a perfect world if he's unable to function?"
"Do not fear," the King assured him. "Light will awaken in time, and he will be able to function. I promise you this. As for his mental state… he should recover."
"What happened to him?" L asked. "His shinigami half has been purged, yes?"
The Shinigami King's smile was playful. "It has, yes. When the bullet struck Light mid-transformation, it halted him in between human and shinigami form. This confused bullet, so to speak, making it target both Kira and Light in their human and shinigami forms. It attempted to destroy everything. I'm sure you've already figured that much out."
L nodded.
"After that, Light fought Kira within his own mind and killed him. The instant Kira was vanquished, Light became the sole shinigami residing within his own body, and bullet reset. It recognized that there was only one persona in Light's mind, and it stopped trying to destroy him, recognizing that any attempt at erasing a shinigami's—part human or not—memories would be impossible. Unfortunately, major damage had already been done to his soul."
"His soul?" L echoed. "His soul is damaged?"
"For now, yes," the King murmured thoughtfully. "Kira hurt him quite badly before he died, causing near irreparable damage to Light's essence. And the bullet eating away at him certainly didn't do him any favors." He looked up at L suddenly, a bright smile on his face. "But Light managed to kill Kira before his soul was extinguished, therefore saving himself. His soul will repair itself. He will live, although a few of his memories have sustained slight damage. I will take time for him to return to his former health, and time for him to remember what he has forgotten. Thus the coma."
"He saved himself," L whispered. "Just like he said he would, in the beginning…"
"He did. He came back to you, and saved your life by writing Beyond's name in the Death Note."
L reasoned, "And since there were still some human parts to Light, they survived, while the shinigami parts turned to sand and fell away."
"Correct."
"I thought that was impossible!"
"I thought it was as well," the King smirked. "Even I wasn't sure what would happen when I watched Light write Beyond's name in the Death Note."
L had a feeling that that wasn't exactly true—the Shinigami King's so-called blueprint left no room for error. He had no doubt that the King had planned out every last detail of his plan, right down to the result of a half-shinigami's memories being extracted. But still, he pretended that he didn't know the King was lying. "Well, I'm glad it turned out the way it did. I have Light back."
The King nodded. "You do. But you still have to keep your promise to me. Destroy the Death Notes."
L looked up, alarmed. "Light will lose his memories! I can't do that to him so soon after suffering such mental trauma! It would be an insult to him to force his memories away after all he's been through to keep them!"
Sighing, the King agreed. "Yes, I know." For a moment he was silent. Then he leaned forward, an intense look on his face. "I will do you one last thing, L Lawliet. I will not use the bullet—that is to say, my crown—on Light once again. This way he will always have his memories, and will have no access to the Death Note itself." As he spoke, the King's hand rose to his crown, which was back on his head, showing no signs of ever having been a bullet.
"Thank you…" relief flooded L's system. He couldn't imagine Light's memories disappearing once again. Not after everything he'd been through.
"The destroying of the Death Note shouldn't affect you or the others, seeing as you don't have ownership," the King said. "But just in case, I will make no move to erase your memories, no matter what may happen. All of you may keep your memories until the day you die. That is all." The King turned away. "You may return to your world if you wish, Lawliet. I trust that you have all the information you sought."
"Wait!" L protested. "One more thing."
The king raised a brow. "And what is that?"
"Something Light said a long time ago…he told me that I couldn't use the Death Note, no matter what. It was as if he thought that some terrible thing would happen to me, like…like my soul would be doomed, or something equally damning. I…I want to know what he meant. It feels…important, somehow."
"It is important. Increasingly so."
L raised a brow. "What makes it so important?"
"Oh…" the King trailed off, pausing to think out his response. "Well, I can tell you this—anyone who has used the Death Note can go to neither heaven nor hell."
L's heart leapt into his throat. So that was it? Light had no afterlife, and wanted to spare him from the same fate? "Where do they go?"
"They go to Mu. In other words, nothingness." The King shrugged. "I suspect Light wanted to protect you from that."
"And…and can you fix it?" L requested hesitantly. "Can you save Light one last time?"
The Shinigami King's eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. "No. Light has used the Death Note, and as is such, two things will now happen: Ryuk will kill him using his Death Note, and his soul will go to Mu."
"…There's nothing I can do?"
"I have already ordered Ryuk to leave Light unharmed. But unfortunately, when Light dies, his soul will be taken to nothingness. But do not fret, Lawliet. All humans go to Mu, not just the ones that use the Death Note. Heaven and hell are illusions."
Despite the dark nature of such information, L felt immense relief, relief because he knew that no matter what happened, he would be with Light. The afterlife, as frightening as it seemed, would not be the thing to separate them. "Thank you," he said again. "That is all I wish to know." He paused. "This will be the last time we speak, won't it?"
The King nodded. "It will." He held out a hand to L. "I thank you for your help. This is, truly, the end of a long journey for the both of us."
"And an even longer journey for Light," L murmured, shaking the King's hand shortly. His world was beginning to darken. That could only mean one thing—the Shinigami King was sending him back to the human world.
"Oh, and Lawliet?" the King called as L's world faded around him.
The detective looked up questioningly, no longer able to answer as he made the transition from the shinigami realm to the human world.
"Don't forget to burn the piece of the Death Note in that amulet of yours."
And then L's vision faded, and he awoke in his place beside Light in the infirmary.
…That had been several days ago. Now Light's brain activity was greatly increased. He would awaken soon.
L couldn't wait for that moment.
†††
When Light finally opened his eyes, three days later, it was all L could do not to throw himself at the teen. Light's eyes blinked open and closed blearily, a fading glaze covering them. He raised a hand to his face and frowned—while the feeding tube had been removed hours prior to his awakening, he was still covered with sensors and other such things. The IV was still dripping fluids into his veins. His beautiful brown eyes looked up at the monitor displaying his vital signs, and his frown grew deeper. His brow crinkled cutely, and he poked at the IV in his left arm. He made a noise of displeasure.
And then his eyes darted up, and he found L.
For a long moment he was silent, a sort of conflicted joy in his eyes. Then he opened his mouth and spoke, his voice raspy after several days of the feeding tube jammed down his throat. "L…"
L fought his instinct to smother the boy. He reminded himself that Light was most likely confused, and still weak. His very essence, after all, had taken a beating.
The teen spoke again. "L, how long have I been out?"
"A week. You were in a light coma." L waited for Light to work things out on his own.
His expression suddenly fell. "Oh… I see. I had the strangest dream, L. I dreamed that Kira became a separate personality in my mind, and he took over and worked with someone named Beyond of all things. And then you—" he broke off, looking embarrassed. A blush colored his pale cheeks. "Never mind. It was just so weird…"
L's eyes widened. "You think that our relationship was a dream?"
Light's eyes were large and innocent. L thought they very much resembled those of a doe. "Wasn't it? A dream, I mean." And he looked so very sad at that thought that L could no longer contain himself.
"Does this feel like a dream, Light?" L leaned forward and pressed his lips to his lover's. He was gentle, hands coming up to caress the sides of his face. He felt as if he were kissing glass—one wrong move, and Light would shatter. He drew away after only a moment, eyes searching Light's expression. The teen looked stunned, though there was a flicker of happiness there too.
"It was real?" he asked softly. "It was all real?" And then he seemed to realize that if their relationship was real, then so were all the other things that had happened—and just like that some invisible dam burst, and Light's expression crumpled into one of distress. "L!" he whined in a high tone, his eyes watering. "L!"
L immediately pulled the younger into a fierce hug. "I know," he whispered. "I know." Light's fingers curled into his shirt, his cheek pressed into his shoulder. Tears wetted L's shirt, but he didn't care. "It's going to be okay… I love you."
Light's choking sobs were all that answered him.
"Light… it's all over now. Kira and Beyond are dead, and everyone else is fine. You're recovering in the infirmary now."
"I-I killed—!"
I killed Beyond. I hurt you. I thought that I was never going to see you again.
L knew what he meant to say. "I don't care about any of that," he assured him. "It's all over now. All that matters is that you're safe. Understand?"
Light nodded faintly against his shoulder. "How can you love me?" he rasped. "After all this, how can you do it?"
"If I didn't love you, then I wouldn't have done so much to save you," L reasoned. "And how could I not love you? None of this is your fault."
Light keened weakly, pressing his face harder into L's shirt.
"It's all going to be okay," L repeated himself.
"Stay with me," Light begged.
L drew back to stare into those amber eyes, to look at that scarlet hair, and he realized that Light still had a ways to go before he was healed mentally. Just as the Shinigami King had said, he would need time.
But until then, L was happy to hold Light and let him cry.
†††
The next time Light awoke, L knew immediately that he felt better. His eyes weren't as glazed, his expression was less distraught, and he actually managed a small smile in his lover's direction.
"Hey," Light whispered.
"Welcome back," L greeted. He was seated in the chair beside Light's bed in the infirmary. The teen had been asleep for nearly a whole day, recovering his strength. "How are you feeling?"
Light paused. "I… I'm fine. I'm better."
"Are you really?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I think I'm getting better."
"You don't sound like it."
"Well… I'm adjusting. I thought I was dead, L. I thought that I left you behind. Waking up was a bit of a shock. But I think that I'll be okay. I just need time."
L smiled. "That's good. Because the moment you're well enough, we're going back to the clearing to burn the Death Notes."
"Why not do it here?" Light pushed himself up in bed. "There's nothing stopping you."
"Yes, well… Misa Amane and Beyond Birthday are still in that clearing. The day after they died I had Watari preserve their bodies and place them on a funeral pyre in the center of that clearing. I have been waiting for you to awaken in order to return there and set that pyre ablaze. It just seemed logical that we would burn the Death Notes there as well."
Light looked almost pleased with that. "Yes, I agree." He leaned his head back against the headboard. "You know, L, I'm glad that it's all over. I'm ready to rest for a while."
"You will," L assured him gently.
Light gave him a smile. "I think that I'll be ready to burn the notebooks quite soon."
"Good."
Light's eyelids were drooping. "Just a bit more sleep," he murmured. "Just a little bit more."
And then he was out.
†††
One week later, L and Light stood before the pyre that held the bodies of Misa Amane and Beyond Birthday. They was no longer visible among the wood, their bodies swathed in cotton like a pair of mummies. They rested side by side in the center of the clearing in which the final confrontation had taken place.
L pulled Light firmly against his side. The boy's scarlet hair was beginning to grow out, the roots showing. L had asked him countless times to dye it brown, but the teen refused. He wanted his natural hair color to grow back in, and that was the end of it.
On the other side of the pyre, Matt, Mello, and Near stood in a semicircle. Their eyes were locked on the bodies of Misa and Beyond, not even sparing a glance at the two geniuses standing across from them. Matt held a box of matches aloft, one ready to be set alight.
L's eyes met Light's. Over the past week the teen had grown considerably healthier, his skin returning to its normal luster and his cuts and bruises fading away. His mental health had greatly improved as well. He smiled more and more, and even ate voluntarily now. He carried on normal conversations with the task force and the successors. He walked around without L's support. At night, he woke up screaming less and less. Overall, things were looking up.
Said amber-eyed teen gazed up at L innocently, a bright smile on his face despite the severity of the moment. He shivered slightly due to the cold and huddled closer to L, a cute flush coloring his cheeks due to the chill. "Cold…" he murmured.
L chuckled. Of course he was cold… it was nearly midnight, and they were in the middle of the forest! But this time the moon was in the sky, making the whole clearing much lighter than it had been the first time. It was actually quite beautiful. Or… it would have been, if not for the pyre.
"Are you ready?" Light murmured, his smile fading. He shifted slightly, and a moment later he held up a black notebook. His thick coat swished with each movement, the puffy hood pulled up around his face. His free hand was shoved in his pocket.
L rummaged around in his own coat and produced the second Death Note. "I'm more than ready," he said. His eyes shot across the clearing, and he located Near, who was holding the third and final Death Note in the human world.
Near…he was another aspect of Light's life that had changed for the better. His mental health had improved greatly. In the beginning all he'd done was beg L's forgiveness…but after a short while of L reassuring him that it was not, in fact, his fault, the white-haired teen seemed to come to his senses. It didn't take long until he was back to his normal, although slightly more apologetic, self. He had even spoken with Light a few times. They'd played a game of chess, this time for the sake of fun rather than symbolism. Light seemed more than willing to forgive him after that.
L nodded to Matt wordlessly. The brown-haired boy dipped his head in agreement and moved forward, the matches clutched between shivering fingers. He struck one of the implements against the side of the box, sparking a tiny flame. His hand moved forward, and the flame immediately spread to the shreds of paper packed beneath the wood. Matt dropped the match into the paper and moved back to Mello, wrapping an arm around his waist.
The flames shot high into the sky, coloring the night with deep lines of orange and gold. The heat washed over the beings surrounding the pyre, soothing away their shivering and lending them relief from the cold.
L glanced to Light and saw him watching the fire through nervous eyes. Looking back to the flames, L understood why. The flames were beginning to lick at the form of Misa Amane. She wasn't visible beneath the cloth that engulfed her, but it was more than easy to tell where she was as the flames began to nibble at her body. The fire washed over her form completely within moments, eating the white cloth and the flesh beneath, charring once-golden hair. Beyond was next, vanishing beneath a sheet of golden flames. L looked back at Light just as the teen buried his face in the cloth of his lover's coat. The detective ran soothing fingers through his scarlet hair, but not a word left his lips. This was not a time for speaking.
Near suddenly moved forward. He stood at the edge of the pyre and looked up through the flickering flames at L, holding the Death Note aloft. Without waiting for permission, the successor dropped the book into the flames. The notebook struck the burning wood with a dull thud, and immediately the flames lurched to seize it. The pages were devoured hungrily, eaten by the starving licks of flame. Bits of charred paper fluttered away from the fire on a gentle breeze, spiraling up into the sky.
L spared one last glance at Light, then moved forward with the second Death Note in hand. He could feel the teen's intense gaze on him, watching intently as he approached the flames.
L stopped at the foot of the pyre. He held up the Death Note, just as Near had done, and let it fall into the fire. Just as the first time, the flames snatched the notebook immediately, devouring it in moments. Bits of paper and ash spat outwards. The detective moved backwards in a few steps and turned to Light.
The teen looked at him uneasily, but nodded nonetheless. He clutched his Death Note, his original notebook, between his fingers and moved forward. He stood beside the fire in moments, the notebook held out over the flames but not dropping. For a moment the teen ran his fingers over the cover, riffled through the pages. Then he took a deep breath. "I am sorry," he said, his voice echoing softly over the sound of the crackling flames. "I regret each and every life I took. But now it can never happen again." And then, just like that, the final Death Note fell to the flames and was swallowed up. Light stumbled backwards, and L was swift to pull him close.
It was a long few minutes that passed as the successors, L, and Light stared at the flames as they finished destroying the last remnants of Kira's empire. But after those few minutes, Matt and Mello turned away and began to walk back the way they'd came, towards the car they'd driven there in. A few minutes later Near followed them, shooting a sad glance at L and Light.
L and Light were alone.
For a long time they just stood there together, standing impossibly close, watching the flames. After all this time… it was hard to believe that it was over. They had won. Kira and Beyond were dead, and Light was alive—and human.
"It's over," Light whispered in his ear. L didn't respond. He had nothing to say. And he continued his silence, even when Light pulled away and began to trudge back out of the forest. The detective remained standing beside the pyre. And once Light was out of earshot, he began to speak.
"I have kept my promise to you, Shinigami King." L approached the flames once more, unclasping his amulet from around his neck. He studied the thing, running his fingers over the metallic surface, touching the clasp lightly. He hadn't told anyone about the page of the Death Note hidden inside. Not even Light knew what Rem had given him, what her small act of betrayal had been. He'd sworn to Light, long, long ago, that he would never use the Death Note, no matter what. It was the only thing that had kept him from killing Beyond. And now, after so much time, he finally knew why. He knew that any human who used the notebook would to go Mu—but he also knew that all humans went to Mu, and therefore using the notebook had no consequence in terms of the afterlife. It seemed rather depressing, actually, now that it was all over. If L had just known from the very beginning that his promise to Light was based of an irrelevancy, he could have killed Beyond, and the outcome of Kira's little game would have been quite different. But he hadn't known, and it was due to that that things had spun so far out of control. Or maybe not—maybe, no matter what he did, the outcome would have been the same. Wasn't the idea of the King's so-called blueprint? To achieve the same outcome, no matter the path?
He supposed that it didn't matter now. L popped open the locket and stared inside with dark, dismal eyes. The first thing he saw was a shock of white paper. The page of the Death Note, no doubt. L removed the page gingerly and turned his gaze beyond. Ah, yes, there it was—and of course it was there, because he'd specifically put it there before he came to the forest. L's fingers closed on the second scrap of paper folded up within the amulet, withdrawing it and unfolding it to full size, which wasn't much larger than the palm of his hand. He stared down at it sadly, realizing the weight of the piece of paper, the scrap of material he'd tucked into the amulet alongside the Death Note page.
A newspaper clipping, with the name and face of a criminal.
"What's the phrase?" L murmured aloud, still addressing the nonexistent Shinigami King. "Oh, how the tables have turned? Is that it?" His fingers grasped a needle, carefully slotted into the bottom of the amulet. He raised it to his finger and pricked lightly, watching with morbid fascination as blood bubbled to the surface delicately. He positioned the bloodied needle over the page of the Death Note, eyes locked on the scrap of newspaper. But then, just as he was about to begin writing, he paused, feeling as though something were watching him at the edge of the clearing. "You'll have to forgive me," he called out, taking confidence in the fact that Light was no doubt out of earshot. "I know you told me that all humans go to Mu, but…you understand that I can't exactly take your word for it. If I do this, then there will be no doubt. Light and I will be together for all eternity."
The movement at the edge of the clearing made no response, and L didn't expect it to. For all he knew, it wasn't the Shinigami King. It could just be a wild animal, fleeing the fire. But he felt, deep within his heart, that the King was watching. And so he returned the needle to the paper, forming the first letter of the criminal's name. A moment later the second joined the first, then the third, the fourth, the fifth… And finally, after what felt like forever…it was done. That final name stared up at L sadly, as if telling him that it knew just how much he was sacrificing in writing it down. For, L knew, he could never tell Light what had occurred here this night. He could never know that L had broken his promise and used the Death Note. This would be L's secret to bear, and he would bear it to the grave. With that thought echoing in his mind, L grasped the paper in both hands, his blood still drying on the pages, and moved towards the inferno. He held the paper over the all-consuming flickers of light, eyes dancing with reflected licks of flame.
"That was the last name," L told the King, forcing the tremor out of his voice. "That was the last life that will ever be claimed by this Death Note. By any of the three Death Notes that found their way into the human world and into our hands. With this, it is over—it is the end. Now our journey will truly come to an end."
And then, eyes locked on the flames, L released the final page of the Death Note, and let it fall to its destruction. The piece of notebook paper was swallowed by the inferno immediately. The last remnant of the Death Note was gone. A moment later the shell of the amulet joined it, vanishing the moment it hit the flames, as if the King had reclaimed his property. L turned his face skywards at the sight, closing his eyes. L stood there for another few moments. Then he took a step back. Then another, still facing the flames. And as he moved, he thought he saw Ryuk, standing at the edge of the clearing and cackling. But the shinigami was gone so fast, darting into the sky, that he couldn't be sure.
L continued to step back.
One step, Light.
Two steps, Kira.
Three steps, Beyond.
Four steps, the King.
Five steps, Rem.
Six steps, Misa.
Seven steps. The Death Note.
Eight steps, and he was standing parallel to the trees surrounding the clearing. L took one last moment, one last heartbeat to stare at those flames as they slowly began to die down. He bowed his head. "Goodbye, Kira. Goodbye, Beyond."
And then, the wind at his back, L turned around and headed for the edge of the forest.
Light, he knew, would be waiting.
There is one more chapter. And said last chapter will contain a "Seven Year Later" segment as well as one last lemon, so be sure to stick around for that.
Kudos to anyone who put two and two together with regard to "the wind at his back" being used to describe Matt's intuition in finding the Teito Hotel as well as L's final trek from the forest. In case you didn't get it, I was totally hinting at the Shinigami King using the wind as a directional tool.
One more thing. That scene where the notebooks are burned? When I started this story, over a year ago, that scene was the only thing I knew was going to happen. From the moment the first word hit the page until the moment that scene played out, I knew what was going to happen. Thus the story's name. Burn, in honor of the scene that made me want to write this in the first place.
Sorry for the long AN, but I had so much to say about this! As always, please leave me a review, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!