Chapter 6: Sacrifice

The room changed to silence. Eventually, even the sound of the tape rewinding ceased. "This is not good." L was the one who chose to break the silence. He set down his drink with a sharp noise.

"This has gone beyond murder, now we have a terrorist to deal with!" Aizawa growled.

Light feigned a concerned expression as he watched. He can't get out of this one, can he? The entire world will demand he hand himself over. No, I know him better than that already, he could outrun the world if he wanted to. It is a tempting image though, the great L on the run while the world bows down to Kira. Will you put your life before your pride I wonder?

"Light, what do you think of this?" L turned to him suddenly. "However silly it may be, I find it a little difficult to focus with the looming threat of death."

No, you aren't scared. Fine, I'll keep playing along with your games, this might be our last chance after all. You're going to see what Misa is planning eventually, so I wonder if I can get you to second-guess the truth. "I think you're right and there are two Kiras, moreover I think they must have joined forces if they are sending this message. Alternatively it's possible that Kira has invented his own copycat to deceive us." Light moved to sit by his nemesis.

L sipped his drink quietly, as calm as ever despite his claims. The mutual silence proved too much for Ukita, and he suddenly snapped at them. "What does it matter if there are two or one? We need to figure out how to respond to this!"

Once again, L set his drink down with a sharp sound. "Sadly, that isn't under our control. Either we present your government with both Kiras before a week has passed," he turned to look at the detective, "or you'll be ordered to drag me onto camera and watch me die."

Soichiro interrupted, managing to stay calm. "Japan has a policy against negotiating with terrorists. Surely they won't-"

"Yes well that is true in theory, however like most rules, it will be bent for Kira." The detective popped a chocolate into his mouth without pausing his response. "Maybe I am being too pessimistic, we might have two weeks. Either way, it's over as soon as people understand this threat is serious. I doubt they'd protect me over a single official, handing me over is simply the logical response."

L placed the tape into a bag of its own, and gestured to Mogi. "Please take these to forensics. It's a long shot at this point, but there's always a chance he slipped up when making the tape. Now, other than that I do have some ideas, not very reliable ones unfortunately, but our situation is quite dire. To start with, I think we should ask Kira for help."

There was a customary pause by the detective for the rest of the task-force to voice their surprise or objections, but they simply waited for him to explain. "We will air a message directly from me, asking Kira to prove his good intentions and stop this terrorist, in exchange for my cooperation."

"I think I understand." Light spoke up. "It's a prisoners' dilemma. They haven't been in contact long, so there's no way they trust each-other completely. The second Kira would have a chance to usurp the first's position if they took our offer. Both will be tempted to cooperate for fear of the other turning on them. We could even offer general police cooperation with Kira's actions, or official political recognition of some kind. I doubt either of them could ignore that temptation." Unless, of course, one of them was madly infatuated with the other.

"Correct." L stood up and walked over to the table, browsing the sweets while he spoke. "Now Light, I want to tell you I am almost ninety-eight percent certain you aren't Kira. Admittedly that fact is as frustrating as it is relieving, but the point is that my next request doesn't come from suspicion." He didn't turn towards Light once while speaking, instead eventually picking up an eclair from the table and taking a bite. "I would like you to go home while we discuss the next part of the plan."

You can't get rid of me that easily. Light opened his mouth to speak, but L cut him off.

"Your father would never allow me to involve you in this next plan, so there's no point in me trying." L paused for several moments, then turned to Light. "And truthfully, I think I've come to see you as a friend, my first in fact. I don't want to put your life at risk for nothing." For the first time Light could remember, the detective blinked, slowly and thoughtfully. "And if this fails, you'll be the only one left to stop Kira."

Ryuk laughed loudly, doubling over by the television. What is he trying? He doesn't need an excuse to exclude me from the investigation. Is it possible this is genuine? Very well L, I'll be your friend, your best friend even. I promise to deliver a proper eulogy.

"I guess I understand and I feel the same way. Surely you can understand why I insist on staying."

"No, Light." A hand fell on his shoulder. "All of us here are ready to die if that's what it takes to stop Kira. I don't think you'll ever fully know how proud I am that you have that same resolve." Soichiro pulled his son around and gazed into his eyes, grasping his other shoulder as well. "My son, I know you're capable of great things. Nothing would give me more happiness than for stopping Kira to be one of those things, but not at the cost of your life. Please don't let that sociopath's sick twisted game deny you your future."

Light gazed into his father's eyes. He could see L's reflection in them, staring back at him from his father's deep brown irises. "Don't worry dad, I won't."

L stared out the window, watching Light walk away from the hotel. Was I really wrong all this time? Light would never have thought of that move, and he was under surveillance the entire time. For him to be Kira, the second Kira would've had to create and execute this plan all on their own, unless he's so far ahead of me that he saw all this coming. No, if I was that outmatched I'd be dead by now.

"Ryuzaki, what was it you wanted to discuss with us?" Soichiro took the lead in the conversation as always.

Yes, I suppose it's time to see if I'll be alive in a week. "Detectives, how far are you willing to go to catch Kira?"

"We've already said we'd risk our lives, we've proven it multiple times!" Aizawa was quick to retort, impatient as ever.

"Yes I know that, but how far will you go? Will you break the law? Will you risk the lives of others?" L continued staring out the window. His question was greeted by an uncomfortable silence. Well, that's better than I hoped for. "Kira will never stop killing unless he is caught. This is a simple fact. Even if at some point the reality of his crimes struck him, he has come too far to stop. He will justify any escalation as necessary to preserve his mission. Do you agree?"

"Ryuzaki," Matsuda sounded scared almost, "you're right, but we can't use that to justify our own actions either."

"I am not suggesting we emulate Kira's morality to defeat him." If I thought that way, I would have had Watari interrogate Light long ago. "If we cave into these commands, I will die. It isn't ego that makes me say that if that were to happen, your chances of ever stopping Kira will be reduced considerably. With this in mind, I am prepared to take drastic measures to ensure my own survival."

"So you're asking if we're willing to do the same, in order to stop Kira." Soichiro proclaimed. "I can't answer that without knowing what you want us to do."

Of course, I suppose there's no choice but to take a leap of faith here. "I will not be presenting myself for execution at Kira's hands. If you try to arrest me, as you will no doubt be ordered to, I will flee and continue the investigation in whatever capacity I can. Of course, by doing this I would be forcing Kira to follow through on the threat and begin systematically exterminating the Japanese government until he was certain that wouldn't bring me out of hiding."

L turned around to face the detectives' dour faces. "The plan I present to you is simple: We convince Kira I am dead. You will tell your superiors that you tried to arrest me, but things turned violent. I was shot and killed in the struggle, and a corpse will be presented to Kira for proof. You will need to lie to your superiors about what happened and maintain that lie even after Kira is caught."

"And what if it doesn't work? We have no idea what Kira will do in response!" Ukita managed to preempt Aizawa's anger this time.

"If it fails, Kira will kill the people he has promised. It won't fail if you play your parts though. Outside of this room, Light and Moji are the only ones who knows L's face, and the latter will be let in on this plan as soon as he returns. I will also have Watari arrange for a believable backstory for our fake L to be forged. The deception will be perfect as long as you all agree to play your parts. A body will also be arranged for, outside official channels for obvious reasons." L saw the faces of the detectives change. "Don't be concerned, I don't plan to murder someone for a usable corpse."

"Even if this works, how will we continue the investigation? We'll be reassigned to active cases if the NAP decides to obey Kira." Souichiro continued to be pragmatic as ever.

"You won't be able to, that is if you want to keep your jobs." L went over to the table, and poured himself a cup of tea. The whole situation was more stressful than he'd ever admit to the detectives. "If you want my opinion, you'd be better off as police officers. I was alone when I started this case, and, although I am grateful to all of you for staying with me as long as you have, I know I can do this by myself. I'll be sure to visit you at the department and bring you Kira's head as a reward for all that you've sacrificed."

"But when you first contacted us, you said that you would need the help of the police in order to solve this case." Soichiro seemed to be losing his composure slightly.

"With all due respect, there's a difference between the help of three or four civilians and the police as an organization."

"We're all personally involved in this. All of us have risked our lives to catch Kira. Doesn't that give us the right to decide whether we stay with the police, or continue to help you?"

"I suppose you have a point, either way though, you have time to decide that. We still have a week to catch Kira, but I would like to know now if you're willing to participate in my plan, or if I will need to run from you."

None of the detectives hesitated, even for a moment. L looked at the detectives and felt some difficulty keeping emotion from his face. "Thank you."

Author's Note:

As is fairly plain to see, I took some of the dialogue here directly from the source material because the situation felt close enough to warrant it. In case there was any doubt, this also reveals that I watch the English dub of the anime (though I know of some of the plot differences between the languages and mediums). I hope the canonical dialogue doesn't feel too out of place, and would enjoy feedback on whether, should the situation arise again, I should quote the anime or paraphrase it.