Chapter 8: Resurrection
Light closed his phone. Eraldo Coil. Is he working with L now, or are they the same person? If he was another detective willing to put his life on the line for the Kira case, he'd have joined the investigation long before, they have to be the same person. He probably has even more identities to fall back on if the world learns Coil is investigating Kira too.
It had been a month since Light had last stood face to face with L. Part of him had begun to think the detective had truly chosen to run away with his tail between his legs, but deep down he knew that wasn't the case. L would never admit defeat, not before he was in the ground. And if there really was an afterlife, maybe not even then.
Light dialed Misa's number and leaned back in his chair. She answered after one ring, she always did. "Misa, I'm sorry but I'll have to cancel our date tonight. A friend needs my help studying before the test tomorrow." It was a simple, generic lie, the lie they had agreed to use if L resurfaced.
"Aw, sweetie are you sure that will take all night? I could bring you some food afterwards and we could have a late dinner." Misa replied without missing a beat.
Light couldn't help but smile. Late dinners had become their tradition since L's disappearance. One of them would bring food and they'd spend the evening setting up plans, investigating the detective, and writing names. "We'll see. I promise to call you afterwards sweetie."
"Okay." Misa stretched out the word like a child. "I'll talk to you then. Miss you already!" She made a kissing noise.
"Talk to you then." Light resisted the temptation to mimic the sound before ending the call. Whenever he let himself go an extra mile in their relationship for appearance's sake, he found his new behavior would quickly become a habit.
"Well Ryuk, it looks like you'll have your entertainment today."
Soichiro drove them to the address given. Light hadn't recognized it, and quickly realized why. There was a newly built skyscraper waiting for them. The only entrance was via an underground garage. Hundreds of cameras and other security devices caught his eyes as they walked through multiple gates. He's taking security seriously now, was this always the intent or did Misa rattle him that badly?
That was one plan rendered impossible. Misa had grown impatient and suggested killing L via mundane means when next they had a chance. Light hated to admit that her arguments had been sound, L posed a greater danger than any normal police investigation could. It would've been so simple to write the rest of the task-forces names in the death note then bring a gun or bomb for L and Watari. There were a thousand ways they could've done it while the detective was hopping from hotel to hotel, but now he'd be safe in his fortress.
After a few more security gates and an elevator ride, Light found himself looking at L again. The dark haired detective sat in the center of a row of desk chairs. A large wall practically covered in various monitors was in front of him, as well as a large strawberry cheesecake. A stranger sat in the chair next to him, typing on the computer.
"It's good to see you Light." L didn't turn around, instead waving his hand at the chairs next to him. "I'm glad to have you back with us. I was a bit worried you might take your father's advice to heart."
Light moved to take the seat and gestured to the man next to L. "Oh right. Light Asahi, this is Anthony Rester, one of the new members of our unofficial investigation. The names are false of course, so you'll have to take my word about each-others' credentials."
Light locked eyes with the older man and smiled in greeting. He didn't use my real name. Does that mean he really has moved on from me as a suspect, or is he just trying to put me at ease? If there are multiple foreign agents, he could be investigating me with their help while the rest of us handle other leads. It keeps me close while also making sure he has complete control of my access to information. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"It's good to meet you too Light." The man's Japanese was poor and he had a thick American accent. Is he with L officially or unofficially? If he has the resources of another country behind him that changes things.
"Rester as well as the other agents, Gevanni and Lidner, are from the United States as you probably guessed." L stood up as he spoke, taking his cake with him. "Their government felt very strongly about Japan's response to the second Kira's demand and had a task-force of their own formed. Once I contacted them, they were kind enough to let me poach some of their members."
Just three then, but they probably share information with their country. If L hand-picked them then they likely have personal investment in the case. FBI agents who lost coworkers possibly? "It's good to see we aren't alone in standing up to Kira."
"Light, would it be too much trouble to talk to you in private for a moment? I have a theory I'd like to hear your thoughts on."
"Of course." He wants to question me without letting me know the others know I'm a suspect. Light followed the detective up some stairs and down a few hallways until they arrived in what could only be described as a hotel suite. There were two couches facing each-other with a table between, a laptop sitting in the middle.
L took a seat on one couch and immediately opened up the laptop. "Tell me Light, are you aware that Misa Amane is a Kira supporter?"
So, he's been looking into Misa. "Yes, we've spoken about it before."
"And that hasn't dampened your feelings towards her?" Light could see the screen reflected in L's eyes as he began typing on the laptop.
"Every relationship has philosophical differences. Kira's philosophy is an attractive one, especially for people in Misa's situation, that's why he has such broad public support." It was impossible to hide the fact Misa supported Kira. Even if she hadn't stated so in several interviews, the situation with her parents made denying her views difficult.
"Yes that is quite understandable. Still, she isn't merely a Kira supporter, she regularly furnishes websites with the names and faces of criminals." L spun the laptop around, showing multiple graphs. "Several dozen of the identifies she has exposed are of criminals that have since wound up dead. Some would consider her an accessory to murder, though obviously such charges would never last in a court of law."
Light feigned some mild shock. "I knew she visited those sites, and to be honest I suspected she might have posted her parents' killer to one, but I..."
Inside he smiled. You just proved our plan worked. Misa had been posting the names she looked up for the last few weeks in case L was able to monitor her internet. As time went by, it had been easier and easier to find criminals by other means, but searching news sites was still the fastest and most reliable.
"There is also this." L brought up a picture of the tape they'd received weeks ago threatening his life. "Thanks to your father I was able to obtain the forensics report on the tape once it was finished. They found a large number of fingerprints and samples of DNA on it, all of them belonging to known criminals, most of whom have been found dead." He took a sip of coffee casually. "That leaves only the tape itself. I had one of our new agents look into that matter. As it turns out, the tape itself had no serial number or identification of any kind which is apparently standard for the company. The other thing the company is known for is high visual fidelity. In other words, it's the exact kind of brand that would be familiar to a model."
Light stood up. "Are you accusing Misa of being the second Kira now?" He let a small amount of anger into his voice and demeanor.
L calmly took a bite of his cake, swallowing before he responded. "Three percent. Light, I want to share my full theory with you before bringing it to the rest of the group because I am aware how emotionally invested you are."
Light sat back down, enjoying the freedom to express some of the loathing he felt towards his rival openly. No, you want to judge my reaction. Soichiro Yagami's love-struck son would be offended and angered at the accusation on her behalf. That will only have the chance to change once you present a compelling argument and he's forced to confront the possibility logically.
"Tell me, how intelligent is miss Amane?"
If you can access forensics reports still, you can access school records. "She's much smarter than most people give her credit for. If it wasn't for her parents' death, she'd probably be one of my classmates, but that doesn't mean-"
"Light, allow me to elaborate." There was a pause, when Light stayed quiet, he resumed. "Imagine a person living in a world with Kira. They share his morals, and then somehow they obtain his ability to kill. Their first two goals would be to contact the real Kira and to obtain some kind of information on the investigation in order to stay one step ahead."
L looked Light in the eyes. "Tracking down L is impossible, so their only lead on the investigation would be via the NPA. However, it's public knowledge that many police officers have threatened to resign rather than work on the Kira case for fear of their lives, so what officer should they target specifically? Higher up positions would be too far removed, butt the chief would either be on the team himself, or know first-hand who was. So how to get close to him? If this person was young, attractive, and famous, the chief's teenage son would be the obvious one to exploit."
Light stayed quiet. The narrative was compelling, and unnervingly close to how Misa actually found him. No doubt the theory L had in his head for if Light was Kira went very similarly. "Alternatively, imagine such a person already had a source of some kind within the police, or otherwise was able to obtain information. To find the real Kira, the best place to start looking would be their list of suspects."
Then they can view that list with their additional knowledge to figure out if any of them are Kira, but you won't say that. Claiming I'm innocent lets you keep me even closer to watch with your new agents. I wonder how the rest of the team will feel about you lying to them about something so important though.
"They would then pick out a likely candidate, and approach them for more information. There are likely certain key words of some kind related to how they commit these murders that would allow covert confirmation of their identities. And our number one suspect for quite some time, though this information was kept reasonably secret, was you, Light."
Light closed his eyes and sighed. "From an objective standpoint your theory is sound, but there's no evidence to support it."
"You're correct." The detective leaned forwards. "When I suspected you of being Kira, you were happy to cooperate in order to prove your innocence. I am hoping you will maintain that attitude now that I am suspicious of Misa."
"You want me to spy on her?" If I accept, I can feed him information. That's exactly what he wants though, he probably will be having our interactions watched so he can catch me in a lie.
"Yes. If my theory is wrong you'll find nothing and have nothing to report. If I'm correct, you're in the prime position to catch her."
Light closed his eyes. Just a little hesitation to make it seem like a difficult choice. "Ryuzaki, I can't do that." He looked the detective straight in the eyes as he lied. "I can't abuse someone's trust like that, especially not the trust of someone I care about." He stood up. "I've kept everything about the investigation secret from her and will continue to do so. I'm even willing to separate my personal life completely from this and help investigate her, but only as a detective, not as her boyfriend."
L stayed silent, stirring his drink. Light moved towards the door. "I understand if you no longer want me as part of the task-force, it's hardly appropriate for a detective to be romantically involved with a suspect." If he really does believe I'm innocent now, he'll want me to continue helping with the investigation. If he's lying and just hiding his suspicion, he'll want to continue keeping me close to catch me. He has no other option and he knows it.
The detective loudly set down his cup. "Light, would it go against your morals to arrange for us to interview miss Amane?"
Author's Note:
This is going to be a bit of a long rambling note and more about myself than the story, so feel free to stop reading now. I started writing fan-fiction because I was having difficulty getting over writer's block with my own concepts. I'd write a page or two of an idea and then just get stuck not knowing how to continue. I felt fan-fiction (specifically what-if type stories) would be easier because I could essentially skip the introductory chapters where I'd always get stuck trying to explain characters and concepts and go straight to the parts I enjoy thinking about. Death Note just happened to be a series I was re-watching at the time.
This has become by far the longest narrative I've ever been able to write, and it does feel like the experience has helped (and is continuing to help) me improve. The reason I'm adding this note on this chapter specifically is actually a bit of a celebratory one (which of course requires some explanation). I write my first drafts by hand in basic school notebooks (the kind with the spiral binder and dividers). As of a few days ago (roughly aligning with when I finished the content gone over in this chapter), I've filled 1/3rd of that notebook (52 double sided pages), and it is very inspiring to be able to look at that physical evidence and know I have the ability to actually put words onto a page.
I hope all of you enjoy and continue to enjoy this story (and hopefully others in the future) as much as I do.