CHAPTER 20 - THE TOURNEY, PART III

After the trolls incident, they had finally time to slow down, because the tourney changed again. No one was chasing after them and the following few tasks were logically oriented. Like puzzles.

Misa wasn't much of a use in these tasks and she was mostly following Light's lead. But she was getting crazy tired. This tourney was longer than any she experienced before. But also, she never got so far before so… maybe it was not actually that long. She just lacked the experience. Unlike Light, who won the last two years.

It must be at least 11 PM already. She thought and followed Light through the corridor, towards the new task.

Light felt like he was floating. The experience of synchronizing himself with his inner omega was mind blowing. It felt incredible. Like he was 100 percent present in the moment, with no second thoughts, just the power of peace overtaking him and his magic.

Yes, right now, he was tired, because an hour before he was doing him magic the wrong way. But the experience of sync brought excitement to his veins and he was happily solving the magical tasks in the next part of the tourney.

He was just happy.

Lawliet was right. If I am able to admit what's inside me, I can let go. I can find peace.

Lawliet…

Light stopped his mind on that name and he was able to see his face in front of his eyes. The image of that man was burned into his memory as clearly as an image of Sayu or his parents.

It was his advice that helped me to unwind. And it was also his voice I heard, telling me that I can do this.

Light bit his lower lip while thinking: No… that's impossible. It must have been a hallucination. My mind projecting what I wanted to hear.

Then he remembered everything he'd been through that night and it made him frown deeply.

But this tourney… all these tasks are… I dont know… It's like one of his lessons. It's like it was all built for me… But he wouldn't do that, would he? He would build the whole tourney around my problems just to help me… no, no… that doesn't fit. He is not so kind.

Or is he?

Light must have stopped his thoughts, because they arrived at another task room. They both stood at the sill, examining, what exactly is in front of them.

The room didn't have any floor. There was just a dark crater, which led probably somewhere deep under the castle. Instead of the floor, there were rectangular carpets floating in the air. All of them on the same level, simulating a floor, but the gaps between them were large enough to see the hole under.

Light wanted to know how deep the crater was and sent down a sparkle of light from his wand. They watched as rocks around the pit lightened up and darkened again as the sparkle was falling deeper and deeper. After a few seconds, it was only a small glow and then, it disappeared somewhere in the darkness.

Misa instinctively took a step back from the edge and felt goosebumps on her skin.

"Mph… I don't like this… not a bit." She said and looked at the door on the other side of the room. It was good 30 meters in front of them. So they needed to somehow get through these carpets to get to the other side.

"Do you think it is possible to just… fly over it?" She asked Light, who was currently calculating and trying to read some pattern the coloring of carpets. He was sure it was just another puzzle to solve.

"You can try to use Accio to get a broomstick here, but I doubt it's gonna work." Light said, not even looking at Misa.

Misa nodded, really tried Accio and waited. It would take some time for the broomstick to get there.

Light was not the one to sit around and wait. Instead he tried spells to build a bridge over the void and few other ideas. But as Light expected, nothing worked. So he decided for an old school approach. He took a few stones he found in the corridor behind them and started throwing them on those carpets, to see what's gonna happen.

Only seconds later his theory was proven right. Once the stone touched the green carpet, it disappeared with a puff and only a small cloud of steam remained behind it. The same happened with red ones and yellow ones. The only color that didn't react was a blue. It was still, looking like it had a solid ground underneath.

I wonder if it's a coincidence that only the color of Ravenclaw house seems to be safe. Light asked himself.

Misa was watching what Light was doing and she was also looking back to the corridor, waiting for the broomstick to arrive. But nothing happened. Even when she waited a little longer, no broomstick flew in for their rescue.

"I don't think it worked, Misa." Light said after a moment, when she tried to look as if she wasn't even there.

"Maybe we can wait a bit longer…" she told him and tried to be as far from the edge as possible.

Light raised an eyebrow when he saw her reaction: "What's the matter, are you afraid of heights?"

"Maybe… a little?" She said, suddenly looking very unsure of herself.

Light frowned. He remembered that she didn't like flying lessons in the first grade. But he really needed her for this:

"Alright… Misa, listen, I think we are close to the end of this tourney and I need your help now. Do you think you can bear with me a little longer?"

Misa nodded slowly, not looking him in the eye: "I… I… what do you want me to do?"

"I need you to step on the blue carpet…" Light started, but she immediately cut him of with a scared look on her face:

"What?! Light, what if it's going to disappear like the others?"

"You just saw the stone, nothing happened. I think we need to take a certain path to get through but I need to be sure." He explained himself calmly.

"Why don't you try yourself?" Misa spat at him and made another step back.

Light breathed out impatiently:

"Because, you are lighter than me. If I will hold you by your hands for the whole time and the carpet would disappear, I'll be holding you and pull you up. But if it was the other way around, you wouldn't be able to pull me up. I am too heavy for you. Do you understand?"

"But… but I…" Misa wanted to protest but he didn't let her.

"It's alright Misa, I'll be holding you the whole time. I won't let you fall. I promise."

Their eyes met. Light gave her a reassuring smile and outstretched his hand towards her. Misa was still hesitating but she took his hand anyway. She knew Light wasn't lying to her. He wouldn't let her fall. No matter how many years passed, this was still Light. Her knight in shining armor.

They moved together closer to the edge of the crater and Misa looked down, just to look back up quickly, because her stomach made somersault. She shook her head and her breathing quickened. She wanted to run away.

Light caught her by her arms and forced her to look at him again: "Hey, hey, hey… it's alright. Just don't look down, okay? Look at me."

Misa did as he said.

"Breath in slowly... That's it! And out." Light was leading her, exactly like Lawliet was leading him through his meditations: "Alright now… I want you to step on that blue carpet with one leg and if it will feel safe, you can transfer your weight and add the other leg, okay?"

"It won't feel safe!" Misa hissed desperately and held Light's arms so strong that he felt her nails cutting skin under his shirt.

"It will. I promise. I'll be holding your hands for the whole time." Light was still reassuring her, letting her know he meant it.

Misa closed her eyes and pursed her lips into a thin line, trying to find a courage:

"Just...hold me tightly, okay?"

"I do. Don't worry, I do." Light nodded and held her as tightly as he could.

Misa slowly reached out her leg to the carpet and closed her eyes again, not to look. Her foot touched it, but nothing happened. It was still there and felt solid and stable under her feet. She opened her eyes and added a little weight. But the carpet didn't fall down or disappeared. She turned her head towards Light and smiled weakly.

"See… it's good. Now you can step with both of your legs." Light told her and smiled at her again.

Misa was still scared as a small mouse, but she did as she was told. A moment later, she was standing still on the carpet, both her hands joined with Light, who was still standing on the edge of the corridor.

"Good job, Misa. See? It's perfectly safe. Nothing happened. I am gonna let go of you now, okay?"

"Whyyyyy?" Misa suddenly panicked. "Aren't you gonna join me?!"

Light nodded: "I will, don't worry, I just need to take a few more stones, so we can use them to test another carpets."

"Why didn't you do it sooner?" Misa said in a higher pitch, getting nervous about being left there alone.

"Because I am going to do it now. There is no need to worry Misa, you are perfectly safe where you are."

With that sentence, he let go of her hands and quickly ran to the corridor. He heard Misa screaming his name, but he knew she was safe, just having a little tantrum. He smirked at that. He didn't know why but it occurred to him that if he was there with Lawliet, their positions would be switched. Not that Light was afraid of heights, but Lawliet would surely find a way to mock him and make him a nervous wreck. He had talent for that.

Light quickly came back to Misa who was throwing daggers at him with her eyes. But… she was still standing safe on the blue carpet.

"See… told you, perfectly safe." Light smiled cockily.

"Don't you ever dare to leave me like this again!" She hissed at him.

Light chuckled.

Yeah, no wonder Lawliet likes to mock me… this is fun. He thought and stepped on the carpet to Misa. There was not much space for two people, so they were standing quite close to each other.

"Now what?" Misa asked as soon as he was beside her and caught on his arm, to have something solid to hold on to.

Light didnt answer, just took out stones from his pocket and tested it on another line of carpets. The pattern was the same as before. All the carpets puffed away, but the blue one was still on its place.

"This time you are going first." Misa said with a bossy tone.

Light chuckled: "Mmmm… sure."

With that, he moved and made a small jump on another carpet. He landed, like it was a solid ground and smiled at Misa: "See… safe!"

Misa rolled her eyes. She didn't like when he was overly confident. It was annoying. Misa made a large step towards him and he quickly caught her, to make sure she wont lose her balance.

They followed the same pattern for the next few lines of carpets and everything seemed to be in order. Everything, but the fact that it was too easy. And they didn't need to use magic at all.

Light frowned.

This doesn't feel right… he thought and looked again at the carpets in front of them. They were not far away from the exit, but Light was quite sure that the pattern of their way had to change at some point. He was sure something was going to happen soon. At the moment Light got so lost in his thoughts that he missed that Misa started moving by herself, skipping their stones ritual.

"No! Misa, wait!" He yelled the very second the girl stepped on another blue carpet with one leg. He quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her back, while he heard her screaming.

The moment she stepped on the carpet, she felt like something caught her leg and it pulled up. But at the same moment, she felt Light's hand catching her and pulling her back towards him.

Luckily, Light was stronger and managed to get her back to safety.

The next second, he almost fell from their carpet, because Misa was hysterically screaming and climbing on his back. He almost lost his stability.

"Misa, calm down!" He yelled at her but she was still screaming to his ear.

"Calm down if you don't wanna fall!" He yelled and the screaming stopped within a second.

Light let out a long sigh. His ears were still full of that annoying high pitch sound and he was struggling to carry the full weight of the girl on his back.

"Misa, can you please, get down?" He asked and felt that she shook her head in disagreement. Her face was practically hidden behind his neck and Light felt her hot breath.

"What… what was that?" She stuttered, but still didnt let go of Light.

Light finally got a chance to examine what happened. It was obviously a trap. Lawliet must have presumed that someone would lose his attention at some point and blindly go through the blue carpets trail. And Misa almost fell for it too.

But what was that thing that caught Misa's leg? Light asked himself.

It all happened so quick, that he didn't even see. He looked around and didn't see anything dangerous. Until a moment, when his eyes traveled to a ceiling.

Up there was... a spider web.

Light rolled his eyes.

Sure… of course he would use his stupid trap in a tourney.

Light felt irritated by it, but he was also a bit ashamed that he didnt think of it at all. It was a room full of carpets and this possibility didn't come to him.

Light needed to answer something to Misa, who was currently examining the spider web above their heads. But this was not a good time to tell her the story about how he saw Lawliet half naked in his cabinet.

There will never be a good time for this story! His mind told him and he felt his cheeks burning.

"Just another trap Misa, but you are safe now. Just… don't move further without me, okay?" He told her and patted the hand that was holding tightly around his neck.

"I am sorry, I won't." She mumbled and pressed her face back into his neck.

"It's alright… now, can you please go down, so we can continue?"

"No…"

"I beg a pardon?" Light asked in confusion, while looking over his shoulder.

"I am not stepping on those damn carpets again. You will carry me." Misa hissed and her eyes were ice cold.

"Are you joking?! Misa, you are heavy!" Light raised his voice at the girl.

"You are carrying me! End of discussion!" She yelled to his ear and he almost jumped in shock.

"For heaven's sake…" Light hissed under his breath. He knew very well that there was no way of persuading her otherwise. So he caught Misa's legs, to have a better control over her weight. They were only three carpet lines from the exit. He could do it with her on his back. Not that he had a choice.

Light repeated his stone ritual. This time, the red carpet was the only one that remained and for another line it was the same. Light felt seriously relieved when 5 minutes later, they got to the last line and were only two steps from the exit. He couldn't wait to get Misa down from his back. He was getting all sweaty from the weight.

He threw his last stones and it was again a red carpet to stay in a place, while others disappeared in the air. Light took a large step forward. But the moment his weight touched the carpet... it disappeared.

Then, everything was fastly moving in blur as they were falling down the void.

He heard Misa screaming as she let go of him at some point.

He heard himself screaming as his whole being was overtaken with fear.

He didn't know how long they were falling but it felt like an eternity as well as only a second. Then… Light registered that they were approaching a bright light. He realized it was probably a bottom of a crater. He held his breath, prepared himself for a tough landing and a few cracked bones. But before they could crush the ground, the tempo in which they were falling suddenly slowed down and they stopped completely 3 meters above the ground. Misa finally stopped screaming and they both were just floating in the air only a few meters apart from each other. When Light's heart stopped beating wildly in his chest, he noticed that the ground below them was stacked by colorful pillows.

"Light, how will we…" Misa didn't even finish the question, because at that moment, the magic barrier that held them disappeared and they both fell down to those pillows. Misa screamed for the last time and then, there was silence. Both of them needed a few seconds to calm down and catch a breath. As Light was slowly cooling down, he felt waves of anxiety going through his body. As if it just realized, just how dangerous the situation was.

Misa was the first to recover, she sat up and started yelling hysterically: "YOU SAID IT WAS SAFE! FOR GOD'S SAKE, LIGHT! I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE!"

Misa was going on and on like this, yelling, screaming and at one point, she even started throwing those pillows at him.

Light couldn't help but start laughing. At that moment, he didn't care that they didn't manage to finish the tourney. He didn't care to figure out what he missed. He was just happy they were alive and safe. The whole evening was enough for him anyway. It will take him weeks to understand all those things that happened to him that night. So at this point, he didn't really care about anything, but the fact that they were alive.

"Light! Stop laughing! This isn't funny!" Misa yelled and moved towards him.

"I am sorry…" he let out after a moment, when he finally calmed down and looked at Misa, who was currently sitting next to him, with a pillow in her hand, ready to attack again.

"I am really sorry, Misa. It seemed safe. It must have been another trap. I am sorry."

Misa let out a quick sigh and layed down next to Light, without saying a word.

"And I am sorry we didn't manage to finish the tourney. I know how much it meant for you." Light added and turned his head towards the blond, whose face was just a few centimeters away from his.

Misa slowly shook her head: "It doesn't matter…" she started and then smiled at Light: "It was great fun anyway! I really enjoyed working with you!"

Light smiled back at her: "Yeah… me too."

There was a moment of silence, when Light was thinking what to say. He felt like he should say something symbolic, to make sure where they stand now. Because they got through a lot that night and Light couldn't imagine getting this far in a tourney with anyone else but her. He really liked her company. He probably would not be able to stand her so many hours a day but… she was cool. And most importantly, she was... herself.

Light bit his lower lip and found courage: "Misa… if you wouldn't mind I would like…. I mean… I would want us to…"

"Be friends again?" Misa cut him off, knowing exactly what he wanted to say.

Light nodded shyly and watched Misa's face changing with a wide smile. But it quickly turned sad again, as a sudden thought hit her.

"Light… I… I would love that. You know that but… I really need to know… if there is something between you and Lawliet."

Light rolled his eyes and looked away from her. He couldn't believe that she could be so clever and yet so stupid at the same time.

"No, wait, don't get me wrong…" she continued and put a hand on his shoulder: "I really want to be your friend. But the thing is... I am in love, Light. And if you are in love with him too, it would be simply too painful for us to become friends and then falling apart because one or the other would really get him."

"Misa, I don't think that Lawliet would fall for eith..."

"You can't know that... weider things happened! And I wouldn't want to lose you again because of that!"

Light closed his eyes and nodded: "I understand."

Then there was a moment of silence. He knew Misa was awaiting his answer. He let out a long sigh and buried his head between two pillows. Which was probably the most teenage-like gesture he did in front of someone in years.

He didn't want to say it out loud. Damn... he didn't want to acknowledge it himself.

But... he did like Lawliet.

He liked him a lot.

He had no idea why, but he did.

He wouldn't call it love. He knew there was a lot of physical attraction because of the scent, but it didn't have anything to do with love. Then there was also Light's weakness for the man's laugh and his eyes, but that also wasn't love. But the fact that Lawliet was almost constantly on his mind and he was giving Light so much courage and support to go on, was ridiculously close to the edge of falling in love.

I can't... I can't be falling for him... he is my teacher... that would never work out… Light thought and his heart sank deeper in his chest.

How can Misa be so confident about marrying him? He asked himself and didn't like the idea a bit. Her whole loud affection towards the man was ridiculous in the first place. The chance that Lawliet would want to start an affair with a student was minimal. And even if... going for the easiest target wouldn't be Lawliet's style or would it?

Sure, he likes blondes, but that doesn't mean he would fall for Misa.

The thought of the two of them together was alright two days ago, when Light was pissed at him and wanted to see him suffer. But as he spent the last 3 hours in Misa's company, he realized, it wouldn't be a punishment at all.

Misa is smart, brave, talented and she is acting on her feelings. She is not blocked at all and she is in complete sync with her second gender.

Light felt even worse than a second before.

Hell, I don't want to see it happening!

He squeezed the pillow instinctively as panic was taking over his body.

Alright... Alright... Maybe I do have feelings for him! But... its... natural... he is the closest alpha to me and he already helped me a lot and...

For some reason, Light felt like crying. He hugged the pillow even more tightly, knowing he needed to snap out of it and give Misa some answer. The longer he waited, the more he was adding to her theory.

But I can't tell her all this... It doesn't matter anyway... it's not that I could ever act on those feelings. I just need to make sure it won't grow more because... I simply don't want to be in love with him... I can't... It would be pure torture to train with him for the rest of the year. Knowing he would never be... He will never be... mine...

Light felt like puking at that moment. His head was spinning and his heart aching. He felt his whole being trembling and he knew he was right. There was no future for them. No matter how much attraction he felt towards the man, Lawliet didn't see him that way. For him he was just a student. Maybe... maybe an entertainment, but nothing more.

My feelings don't matter. It doesn't matter if it's love or not. I need to think racional now. I can't have Lawliet... but I can have Misa as my friend. And I need to focus on what I can have. I need to focus on right here and right now. Yes, I do like Lawliet. But now that I admitted it to myself... I can let go.

Light finally let go of the pillow and sat up. Misa did the same and she was watching him with curious eyes.

"I admit that I do like him... in a certain way. I admire his work and his abilities as an Auror, wizard and a teacher. Don't ever tell him, but... I do enjoy his company. "

Misa's eyes saddened and she looked down on her hands: "So you do have feelings for him… I knew it…. the way you are searching for him everywhere with your eyes..."

Light didnt want to hear more of that, so he cut her off with the most logical explanation he could offer:

"I grew fond of him. A lot. There's no point denying it. And I think it's kinda natural that I tend to search for him in the crowd when I am used to being around him a lot. He is an alpha after all and I am an omega. My second gender is pulled towards him whether I want it, or not. But… that doesnt mean I am going to jump on him."

Misa was silent for a moment, thinking about what he just said:

"So… that means… you see him more like a head of your pack?"

Light nodded, trying not to meet her eyes: "I believe so, yes… It is natural, you know. I am quite sure this would change if I would get a chance to spend more time around Mikami, or... another alpha."

Misa bit her lower lip: "So… you really don't see Lawliet that way?"

Light didn't want to answer that question. Because he would have to lie. And starting a friendship with a lie isn't a good idea. So he decided to avoid the answer and answer her as truthfully as possible. He let out a long sigh and patted the girl's shoulder: "Misa, he is my teacher. And I plan on him to stay that way. And besides… he's into blondes."

Her eyes went impossibly wide and she let out a high squeak:

"Whaaaat?! How do you know that?!"

"He told me…" Light shrugged, not really sure why he told her, when he didn't like her getting high hopes.

"Seriously?! Really?! Light, that's amazing!" She shone with excitement and put a hand over her forehead as if she suddenly got a fever.

"Yeah, you might actually have a chance!" He told and immediately wanted to slap himself.

Misa hurled forward and hugged him tightly: "Oh Light, you have no idea how much this means to me! I was really worried! Especially when I noticed Lawliet started attending dinners with us. I was worried he was doing it to be closer to you! I was afraid he was falling for you! I never really thought that he might see you as a part of his pack! But it makes sense! Now I know I don't need to worry! Oh Light, you are amazing!"

"Oh come on Misa, stop, that's enough…" Light was trying to get away from her embrace. It was uncomfortable. Especially, because he felt guilty for not telling her entire truth.

But I told her the truth… I am not in love with Lawliet. And I'll make sure of these feelings… whatever they are now, will not grow anymore. Light told himself and felt determined to do it. If not for himself, then for his new friendship with Misa.

"You could lose a word for me, when you have your lessons, you know…" She said when she finally drew away from him.

Light shook his head quickly: "No way! I am not helping you to his bed! You are his student too!"

Misa digged into his ribs: "Oh come on, Light, don't be so old schooled!"

Light ignored her note and stood up. This discussion was over for him and he really didn't want to think about Lawliet anymore. He looked around and saw a door near them.

"Alright, time to get out. This might lead back to the great hall." He said, pointing out at the door.

"Mmm… let's go." Misa stood up and hung herself on his arm. Light rolled his eyes theatrically, but he didn't really mind. He quite enjoyed these signs of affection. Together, they got through all the pillows and opened the door.

They stepped into the room and Light immediately paused at the sight in front of them. It was a round room with pedestals around its circuit. On those pedestals animals were seated watching them curiously. But those animals were not real. They were conjured and looked like they were made of light.

"What is this place?" Misa asked, while looking between the pedestals where animals quietly were totally twelve of them. Six glowing in red color and six in blue.

Light pursed his lips together, while his brain wheels started spinning fast.

But that's impossible… it can not be another task room, can it? We fell down… we failed!

Light noticed there was a scroll, floating in the centre of the room and he moved forward to claim it. He took it to his hands, unrolled and quickly read it.

"What's written there?" Misa demanded and tried to look over Light's shoulder.

Light smirked and looked over his shoulder at Misa.

"Seems like we are still in the game."

Wait, WHAT?! Is she serious? This fucking tourney will be even longer?!

Yes, my dears. But the next chapter will be the final chapter of the journey. We will also witness Light's and L's reunion and some evaluation of the tourney. As well as a hurricane of emotions from Light.

A big thank you to my commenters! I am happy you like the story! :)

PS: Today is Light's birthday! I hope everyone will have a cake for our precious hard headed boy! :)