Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Light fell on the ground, writhing in pain, inwardly cursing Ryuuk. He couldn't believe he was going to die by his own weapon. He, Kira, was dying by a heart attack and it was all because of the thrice damned apple loving Shinigami.

He clutched his chest; his senses were slowly losing focus of his surroundings.

Light's mind replayed many scenes from his life, mostly related to a certain detective, who was his rival. If L was here he would have definitely mocked his situation. But L wasn't here. L was dead and Light would soon be joining him.

And suddenly, an odd sort of wish gripped Light out of nowhere. He wished he could just see L one more time.

Light's vision was blurry but he was quite certain that there was an odd shadow-like figure approaching him. The shadowy silhouette came to a stop before him and even through his blurred vision Light could recognize it was L. L was dead but of course Light would hallucinate about L in his final moments. It filled him with a sense of shame that he wanted to see L so much that his mind conjured up this apparition to- to console himself in his dying moments. 

L opened his mouth and Light was distinctly aware that he was saying something but the words were not registering and he couldn't find it within himself to care.

“...wake up.”

Light slid his eyes closed.

Snap.

The man watched as the flames licked and destroyed everything in its path. For what seemed like forever, the flames continued to burn so bright, so vivid, that the man could almost feel the heat even through the re-enforced viewing glass panel. The room was illuminated with the reflection of the flames. Perhaps it wasn’t the brightest idea to let the fire burn so close, even with all the safety precautions. But he wanted to see the results immediately. Except nothing happened.

His gaze flicked to the unconscious figure on the bed. Steady heartbeat. Steady breathing. No change.

A soft sigh.

“Well, it was worth a try, but i wonder when you will wake up.”

Light opened his eyes. 

A moment of disorientation, eyes rapidly blinking because of the light.

"Mr. Yagami, do you get this problem?" came a male voice, sounding oddly like his teacher from high school, somewhere ahead of him. Light looked up, his face slipping into a perfect mask with practiced ease as if on autopilot, and he noticed that, yes, it was his teacher and he was in his classroom back in high school.

Light quickly glanced at the black board. Hm, calculus. Easy.

He quickly solved the problem in his head before answering the teacher without batting an eyelid and the man went back to teaching his class.

Light leaned backward in his seat, making sure his mask of concentration was perfect, and started analyzing his situation in his head.

As far as he could recall, he and the rest of the Kira Investigation Team were in the warehouse but Near had foiled his plans. It was revealed that he was Kira and Matsuda, that bumbling idiot, shot him before he could finish writing Near's name in the piece of death note in his watch, THREE times. After which Ryuuk killed him via the death note.

So the question was how the hell was he in his math classroom back in high school? Light's mind was racing with an infinite number of possibilities, each one more absurd than the last.

Light quickly checked the time and the date.

Wait, this is the time when… Light turned his head toward the window and sure enough he could distinctly see a black object fall from the sky. The Death Note .

Light felt this odd sort of pull inside him. His desire to go and get the death note was overwhelming and was threatening to engulf him. But he had to wait until the class ended no matter how unbearable his urge was.

Light made a dash for it when the bell, thank god, finally rang (Of course he made sure he looked picture perfect). He reached the school yard and made his way towards the hedges where he knew the death note was located, only to freeze. His stomach dropped. Shock and panic bubbled up inside him and the back of his head throbbed.

The death note was gone .

Someone other than him had the death note.

Chapter Text

Ryuk hadn't come to him. It was to be expected as Light didn't have the death note with him this time around. But it did drive home the fact that things were so different this time around.

He was back in time, given a second chance to finish what he couldn't the first time around. But then someone had stolen his death note. How dare they!  

Ever since he lost the death note, he had been going through the motions of his life detachedly, like an observer of his own life. What galled him the most though was that whoever had the death note now had been doing the same things that Light had done previously- killing criminals on death rows left and right, both domestically and internationally. The media had taken to calling the new death note user, Kira . As if that fake imitation was anything like Light, that wannabe God . 

Light was God. Light was the Chosen One. Light was the one who had died and come back to achieve the utopia he had envisioned.

Not this fake masquerading around as him.

Not for long though. Light would get his rightful place back. He would not let this precious second chance go to waste.

'In retrospect' , Light thought to himself, 'It was rather obvious that this was a trap.'

Everything was coming to head and now was the time for the big finale. The end before the important events can actually start. The supposed worldwide broadcast.

'You shouldn't have done that,' Light chided the new Kira inside his head with dark amusement, as he watched Lind L. Tailor get a heart attack on screen. There was a sense of embarrassment tickling at the back of his mind for falling for such an obvious trap, which he squashed immediately. Hindsight, after all, was 20/20.

The screen went black, and the L logo appeared. There was L. The real L. Speaking through voice modification.

Light's chest felt tight for some reason. L was speaking, condemning Kira, but Light couldn't focus on his words, past the turbulent emotions warring inside him. Pride, rage, grief (and happiness?) all whirled inside his head before settling on excitement. Excitement at the fact that his true rival was back. And this time, they would be playing a new game. And Light would win again because—"I'm justice," Light said aloud, coincidentally echoing L who had said the same on screen.

He grinned.

Light had a plan. A plan to get his death note back and take back his rightful position. He was the God, not the person who was currently acting as Kira. (Acting Kira. Light dubbed him A-Kira in his head. And if anyone ever heard him using that name. Well Akira was a common name ).

His plan was rather simple. He would need to be just suspicious enough that he pinged on the Kira task force radar. He was banking on L being intrigued, suspicious regarding Light’s intentional, behavioral clues that he would leave behind- indicating that he knew more than he was letting on. Given how L would be unable to find any concrete clues that would incriminate Light, L would want to keep him close in the chance he slipped up- Light would get the same offer as before, the offer to get to work alongside L and the task force again.

That way Light would have more leads as to who A-Kira could be. One step closer to his utopia.

Chapter Text

Light was starting to develop an annoying twitch under his right eye from the sheer irritation at his circumstances.

Last time around Light's mistakes and lack of knowledge on wielding the death note had led L to the conclusion that Kira was a student. And later, due to correcting that behavior (truly what had he been thinking  giving himself away like that?), L had also reasonably concluded that Kira had access to the police database. Which inevitably led to the FBI following people related to the police.

This time around he had to mimic those circumstances. He had, earlier on, encoded a message that he hacked into the police database. The very same, 'L do you know that Shinigami loves apples?’

L had determined that there was a 1% chance that the message was from Kira. (What was with L and 1%? Whatever, as long as it got his attention.)

Not that it ended up being necessary. Because apparently A-Kira was also a student, A-Kira also had access to the police database. A-Kira was doing the same freaking thing he did. No doubt A-Kira too was going through the learning curve of using the death note.

Since the same circumstances repeated, the same consequences were sure to follow.

The only goddamn problem was that, thanks to that message about apples, A-Kira would be aware that someone else knew about the death note. Someone else knew about Ryuk personally to know that he loved apples. All that message did was put him on A-Kira's radar. 

Fuck everything.

It was grating on Light, how similar A-Kira was to Light. A person with the same circumstances and ideals as him. Someone who also wanted to achieve what Light had set out to achieve. What Light had failed to do. It was as if the universe was trying to replace him with a different replica. But no. That couldn't be. Light refused to accept that, refused to be replaced from his rightful place. Light was the one who came back . 

And Light was the one who would become the God of the utopia he was going to create.

A-Kira was merely a third-rate Kira, only there until Light could take his rightful place.

A little consolation was that A-Kira didn't play games with L. Leaving little hints and clues at the crime scenes for L to pick up on. Because if L decided that this subpar imitation of Light would be his worthy rival, Light would snap. A-Kira had stolen enough from Light, he wasn't going to let him steal his rival as well. L was his rival, not A-Kira's. (It was normal for him to feel possessive over L like this, he assured himself, he was there first after all).

It takes him an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize that he was being followed. Last time Ryuk had pointed it out to him, but this time it took Light the whole day to confirm that he was being followed. And the confirmation came with a name. 

Raye Penber. 

By some ironic twist of fate, it was the very same FBI agent who was on his tail last time. Well, at least it made things easier.

Now, what to do.

Last time it was the death of Raye Penber and the subsequent death of Naomi Misora that pinged him on L's radar. But this time around he didn't have the death note, or any other full proof method of removing them from the picture without implicating him.

(He ignored the odd churning in his gut at the thought of killing. He was like that in the beginning too. But sacrifices must be made for the greater good. This just proved he needed to get the death note back. He was getting soft. Getting weak. Pathetic .)

He pondered over his current dilemma. He didn't remember the names of the other FBI agents that Penber had passed on to him. And even if he did, it wouldn't be helpful to him. And, as stated before, he had no untraceable means of killing Penber.

Perhaps, killing Penber wasn't strictly necessary, Light thought. There was something else that he could do to gain L's direct attention.

He turned on his computer and started typing.

Raye Penber

If you do not want Naomi Misora to die, remove the FBI from the Kira investigation.

Kira

Perfect. He hacked the message into the Police database.

He doubted that it would be enough to get the FBI removed from the investigation. But the FBI wasn't his problem right now (They were A-Kira's, there was nothing to implicate Light to the Kira case at the moment). Penber would surely become cautious and pull out, and he definitely wouldn't want to risk his fiancee. It might inadvertently help A-Kira by providing him with the name of an FBI agent, but it was not like A-Kira would be able to use Penber the same way Light did, since he didn't see Penber's face (plus A-Kira didn't have the eyes, as concluded by kill pattern). And even if he did manage to kill the FBI agents. Well, good. It would make it easier for Light in the future.

Most importantly though, it put Light under L's direct suspicions as Penber was assigned to Light.

Now, all he had to do was wait.

Chapter Text

The most significant thing that happened over the past few days was that the police were now aware of the existence of FBI activity in Japan and that Raye Penber had pulled out of the case, Light mused to himself, as he deleted all traces of his presence from hacking into his father's access. 

Light could read between the lines, the growing dissent between the police and L. It shouldn't be long till the police investigation on Kira be closed down and L would install the private Task Force in its place. But how long it would take was up for grabs. It helped last time that all the FBI agents were killed. It had led to various police members fearing for their lives and it had helped that America had withdrawn all FBI support due to the deaths. This time around the fear factor was less, still present, but less and America hadn't withdrawn the FBI, merely suspended further activities pending further investigation on possible leaks.

It made Light wonder whether A-Kira wasn't someone on the FBI watchlist or was he merely not competent enough to eliminate the threat. Given how closely A-Kira was able to keep up with the police investigation, Light would have thought he would be a person of interest. And if it was, letting a threat such as foreign government meddling go on was not a smart decision. A-Kira clearly was not going to be able to hold on to his position as a Kira like that. Well, no matter, soon enough A-Kira would become a non-entity and Light would be back in his rightful place.

It was just a matter of waiting.

Well, it looked like he didn't have to wait long. A week later the official police investigation on Kira was declared to be closed. Light had no doubt that his father had drafted himself into whatever private investigation L was conducting. Light wondered if all the people that had previously taken part would join this time as well. He would know soon enough.

From the nuances that Light could pick up, the police had become too wary to continue with the investigation because A-Kira proved to be too much of a danger. The police weren't keen on continuing the investigation given they carried out their duty wearing their name tags. And given what had happened their worries were justified.

What had happened was that A-Kira had managed to kill all FBI members assigned to the Kira case. Light could hear his teeth grinding against each other in frustration.  He would grudgingly accept that was a smart move, the only move. How had A-Kira managed such a feat?

A-Kira must have used Ryuk in some way no doubt. Perhaps he had taken Ryuk's offer of the Shinigami eyes...?

(And that was another reason why A-Kira could never measure up to Light. He had no vision, no goal. Just the motions of a mindless minion. Perhaps if A-Kira proved to be particularly obedient, malleable Light could show mercy and have him work under him.)

Another pressing detail that Light came across was that only 11 FBI members were dead. Last time it had been 12. The only conclusion Light could come up with was perhaps Penber didn't die since he pulled out of the case. But was such a mercy wise? Or was it merely a case of being overlooked.

Light slammed his fist on the table in frustration. He didn't have all the variables. He didn't have all the information. And from now on his means of getting information has become severely limited as the official police investigation is over. (Another win that A-Kira has managed. The only consolation is that A-Kira too would not get any new information on what L was up to in regards to the Kira case.)

All he could do was wait. And wait he did for several days. And then one day when he was about to enter his room, his eyes fell on to his leveled door handle. He stopped. The paper was still in place. With anticipation rising inside him, he quickly checked the door hinge. The lead of the pencil was intact.

Light smirked.

The game was on .

Chapter Text

There was a slight leap to Light's step as he entered his room, which to the unobservant eye could be mistaken for his normal walk. But Light knew L would at least pick up on the fact that Light was pleased about something. And he was.

He set the bowl of fruits in his hand on the table and switched on the television, changing channels a few times until deliberately stopping on the show that had Hideki Ryuga in it. It was a subtle deliberate jab at L, whose "humor", if it could be called that, would be to pick a famous name to mock Light. L had done so in his previous life, not expecting Kira to take the bait but rather so that it would stick in Light's mind, a contemplation. And a mockery of how close he was to L, and how far he was from beating L.

He made sure to look appropriately invested in the show, even though it's not something a typical guy his age would be interested in. But the last time, the fact that he had been the perfect example of someone of his age range had rubbed L the wrong way. Had made him a suspect.

This time he wanted a subtle deviation from that- enough to put him in their sight but not enough to give anything away.

With that in mind, he took an apple from the bowl and took a deliberate bite. He had made sure he was in full view of the cameras. Not that he had checked for them in this cycle, basing it off of the positions Ryuk had found before.

He made sure to make it look natural as he shifted to get comfortable on the bed while making sure to look entranced by the show. He brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Another mockery to L. 

He wondered what L was thinking, seeing the person he suspected of being Kira, "unknowingly" imitating his behavior. He kept his eyes glued to the TV. It shouldn't be too much of a giveaway. His behavior right now was as similar to a starstruck teenage girl (he had seen Sayu seated like this while fawning over her idols) as it was to reclusive detectives.

He briefly thought about gnawing on his thumb but decided that it would be overkill. Rather he decided to keep up this farce. 

'I will show you, L.'

He made sure to take a bite of the apple at appropriate intervals. And once he was done tossed in the trash. That was enough for now.

He had at the beginning thought of doing the same thing he had done before, his act before had caught L's attention once, it could do it again. However, things were different this time around so he had to adjust accordingly. Plus, this way had the bonus of subtly mocking L.

He briefly considered buying a few porn mags like last time, but discarded the idea immediately. He had only done so previously because it was typical adolescent behavior. But afterwards, after he had given up his ownership and memories of the death note, and he was chained to L 24/7, he had been rather confused when L had, of all topics, brought up his taste in porn. He hadn't remembered at the time why he brought it (as he had never been interested in the idea of sex or romance). L (that fucker) had teased him relentlessly regarding his apparent raunchy taste in the fairer sex until he was so red in the face (from anger, just anger, not embarrassment) that his ears were steaming.

So yes, a big no to porn.

He kept flicking through the channels for a while, for the lack of anything to do when suddenly a commercial caught his eyes.

Misa Amane.

An up and coming idol.

It felt like his thought process had come to grinding halt. It's not that Light had forgotten Misa (how could he when she was such a useful tool?) but he hadn't bothered to think about her much. After all, she was of no use to him now.

He turned off the TV and draped himself over the bed, as if tired, as if taking a little break, and splayed a hand over his face so that his expressions were more or less hidden from the cameras.

Misa was a complicated topic.

For one, he wasn't exactly sure the exact date Rem handed the death note to Misa, though he knew it had happened sometime before 22nd April. The day of the Sakura TV broadcast. There was also the fact that due to changes in the timeline, whether that would affect the date and Misa would receive the death note or whether it would affect when Misa would start acting as the Second Kira. A-Kira had done what he did, killed the man that had murdered Misa's parents. So, no doubt, Misa would be a staunch Kira supporter.There was no way to approach her now. But later, could he? Should he?

There was also the matter of how Light was going to convince Misa that he was Kira without the death note. He didn't lose his memories of the death note. Did that mean he still had ownership of it? Would his lifespan still appear to those with the eyes? But he suspected that A-Kira must have done the eye deal with Ryuk. Did that mean A-Kira was the owner? Wasn't it a rule that there could only be one owner at a time?

So many risks and uncertainties. Yes, it was better to avoid Misa for now. Because the biggest obstacle wasn't even Misa. Misa could be easily manipulated to do his bidding. It was Rem. Rem who hovered around Misa like a guard dog waiting to pounce. Rem who was willing to die for Misa. One wrong step and Rem would end him.

Misa was a wildcard that was of no use to him now. There was no way he was going to get the death note from under Rem's observation.If only he could get his hands on a death note before the arrival of the Second Kira, before L realized that it was possible for Kira to kill with just a face.

Of course, that limitation didn’t apply to Light. For one particular case. Or rather, the most important case.

If Light got his hands on a death note before L discovered their existence, it would be Light’s victory.

But if the opposite happened, and the death note reached L before Light could enact his justice on his one true adversary, then it already would have been game over.

And Light would take this second chance to prove once and for all his superiority.

He would show L Lawliet that Kira is justice.

Chapter Text

There was a thrum of excitement that buzzed under his skin, increasing as each day went by. He mentally ticked off days until the time for University entrance exams arrived. It almost made him feel embarrassed how much he was looking forward to this, like a teenager crossing off days on the calendar until the big day. 

The fact that he had done so and was caught by his sister only exacerbated his embarrassment. 

Earlier, Sayu came to his room for help with her studies and had stopped short at the sight of the calendar with the day of the entrance exams encircled in red and the days gone by leading up to it crossed off.

Sayu noticed the use of colors on the calendar. In all her time seeing Light study, she's never seen him mark a single line on a book. Perfect memory and his obsession with neatness ensured he never needed to rely on the kinds of memorization tricks normal people needed to remember things.

"Red huh?"

Sayu had given him a look so filled with loaded meaning that Light dread well up inside him.

"Come to think of it, big brother, you have been taking it rather easy with your studies lately plus you taken to dressing rather nicely these days," Sayu tapped the encircled date on the calendar, "Big plans after the exam?"

Well, yeah. But not like Sayu was thinking, judging by her smirk. He didn't dress well to impress L, it was his battle armor much in the way L's slovenly appearance was his. He didn't  have a date with L after all. Just a confrontation that he was going to win.

He had a plan. This time he would approach L. He would not let L blindside him like he had done in the previous timeline.

The cameras and wire traps had already been removed. Light had discreetly checked. Well that was faster than last time. A lot of things hadn't happened at the same time or same timely duration as the last time and it was sure to have consequences down the line. But there was nothing much he could do about it now. So Light tried not to think about those things and instead focus on his inevitable encounter with L.

He made his way downstairs. No doubt Mom was making breakfast preparations at this point since Dad would be heading out to work soon. He comes to a stop in front of the kitchen in time to catch the tail end of their conversation.

"–I really hope you are being safe, dear. And now you don't even have police backing for working on this case."

"Sachiko, it's alright. We have been taking every possible precaution we can. And none of us are ever alone when outside. In fact, my partner will be picking me on our way to the headquarters. Don't worry."

Don't worry . As if everything was going to be okay. As if Soichiro Yagami didn't die trying to fight against Kira. Light swallows uncomfortably. 

As if Sayu didn't become broken beyond repair. As if Sachiko wasn't left all alone in a world with no son, a broken daughter and a dead husband.

Light rests his head against the wall. He didn't like thinking about the fate that befell his family. At the time, those sacrifices were necessary, no matter what he felt about the matter. But now, in his second chance, he would make sure his path as Kira wouldn't touch them.

The sound of the doorbell ringing brings him out of his thoughts. He makes his way towards the entrance, wondering who could it be. Probably the partner his dad was talking about. Hopefully, it was Mogi or Aizawa, Light didn't think he was ready to handle Matsuda so early in the morning (especially since Matsuda had SHOT him THRICE).

He opened the door only to be stunned into silence.

It was L.

Chapter Text

L 

Light stared.

L was standing before him. L was actually standing before. No, really L was standing. Not the L equivalent of crouch-stand things that he does, but actual legit standing like a normal human being.

Light's mind went blank. He had never seen L's posture deviate from his usual crouch, not for anything. Not even when he stretched his arms out. He didn't think L's spine was capable of straightening out.

Moreover, L was wearing a suit. A suit. With proper shoes that he wore properly. And was that  a hint of socks peeking from the hem of his pants? Under his properly worn shoes. Light had officially entered the twilight zone. 

Light felt like his brain was leaking out of his ears. This was too much shock to his system. Especially this early in the morning.

What truly rendered him speechless was the loud thundering of his heart beating against his ribcage, as if threatening to break out. His heart felt alive, like it was beating after a long time. Light hadn't realized he missed L, like a painful ache in his soul. The ache, the hurt didn't register for so long because he had lived with it so long, grew accustomed to it from a lifetime of carrying it close to his chest. Now that he saw him, saw L, that hurt had eased and he realised suddenly he could breathe easier.

His rival was before him. His equal was standing in front of him.

Alive .

Intellectually, he knew L was alive long before this, but seeing was believing.

He didn't know what sort of expression his face was making (he felt overwhelmed, he felt shocked, he felt—he felt relieved ) but he saw L stop, straighten up (his posture could do that!?), a look of surprise and curiosity in his face.

Ah Fuck .

Light needed to damage control and fast. He needed to act rationally.

So, the logical conclusion that his brain comes to under the small time frame he had to act— was to flirt with L. He raked his eyes all over L's form in a deliberate once over. He leaned against the door frame in a seductive slouch and then in his most flirty voice, said, "Hey."

Shit .

“So… you come here often?”

Double Shit .

Smooth, Light, very smooth. What happened to the Casanova Light that every woman fell over themselves for? Granted L was not a girl but Light didn’t remember ever being a disaster with any form of social interaction.

L, if anything, looked utterly flummoxed. Light didn’t think he ever saw L so out of sorts, not even when learning about the existence of shinigami (which was utterly dramatic with the way L fell off the chair, which Light was sure was mostly purposeful). 

L opened and closed his mouth for a while, seemingly at an utter loss for words, before finally settling on something to say, “No, this is my first time here. I assume you are Light Yagami?”

“Indeed. And you are?” Light replied, leaning towards L, keeping a flirty lilt to his voice.

“I’m Ryuga Hideki. I work with your father,” L replied, bringing out a fake ID and showing it to Light.

“Oh my, you have the same name as the idol. I’m a fan of his. I can be a fan of you too,” at this point Light just decided to roll with this. It would be less suspicious to exaggerate than to backtrack at this point.

“Are you...trying to flirt with me?” L asked, bewildered and was that a blush? A very light smattering of pink against his cheeks, a blink-and-you-will-miss-it detail, but Light saw it. He had made L flustered. He had never managed it before, even when he had tried, before in his last life. To dish out revenge in response to all the times L had left him flustered.

Huh. Perhaps there was a merit to this madness. 

“Why? Is it working?”

L went mum on the matter, and before Light could poke and prod at this situation further (and likely dig himself into a deeper grave), he heard his father call out from behind him.

“Hideki, you’re here. Let’s go,” there was a strained smile on his father’s face as he greeted L. No doubt because L was suspecting his son of being Kira. 

“Dear, you are leaving already?” Sachiko said.

Soichiro, “Yes, there is much to do.” 

“Where are our manners? Shouldn't we invite the guest in for refreshments?” Light cut in, overtly eager, as Soichiro made his way outside.

“No need. Perhaps some other time,” L said and he and Soichiro promptly left.

Light inwardly cursed himself. He had grown complacent. He hadn’t expected to see L here, at his house. L had never visited the Yagami household the last time. It left him wrong-footed. Now that L left, now that he could think clearly, he grew angry and agitated at himself.

He got me .

L had one-upped him once again. He would get back at L for this. He won’t let L win this game of cat-and-mouse between them. 

Light could feel his lips quirk up. Things hadn’t been this interesting in a while.

You better prepare yourself L.

Light moved to go to his room when his eyes landed on Sayu, who was looking at him with eyes alight with curiosity. How long had she been standing there? There was a look on her face, an unholy glint in her eyes that spelled trouble and misery in his future.

Triple Shit.

L had immediately started removing most of the restricting fabrics of the suit off as soon as the car door slid closed, kicking off the shoes and socks with vengeance. Soichiro Yagami stoically ignored him from beside. 

His posture fell into his familiar slouch and his thumb made its way to his teeth. He knew he should have posed as a student rather than police. At least that he wouldn’t have had to dress up. 

“Do you still think he is suspicious?” Soichiro asked. There was no need to clarify the ‘he’.

“He is as suspicious as anyone else,” L hummed. Truthfully, L didn’t think Light was Kira. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made such a careless move of meeting him without any ammunition. Originally, he had suspected him. The circumstances had been suspicious, but the picture he had of Kira and the one he had of Light didn’t match. Light is no doubt the type of person who believes in the same ideals that Kira portrayed however the motivations behind the characters were entirely different.

No, Light was not Kira. But he was definitely someone who knew more than he let on.

He had gone to escort Soichiro Yagami today purely to observe Light, to finally lay his suspicions to rest. But instead, he was left floundering and with more questions. Light was not like what he expected. He wouldn’t say it in a bad way. Very few things could manage to surprise L. The fact that Light Yagami continued to do so without even knowing him, to bring him to a loss of words with just a sentence was unexpected. Exciting .

And the way Light had looked at him. He had looked at L as if he couldn’t believe he was seeing L. He had looked happy. The raw emotions on Light’s face had surprised him. One couldn’t fake emotions like that. Why had Light reacted to him that way? There was possibly no way Light could know him? Or perhaps there was, in a world where it was possible to kill someone with only a name and face.

He would need to test this further. This was proving to be interesting. 

Perhaps he should reveal his identity the next time he saw Light. L wondered how he would react, whether he would stick to the ruse of flirting. He couldn’t wait.

The excitement abruptly deflated at the prospect of wearing the thrice damned suit again.