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To say it was raining was an understatement. In fact, the pellets of water shooting out the sky felt like bullets on L’s skin. The clouds were a gritty gravel colour, the sound of gunfire bouncing off the buildings echoed in his ears and yet...
L had never felt more alive.
He stood beside the gargantuan moon-dial, staring up into the clouded abyss before his head, black bangs obscuring his vision, dripping innocent tears of the sky down his chin.
In the distance, he could hear the foreboding chime of bells, humming and making his body shudder, although that may have been the cold.
A presence made itself known from the shadows of the sheltered part of the building, and dazedly, L turned his head to gaze at who he knew it could be, the only one he knew it could be.
Kira.
The rain battered as they made eye contact. L couldn’t exactly see his expression, as the side-swept rain created a veil between the two.
But L was almost certain he could picture his face, that perfectly crafted nonchalance, relaxed jaw, and eyes that held the false gleam of innocence.
Kira’s lips moved, clearly speaking. And if L was being completely honest, he could piece together what he was saying.
The rain poured. Maybe he’d have some fun in his final moments, perhaps then, this would tune out the incessant ring of the bells.
Blankly, the scrawny male leaned forward and cupped a wet palm to his ear. This made the man falter, brows scrunching slightly even from the distance between them.
Kira outstretched his torso, the tips of his hair peeking from the roof and out into the battering rain. He too, cupped a hand to his mouth and raised his voice to ask a question.
L continued his teasing façade, and exaggerated his position, tilting forward more, a grin playing on his lips, something that looked unusual on his face.
Kira seemed to give up after this, letting his hand fall ever so slightly, seemingly to sigh or let out a frustrated growl. L then watched as the man lifted his hand to rest over his brow to shade his eyes from the warfare above, starting to walk forward, always with that expertly crafted posture.
Now, Kira was less than half away from where L was currently standing, so he averted his gaze to his continued staring contest with the sky. The clouds had no eyes, and even if they did, L knew he would have lost.
He could hear the trademark sound of wet leather shoes slapping onto concrete, though, compared to the rain, it was a soft sound.
“What are you doing, Ryuzaki?” Kira questioned with a level of painted concern weaved into his voice.
L turned his eyes to the roof he stood on, the very floor itself, watched as the bullets failed to penetrate the tough surface. The bells droned on wistfully, dancing its tune around him.
“Oh, I'm not doing anything in particular it’s just...” L trailed, letting silence fall over them, the rain being their white noise. “I hear the bell.” He confessed, head moving to look up toward the sound of the noise, the direction.
Beside him, Kira’s voice could almost drown out the metal’s hollow rings, as he always could. “The bell?” And the way he said it made it seem he was used to L’s random spews of rambles.
“Yes.” L confirmed, eyes still trained in front of him. “The sound of the bell has been unusually loud today.” He mumbled, blank and desolate eyes unfocused and hazy,
Kira turned his head to try and follow what L was looking at, clearly not hearing the bells over the sound of the rain and turning back with a confused hum.
“I don’t hear anything.” He said uncertainly. Despite being within hearing range, Kira kept a careful distance between the two, a watchful range.
“Really.” L stated with an edge of disbelief. The chimes were so loud, unceasing and still reverberating even in such loud downpour. “You can’t hear it? It’s been ringing non-stop all day; I find it very distracting.” L continued.
He took an obligatory breath, staring up at the moon dome to his right. “I wonder if it’s a church, maybe a wedding, or perhaps a...” He rambled mostly to himself, trailing off into nothing as he reached his conclusion.
The rain poured. The bells rung. The tune was haunting, a sweet lullaby with a terrible meaning, meant only to allow children to fall into a deep slumber without knowing the true horrors the melody bared.
“What are you getting at, Ryuzaki?” Kira questioned impatiently, letting his hand that was shielding his eyes to try to look at L.
Kira had the audacity to actually sound concerned. “Come on, cut it out, let's get back inside.” L turned to stare at him blankly, lips parted.
He realised how he may sound... like a bumbling idiot rambling on about bells and rain, a title unfit for L. He cast his gaze to the floor, lips twitching into a frown.
“I’m sorry.” He spoke quietly. “Nothing I say makes sense anyway,” he paused to listen to the rain, the bells. “If I were you, I wouldn’t believe any of it.”
L could feel Light’s soft gaze on him, the falsely innocent expression morphing into one of genuine pity. He kept his eyes trained on the floor, rain dripping down his hair and onto the bridge of his nose before sliding off.
Like a switch had been flipped, Kira chuckled. “You know- you're totally right.” the brunette looked up. “Honestly, most of the things you say sound like complete nonsense.”
He could practically feel Kira’s smug smirk grating on his skin, tearing and ripping and peeling. “There’d be no end to my troubles if I actually took you seriously all the time. I probably know that better than anyone.”
“Yes.” L agreed absentmindedly. “I would say that’s a fair assessment.”
What were they actually talking about? They may have been dancing around the subject for all they knew. That’s the way it always had been. L knew Light Yagami was Kira, and Kira knew L knew he was Kira.
The rain poured. It was loud. Conveniently so. Perhaps he could finally get the answer he had been searching for since the very start...
“But...” L paused, considering his options. “I could say the same about you.”
The rain thumped in time with his heartbeat, that rarely skipped at such a chance like this. No cameras, no recordings. They were completely... and utterly, alone.
Kira let a confused and partially interested hum. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
The rain poured. The bridge they had so desperately tried to build, to get closer to each other, so that they could see them sentenced to death, was finally complete. And L began to cross it.
“Tell me, Light.” L started. “From the moment you were born, has there ever been a point where you’ve actually told the truth?”
Silence.
L met Light’s gaze upon the intense quiet. Bleak and dark eyes meeting with a brown that sometimes accompanied a reddish hue. Distantly, he could hear the rain returning, yet the bells had silenced, paused in their swinging.
“No.”
A simple answer, and for once, L had not expected it.
“We both know this game is ending soon.” L said quietly as the rain began to fully start up again. Light remained silent, eyes never leaving his. L decided he needed to know one more thing. Just one.
“Was I right?” L whispered. L had never wanted anything in his life, never needed an answer so desperately, to confirm that yes, he had lost, but he had been right.
Light remained quiet for a moment more, before his lips parted. “Yes.”
L let out a breath, but not of relief, but of feeling complete. He knew that getting Light arrested and sentenced for death would do nothing about his impact he had forcefully imprinted on the world. But having his suspicion confirmed, his answer he already knew to be true- agreed on by the very man himself, he had never felt such an emotion.
“Then, I think I'm ready for whatever’s next.” He hummed; eyes downcast. “Under different circumstances, I would've liked to know how you did it, but we both know that my time will soon be up.”
Light was silent, Then, he wasn’t. “I can hear them.”
L lifted his gaze to meet his eyes once more, and allowed himself to smile at Light’s next words.
“The bells. They’ve just started ringing.”