Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Light, I’m bored,” Ryuk whined, lying on the ground and covering his eyes with his clawed hand.

Well, it was a bit hard to blame him. Right now Light and L were at an impasse: Light couldn’t kill “Ryuga Hideki” without arousing suspicion, but L could do nothing to prove Light’s guilt. Eventually one of them was bound to make a move, but no matter how much Light wracked his brain, he couldn’t think of one.

They’d established a routine at this point: meet at the university gate, go to classes, chat a bit during the break, say goodbye at the gate. After that L went… wherever, while Light came back home, did his homework, killed some scum, studied some more and went to sleep dutifully imagining all the numerous ways he could use to kill L. If only Light knew his real name.

One thing at a time, though. Ryuk’s boredom could kill Light as easily as L’s investigation.

“Let’s go outside. Buy you some apples.”

“Apples? Yay!”

Ryuk immediately jumped up and unfolded his wings. For a moment Light suspected the whole “I’m bored” thing was a ploy specifically to get a treat. After all, Ryuk wasn’t a complete simpleton… even if he could never hope to reach Light’s level of genius.

Besides, Light could use a distraction. The “school-home-school” routine was mind-numbing. And Light could grab a newspaper at the nearest convenience store along with the apples. Perhaps there’d be something. Some heinous crime to punish. Some filth to cleanse.

Light had started this whole thing out of boredom. He refused to fall into the same trap now that his life had finally turned more exciting.

The first page of the newspaper didn’t promise anything remotely exciting though. Embezzlement in a large private company. Light hesitated for a bit before writing the criminal’s name down and setting the time of death to several days from now, just in case. He’d already killed a purse-snatcher to establish his alibi, and he’d been punishing minor criminals every day since then. No need to break the streak.

Gossip about celebrities, an article on global warming, a few obituaries… Light thought one name in particular looked familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Oh well. He’d written down so many, they were bound to start to blur together at some point.

Light went to bed with the idea that nothing out of the ordinary happened today, and nothing would surprise him next morning.

He’d been wrong. First thing he saw when he turned on his phone was a message from L, asking him to come join the investigation team. Shit. What was L up to? Had he prepared another test? A psychological trap? What?..

The investigation team was smaller than Light had expected. Four people only… although, of course, there was a possibility that there were more cells Light wasn’t supposed to know about. That was what Light would do, in any case.

“As you all may have noticed, Kira has been quiet lately,” L said, staring at a bowl of glazed nuts. “No new moves, nothing suspicious. Until yesterday.”

Yesterday? But yesterday hadn’t… wait, it might have been an attempt to get Light to blurt something out. He needed to keep his calm.

“What happened yesterday, Ryuga… ah, Ryuzaki?”

Instead of answering the question directly, L pressed a button on his laptop and turned the screen towards Light. A photo of a corpulent man in his fifties, and a name. Motou Ootani.

Light knew that name. He could have sworn he’d never seen the face, but he’d heard the name before. Come to think of it…

“Wasn’t there an obituary for him in yesterday’s newspaper?”

“Yes. He died of a heart attack.”

That couldn’t be right. Light could swear he hadn’t killed the guy. So…

“Was he a criminal?”

“No. He was a judge.”

Oh. Now it made sense.

“In the Nishida case, right? I thought I’ve seen the name before!”

“Nishida, and a few others. Motou Ootani has been in charge of several notorious cases where the suspect has walked,” one of the other group members joined. Aihara Shuji… Light would check the police database and find out the guy’s real name later.

“Right, I remember too! There was a huge public outrage… some people were even asking Kira to take care of the guy,” Matsuda said. “Wait… Ryuzaki, do you think that’s what happened?”

“It’s not that surprising,” Light’s father said pensievely. “Kira has changed his MO once. From notorious criminals to small fries, and now to members of the system, too?”

“He’s killed FBI agents before.”

“FBI agents?” Light didn’t even have to fake surprise: he was baffled enough by the news. “Ryuga mentioned this in passing, but ould you bring me up to speed?”

Light’s father took the time to brief Light on the situation. Light patiently listened, just in case there were some details in father’s description that didn’t match the real events. One could never be too careful, and it was all too easy to accidentally out himself by knowing something he wasn’t supposed to know.

“Well, that’s how it is,” Light’s father finished. From what Light could tell, their stories matched. At least dad wasn’t trying to play insane psychological games with him. Small mercies.

“I understand,” Light said slowly, holding his chin in his palm. “But… forgive me for asking this, Ryu… zaki…”

“Ask away. I invited you, Light-kun, because I’d like your input.”

“If you say so. This judge… he wasn’t exactly young, and his job is stressful. Why do you think he was murdered by Kira specifically? Is there any reason?..”

“A judge who’d allowed a few notorious criminals walk away scot-free and who’d been suspected of taking bribes suddenly dies of a heart attack. Don’t you find this suspicious as well, Light-kun?”

“I…”

What was he supposed to say? Light knew he hadn’t killed the guy, but he couldn’t exactly use it as an argument.

“How about this? We wait for a few days and see if there are any more similar cases. If there are, we can conclude that Kira is indeed branching out. If there aren’t, we write this off as an ordinary heart attack.”

“Light-kun’s suggestion is reasonable,” L agreed after a long pause. “However, I’d like you to think about the course of action if it turns out to be Kira’s work after all.”

“Of course. I’ll take my leave, then.”

Was it another test? But what could L be trying to achieve? By now he’d know Light wouldn’t reveal his hand so easily. Or was it a genuine coincidence? People died of heart attacks all the time. The judge got what had been coming for him, just not from the god of the new world. Light hadn’t planned on destroying the system completely, he fully intended to work with it. Alongside it. Once crime was completely eradicated, most judges would have nothing to do, but killing them…

Or was it a sign from above? A coincidence too good to be true, just like Light’s fateful meeting with Misora Naomi had been? Perhaps Kira should branch out and fix the broken system while he was at it? Wait, had L thought Light would come to this conclusion? Were it any other team member, Light would have dismissed the idea, but L clearly had no qualms risking people’s lives in order to test his theories. If so, killing other judges and lawyers would be akin to incriminating himself.

Waiting would be the right course of action. If the death had been nothing but a fluke, there was no reason to care. If it was a weird test, then the worst thing Light could possibly do was to let L mess with his head in some way. He should just ignore the incident and proceed as usual.

The next morning Light got up earlier than normal in order to be able to check the news online. No new dead judges. Good. Then it was a coincidence after all. Light sighed, half in relief, half in regret. He would’ve preferred it to be L’s new move. At least that would’ve given him something to mull over.

A message from L caught him on the way to the university.

“Another incident?” Ryuk cackled, reading over Light’s shoulder. “What the hell? I could’ve sworn you didn’t do anything unusual lately…”

Light shook his head, unwilling to talk to Ryuk in public. What was L’s angle here?..

“There’s another dead judge,” L said the moment Light stepped over the threshold of the hotel room. “This time in the US.”

That explained why Light hadn’t seen anything in the morning: he’d only checked Japanese news. However…

“So Kira is behind it!” Matsuda blurted out. Light refrained from commenting for now, quickly scanning the printed file he’d grabbed from L’s table. Claud Darrell. Suspected of having ties with mafia, but never accused directly. A few notorious cases under his belt where he’d let the criminals get off scot-free or with a slap on the wrist. Cause of death – heart attack.

One case could be a coincidence. Two days in a row?.. Way too unlikely.

There was another Death Note in the human world. And someone was using it to imitate Kira.

The fury momentarily blinded Light, so badly he missed L’s answer. Some imposter, some fake was trying to usurp Light’s position? Unacceptable! Light was the one who came up with the idea. Light was Kira. This fake had no business opposing him!..

“Light-kun?” L asked with fake concern. Light took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… awful. Every time I think this case can’t get worse…”

“Kira is the worst serial killer in human history,” Light’s father said. “You have every reason to be horrified. In fact… you have every reason to be scared for your life. If you want to leave the investigation…”

“As long as you’re here, dad, I will stay as well,” Light said without a second of hesitation. He couldn’t leave the team, not now. He needed access to the news.

“As I was saying,” L interrupted, “Kira is no longer limiting himself to criminals and law enforcement. There’s no telling who he might target next. If it were you, Light-kun…”

“Hm?..”

“If you were Kira, what would be your next move?”

“I don’t know… lawyers? Corrupt politicians?”

Light’s next move wouldn’t come for a long time. He needed to eliminate the resistance and to deal with organised crime first. However, he had no idea what the fake would do.

He couldn’t stay idle. The fake was dangerous: sooner or later L was bound to suspect something and start digging. If the fake got caught and L found out about the Death Note, Light would be done for. Light needed to get to the fake before that, to kill him and to take his Death Note. Or…

Could they join forces? From what Light could tell, the fake didn’t try to oppose Kira. The first killed judge could have been a test, but if so, the fake was smart enough not to kill anyone he knew personally, choosing a public figure instead. If Light could convince the fake to take the eye deal and to eliminate L for him, then get rid of the fake… Yes, he could play the situation to his advantage.

Light kept mulling over it long after he’d left the hotel room. The situation was a bit ironic: now Light was the one trying to catch someone whose name, face and location he didn’t know. The first victim was Japanese, so it wasn’t unreasonable to think the fake lived in Japan as well. The second judge died at exactly the same time as the first one. The fake was meticulous and stuck to a schedule. A good way not to reveal too much information about himself, Light admitted reluctantly. The fake was more careful than Light himself had been at the start.

However, the fake had also deliberately let Light – let Kira know about his existence. The fake wanted to send a message.

Light had two options. Either wait for the fake to make the next move, but that would put him at a disadvantage: L would be breathing down Light’s neck, and could even get to the fake first. Or Light could do the same thing he usually did with L: play the bait. Place himself out there and hope for the fake to approach.

The choice was obvious.

The next morning Light dutifully checked the news and wasn’t surprised to see yet another dead judge’s picture. Japanese again. Nothing out of the ordinary: the fake wasn’t trying to conduct any tests or to control the victim’s behavior. Or he was, but L silenced the news. Light needed to know for sure – yet another reason to join the team meeting.

“I’ve thought about what you said yesterday, Light-kun.” L dropped a few cubes of sugar into his tea cup. Light suppressed the desire to scrunch his nose: could it even be called tea anymore? At this point wasn’t it just syrup? “I suppose you weren’t wrong.”

“Um, which part?..”

“Kira possibly targeting corrupt politicians next. Or lawyers. The latter is more likely. As we already know, Kira has access to the police database. Ergo, he’s most likely a part of the system, and, as such, is familiar with it first-hand. Kira killing criminals and police officers could be an intimidation tactic, but it was also a message: the system is broken, and Kira is going to change it. I imagine his reasoning may be along the lines of “If these judges had done their job properly, I wouldn’t have had to kill all those people”… A very naïve and simplistic point of view, which only further confirms my theory about Kira being a young person.”

Huh. Well, would you look at that: even L could be useful sometimes. Light hadn’t thought of the fake being a part of the system… judicial system, most likely, and not the police.

“Ryuzaki,” Aihara said pensievely, “you’ve had FBI investigate the police, but is it possible that Kira is hiding in the Ministry of Justice?”

“I’ve thought about it,” L admitted. “And about the possibility of Kira being an influential politician with ties in the police. If the FBI investigation had born no results, they’d have checked the Ministry of Justice next. However, Kira made his move almost immediately, so…”

Shit. Had Light overplayed his hand with Raye Penber? Should he have stayed quiet instead, letting Penber move on to another suspect?.. No, Light’s choice had been correct: the FBI would have found no suspects among judges and politicians, and L would have ordered another check, this time more thorough and in-depth. And Light would have been no closer to L than before.

He’d been right to act then. He needed to do the same now.

“I’ve also thought about it, Ryuzaki. Um, I’m sorry for what I’m about to say…”

“Go ahead. I’m not easily offended.”

“I’m not just apologising to you. It’s just that… well, unlike the others, I’m not a police officer yet. I spend my time among ordinary people… university students and the like. And from what I hear, there isn’t much trust in law enforcement now. In regard to the Kira case, I mean. People keep saying that L hasn’t made a move after that first broadcast, that the police can’t do anything against Kira…”

“I’ve heard the same,” Matsuda suddenly agreed. “This sentiment is strong even among police officers. You know, what with the statistics supporting Kira’s methods… the crime rates have dropped significantly. And some… well, they say Kira made their jobs – our jobs, that is – much easier. No need to actually arrest the suspect, you know? Just give the information to the media, and bam! – the criminal is taken care of. He’s no longer a threat to the general population, and we don’t have to waste taxpayers’ money on keeping him fed and clothed in prison, on conducting a trial… Um, I’m just telling you what I’ve heard! That doesn’t mean I support it!” Matsuda added hastily, noticing his teammates’ glares.

Interesting… so even the police was leaning towards Light? And with the official statistics supporting him as well… not that Light had ever doubted his decision, but it was nice to receive a confirmation.

“Is there a point to this?” L asked irritably. Light straightened his back.

“I think you should make another broadcast. Or, well, not you personally, not as L, but the police. The previous one worked so well for you, and…”

“What would you have me say, Light-kun?”

“Try to convince Kira to reduce the number of his victims, or at least to limit himself to those who committed serious crimes. I know it isn’t ideal, but it would be something. Perhaps hint that there’s a judiciary reform in the works? Also, choose some information about the Kira case that we can give to the general population: it will both show the people that you’re making progress and unnerve Kira, perhaps enough for him to make a misstep.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Light’s dad said approvingly. Light nodded with a smile.

“Perhaps we should all work on the message? You know, everyone writes their own version, then Ryuzaki cherry-picks the best parts?”

“No need,” L interrupted. “Light-kun, I want you to write this message.”

Damn. What was L’s game this time? Had he already guessed about the fake’s existence? Was he trying to use Light to lure the fake out? Or was it another attempt to make Light reveal something he wasn’t supposed to know?

“Me? Why?”

“It’s your idea, after all. And you’re good at this. I’ve seen your speech at the entrance ceremony, remember?”

Fuck you too.

Light forced out a smile.

“It’s an honour to have you trust me so much, Ryuzaki. Very well. I’ll attempt to come up with something suitable.”

And he’d make sure that the final version would be filled to the brim with hidden clues. Something that’d get the fake’s attention. Something to transmit Light’s message loudly and clearly.

I’m a part of the Kira investigation team. Come find me, if you can.

An hour later Light was done. He tried to make the hints as inconspicuous as he could, but shoved something of notice into every paragraph. “Eyes”, “writing”, “half your life” and the like. Light gave L the printed-out version, holding it with both hands. L grabbed it and quickly scanned the text, frowning the whole time.

“Isn’t it a bit too… flowery? If this is supposed to be an official message from the police, shouldn’t you attempt to reduce the number of metaphors?”

Light chuckled good-naturedly.

“Normally I’d agree, but this is Kira we’re talking about. I thought, maybe we might appeal to his ego. You’ve said he’s young, and if it helps us reduce the number of victims, shouldn’t we use any means necessary?.. Besides, you’re the one to talk. Wasn’t your speech on the TV… how’d you put it… flowery enough, mister I am justice?”

Ryuk laughed out loud at that, mercifully declining to comment. L huffed and shoved the page with the text towards Light.

“If it’s come to that, Light-kun, I want you to add something.”

“Hm? Not to remove, but to add?”

“Yes. Do you think you can work the words “god of death” into this?”

L was definitely onto the fake. Light had no idea how exactly L had figured it out, but there was no point in him asking for this if L thought he was talking to the original… no, to the only real Kira. On the other hand, if L was trying to address the fake, using “god of death” as a sort of a password… apparently, L had come to the same conclusion as Light. He even planned to use the same methods.

Damn you, L!

On the other hand, L was playing into Light’s hand here. Light himself was too wary of using “gods of death”, but if he had a blanket permission to do so from L himself, and a permission that L had given freely, without Light so much as hinting at it…

“Gods of death? Like in that little poem you’ve shown me?”

“Yes. I want to show Kira that I’m also behind this message… and try to appeal to him as well. Try to use the same language as him, to get inside his head.”

“…I’ll try.”

Chapter Text

The message aired on the same evening. Wasn’t it nice to have money and connections? Light wondered privately if he could’ve achieved the same in a few years’ time. The answer was obviously “yes”, but for that to happen, Light would have to abandon the idea of joining the NPA, which was unacceptable. Light’s future had been planned out long ago. No need to make drastic changes over a bout of fancy.

The fake stayed quiet for the next few days – dead judges notwithstanding. None of the fake’s new victims were Japanese, interestingly enough, but Light had no idea what could be the fake’s reasoning. Was he afraid of getting too much attention? Trying to go after the worst offenders? Or…

“Anything interesting?” Ryuk asked, seeing Light absorbed in reading the news online. Light shrugged.

“The usual. I’ll write them down later, when… wait. Could this be…”

There was another dead judge – Japanese this time. However, the judge hadn’t died of a heart attack – no, he’d committed suicide. Of course, it could have been a coincidence… but Light knew better now than to write the fake’s actions off as coincidences.

The fake was trying to send a message to Light. And to do it in a way that wouldn’t alert the other members of the investigation team. After all, as far as L knew, Kira could only use heart attacks to kill.

The news article barely contained any details. Just the name of the judge, some of the cases he’d worked on, superfluous words about grieving relatives. Nothing of value. Light contemplated hacking his dad’s computer and looking at police reports, but that’d be too risky. Light wouldn’t put it past L to sneak some malware into Light’s computer and to track Light’s online activity. Showing L that Light had unobstructed access to the database would just incriminate Light further – and he couldn’t afford that.

Should he ask L directly? But wouldn’t it attract L’s attention to the case? The last thing Light wanted was to tip L off. Light had already dodged a bullet once, with Misora Naomi. L had no business knowing that Light had other ways to kill.

However, Light still needed the information. If he couldn’t ask L and couldn’t find out himself, perhaps he could speak to another member of the investigation team? Matsuda seemed sympathetic enough to Kira’s cause, even if he denied it. Besides, Matsuda didn’t have the air of a particularly perceptive person. He probably wouldn’t be hard to deceive. Light could pretend to be amicable, charm the man, perhaps try to get closer to him.

Matsuda proved to be exactly as gullible as Light had imagined. He was visibly happy to chat with Light over “morning coffee”, quickly opened up about his insecurities – apparently, Matsuda thought that no one on the team took him seriously, how useful, – and took the bait laughably easily.

“Hm? I mean, that judge said in his suicide note that he was too scared of Kira targeting him next, so I guess you could say Kira drove the guy to suicide… and I do think if Kira were tried, they’d be able to make a compelling case out of it…”

“Ah, I didn’t know about the suicide note. The media didn’t say anything about it.”

“No wonder,” Matsuda sighed. “The judge – Kitanaka Masahiro – described his crimes in detail. Our colleagues are still investigating it… every case the man worked on might have to be re-opened. It’s a mess.”

Huh. So it hadn’t been L silencing the media this time. Small mercies.

“He was a law-breaker then? The judge?”

“Like you have no idea! I probably shouldn’t be telling you that, Light-kun…”

“I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble, Matsui-san,” Light put on his best friendly smile. “Especially since your position is as precarious as you say… I’d hate to jeopardise it.”

“No! It’s fine!” As expected, Matsuda was eager to show off in front of Light. This was almost too easy – even Ryuk was chuckling. “How about this? I’ll let you take a look at the suicide note, but, you know, I’ll make sure there’s nothing too confidential in it. No names, no dates. Just the text. After all, Light-kun, you’re not a complete stranger…”

“Thank you, Matsui-san,” Light said, his gratitude almost entirely genuine. “It means a lot. You know, with L openly suspecting me, and even dad…” Light’s voice broke a bit, and he cleared the throat. “I just want to say, it’s nice to have someone trust me so much. Someone on the team.”

Matsuda, the simpleton that he apparently was, lapped it up. Privately Light wondered why exactly the guy had been invited to the investigation team to begin with: he clearly had no brain to speak of. Had L been so desperate he’d gone for quantity instead of quality?

Nevertheless, Matsuda proved to be useful: he sent Light the file with the suicide note on the same evening. By that time Light had already read everything he’d been able to find about the judge online… which wasn’t saying much, admittedly. The news articles mostly spoke about the “devastated family members”. Light watched a brief video of the judge’s wife tearfully saying how “it was almost his birthday, we were about to celebrate, and now…” and sighed impatiently. He just hoped the note would give him something. Anything.

On the first glance, there was nothing unusual. Light frowned and called Matsuda – they’d exchanged their cell phone numbers earlier.

“Matsui-san, good evening. Sorry to bother you, but…”

“It’s okay, Light-kun! What did you want to talk about?”

“Just… You know, I took a look at Kitanaka’s suicide note, and the crimes he confesses are… I guess I wanted to ask whether it’s true.”

“Well, it’s a bit premature to discuss, but from what I’ve heard, it’s all real,” Matsuda sighed. “And don’t apologise, Light-kun, I know the feeling. My colleagues often say I’m too young and inexperienced, they promise I’ll get desensitised to such things in a few years, but I still… B-but that’s why we work in the police, right? To stop such crimes!”

“You’re absolutely right, Matsui-san. Thank you, I feel a lot better.”

“Anytime, Light-kun!”

All right, so the note was genuine. Which meant there was little point in trying to get the censored-out details. The real information – the information Light needed – was elsewhere.

Let’s see. If Light wanted a criminal to write a suicide note, but didn’t want to write it for him, how would he word it? “Describes his crimes in detail”, or something similar. If so…

“Anything useful?” Ryuk looked over Light’s shoulder. Light took a pencil to carefully point at the parts that stood out.

“First line. “I, Kitanaka Masahiro, born on April 20^th 1955, am writing this letter on April 14^th 2003 at 2:13 PM. By now I am certain that I will soon become Kira’s next victim. Therefore, I choose to confess my sins and to take my own life rather than to have it taken.”

“Hm? Sounds pretty normal to me.”

“Stating his name is pretty normal. His date of birth, however? Why would he feel the need to give it in his suicide note? And with his birthday being only a few days away…”

“Are you saying?..”

“I’m saying the fake wants to meet. He knows that if I’m in the Kira investigation group, chances are I have access to the information that isn’t revealed to general public. He wants to meet me, and he’s proposing the time and date.”

“But not the place?”

“Look at the last line. “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” It’s a quote from the Bible, but from what I’ve been able to gather, the judge wasn’t Christian. St. Peter 3:14… There’s a St. Peter’s church in Asagaya.”

“So you just need to come to the church at the given time?”

Light huffed at the suggestion.

“Coming to the church outright would be too conspicuous. I’m no Christian either, what business do I have there? Besides, I do believe the fake thought of that as well. Look at the first line again: writing this letter on April 14^th 2003 at 2:13 PM. Isn’t it a bit specific? Wouldn’t you normally want to round the time a bit? I can only assume the fake intended it as another part of the message. And would you look at that – St. Peter’s church is right next to Kitanaka Street. Too much to be a coincidence. If I had to guess, I’d say the fake is offering to meet at 2-chōme-13.”

“Oh? Nice! Are you going, then?”

“Obviously. I have to get to the fake before L does. The question is – how are we going to recognise each other? The fake is obviously not a complete moron, he won’t go around brandishing the Death Note. He can’t see you unless he touches my Note, and I can’t see his god of death… but you can.”

“I can,” Ryuk agreed, grinning widely. “But I won’t tell you even if I do.”

“Even if I bribe you with apples?” Light suggested, only half-jokingly.

“Tempting. Still no.”

“I expected as much. What about the other god of death? Will he cooperate with the fake?”

“Depends on the god of death. Some are obsessed with humans, watching you guys all the time like… groupies. Some don’t care. Some think humans are beneath them and won’t work with you guys out of stupid pride. Until I see the god of death in question, I won’t know more.”

“So there’s no risk in going,” Light concluded. “The fake won’t be able to recognise a random passerby as Kira, so he’ll inevitably have to do something to stand out. I’ll have him at a disadvantage.”

Thankfully, April 20^th was Sunday, so Light had no shortage of volunteers when he suggested to go out and have some fun. Now the fake would see a group of people and have no way of knowing whom exactly Ryuk was following. The plan was perfect.

Except the fake was nowhere to be seen.

No matter how Light tried, he couldn’t find anyone who stood out. Nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps the fake intended for them to meet at the church, after all? Or had Light overestimated the fake’s abilities? Had he misread the message somehow? Had…

“Excuse me.”

Someone approached their group, making Light tense. Was it the fake? But there was nothing in the guy’s appearance to indicate him having a Death Note. The guy looked a few years older than Light, he was wearing casual clothes and didn’t have anything in his hands. No briefcase that could contain the Note. The only thing that could be even remotely considered unusual was the guy’s long-ish hair, but that on its own…

“Yes?” Light’s classmate chirped, smiling widely. Was she attracted to the guy? If so, she was out of luck: the guy was looking straight at Light.

“My name is Mikami Teru. “Mikami” is written like “charm” and “up”, “Teru” is “to shine.”

“…Do I know you?”

“No, but I’d like you to have my phone number.”

The guy – Mikami Teru – held out a piece of paper with both hands. Light took it, ignoring the giggling of girls around him.

“Wow, Yagami-kun, awesome!”

“As expected of our Yagami!”

“Huh, nice one!”

Mikami Teru nodded and left. Light crumpled the piece of paper in his fist, looking at the green-winged silhouette hovering in the air above Mikami Teru’s head.

A god of death.

The fake.

“You don’t seem surprised, Yagami. Does this happen often to you?” one of the guys in Light’s group asked, chuckling good-naturedly.

“Sometimes,” Light replied absent-mindedly, his head filled with other things.

What now? Would the fake kill Light? Was this why the fake had approached him so boldly? To gloat? No, wait, Light hadn’t told the fake his name… but other people mentioned Light’s surname, and there was a possibility of the fake having traded for the eyes… Damn! Was Light going to die like this? Was this his last day on earth?

No, wait. He needed to calm down and think. Light took a few deep breaths, letting the people in his group talk around him. Even if the fake had the eyes, he wouldn’t just kill Light in the middle of a crowded street. He’d have Light go home and deliver his Death Note to a specified location first. If Light realised the fake was controlling his behavior, he’d… think of something. He wouldn’t be able to cheat death itself, but he would sure as hell leave a few surprises for the fake. Make sure the fake went down with him.

Mikami Teru… was this name real? Light needed to look it up online once he got home. Perhaps he could take the initiative, kill the fake before… But what if the fake wasn’t his enemy? Until now “Mikami Teru” had taken great pains to ensure he hadn’t been standing in Light’s way or interfering with Light’s plans. Besides, “Mikami Teru” had approached Light under the guise of hitting on him. It had been a stupid thing to do, revealing himself in front of a crowd, but if there was a chance that “Mikami Teru” was genuinely interested… Light could charm the guy easily enough.

Most importantly, Light needed to know how exactly the fake had found him. “Mikami Teru” had written his phone number on a piece of his Death Note. If he’d made a mistake, given it to someone other than Light, the consequences would have been disastrous. An ordinary person suddenly seeing a god of death in the middle of the street… No, the fake had been certain of Light being Kira. And if the fake had somehow found out, perhaps L could use the same method.

In any case, the fake had made his move. It was Light’s turn.

“Mikami Teru” barely had any online presence to speak of. Light wasn’t able to find any pictures and to confirm or disprove his “fake name” theory. Annoyingly smart: Light himself also made sure to be careful and not to leave much of a trace. However, that didn’t exactly solve his problems.

Light needed to take a risk. To meet “Mikami Teru” face to face and to figure out where to go from there. Light sighed and grabbed his cell phone.

“Hello, Mikami-san. This is Yagami. We met in Asagaya earlier today. You’ve dropped a notebook when you were leaving. I tried to call out, but you didn’t hear me. I’d like to return it to you. When would it be convenient for you to meet me?”

Light typed the message carefully, weighing every word. That should sound ordinary enough, right? Even if L was tracing Light’s phone and reading Light’s messages, he wouldn’t be able to find anything incriminating.

“Mikami Teru” replied almost immediately, as if he’d been waiting with his phone in his hands, desperately hoping for Light to contact him.

“Hello, Yagami-san. I am happy to hear from you. Will tomorrow be convenient?”

“My classes are over at 6 PM, we could meet in front of a café.”

“I am looking forward to it.”

Light sent the address and threw the phone away. Now he had no choice but to wait and see what the fake was planning.

He took precautions, of course. A piece of Death Note in his watch, an unsent message in his mail. However, Light still went to the meeting feeling horribly underprepared. It wasn’t a nice feeling.

First L, and now the fake… it was like the universe was trying to throw Light off-balance, to ruin his meticulous plans. Well, that just meant Light would have to improvise. He wasn’t half-bad at that.

The fake was waiting for Light. Right on time. Light outstretched his hand for a handshake and carefully pressed a piece of his Note to “Mikami Teru’s” palm.

“Mikami-san.”

“Yagami-san,” the fake nodded politely… a bit more politely than propriety dictated. Light frowned, hoping the fake would somehow understand the message without Light having to spell it out.

Act normal.

Light didn’t actually expect L to have bugged the table in the café. Still… one couldn’t be too careful. Discussing their secret identities and plans in public would be an amateurish mistake.

Thankfully, “Mikami Teru” caught the hint. Light gestured for him to sit and quickly made his usual order – black coffee and a bowl of salad. The fake requested the same. Was he trying not to reveal anything about himself? Oh well. Not like Light was expecting any groundbreaking news now.

“My name is Yagami Light, written as “night”, “god” and “moon”. Nice to meet you.”

“It is an honour,” the fake said seriously. Light allowed himself a small, almost private smile, and the fake’s face lit up. Well-well… perhaps Light would be able to turn the situation to his advantage yet.

“I’d like to know more about you, Mikami-san. Would you mind telling me about yourself?”

“Mikami Teru” proceeded to give Light the most standard self-introduction imaginable: his university, his major, a short version of his biography. Everything matched the information Light had found online, but that still proved nothing: “Mikami Teru” could have prepared in advance. Hell, he could have stolen someone’s identity. Oh well, an ordinary university student would have no reason to doubt “Mikami Teru’s” words, so Light couldn’t show his suspicions yet.

“Thank you, Mikami-san. I imagine I have to return the favour now…”

“You don’t owe me anything, Yagami-san,” the fake said, the glimmer in his eyes betraying his excitement. “Only what you choose to give freely. Besides… forgive me for prying, but I looked you up online. I saw the articles about you.”

“I suppose this is natural,” Light chuckled airily, somewhat placated by the fake’s expression. “Mikami Teru” looked like he genuinely believed every word he said. Like he considered Light to be someone worthy of admiration. Light was used to such gazes, of course, but still… “There is something I’d like to ask before we continue, though. Yesterday…”

“Yes?”

“I, ah, had an impression that Mikami-san was interested in more than just friendship. Was I right, or…”

Not that Light cared either way. “Dating” would be a good excuse to keep seeing “Mikami Teru” secretly, but Light still hadn’t decided whether he wanted “Mikami Teru” alive. He’d figure it out later, once they were safe and away from public.

“I wouldn’t presume,” the fake said seriously. “As I said, I will humbly accept anything you choose to give me and demand for nothing.”

“And in return?”

“Anything you want is yours.”

The guy was a bit intense, but not completely hopeless. Light steered the conversation to safer topics: studies, books, practice. They kept talking for about half an hour before Light decided it was enough.

“Since Mikami-san went out of his way to meet me, it will be only fair of me to walk you to the station.”

“Thank you very much.”

They split the bill and exited the room. Having made sure there was no tail – Ryuk also confirmed it for good measure, – Light brought “Mikami Teru” to an empty roof of a building Light sometimes visited when he wanted some time alone.

“Speak.”

Light made a point of throwing away the honorifics and choosing a way less polite style of speech. Mikami Teru bowed – lower than necessary.

“It is my greatest honour to meet you. As I have said, my name is Mikami Teru. This is my god of death, Joka.”

Light looked at the god of death in question – goddess? It was hard to tell, what with Joka’s body being hidden under layers and layers of scales, but the face looked vaguely feminine. There was something in the curve of lips… Light opted not to ask.

“This is Ryuk.”

“Hello!” Ryuk raised his hand and waved it in the air. He seemed more subdued than usual – was he afraid of the other god of death? Interesting. Light would have to ask him later.

“Mikami Teru. How did you recognise me?”

“As I thought, you don’t have the Eyes.”

“But you do,” Light prompted. Mikami Teru nodded.

“Half my life isn’t too high a price to pay for a chance to meet you. You see, when a human receives the Eyes, they come with a limitation. We can see the names and lifespans of people just by looking at their faces… but we cannot see the lifespan of Death Note owners. I am led to believe gods of death don’t have the same limitation, and this information is rather obscure.”

Light glared at Ryuk, who shrugged sheepishly.

“I… didn’t know that.”

Damn it. Oh well, at least L wouldn’t be able to use the same method to identify Light as Kira. Small mercies.

“It was a smart way of arranging a meeting,” Light admitted reluctantly. “Although approaching me in front of a crowd was…”

“Less suspicious than me trying to meet you, a stranger, alone. We have a whole crowd of witnesses who can confirm that the circumstances of our acquaintance were as innocuous as it gets.”

“Fair enough.”

“Mikami Teru” wasn’t wrong. If – if! – they continued to meet, L wouldn’t see it as suspicious… no, even better. L would see it as suspicious, only to then realise Light wasn’t hiding anything too incriminating.

Light just needed to probe a little further. To decide whether “Mikami Teru” was worth more to him alive.

“Explain yourself. Why did you want to meet? And why the judges?”

“Because the system is rotten to the core! Because the very people who are supposed to protect innocents, to make life safe and happy for everyone turn a blind eye to injustices, or worse, contribute to them. If they – the judges, the politicians, the police – did their job properly, we wouldn’t need to resort to such drastic measures. If the government fulfilled its obligations to us, its citizens, then we wouldn’t have to take the law into our own hands. However, the world we live in isn’t perfect. Therefore…”

“We have to reshape it,” Light finished with a smirk. “To destroy the old world and create a new one – filled with good, kind people.”

“As befit the god that I follow,” Mikami Teru said. His eyes were glimmering with – were those tears?.. Light raised an eyebrow.

“If I… no. If Kira is a god, what does it make you?”

“I am not trying to usurp your role,” Mikami Teru said hastily. “I hoped… this Note ended up in my hands for a reason. We were both chosen… but you had the insight and bravery to do something we both feel is necessary. I stand in the presence of the Lord… humbly requesting to be his loyal follower.”

“An apostle,” Light hummed. “Are you religious?”

“Christian.”

Unusual. Light would have to read up on Christianity later, if only to better understand Mikami Teru. They were going to work together, after all. A pair of the Eyes was too valuable to discard.

“I’ll remember that. One more thing… you approached me under the guise of trying to hit on me.”

“Is that an issue?”

“On the contrary. Pretending to date you would be a perfect cover for our cooperation. I’d like to use it.”

“Very well.”

“Oh, and one more thing. L is investigating me. He’s already approached me, stating he considers me a suspect. I’ll try to arrange a meeting between the two of you… once you see his name, we’ll be free to act.”

“Understood. I shall do everything in my power to be of use to you, Lord.”

The guy was far more agreeable than Light had expected. They spent some more time discussing strategy – who would kill which criminals, where they’d store their respective Death Notes in case of trouble, which code words they’d use in their messages – before finally opting to leave.

Chapter Text

Light came home in an incredibly good mood – the happiest he’d been since his first showdown with L. For a moment Light wondered if he should tone it down, suppress the smile on his lips, just in case there were still cameras in the house… no, him being happy had a perfectly reasonable explanation. He’d allegedly started dating someone today. A normal person would be happy about that.

“Mom, do we have any fruit?”

“There are apples in the kitchen… would you like me to slice them for you?”

“No need, I can do it. You should have some rest.”

Ryuk was suspiciously quiet. Not even the promise of apples seemed to cheer him up. Light entered his room, locked the door and raised an eyebrow.

“Spit it out.”

“Hm? What?”

“Joka. Do you know her?”

“Ah… hn… that obvious, huh?”

Light tossed an apple in the air and caught it again. Ryuk sighed.

“Fine, fine… Joka is one of the oldest gods of death out there. Almost as old as our King. She’s practically a living legend.”

“Oh? What has she done? Does she have any unusual abilities?”

“No clue. Like I said, Joka is old… she mostly keeps to herself, but there are rumours. That she knows some obscure stuff no one else is aware of. That she can mess with you. That she knows how to kill a god of death.”

“You folk can be killed?”

“These are rumours!” Ryuk said, clearly trying to mask his fear with annoyance. “I don’t know, all right? Just… don’t mess with her.”

“If Joka is so mighty, what is she doing in our world? I can’t believe the person you describe would grow bored and decide to come out and play.”

“Well, she does actually, as you put it, come out to the human world and play. She drops her Death Note every few centuries or so. Why do you think there are rules in place for this type of a situation?..”

“Because it’s happened before,” Light muttered.

“Exactly! Well, she mostly does it because she likes the food here.”

“Oh? Is she also an apple addict?”

“She’s mostly into figs, from what I’ve heard… Haven’t met her in person before.”

Interesting, although ultimately useless for Light’s plans. He’d have to read up on gods of death and see if there were any obscure legends featuring Joka or Death Notes. Just to make sure L wouldn’t be able to get any info from sources other than gods of death themselves.

“How likely is she to kill me?”

“You? Unlikely. You’re with me, Joka won’t intervene here. However, she’ll definitely kill Mikami Teru in a few years… once she grows tired of following him. She does that.”

A few years, huh? Well, L would be long dead by that time, so Light would have less need for a pair of Eyes. Besides…

“So you confirm that “Mikami Teru” is his real name? Thank you, Ryuk.”

Ryuk froze, realising he’d divulged an important piece of intel for free. Light smirked and gave Ryuk another apple, just to keep him placated.

The research showed Light nothing new. He diligently searched “gods of death”, “gods love apples”, “legends of unusual deaths” and every other key words he could think of, but found nothing. No mentions of Death Notes, no depictions of actual gods of death – Light had Ryuk confirm he recognised no one from the paintings Light had shown him. If L tried to look for clues online, he’d fail. And if L monitored Light’s internet activity… well, L had been the one to bring up gods of death and apples. Light could safely claim he was researching Kira’s message. He added “gods of death with red hands” and “red hands” to his search history, just to be on the safe side.

Not that it mattered: if L had followed Light’s online activity, Light hadn’t noticed. In fact, L was being suspiciously quiet lately: no grand plans, no new moves, no appearances at the university. The suspense was driving Light up the wall… perhaps that was L’s idea? To make Light worry himself into a frenzy? Or to make Light relax and grow complacent enough to make a mistake?

Either way, Light used the lull to establish his new routine. He met Mikami Teru on Tuesdays and Fridays after class: to discuss their further plans, their studies, or just to talk. Mikami Teru proved himself surprisingly thoughtful and well-spoken. A nice conversation partner: unlike most of Light’s “friends”, Mikami Teru wasn’t content with talking at Light and getting the bare minimum of attention in return. Mikami Teru actually wanted to know Light’s opinions on things, and it was refreshing to talk openly to someone who wasn’t Ryuk. Light had forgotten the last time he’d allowed himself to lose the mask of the perfect citizen and to speak out his… less palatable views. Say some dark jokes that he knew his conversation partner would appreciate. Mikami Teru didn’t smile all that often, but Light had quickly learnt to read Mikami’s mood by the glimmer of his eyes.

Most of the time Mikami was quiet, pensieve, reserved – but there was always this feverish undertone. Oh, Mikami was hiding it well, but Light could see the frustration, the eagerness to prove himself, the restlessness, and above all – the worship. Mikami wasn’t just happy to be in Light’s company – he was ecstatic. It was like all of Mikami’s emotions reached a whole new level in Light’s presence.

Mikami was intense, and Light… liked that. The realisation left him a bit baffled: Light rarely liked people. He pretended to enjoy their company, but in reality he was just going through the motions. However, with Mikami Teru sharing Light’s views, sensing Light’s moods just as easily as Light could sense Mikami’s, and being a good conversation partner to boot… Mikami wasn’t exactly on Light’s level, but he was close enough for Light to expect Mikami to follow his thought process with minimal explanation required. Perhaps in a month or two they’d be completely synched, understanding each other at a glance.

Mikami Teru was one of the most interesting things that’d happened to Light lately. It was a shame they couldn’t spend more time together, discussing which criminals to kill, or just exchanging views on newest scientific research about forensic evidence or whatnot – but if Light started spending too much time with one person, the person in question was bound to be noticed by L.

To avoid that, Light found himself a girlfriend. Takada Kyomi was pretty, smart enough to get into Japan’s best university, presentable and easy to lead on. In short, she was a woman Light would probably date even without the added layer of needing a cover. What was more, Takada Kyomi knew nothing about Death Notes or Light’s secret identity as Kira. L could investigate Takada all he wanted, he’d find nothing out of the ordinary.

L appeared at the university two weeks later, looking downright haunted. The dark circles under his eyes seemed to have grown somehow, his face had turned from pale to grey, and his hair was more unkempt than usual.

In short, L looked terrible.

“Ryuga,” Light faked worry. “What’s wrong? Have you been sick? Is that why you skipped so many classes?”

“I came to tell you that you’re no longer a suspect in the Kira case,” L said woodenly. The message was so out of left field it made Light choke.

“Huh?..”

“Walk with me?”

Light nodded eagerly, trying to come up with a fitting explanation for L’s weird declaration. Was L trying some new reverse psychology trick? Had he gone after Mikami?.. No, impossible: even if L had traced Light’s phone calls, he’d find nothing incriminating. And there had been no one tailing Light, or…

“The government got really worried. About Kira killing judges and other officials,” L said after a bout of silence. “They increased the Kira task force, gave us more money and demanded results. Tangible results. As soon as possible.”

“Um, but I thought you didn’t really need their…”

“I don’t. But antagonising the higher-ups isn’t a good idea either. They were this close to just giving up completely and shutting the task force down in hopes of appeasing Kira.”

What?.. Light couldn’t hold back a gasp; thankfully, L didn’t seem to consider Light’s reaction suspicious.

“But Ryuga, that’s…”

“Of course, I’d continue the investigation on my own. But that’d be hard to do if I was deprived of the right to be in the country. Besides, having more people on the case isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

In theory it wasn’t. In practice, though… Light could bet L wasn’t happy about this development.

“Well, if you need people so badly, how about you let me…”

“No.”

Not unexpected, but Light still faked hurt and bafflement.

“I thought you wanted my assistance.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Light-kun. I do want you on the team. However, you’re just a university student. With the government keeping tabs on us… They very clearly stated they don’t approve of my methods. Or of my conclusions.”

“I hope you haven’t mentioned me being a suspect to them.”

Light chuckled airily. L scowled at him.

“I did. The moment they heard you have an alibi, they demanded that I stop bothering you and concentrate on other potential leads.”

Ah. So L still suspected him, but was forced to lay off. Well, that explained his recent radio silence. Light cackled internally: Mikami’s idea of punishing corrupt officials had paid off in more ways than one.

“Other leads? Such as?”

“Everyone who knew about the FBI agents being in Japan. Immigration office workers, secretaries, reconnaissance…”

“That’s a lot of people, Ryuga.”

“Yes, well. We have a lot more people on the team now.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a phone call. L listened silently for half a minute, then grumbled “understood”, hid the phone in the pocket of his jeans and turned back to Light.

“Sorry I have to cut this short. See you later, Light-kun.”

“I don’t suppose I can expect you to come here more often?” Light asked, putting his best puppy eyes to use. “The classes are boring without you.”

“I’ll have to stay out of your hair for a while, at least until the government leaves me alone,” L sighed. “Bye.”

Well, that was… new. On the one hand, Light appreciated the additional pressure L had found himself under. Let him feel scrutinised for a change, his every gesture, phrase and facial expression examined under a microscope. On the other hand, Light had hoped to arrange a meeting between Mikami and L, to use Mikami in order to find out L’s real name – a hope which L had just destroyed.

No matter. There was no point in dwelling over what could have beens. Light needed to use this respite wisely – he had no doubt L wouldn’t sit on his hands and follow the government officials’ whims for long. Most likely, L already had a plan on how to get rid of their scrutiny.

For now, though, Light had to suffer through a date with Takada Kyomi. Not that he had anything against the woman, but he could come up with better ways to spend his time. Experimenting with the Death Note. Asking Joka about obscure trivia: sometimes the god of death felt charitable, especially if Light or Mikami managed to find really sweet and juicy fruit for her. Investigating new reports on criminal cases online and discussing which scum should be killed now and which they should save for later.

In short, Light would have preferred to see Mikami opposite from him, not Kyomi. Alas, Light still had to play the part of an ordinary university student. Everyone had sacrifices to make.

Light graciously offered to walk Kyomi home, took her hand when they were in a park, away from strangers’ eyes, kissed her on the porch, said goodbye and left with a well-disguised sigh of relief. Having a girlfriend was too much of a bother. Light had never officially dated anyone in high school, citing the need to prepare for his exams, and he wasn’t particularly excited about the change.

He texted Mikami on a whim. Nothing important, just asking whether Light could borrow Mikami’s notes from his criminal law class. Not that Light would need them – it was still his first semester, – but…

He had no excuse. He had no logical reason to go to Mikami’s place, to disrupt their schedule. He was being irrational, the suspence of the last week was getting to him, he was falling for L’s psychological trap…

“Please, come over. I’m always happy to see you.”

That was a relief. Mikami followed his schedule almost religiously; if he were at a gym or a library, he likely wouldn’t even see Light’s message.

“I’ll meet you at the station.”

The relief disappeared without a trace. Light knew the way to Mikami’s apartment already, there was no reason for Mikami to go out late at night. Of course, it could be that Mikami wanted to see Light – he wasn’t uninterested, no matter how Mikami tried to hide it, Light noticed the glances, – but Light’s intuition was screaming murder. Something was up.

It had started to rain while Light was on the subway. Mikami was already at the exit, holding an umbrella in his hand. How convenient: this way they had a reason to walk really close to each other, the rain would prevent them from being overheard, and it perfectly explained why Mikami had chosen to go out late in the evening instead of waiting for Light in his apartment.

“What is it?” Light asked quietly, taking the umbrella out of Mikami’s hand.

“Someone broke into my apartment,” Mikami replied, just as quietly. Light tensed.

“A burglar? Or L’s spy?”

“The latter. Nothing was taken, and they tried to leave as few traces as possible, but I knew where to look.”

“When we get to your apartment, we’ll have Ryuk and Joka search it for surveillance cameras. L used the same trick on me once – of course, it backfired spectacularly…”

“Hey, Light. I never said I’d help you,” Ryuk interrupted him, grinning widely. Light scowled.

“You already helped me once, there’s nothing to prevent you…”

“I don’t wanna. Last time I couldn’t safely eat apples in the house, but this time I can just wait until you return to your own room.”

“I will help,” Joka said suddenly. “What is a surveillance camera?”

“I’ll show you!” Ryuk seemed to have forgotten his earlier reluctance and was all but grovelling. Light rolled his eyes for a moment.

“What do you want in return?”

“Mango. A whole box of them.”

“Consider it done.”

“I’ll cover the co…”

“We’ll split it,” Light interrupted. “More importantly, is your Note safe? If someone touched a piece of it…”

“The Note itself isn’t in my apartment. And I always carry the pages with me,” Mikami said hastily.

“Reliable as ever. All right, here’s the plan: act natural, pretend you haven’t noticed anything strange. We come in, have a chat about classes, I leave. Do you already have today’s target in mind?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Tell me his name, I’ll write it down. Don’t do any research from your personal computer for the next few days – use your work one. Also, try to figure out if you’re being followed.”

“Understood,” Mikami said, a bit more tensely than Light had expected.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” Mikami replied after a short pause. Light frowned.

“You’ve never lied to me before.”

“Forgive me! I… don’t like the idea of being watched. By strangers. Especially since… I… don’t worry. I can handle it.”

“If you say so.”

Living under L’s scrutiny wasn’t particularly fun, but it wasn’t as big a deal as Mikami was trying to present it.

Light was worried Mikami might act stilted and unnatural under the cameras, but Mikami’s composure wasn’t so easily broken. The man moved with precision, a bit more tense than normal, but unlike Light, L had no point of reference. L had never seen Mikami relaxed. Light internally sighed in relief and kept the conversation flowing. Nothing personal, of course, just topics Mikami would be comfortable discussing: studies, books, news. If Light eased Mikami into it now, perhaps Mikami would be able to spend the next few days without raising L’s suspicion.

They ate together, watched the news together, did their homework in comfortable silence, then Light stood up, fully intending to leave.

“Would you like me to call a taxi?” Mikami suggested. “It’s pretty late, and it might be dangerous for you to go home alone.”

“I wouldn’t want to bother you,” Light said, putting his shoes on. “After all, it’s completely my fault. I wasn’t supposed to come over today. It was… ah, I just… you know… on a whim.”

Mikami suddenly moved forth, pressing Light to a wall with his body, and covered Light’s mouth with his own.

Damn. Well, they’d discussed it. They’d both agreed pretending to be in a relationship was the most convenient cover story. Mikami wasn’t doing anything wrong, he just stuck to their agreement. In fact, it was quick thinking on Mikami’s part: Light himself hadn’t tried to fake any romantic interest today, which could make L suspicious about the reasons behind Light’s visit. Light had planned everything out in advance. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

Except for the fact that Light’s dad was likely watching the cameras’ feed right now.

Theoretically speaking, Light could try to talk his way out of the situation. Pretend to be embarrassed… or outraged. Pretend that Mikami had misinterpreted the signs. Pretend that Mikami’s feelings for Light were one-sided (they were, but it wasn’t the point). Pretend Light had been too stunned to push Mikami away immediately. Mikami would probably be able to play along, what with his ability to easily read Light’s moods and understand Light’s line of thinking.

But.

That’d be a significant drawback. Light would have to avoid Mikami for an undetermined amount of time, they’d be unable to communicate. Or Light would have to come back a few days later and to pretend his “outburst” had been caused by homophobia, not by lack of interest. So, it was ultimately easier and safer to spare them both the trouble.

Light had intended to give L a “suspicious, but ultimately harmless” secret. That was it. Light’s dad was bound to be unhappy about the whole thing, of course, but Light’s dad had likely been unhappy about Light allegedly stashing porn in his room, and he’d said nothing.

Light closed his eyes and put his hand on Mikami’s nape, pulling him closer.

Mikami clearly didn’t have too much experience in kissing. Not that Light cared either way: it was just movement of lips against lips, nothing to get worked up about. Kissing a man wasn’t particularly different from kissing a woman, except for the fact that Mikami wasn’t wearing oily lip gloss that was supposed to taste like fruit but actually contained half of the periodic table.

Mikami finally stepped back, looking somewhat uncertain… no, unbalanced. Somehow Light had a feeling that Mikami was one step away from doing or saying something stupid. He needed some damage control, right now.

“Walk me to the station?” Light suggested breathily, pretending nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

Light knew his acting was top notch, yet Mikami must have still noticed something in Light’s eyes that made him straighten his back and think business.

“Of course. One moment.”

They grabbed their coats and left the apartment in comfortable silence – at least, Light hoped this was how it looked to L. Internally, Light was seething – not at anyone in particular, he was just mad about the whole situation. Mikami was clenching his fists – likely furious about the invasion of his privacy. Ryuk seemed mostly amused. Joka’s face was as expressionless as ever.

“My mango,” she reminded.

“Not so fast. Show us the location of the cameras, and remember – until the cameras are gone, you can’t eat fruit in the apartment.”

Joka huffed. Ryuk winced sympathetically.

“They didn’t stay for too long last time, right?”

“No, they didn’t,” Light agreed, then turned to Mikami. “You don’t have to go any further. Buy some fruit for Joka, return to your place, and remember to act normal. Text me if anything comes up.”

“I will.”

Mikami looked a bit paler than usual, but it could have been the lighting from the street lamps. Although… Light frowned. Mikami didn’t look like a man who’d just kissed a person he was attracted to.

“Second thoughts?”

“N-no.”

“I don’t think anyone from the task force will disclose any information about you. They’d have to admit they placed the cameras illegally, after all. So if you’re worried that being in a relationship with a man might influence your reputation or future career…”

“It’s not that!” Mikami straightened his back. “Homosexuality shouldn’t be condemned in the first place. We haven’t harmed anyone, haven’t threatened the society, haven’t…”

“Then what’s the matter? And don’t tell me it’s nothing. You’re making me angry.”

“Forgive me. I… just don’t like the idea of my privacy being violated so thoughroughly.”

“Well, there’s nothing you or I can do about it now. We should use the occasion to establish your innocense. Treat it as a rare opportunity,” Light chuckled. Mikami bowed shallowly, said his goodbyes and left. Light watched him with narrowed eyes. Was this going to become a problem in the future?..

Chapter Text

Light spent the night tossing and turning, wondering how he could actually use the situation to his advantage. The easiest way would be to just keep acting normally. After all, L had no proof of Mikami’s involvement in the Kira case. L didn’t even know about the existence of Kira’s apostle. However, if L simply saw nothing suspicious, he’d still have some doubts left. Light needed to make a move, not sit on his hands. Light needed to show L something that’d clear Mikami’s name completely, give them both an alibi. Repeating the potato chips trick was out of question, but Light did have some more ideas from the last time…

Anyway, he’d need to wait at least a few days before acting. Let L get lulled into complacence, grow tired of watching Mikami’s routine. It’s be suspicious if Mikami acted out of the ordinary on the second day of surveillance.

For that matter, Light needed to act normal too. He decided he’d ask Kyomi out the next morning: after all, he couldn’t just come out and say “I’m seeing a man”. Even if Mikami didn’t care about his future career, Light did. Light needed a cover, a completely ordinary-looking family with a wife that wouldn’t bother him too much and would play her role without arguments. Kyomi was suitable to him: smart enough to have entered a prestigious university, gullible enough for Light to be able to keep her placated when he inevitably started spending all his free time at work.

However, Kyomi seemed distracted when Light met her on the way to class. Light even had to call out to her, whereas normally Kyomi noticed Light’s arrival immediately and followed his movements like a sunflower followed the sun.

“Are you all right? If you’re sick, perhaps it’d be better for you to go back home and to have some rest. I’ll give you my notes later, perhaps explain the material to you?..”

Kyomi’s answering smile was pale.

“Thank you, Yagami-kun. This is very nice of you.”

“Don’t overdo it. It’s normal to be exhausted after all the stress…”

“It’s not the stress,” Kyomi said hastily. She looked around, then cautiously approached Light. “Yagami-kun, may I speak to you in private?”

Light checked his watch. They still had a few minutes before the start of the class.

“All right.”

“I… I think someone is stalking me,” Kyomi said nervously after making sure no one was listening to their conversation. “There’s a strange man that I keep seeing on my way to the university and back. And yesterday… I went shopping with a friend, and when I looked around, the same man was there, staring… Yagami-kun, you’re probably thinking I’m paranoid, but…”

“I don’t think you’re paranoid! Takada-san, how about I walk you home today? Just to be on the safe side.”

Kyomi sighed in visible relief.

“Thank you! I’m sorry to have sprung this on you, Yagami-kun… I didn’t want to bother you, but I… hoped you’d understand.”

“It’s not a bother. Please, let me protect you.”

“Ah, but if Yagami-kun got in trouble because of me… perhaps we should go to the police?”

Light seriously doubted that’d bring any results. After all, the mysterious “stalker” was very likely a police officer himself – one of the Kira task force, if Light had to guess. L had obviously noticed the recent developments in Light’s private life and was gathering information on Light’s potential allies.

“How about this? I’ll walk you home today and accompany you to the university tomorrow. I’ll be extra attentive and try to take a good look at your stalker. If there are two witnesses, the police would be more likely to take us seriously.”

“Yes… yes, that makes sense! Ah, but you’d have to get up very early to get to my house tomorrow morning. Or… you could sleep at my place?” Kyomi blushed, pressing her hand to her mouth. Light sighed internally. He hadn’t even asked Kyomi out today, and she was already getting clingy. How annoying.

“I wouldn’t want to cause you trouble.”

“But it’s me who is causing you trouble. It’ll be only right for me to compensate you…”

“No compensation required,” Light said firmly. “Takada-san, we’re talking about your safety here. It’s something anyone would do in my shoes. Please, you don’t owe me anything.”

“Oh… of course, Yagami-kun. Thank you again.”

Takada seemed disappointed. For a moment Light even pondered actually taking her up on her offer and spending the night at her place, but… no. Reading a dirty magazine under the cameras was one thing, but having sex with L watching Light’s every move like a hawk? Out of question.

Although, come to think of it, Light would likely have to have sex with Mikami at some point. If they were going to keep the charade and continue with the fake relationship, that’d be the logical next step to take. And unlike Kyomi, Mikami wasn’t a girl, so Light couldn’t say he was waiting for the wedding or something. What a headache.

As expected, there was a man stalking Kyomi, and judging from his bearing, he was a professional. One of L’s underlings, then. Well, that posed a problem: Light couldn’t pretend he hadn’t noticed anything amiss, nor could he go to the police. He needed to placate Kyomi for now, then find a way to get rid of the surveillance. Privately Light wondered if there were any cameras in Kyomi’s place.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but… do you think I could have a cup of tea?” Light asked when they reached the house. “Of course, if you don’t feel like it, I…”

“Please, come in!”

Kyomi all but dragged Light inside. Thankfully, she seemed spooked rather than enthusiastic, so she likely wanted to discuss the current situation, and not to make out.

“Is there no one around?”

“My parents are working abroad. Take a seat, I’ll get us both something.”

Light nodded. The moment Kyomi turned away, Light tried to signal to Ryuk to look around. Ryuk didn’t seem too happy, but complied once Light subtly pointed at a plate of fruit on the table – Sekai Ichi apples, the sort that even Light’s family couldn’t afford.

Kyomi returned holding two cups in her hands. Light gratefully took one and gestured for Kyomi to sit down. Kyomi complied, but her hands were shaking so badly Light had to take her cup as well, lest she burnt herself.

“Yagami-kun, you saw… you saw, right? Please tell me I’m not imagining things!”

“I did see him. Don’t worry.”

Light had intended it to be comforting, but Kyomi tensed even further.

“What does it mean? Why is that man stalking me?! What if he… does he intend to…”

“Listen well, Takada-san. I understand how you feel, I do, but try to keep a clear head, all right? Panicking won’t help you.”

Ryuk chose this moment to intervene.

“Hey, Light. The house is chock-full of cameras. No blind spots.”

Light sighed and pulled Kyomi into his embrace, letting her put her head on his shoulder. Kyomi tensed for a moment before finally relaxing.

“All right. As long as you’re here, Yagami-kun, I’m not afraid. Will you… will you stay? Please?”

“Takada-san,” Light tried to make his tone stern but not cold. “It’s improper. You’re a girl, and I am a guy, we shouldn’t…”

“I don’t care! If… Yagami-kun, if you wanted…”

All right, that escalated quickly. Unless Light did some damage control now, he might need to fight off a desperate woman’s attempt to bed him right here on the living room couch.

“Out of the question. Takada-san, you’re scared. You’re not thinking straight. I’d lose all self-respect if I used the situation to my advantage now.”

Thankfully, Kyomi had the presence of mind to look a bit ashamed.

“Ah, I… sorry. You’re right, I’m being impulsive…”

“I am not uninterested,” Light lied. “However, it’s not a decision either of us should make now.”

“Then… if Yagami-kun isn’t staying… we should go to the police right now! Tell them… tell them everything!”

“I’m sorry, Takada-san, but you’re not going anywhere.”

“What? Why?!”

“Look. My father is a police officer. I know a bit about how the system operates. If you go there in your current state, scared and not thinking clearly, they’ll just write it off as a woman’s hysterics. Say you must have imagined things.”

“But that’s awful! It shouldn’t be like this!”

Kyomi’s eyes shone with fury and newfound determination. For a moment her expression reminded Light of Mikami.

“No, it shouldn’t. But it is. So, here’s what we’re going to do: you lock the doors and call a female friend. Ask her to come over and spend the night. Say that the house is empty, so you can throw a party or something. I’ll go outside and confront the man stalking you.”

“That’s dangerous! Yagami-kun, I can’t have it on my conscience…”

“Don’t worry, my father taught me some self-defense moves. And I don’t think it’s going to come down to violence anyway. I’ll just scare the man off. Tomorrow I’ll contact a friend who works for the police, explain the situation to him and ask him if he can do anything unofficially. Pull the strings, or…”

“This is a good idea. Yagami-kun, can you give me this friend’s number? Just in case.”

“You know what? I’ll call him right now.”

After all, both the “stalker” and Matsuda were L’s lapdogs. Let them deal with the situation. Especially since at least one of them was likely watching the cameras this very second.

Matsuda wasn’t picking up the phone. Whatever. Light shrugged, gave Kyomi the number, waited for Kyomi to message a friend of hers, then left.

The “stalker” was nowhere to be seen. Light walked around the block, just to be on the safe side, then returned to Kyomi’s house.

“The man’s gone. You should be safe now. Remember: don’t do anything rash, call me if you have doubts, call my friend if you’re in danger. Stay put. I’ll meet you tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, Yagami-kun.”

Finally Light could leave Kyomi and her concerns behind. He walked to the station, mentally mapping out his plans for the evening. He’d miss the evening news, so he’d need to buy a newspaper on his way home, check the news online, quickly write down the criminals’ names, then study. If he sacrificed an hour of sleep…

Light’s phone buzzed, pulling him out of his thoughts. A phone call from Mikami – definitely bad news. Mikami stuck to his schedule almost religiously, so if he chose to contact Light out of the blue, something must have happened.

“Teru.”

They’d agreed to move to the first-name basis beforehand, to make their fake dating ruse more convincing. Although Mikami still had some trouble calling Light by his name, and not “Lord”.

“Sorry to bother you. Is this a good time?”

“I’m free now. What did you want to say?”

“I’ve been thinking about yesterday’s,” Mikami replied slowly, as if carefully picking every word. “And I was wondering if we could meet. Again.”

“What, right now?”

“Will it be convenient?”

No. It would be incredibly suspicious. L would definitely sense something amiss. However, refusal wasn’t an option. Hopefully, Light would be able to play the situation off as “two idiots so badly in love they couldn’t stay away from each other for longer than a day”.

“Of course. As a matter of fact, I’ve been thinking of you as well… meet me at the station in half an hour?”

“I will.”

This diversion would cost Light two hours of sleep at the very least. His reasons to want L dead were getting more and more personal.

Light just had to hope Mikami at least wouldn’t get overly emotional. Comforting two people on the same evening didn’t sound appealing.

Alas, Light’s hopes were in vain: he could see how tense Mikami was before they even exchanged a greeting. Light nodded quickly and touched Mikami’s shoulder, trying to assess his state, signal for him to act natural and get him back to his senses at the same time. Hopefully whoever was tracking them would buy the touch as a gesture of affection.

It worked, at least partially: Mikami was too wound up, but at least he didn’t seem on the verge of throwing a fit.

“What is it?” Light asked quietly once they got away from the crowd at the station. Mikami uttered a broken sigh, and Light quickly brushed the back of his hand against Mikami’s palm to uphold the image of “two idiots in love”.

“My apologies,” Mikami replied. “I am letting you down.”

“Did you break your cover?”

“Not yet. However, if it continues… I can’t. Not with people watching… watching me. Taking away…”

Mikami choked and averted his gaze. Light frowned. He hadn’t expected Mikami to break under the pressure so easily, but not everyone were as clear-headed as Light himself. Besides, at least Mikami warned Light of the problem in advance, so they could plan around the issue, not do damage control.

There was one other thing, though…

“Have you ever been watched like this before?”

Mikami hesitated, which only confirmed Light’s suspicions.

“It isn’t about the surveillance on its own, but…”

“Have you been sexually assaulted?”

The pause that followed the question lasted for a few minutes. Light cursed internally. He should’ve been aware of this, damn it! He needed to know his ally’s weaknesses. Not only would it have prevented situations like this, it could allow Light to control Mikami better.

“It wasn’t sexual,” Mikami finally said. “But. It was…”

“Traumatic?”

“I apologise again. You must find me lacking…”

“Not in the slightest,” Light lied. Mikami knew him well enough to not be convinced by empty platitudes, so Light added a bit of truth. “I’m glad you told me.”

“I’ll do whatever you say. If this situation must continue… if I must…”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Light pondered whether he had to tell Mikami about Kyomi, but eventually opted not to. As cool-headed and understanding as Mikami could be, right now he was too distraught to think clearly. If he got too emotional over something as stupid as jealousy…

“I remember the location of the cameras at your place. I can pretend to find one ‘accidentally’, draw your attention to it. With you knowing about the surveillance, L would have no reason not to remove the cameras.”

“Very well. Which one?”

“The one in the kitchen area. We’d want it down first, to give Joka a chance to eat.”

The god of death grunted.

“Yes, I believe this will work,” Mikami agreed reluctantly.

“All right. Once I ‘find’ the camera, I’ll attract your attention to it, explain the situation to you…”

“No.”

“No?”

Light was so baffled he couldn’t find a suitable response. This was the first time Mikami chose to openly contradict him.

“If I found the camera on my own, without knowing about our current situation, my first reaction would be to call the police. I wouldn’t care for explanations.”

“But we have to show your innocense to L and his team.”

“And the best way to do it is to react the same way an innocent person would. This… surveillance,” Mikami all but spat the word out, like it disgusted him, “is a violation of law. Of justice. Wouldn’t you be upset about someone wrongly accusing you of a crime?”

“I’d rather try to prove my innocense beyond a shadow of doubt.”

“It’s not your job to prove your innocense. It’s L’s job to prove your guilt. By playing along you’re giving him ammunition.”

What the hell was Mikami saying?.. Of course Light’s approach was the correct one! He couldn’t just be satisfied by saying there wasn’t enough proof to consider him a criminal. The minute, the second Light was under suspicion he needed to fix it. He needed to be perfect. He couldn’t afford a stain on his reputation. A stain on his family’s reputation…

However, Light knew enough about Mikami by now to realise this particular argument held no sway over him. Mikami didn’t care for his family. Mikami had openly said more than once that if Light’s father couldn’t be an ally, then he was an enemy and should be treated accordingly.

“Lo… Light? Have I overstepped?”

Mikami’s worried gaze placated Light a bit. He had the situation under control. Mikami wasn’t about to rebel on him. Light just needed to find suitable words…

On the other hand, while Mikami’s approach wasn’t something Light would ever try on his own, perhaps it held some merit. After all, by now L knew Light well enough to be able to predict his reactions. Mikami, on the other hand, was an unknown, at least for the moment. Letting Mikami do as he pleased would blindside L… perhaps even sway a few officers in L’s little team to side with Light.

“We’ll follow your suggestion,” Light decided. Mikami’s relief was palpable, and Light touched his shoulder again to ground him. He needed Mikami to keep his head cool. “Don’t relax until it’s over. L is too dangerous an opponent to underestimate him.”

“I’ll do everything I can to rid you of him,” Mikami swore, not for the first time. “Heretics like him are to be eliminated from our new world.”

“Our” world, huh?.. Someone had to be reminded of his place: an obedient worshipper at Light’s feet, a convenient tool to be used and discarded. Not an equal. However, for now Light needed Mikami’s eyes. It wasn’t the time for quarrels. Not yet.

Light hummed ambiguously, glanced around to make sure no one was paying too close attention, then pulled at a button on Mikami’s jacket. He didn’t manage to tear it off, but he loosened it just enough. Mikami coughed, but quickly pulled himself together, nodding to show he understood Light’s plan.

Light just had to hope Mikami could act convincingly in front of the cameras. However, he stepped into the apartment first, just in case: Light’s acting abilities were top-notch, so he didn’t mind drawing attention away from Mikami.

“…go and fix it now, before you forget,” Light easily pretended he was continuing a conversation they’d started before. “You know how, right?”

“Of course.”

Good. Some men apparently considered such things beneath them. Morons.

“I’ll put the fruit in the fridge while you’re at it.”

Now was the most important part. Mikami left, presumably to find a needle and some threads, and Light opened the fridge, humming a pop tune under his breath. One of Ryuga Hideki’s: Light knew a few of the idol’s songs by heart thanks to Sayu, and he didn’t mind annoying L a bit.

Ryuk’s apples, Joka’s strawberries, Mikami’s celery… Light dropped a bag of peaches, pretending it to be an accident, then crouched to retrieve it. The bag broke, and the peaches rolled all over the kitchen floor, one of them ending up under the cabinet. How lucky. Light went on all fours to retrieve it, then turned around, bumped his head on the low table, hissed, raised his head and looked straight at a security camera.

Now was the important part. Light frowned, faking surprise and bafflement, then grabbed the camera. Several expressions flashed on his face in quick succession: understanding, horror, forced composure. Light knew his acting was impeccable; he only regretted not being able to see L’s reaction live.

“Light? What are you doing?”

Mikami chose this moment to enter the kitchen: presumably, he’d fixed his loose button already. Light crawled from under the table and raised the hand with the security camera to his eye level.

“Teru. What is this?”

Light added just the slightest bit of hope to his expression, as if begging for Mikami to have a reasonable explanation. One that didn’t include L’s surveillance… and Light’s father seeing Light kiss a guy last evening.

Fat chance of that.

Mikami approached, his face carefully expressionless, took the camera out of Light’s hand, studied it carefully. Then his face darkened – a rather convincing performance. Likely because Mikami’s fury was one hundred percent real.

“Someone has installed a security camera in my house. Without me knowing,” Mikami said through clenched teeth. “I’m calling the police.”

“Wait, Teru, I think I have an idea…”

Mikami ignored Light, heading back to the entrance to retrieve his phone. The phone which immediately started ringing.

Ah. Right on time.

Mikami picked up, listened quietly for a few seconds, then ended the call, glaring at the screen as if the phone had offended him.

“Teru?”

“A prank call. Nothing more.”

“A prank call so soon after this?” Light pointed at the camera. “Don’t you think it’s too suspicious to be a coincidence?”

“You’re right. I’ll mention it to the police once they arrive.”

Light’s phone started ringing too, but Light opted to ignore it for now. Let L sweat a bit. Mikami already reached the police, telling them his home address.

“Well?”

“They’ll be here within an hour. You don’t have to wait…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not leaving you now.”

Light was willing to bet that L would intervene and intercept the police officers to replace them with his own people. No matter. Light would simply make sure L’s subordinates removed all the surveillance equipment, and if they didn’t, Light would suggest searching the apartment again.

Besides, if L sent anyone Light knew personally, Light could use the occasion to probe. Perhaps even influence their opinions of L. Mikami wasn’t completely wrong: an innocent person would be upset about the suspicion and the invasion of privacy. If Light managed to pit L’s team against him, that’d be a win of its own. L was already under pressure from the government; if Light reported L’s bullshit, that’d make L’s life even harder.

However, the officers who arrived to Mikami’s apartment an hour later seemed to be genuine police workers. Light dutifully wrote down their badge numbers just in case, provided his version of events (he opted not to mention his relationship with Mikami wasn’t a simple friendship), waited for the officers to search the apartment and to leave. They missed a few cameras, so Light and Mikami exchanged a few glances and had to conduct another search.

It took forever. Light had to call his mom and to tell her he was staying at a friend’s place to study. The realisation that he’d have to wake up half an hour early tomorrow to get to Kyomi’s place from Mikami’s didn’t help his mood any. Thankfully, Mikami volunteered to take care of Kira’s judgements for today. By now Light trusted him enough to simply agree instead of trying to micromanage and second-guess Mikami’s choices. Mikami understood Kira’s logic and ideals just as well as Light himself.

The one good thing was that without the cameras around there was no need to act like lovebirds. Light was too tired for that, and Mikami was still reeling from the whole situation, not in the mood for anything private. They quickly made arrangements (Mikami’s futon was a bit too narrow for two guys, but they managed), and Light fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.

Chapter Text

Mikami’s alarm clock woke them up at an ungodly hour. Since Light hadn’t intended to sleep at Mikami’s apartment, he hadn’t brought a spare set of clothes and had to hastily rummage through Mikami’s wardrobe in search of something suitable. Thankfully, they had similar taste in clothing, and their height difference was negligible enough. Light made a mental note to bring some shirts and other things he might need next time he came over. Just in case.

They ate in silence – some rice and leftover vegetables, – then Light left, promising to call or text in the evening. Mikami looked like he wanted to say something, but opted not to, and Light wasn’t in the mood to probe. Not right now, anyway. Perhaps later, once he had enough energy to care.

Light sure hoped L wouldn’t appear at the university today. Fending off L’s probing while sleepy would be a disaster.

Kyomi was already waiting for Light at the doorstep, a cup of hot coffee in her hand.

“I thought you might be tired, Yagami-kun. Thank you again for doing this for me.”

“It’s nothing,” Light said automatically. “Your safety is important to me, Takada-san.”

“You say the sweetest things.”

“And you seem way more composed today.”

“I am. You must have scared the stalker off: he hadn’t appeared all night. I feel much safer.”

“Good. I’ll try to contact my friend from the police a bit later. In the meantime, I guess I’ll have to accompany you on your way home today as well.”

“Thank you again,” Kyomi pressed a kiss to Light’s cheek; Light was still too drowsy to register it in time, so he could do nothing but stand still, absent-mindedly touching the place of the kiss with his fingertips. Kyomi giggled. “You’re so sweet, Yagami-kun. And this shirt suits you.”

Light almost blurted out it wasn’t his shirt, but bit his tongue at the last moment. Ryuk cackled.

“She likes your boyfriend’s taste in clothes, huh?.. Humans.”

Well, technically, Light couldn’t even argue with this statement. Mikami did have good taste, and not just in clothes.

The way to the university was uneventful. Light barely held it together through his classes, then spent the lunch break sleeping in Kyomi’s lap. Who cared, anyway? They were officially dating. Kyomi had all but thrown herself at him last evening. Kyomi was beautiful, smart, polite and not too wilful – everything a woman needed to be a perfect wife and a perfect cover. Light fully intended to continue the relationship: he needed to marry someone eventually, and Mikami, for all his strong points, wasn’t a woman.

Light was woken up from his sleep by a phone call. He knew it was from L before he even fished the phone out of his pocket: L just couldn’t miss an opportunity to mess with Light’s sleep schedule. Light was ninety percent sure L was doing it on purpose.

However, when Light picked up, it was his father who greeted him.

“Light.”

“Dad.”

Light intentionally didn’t say anything else, nor provided any opening for a conversation. He honestly wasn’t sure what to say: he had no idea how much his dad knew of the… recent developments in Light’s private life and wasn’t sure how his dad had reacted. Although Light could say with absolute certainty the answer was “poorly”, but he needed more information.

“Could you come to the headquarters after class? There’s something Ryuzaki wants to discuss with you.”

“All right. I’ll just walk a friend home, then I’ll come over.”

“Ah… that’s… I’ll send Matsu… Matsui. To accompany her. Hm. Is this all right with you?”

“Fine.”

“Very well, then. I’ll see you there.”

Light ended the call and looked at Kyomi, who was staring at him curiously.

“Your father, Yagami-kun?..”

“My friend from the police will escort you home today. Please, be sure to tell him everything. I’ll confirm your story when I speak to him later.”

“Oh…” Kyomi seemed a bit disappointed, but also hopeful. “I will! Thank you, Yagami-kun. And, just so you know – my invitation still stands.”

“Maybe once this whole thing is over, you’re safe and sound and not so stressed, we can discuss it again,” Light promised. He wasn’t exactly happy about the prospect, but he supposed it was inevitable. Ordinary people seemed obsessed with sex, and Light had no choice but to play along if he wanted a relationship. Hopefully he’d be able to convince Kyomi to wait until the wedding or something, although he somehow had his doubts.

Kyomi giggled, kissed Light’s cheek again and shooed him off her lap. It was time to return to class.

Having successfully survived his studies for today, Light got himself another cup of coffee – not exactly a healthy choice, but he needed to concentrate before talking to L – and was on his way to the station when his phone rang again. Light cursed internally, hearing Ryuk laugh at his expense, then took the call.

“Yagami.”

“L just called me.”

Mikami’s words definitely made Light more awake than the coffee in his cup.

“Are you all right? Safe?”

“For the moment, yes. However, L – or someone who introduced himself as L, in any case, – told me in no uncertain terms he wants to see me today. Gave me the address.”

“Which address?”

Mikami replied after a miniscule pause – presumably he’d written the name of the hotel somewhere and needed the time to glance at his notes, – and Light sighed in relief.

“I’ll be there as well.”

“So you think I should go?”

“Absolutely. Don’t worry, we’ll meet in front of the hotel, enter together. I think Dad and the others will be there as well.”

“Others?”

“I’ll explain later. Just… be there.”

“Understood. I’ll wait for you. See you.”

“See you,” Light echoed before putting his phone back in his pocket and downing the coffee cup in one go. Good thing that the way to the hotel would take some time: Light needed to think. And to plan.

L wanting to meet Mikami in person wasn’t exactly strange: Light suspected that L had guessed about the existence of the… second Kira somehow and wanted to test his hypothesis. The chance that L would try to hurt or incapacitate Mikami was negligible: L had no proof of Mikami even being involved in the Kira case. If L hadn’t tried to imprison Light, he wouldn’t do it to Mikami either.

Most importantly, L didn’t know about Mikami having the Eyes. L still assumed Kira needed a name and a face to kill… and that was true for Light. Mikami – less so. The moment Mikami met L face to face would spell L’s doom.

Light felt his lips stretch into a smirk and barely managed to suppress it. Even the thought of introducing his father to his – ugh – boyfriend wasn’t enough to ruin Light’s good mood.

He was this close to victory.

Interesting that L hadn’t tried to drag Kyomi into this. Had he realised Kyomi had nothing to do with Kira’s judgements? Or had he deemed Mikami the more dangerous of the two? If so, why?.. Probably because Mikami was a man. Or because Light had tried to keep his relationship with Mikami hidden and therefore had attracted more attention to him.

Mikami was sitting on a bench next to the hotel entrance, his shoulders somewhat hunched, but his gaze as sharp as ever. Seeing Light, Mikami raised his head and straightened his back.

“L…ight.”

“Are you all right?”

Light barely needed to act: his worry was mostly genuine. He needed Mikami to be cool and collected. Knowing L’s name was good, but if Mikami somehow made a mistake, fell for one of L’s traps, let something slip… In the worst case scenario Light would have to murder everyone in the room and then quickly think of a way to cover it up. Not something he’d rather do.

Ideally, Mikami would give Light L’s name on a silver platter, then Light would arrange for L’s death and for a suspect who wasn’t connected to Light in any way. However, it was too soon to think about it now. L wasn’t to be underestimated. They needed to pass whatever test L had prepared for them today.

Mikami must have seen Light’s tension, but, contrary to Light’s expectations, it didn’t make Mikami unravel. On the contrary, Mikami’s own nervousness disappeared without a trace. Was he subconsciously placing himself in the role of Light’s protector? Annoying, but useful to know.

They entered the room side by side, presenting a united front. L and the others already knew about this “relationship”, there was no need to downplay the connection.

L was sitting in the armchair in front of the coffee table, his expression unreadable, the bags under his eyes almost comically large. Matsuda was nowhere to be seen, but the other investigation team members, Kyomi’s “stalker” included, were there, awkwardly averting their gazes. Light straightened his back, looking like he was nervous but desperately trying to hide it. He didn’t even glance at his dad, worried about what he might see.

“Light-kun. Mikami-san,” L said in his usual monotone. “Welcome.”

“Who are you?” Mikami asked coldly, trying to step forth and sort of… shield Light with his body? It was condescending as hell, but also a sign of loyalty that made Light feel strangely pleased.

“I am L. Pleased to meet you.”

Mikami glanced at Light and waited for a miniscule nod before continuing.

“Why are we here, L?”

L looked Mikami over, sighed and grabbed a piece of mizu yokan off his plate. Light didn’t even need to look at Mikami to know that Mikami was scrunching his nose right now, a picture of disdain.

“You are here because I owe you an apology.”

“You’re not making a particularly good job then,” Mikami retorted coldly. Light coughed, trying to mask his chuckle. He couldn’t help it: he was too happy at the moment.

L lost. He didn’t know it yet, but he’d lost.

“I was the one who placed the cameras at your apartment.”

“So you’ve claimed before,” Mikami retorted, not letting L continue. “If you’ve really seen the error of your ways, go to the police and turn yourself in. Otherwise spare me the performance.”

L blinked, clearly unhappy about having been interrupted, then glanced at Light, who opted not to interfere. Mikami was doing far better than expected. At this point Light was perfectly content to watch.

“We are dealing with a mass murderer who is using unknown means to kill people at a distance. I’d say, considering the circumstances…”

“A mass murderer?” Mikami repeated poisonously. “So when Kira breaks the law in pursuit of justice, it’s mass murder, but when you break the law, allegedly also in pursuit of justice, it is somehow different? How hypocritical of you, L.”

Light noticed the police officers in the room shuffling uneasily. So they weren’t as gung-ho about L’s methods as Light had assumed. Good to know.

“You think Kira is killing people in pursuit of justice?”

Light shifted slightly, worried that Mikami might say something unnecessary. Thankfully, Mikami must have felt or heard Light’s movement and pulled himself together.

“Don’t you?”

“What I think about Kira’s motives is irrelevant. Kira is a criminal who will be caught and executed. That’s it.”

Light almost laughed out loud at that. He remembered how a similar announcement from Lind L. Taylor had made him fly off the handle, but now… what use was there in getting angry over the words of a dead man?

“Be it as it may,” Mikami said, clearly struggling to keep his composure, “I fail to see how planting cameras in my house is relevant to your investigation. If you’re trying to change the subject, or to use the Kira case to justify your abuse of authority…”

“Mikami Teru-san. Born on June 7^th, 1985, raised in Kyoto. Studied at Kyodo to become a prosecutor, passed his bar exam at the first try…”

“I know my own biography. Get to the point, L.”

Credit where credit was due – even Light hadn’t ever managed to say L’s name with such open disgust.

“Very well. Mikami Teru-san, you have suddenly moved to Tokyo at the beginning of April 2003. Care to explain the reasoning behind your decision?”

Light tensed a bit. They’d discussed it with Mikami, they’d worked out a plausible explanation, so all Mikami needed to do was to say it, throwing off suspicion…

“Is this an interrogation?”

“It is a simple question…”

“That I have no obligation to answer. I’m not the criminal here, L. You are. Stop trying to divert my attention from this fact.”

“The fact that you’re dating our primary Kira suspect…”

“Doesn’t give you the right to invade my privacy. Do you have the official permission for video surveillance of my apartment?”

“As I said…”

“It’s a yes or no question, L. If you have the permission, show me the order. If you don’t, I’m reporting you. Simple as that.”

“I have a verbal permission from Deputy Chief of NPA.” L waved his hand in Light’s father’s general direction. “Will this suffice?”

“I see,” Mikami’s tone somehow turned even colder. “So even the supposedly exemplary police officers see it fit to break the law they swore to protect…”

“Teru.”

Light wasn’t about to listen to that any longer. Insulting L was one thing – fully deserved, at that, – but insulting Light’s father in front of him wasn’t something Light would tolerate.

Mikami met Light’s gaze. For a few moments he looked mulish – unshakeable in his convictions, certain of his righteousness. Light didn’t often find other people beautiful, but there was no other word to describe Mikami’s burning eyes now.

The next moment Mikami lowered his gaze – a subtle yet unmistakeable show of submission.

“Forgive me. I shouldn’t have lost my composure like this.”

Not “shouldn’t have said it”, Light noted internally. Mikami still believed every word of his little speech. Oh well… At least Mikami wasn’t trying to challenge Light’s authority yet. It would’ve been the worst possible time.

“How about we all calm down a bit?” Light suggested, smiling uneasily. “There’s no point in a conversation where we all talk over each other.”

“Good idea, Light-kun.” L nodded sagely. “Watari, get us some tea.”

“One moment, L.”

The door opened, and an older-looking man appeared with a tray of sweets and teacups. Light smiled openly – to others it must have looked like a relief, but inwardly Light was chuckling. Now Mikami had seen pretty much everyone from L’s team – except for Matsuda Touta, whose name Light already knew.

Perfect victory.

Watari placed the teacups on the low table and gestured for everyone to sit down. Mikami looked like he was about to bolt, so it took some gentle nudging (and touching) to get him to cooperate. Even then Mikami was visibly uncomfortable. And still angry enough that L made a point of moving every sharp utensil away from him.

“All right,” L shoved a whole cookie into his mouth. Light privately wondered if L was being difficult on purpose. If he was, it seemed to be working: Mikami’s distaste was palpable.

“All right,” Light agreed. “I believe some introductions are in order?.. Um, since the data we have show that Kira needs a name and a face to kill, we’re all using pseudonims. L is Ryuzaki, then there’s Aihara Shuji, Utsunoda Yamato and Asahi Yonjiro. Which… makes me Asahi Light.”

Everyone – except for L – looked uncomfortable at that, throwing furtive glances at Light’s dad. Even Watari lowered his gaze and busied himself with polishing table utensils. Mikami, however, barely spared Light’s dad a glance.

“I see.”

Would it kill Mikami to be a bit more friendly? Honestly. Light had to do all the work here.

“And this here is Mikami Teru. As I’m sure you all already know. Speaking of which… how many people from my close circle are you having followed right now, Ryuzaki?”

“We don’t have that many people available, so we had to concentrate on your closest acquaintances that you spend the most time with. Three of them in total.”

“Well, can you stop? My friends have done nothing wrong, and you’ve given Kyomi a fright already.”

“Yes, I’ve sent Matsui to smooth things over with her. No worries.”

“No worries? And when someone else starts tailing her, do you think she’ll be unable to put two and two together?”

“Well, she hasn’t put two and two together about you cheating on her with a guy,” L said innocently, “so…”

Damn it. Light should’ve brought up this topic beforehand, instead of giving L the chance to spring this up on Mikami and potentially leading him to an outburst.

“You’re changing the subject again, L.” Mikami crossed his arms on his chest. “We’re not talking about Light here, but about you and your crimes.”

“Oh, but we are talking about Light. Most of the time. He’s our prime suspect. And you being so defensive raises the chances of you being his accomplice…”

Mikami looked like he was about to splash his tea over L’s face. Not that Light didn’t share the sentiment.

“So you keep saying. Do you have any actual proof?”

“He doesn’t. Apparently, I have an alibi… as Ryuzaki said himself. I assume you pulled the hidden cameras trick at my house, too? With dad’s permission?”

Now everyone looked even more uncomfortable. Mikami huffed.

“Wasting time and resources on stalking and harrassing someone instead of working on an actual investigation…”

“Hello, everyone! What did I miss?”

Matsuda was standing in the doorway, smiling guilelessly. His expression didn’t change even when his gaze landed on Mikami.

“Teru, this is Matsui Tarou, the last team member. Matsui-san, this is…”

“Light-kun’s boyfriend! Pleased to meet you!.. Um, face to face, I mean. You know. Properly meet you…”

For a moment Light felt a sincere and completely out-of-place surge of gratitude to Matsuda. He didn’t look uncomfortable, didn’t try to pretend nothing was going on. He just blithely accepted the situation and moved past it.

“Were you in on the whole illegal surveillance situation?” Mikami asked coldy. Matsuda’s smile paled a bit.

“Um, I’m sorry! I know it’s a bad thing to do, it’s just that, well, Ryuzaki’s arguments are very compelling…”

“Let’s hear them, then.”

L shoved another cookie into his mouth, chewed slowly, gulped and only then deigned to answer.

“Very well. Let’s start with the fact that Kira is in Japan, in Kanto region…”

“Was.”

“Pardon?”

“Kira was in Kanto region at the moment of your broadcast. There is no guarantee Kira hasn’t moved since.”

“It would be a bit inconvenient for a student to suddenly move.”

“Why do you think Kira is a student, Ryuzaki?” Light intervened. He knew already, but he saw what Mikami was going for. They needed to find flaws in L’s logic. They couldn’t strong-arm L into abandoning his theory and looking for more suspects, but they could make other team members doubt L’s conclusions. Which would come in handy once L was dead.

“We compared the times of the criminals’ deaths and found out that they mostly died on weekdays from 4 PM to 2 AM Japan time. Which is…”

“Heavy conjecture. Kira could be someone without a job, someone who likes to stick to a schedule. Or someone who works different hours. Or…”

“Are you going to nitpick everything I say, Mikami-san?”

“If you catch Kira – and that’s a very big if, – you’re going to have to present the case to court. To prove beyond a shadow of doubt that it was your suspect who punished all those criminals…”

“Interesting choice of words here.”

“You might as well start practicing, L. For now I hear a whole lot of wild guesses and not much else.”

“Well, let’s keep this civil,” Light intervened. “Ryuzaki has always presented ironclad evidence in his past cases. Besides, it’s not Ryuzaki’s theory on its own that matters here. It’s the event that followed.”

“Right,” Light’s dad suddenly joined the conversation. “Following Ryuzaki’s announcement that Kira might be a student, Kira changed the killing pattern. One criminal dead every hour, 24 a day. On the clock.”

“Which meant Kira had access to the NPA information,” L continued. “I hired twelve FBI agents to investigate the Kira task force and their family members. All twelve died shortly after… which meant Kira was among the people investigated.”

That was just the opening Light needed to strike.

“No, as you’ve said before, that just meant Kira was among the people who knew about the FBI agents’ arrival. Counter-intelligence, immigration office workers, politicians…”

“Other people are looking into them,” L huffed. “This here is just my main task force.”

L gestured at everyone in the room. Mikami sneered.

“So the problem isn’t that you don’t have other suspects, it’s that you’re too lazy to investigate them.”

“Show some respect!” Aihara yelled. “Do you have any idea how hard Ryuzaki has been working…”

“On what, illegal surveillance? Stalking? Harrassing innocent people?”

“Stop playing the victim here! Yes, we may have used dirty means, but it’s all for the sake of…”

“Of what? Upholding the law? I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: if you’re willing to break the law and resort to vigilante justice, this makes you no different from Kira. Whom you are allegedly trying to catch.”

“You!..”

“Your team has spent months on this investigation, and the only result you have to show for it is placing cameras at the houses of people who are somehow connected to Light? Even if there was a good reason for suspecting him – which there isn’t, – what reason is there to suspect me? By L’s own admission, Kira was in Kanto at the time of the broadcast. I only moved to Tokyo recently. Explain yourselves.”

“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Matsuda muttered under his breath. Judging by Utsunoda Yamato’s expression, he agreed. One by one the people in the room turned to L, their gazes imploring, as if begging for a justification.

“I’m sure Ryuzaki has a theory,” Light said when the pause got too long. “Won’t you explain it?”

“Why? So that your boyfriend can dismiss it?”

“Oh, don’t be difficult, Ryuzaki. We’re all on the same side here…”

“We are most certainly not,” Mikami intervened. “And will you stop defending him? You’re the victim here!”

“I am not! Look, I get where Ryuzaki is coming from. And as long as there’s at least a shadow of doubt…”

“So you’ll just let him concentrate on harrassing you? Instead of looking for the actual perpetrator?”

“I understand,” L said with palpable annoyance. “I will remove the cameras and call off the surveillance. As for other suspects… as I’ve said, other people are actually working on that. I’ve gone through the data myself as well.”

“And you couldn’t have led with that?”

L immediately became the new target of Aihara’s anger – not that it deterred him in the slightest.

“As I’ve told you before, the government officials are helping – and taking over a huge part of the work. Our group is merely concentrating on the one suspect we have already, as opposed to trying and finding new…”

“Has none of you ever found it suspicious?” Mikami interrupted again. L’s annoyed expression made Light bite his lip to suppress a smirk. Damn, the fake dating ruse was definitely worth it: Mikami was on a roll. “L isn’t trying to actually find Kira – he’s stuck on one person who already has an alibi. It’s like he is deliberately sabotaging the investigation. Like he doesn’t want Kira to be found.”

“Which is exactly something the real Kira would say,” L mumbled. Judging by Mikami’s expression, he intended to pursue the topic further, so Light had to intervene.

“We’ll get nowhere if we just keep baselessly accusing each other of being Kira. I have an alibi. Teru has an alibi. No one here is Kira. How about we try to be productive?”

Mikami glanced at Light with a mix of incredulity and bafflement, but thankfully fell silent. Good. Pushing it would have only made the other team members resist and cling to their worldview. Better to sow the doubt now and let them mull about it on their own, so that they thought they reached the conclusion without outside assistance – or manipulation.

“We should take a break,” Light’s father said with a heavy sigh. “I’ve seen too many meetings not to recognise the signs. Everyone, take a few minutes, go grab a coffee, have a smoke. You boys… come with me.”

Light felt almost physically sick. He’d rather nitpick L’s arguments – he could do that all day – than have this conversation with his dad. Moreover, while Mikami had just proven himself to be way more than Light had hoped for, Light didn’t expect Mikami to handle Yagami Soichiro as gracefully as L. A quick glance at Mikami’s expression confirmed Light’s suspicions: Mikami seemed tense and ill at ease. Gone was the furious apostle ready to swing the flaming sword of justice in defense of his god – now Mikami Teru was an awkward young adult getting ready to speak to his crush’s conservative parent. The parent that Mikami had already expressed his dislike of.

This was bound to go well.

Light winced and massaged the bridge of his nose, pretending not to hear Ryuk’s cackling. At least Joka was silent.

So was Light’s dad.

The pause was getting more and more awkward with each passing second, but no one tried to interrupt it. Finally Light’s dad sighed and stopped averting his gaze.

“I’m not going to pretend I’m happy about this, but… I suppose I’ve done my fair share of things I’m not proud of. Especially lately. So it’s not like I have any place to judge… the two of you.”

“Things you’re not proud of?” Mikami repeated, his lips curled in a sneer. “Like spying after your own son?”

“Teru!” Light hissed. “Enough!”

“No, Light, let him talk. I want… no. I have to hear what he has to say.”

Mikami took a deep breath and straightened his back.

“You’re supposed to be at your son’s side. It was your job as a parent to protect him from this… violation.”

“I didn’t feel like I had the right. Light, I’m truly sorry. I hope you can understand one day… both of you. Ever since I’ve learnt my family is on the suspect list, my judgement has been clouded…”

“Then you should have left the case.”

“I tried. But you’ve seen how small the team is…”

“In cases such as this there are rules to follow. Regulations. You should have…”

“Teru, really. Stop. I’m… just stop.”

“I’m glad Light has someone who looks after him.” Light’s dad nodded uncertainly to his own words. “So… I suppose I’ll see you more often from now on.”

“Thanks, dad.”

“And since you don’t have to hide from me any longer,” Light’s dad continued sternly, “you should really stop leading on that poor girl. This is unbecoming of you.”

“I understand. I’ll try to let her down gently.”

“You do that.”

There was another awkward pause, which Light used to his advantage.

“Um, dad, if you don’t mind, I’d like to…”

“Yes, of course.” Light’s dad coughed, nodded at Mikami and finally left them alone.

Perfect.

Light looked around, found the nearest empty room and dragged Mikami there by the wrist, closed the door behind them, then tucked his face into Mikami’s neck, pressing their bodies close. Mikami hugged Light awkwardly after a moment’s hesitation – his movements were so stilted Light was willing to bet Mikami hadn’t touched anyone in years before the fake dating ruse.

“The cameras won’t show our lip movements from this angle,” Light whispered into Mikami’s skin and felt an almost imperceptible nod.

“L. L-A-W-L…”

Light’s phone started ringing. Damn it all! Light glared at the screen and wasn’t surprised to see L’s name. L seemed to be determined not to give Light and Mikami any time to recuperate. No matter. There would be time later.

“What is it, Ryuzaki? I’m kind of in the middle of something…”

“Just wanted to let you know that there are security cameras in every room. So if you need some privacy, you might want to delay the “something” until you’re home,” L replied innocently.

“Thanks for the heads up. Just give me a moment.”

“Of course.”

Light quickly whispered the instructions into Mikami’s ear. Mikami nodded, then looked at Light with something resembling uncertainty.

“Will you be all right?”

“Sure. Don’t worry.”

“Very well.”

Thankfully, Mikami didn’t try to add anything superfluous like “I’ll do as you ask” – that went without saying. Trusting him to kill L felt a bit weird – hell, trusting Mikami at all still felt a bit weird. When Light had become Kira, he’d expected to walk the path alone, Ryuk notwithstanding. Having an ally was… nice.

They stepped away from each other. Mikami’s touch seemed to linger a bit longer than necessary, but Light didn’t mind: it confirmed their “relationship” to any onlookers, and it kept Mikami placated and under control. Two birds with one stone.

“I’ll be leaving.”

“Stay safe. I’ll reach you in the evening.”

“If you don’t contact me in three hours, I’m taking drastic measures.”

Wait, what? Now that was unexpected… And Light had to play it down, lest L suspected something.

“Gee, Teru, you’re so intense. Make it four hours, at least… I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Nothing is going to happen to me. Relax.”

“Drastic measures,” Mikami repeated and fell silent. It wasn’t hard to guess what he meant: “if something happens to you, I’m murdering everyone in the investigation team, including your father, and damn the consequences.” That was why Light didn’t do feelings: they made one irrational and prone to rash actions.

“Understood. I’ll text you…”

“Texts can be faked. Call me as soon as you’re able, we’ll decide on a meeting place.”

What a bother… on the other hand, at least Light wouldn’t need to worry for a moment longer than necessary. Mikami would show the proof of Light’s instructions being followed, and Light would be able to relax knowing he’d finally bested L.

“I can’t wait.”

The corners of Mikami’s mouth raised a bit to indicate – not a smile, per se, but a hint of a smile. It looked nice. Light tried to remember the expression Mikami had worn in the café during their first meeting and to imitate it as well as he could. He still needed to play the part of a lovesick teenager, after all.

He walked Mikami to the hotel entrance, watched him leave, then returned to L’s room. Everyone else was already there, looking a bit uncomfortable, but overall ready to discuss work-related stuff and not Light’s private life.

“Isn’t Mikami-san joining us?” L asked, feigning innocence. Light privately wondered how everyone was able to buy into the act, or at least pretend to.

“We both decided it wouldn’t be productive to have him here. Nor to give private and sensitive information to someone whose only connection to the case is through me. However, he did ask me to go through the case files from the start and to look for clues that you may have missed.”

“Feel free.”

Light barely suppressed the wish to glance at his watch. He knew it would be too early for Mikami to have written L’s name down already, and yet…

The next few hours passed uneventfully. Light went through all the case files with a fine-toothed comb, making up a list of flaws in L’s logic and deductions, possible angles to pursue and everything that could occupy the team’s attention and divert the investigation from Light himself. Quickly looking through it one last time, Light decided to finish it tomorrow and closed the laptop lid.

“Finished for today, Yagami-kun?”

“I’ll come back to it later. Is this all right with you, Ryuzaki?”

“Sure. After all, you’re just here as a consultant. It’s not your full-time job.”

“Thanks. Then… I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.”

Light said his goodbyes and left, dialing Mikami the moment he exited the hotel.

“Are you all right?” Mikami asked immediately. Light sighed and tried to suppress his impatience. He yearned to just ask the question openly, but he couldn’t.

“Fine. Are you home?”

“No, in a café nearby. It’s a fifteen minutes walk from the hotel. Meet me there.”

The café was small but cozy, its prices lower than Light was used to, but he knew Mikami’s financial situation was different from his own. There would be no privacy to find – the café owner could clearly eavesdrop on his clients’ conversations, – but it didn’t matter, not really.

“Well?”

Mikami silently took a sheet of Death Note out of his pocket and slid it towards Light.

L Lawliett. Heart attack on June 15^th, 2002. On June 7^th at 1 AM looks through the information provided to him by government agents and finds a clue everyone else overlooked. Starts pursuing the lead. On June 10^th  announces that he has a new prime suspect, gives out a few hints to his subordinates, but no specific information. Uncovers personal secrets of several high-ranking Japanese officials. On June 14^th at 11 PM goes alone to a secluded place, spends three hours there, then dies of a heart attack.

Quillsh Wammy. Pre-existing health issues. On June 15^th learns of L’s death and immediately faints. Is transported into a hospital, but goes into a coma on the way. Dies two days later, without ever waking up again.

It was perfect.

Light barely managed to suppress a content smile. They won. Of course, it was still too early to relax, but they won. The only thing Light regretted was not being able to see L’s face once L realised he was done for, but the missed opportunity to gloat was negligible in the grand scheme of things.

Without L, there would be no one else standing in the way of Light’s brand new world. No one accusing Light of crimes or trying to get him killed for doing the right thing. No need to look over his shoulder all the time, to expect danger at every turn, to second-guess his every word and expression.

“You did great.”

This time Mikami actually smiled – a sight so rare it stunned Light momentarily. Oh well. He could indulge Mikami once in a while, especially since Light owed this victory to Mikami’s eyes.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

It was about time to leave the café and go home, but Light still hesitated. By now he knew Mikami well enough to expect a long argument once they were alone – a well thought-out and explained reasoning of why everyone in the investigation team, including Light’s dad, had to die. This would spoil the celebration, so Light selfishly chose to extend their little “date” a bit – if Light had some luck on his side, and he usually did, Mikami would interpret the delay as Light’s wish to spend more time in his company, which would only strengthen Mikami’s attachment.

Much as Light loathed the idea of sitting on his hands for long periods of time, he had no choice: he just needed to wait and let the events unfold. L would die. Watari would die. The whole team would be there to confirm that L’s death occurred after he’d started investigating someone else. Light’s name would be cleared.

Everything would go according to Light’s plan.

And then Light and Mikami would be free to build their perfect new world the way they saw fit.