When it rains, it pours
[20 September, 2004]
"L", Wammy said and held out a phone. L looked at it in question, refusing to pick it up till he knew who was on the other line. "It's Matt. He says he has something important to say." L pressed a thumb to his lips in thought before holding out a hand for the phone. Matt had helped out with the case a few days back, albeit brashly, but help was help. L would hear him out this one time.
"Yes?" He asked curtly into the speaker. The sound of static came through first before Matt started speaking.
"Listen, L. I didn't do it," Matt said. The young orphan sounded frustrated. "Whatever happened on the fifth of this month. I didn't do it." L frowned. If Matt was saying the truth, then that left a lot of questions unanswered.
"If you didn't do it," L asked, going straight to the point, "then who? You waited this long to report to me. Surely Matt found who did framed him." Another frustrated groan came through.
"I can't find this bastard," Matt sounded like he was speaking through clenched teeth. "This person took over my network without any warning, kicked me off, did whatever they had to and then scrambled my servers before going off the grid. I asked around and no one knows who it was. The network they were using was bought online and then discarded, but getting ID by tracing that transaction is like- well, it's impossible. Anyways, I-" Matt sounded pained as he admitted it. "I can't do it. So there!"
"That took a lot of courage to admit," L awkwardly comforted the teen. "Thank you, Matt, for bringing it to my attention. I will look into it." Matt sighed on the other end of the line.
"I just- I tried to find them. I did. Because, I didn't do it," Matt took in a deep breath. L noted down that Matt was skilled in controlling his temper. "-and I don't want the credit. So whoever helped you-"
"I suspect I know who it was," L stopped Matt from speaking. Hacking into the NPA website was an anti-Kira measure, and the face of one Soichiro Yagami was on one of it's pages. Given that it was not Matt, who might have wanted to help on the Kira case, well, that left only Soichiro Yagami's son who already had a prior in doing said deed several times before.
Light finally showed up of his own violation. And framed Matt along the way as the scapegoat. If L hadn't known Matt, and Matt hadn't wanted the credit, then Light would have gotten away with it. Light had gotten away with it, because L found Matt on the other side of the trace and didn't think to look any further.
"Can Matt send me the information you have gathered? As soon as possible?" L requested as politely as he could. Matt was in the teenage rebellion phase, and anything less than a request would have him acting out. Besides, the boy had brought him information on Light. Concrete information and not mere conjecture, for the first time since the start of the case.
L could have Light back in Japan- No, not in Japan. Light had already escaped from here once before. L could have Light with him at Wammy's within the month if everything pans out.
"Just sent it," Matt said. There was a dull ping from his laptop, verifying Matt's words.
"Thank you, Matt," L repeated. "Is there anything else you need?" Matt gave a vague denial from the other side, so L pulled the phone away from his ear and handed it over to Wammy. Wammy looked at the screen, saw the call had been dropped and sighed.
"Good news?" Wammy asked, seeing L abandon his Kira victims list and opening the file Matt sent.
"Yes," L said. He picked up the laptop and started walking back to the main hall of the Task Force, leaving Wammy to whatever he was doing before Matt called. L entered the room and took his seat at the desk. A soft sigh caught his attention. L looked over at the center table.
A vase filled with pink and red carnations, adorned sparsely with irises sat in the middle of the table, with Misa and Matsuda fawning at it.
L scowled. Here he was, working on the Kira case. And Matsuda was getting 'I miss you' and 'gratitude for time spent together' flowers for Misa just because she went away to shoot a movie for three weeks. L had better things to do than some inane show of sentimentality. He ignored the duo and focused on the information Matt had sent over. It was going to take him the whole day to go through it.
*****
[23 September, 2004]
"Misa-san," L called out to the blonde model. Misa looked up from where she was sitting at the table, folding origami flowers. She had asked Wammy for pink colored pages and was now in the middle of folding her third pink rose. "Could you please clear up a space? I have information to share." Misa nodded and cleared off her supplies.
L put down the files on the now-empty space with a dull thud. As expected, everyone looked over at the sound.
"As we know, Kira can kill using the Death Note by means other than heart attack," L started, getting straight to the point. "I have found a correlation between a string of suspicious deaths and rise in the Yotsuba group's stock." Granted it was found when L was trying to track down the source of Light's mysterious funds. L had thought Light might have invested in the stock market. Instead, he found Yotsuba. No sign of Light at all. It was, all in all, very frustrating.
"We still need to narrow down our suspects. I would like Moji-san and Aihara-san to focus on Yotsuba-Kira. We don't know whether this is the third or the fourth." A blatant lie. Light would never have given his Death Note to someone who would use it for a company's profit. This was the third Kira. It fit L's profile of whom BB would give Misa's Death Note to- 'someone with few morals and greed'. Third Kira was probably a high level executive of the Yotsuba Group.
But given the Task Force didn't know BB had made the third Kira and wouldn't accept Light as the first, this was the way L was forced to go.
"Please go through the information in the folder and come up with a viable list we can begin to investigate," L said. Then, he turned to BB. "Have you found something about another Kira, BB?" BB scowled.
"Not yet," the scarred man said. "But soon. I'm on to something. I know it." L looked at the way BB was acting, so sure of himself and contrary to the persona he had up around Soichiro. Yet, Soichiro didn't look suspicious of this sudden change. So, BB hadn't found anything yet. Soichiro knew it and was keeping quiet. No matter.
L could leave finding more information on the third Kira to Mogi and Aizawa. Now that he had one in his grasp, time to focus on the Kira Light had set up: the fourth. L wasn't going to wait for BB now.
He left the detectives at the table, going through the files and turned around-
Misa Amane was humming while she fixed a green-colored wire around Shinigami Rem's head. There were a few pink roses entwined artistically in the frame, with oval-cut pieces of paper acting like leaves to adorn the band. Rem's gaze was fixed on Misa and she looked-
L turned back to his work, fingers digging into his palm.
"Misa-san," he called out softly. "This is the Kira case. Please, no overt displays of affection." Misa tilted her head, her fingers still fixing up the green wires upon Rem's head.
"Rem is a Shinigami," Misa replied, distracted by her work. "She finds all the death and dismay to be very comforting. Misa Misa figured there's no better place to do this than the Kira case." Then she turned and looked at L very pointedly. "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at others."
L figured that was a fair point. L did meet Light because of the Kira case too. If Light hadn't faked his death, he would still be here and L would be doing the same thing with Light that Misa was with Rem.
Finding the fourth Kira would bring him that much closer to it in reality. Matt's way wasn't working, though it did net him the Yotsuba Kira indirectly. L needed to go back to catching the fourth Kira for answers.
*****
[25 September, 2004]
BB scowled at the desktop screen in front of him. Hundreds of thousands of names, killed with increasing numbers over the past month, and BB was still no closer to finding who the fourth Kira was. L's profile, and what BB had managed to get out of Soichiro about his son, said that it would be someone with a high sense of justice. So, having a profession related to law in some manner.
But that was all it was.
The victim list didn't paint any particular picture. This Kira also wasn't like the first. They weren't experimenting with the Death Note's ability. They weren't even sticking to the 'major criminals only' thing first Kira had going on. The fourth was going after petty criminals as much as serious ones. There also weren't any messages or taunts sent. But then again-
Light Yagami had done neither of those things until L had taunted him on national television.
So perhaps, BB thought as looked at Misa scowling at the new flowers adorning the table, what BB needed to do was the same. This fourth Kira would also have a passion for justice. Calling that sense of justice into question would case him to make a mistake just like Light had. And if a strategy worked, then BB saw no reason to change.
BB stood up, wanting more tea before he could gather enough nerve to go forward with his plan. He would be imitating L for this. BB hated imitating L for anything. The man wasn't an ideal nor a goal. He was simply someone BB needed to be better than. Imitating L's strategy would help him find the fourth Kira, and if he did it sooner than L found the third, then that would work enough to validate BB as better.
The thought made him smile and BB stopped at the desk next to Misa too. He stared at the flowers, same as Misa did and took in the bright, vibrant colors. Flower language was the language of secrets. More than one criminal had thought themselves clever by sending encoded messages using this trick. BB, same as any other orphan in the Successor program, had been taught what they meant as well.
And this bouquet, placed in a lovingly adorned vase in the center of the table, was sappy as all hell. White, pink and red camellias. 'You're adorable', 'Longing for you' and 'You're a flame in my heart'. BB wondered just what kind of hardcore fans Misa had and why she kept bringing these flowers to the Task Force headquarters. Was she trying to make Rem jealous? To get the Shinigami to confess her very obvious feelings?
"I'll make roses next," Misa muttered as she fingered the blooms with a pout on her face. "I won't lose. I can be romantic too. Roses." She stood up from the table with a bang. BB stared at her in amusement. "Hey, Beyond. Do you know where Watari-san is? I need red origami paper," she asked, determination burning in her eyes. "I can be romantic. I wont lose to these- these- these! I'm more thoughtful! I-!"
"Watari is in the kitchen," BB told her. Since Misa was going to the older man, and BB didn't want to meet him, he pushed his next task onto her. "Can you ask him to send L's broadcast video from December 5th to my computer? I need the script." Misa nodded and stalked over to the kitchen.
BB stared at the flowers one final time before going back to his desk. Misa's fans really were something, confessing their love for the model in such an impassioned manner.
*****
[26 September, 2004]
"Beyond Birthday!" L hissed as he came into the main hall of the Task Force. BB hushed him with a gesture, eyes fixed on the screen as a Death Row inmate read BB's modified script on national television. A stunt similar to L's and made for the same reason: to make second Kira overconfident and reveal information about himself.
"- play God. Justice is in man's hands. You are just a deluded man, a tyrant and ultimately human. And I am justice! Listen Kira. Surrender now, and show some remorse. You had no right to judge the lives of those criminals-" The man stopped speaking.
BB leaned forward, eyes bright. This right here was what he waiting for.
Fourth Kira did not disappoint as the criminal's eyes turned blank and he started speaking.
"L. I am Kira. Kami. Anyone who does wrong is evil and deserve to be judged. And I, Kami, will decide whether they should stay or be deleted. You, L, have opposed me for the last time. Either submit to Kira's justice or be deleted. This is my last warning to you observers as well. The media, police officers, lawyers, politicians, celebrities. If you don't stop your blasphemy to God, then be prepared to face judgment." The criminal then clutched at his heart and collapsed.
Instantly the room was in an uproar. But what BB wanted to be done had been done. Fourth Kira had been stimulated. He had devolved. It was only a matter of time before he made mistakes. And BB would-
Crack!
BB fell on the floor, his jaw a throbbing mess. He looked up, squinting to find L lowering his leg. Capoeira. Again.
"You will not do that again, B," L said. Those black eyes were no longer expressionless. Instead, they were rage filled pools of ice. "You used my name, my authority and my reputation without permission. Have you learnt nothing in these past months? B. Answer me. Why did you do it?"
"My name," BB said through an aching jaw," is Beyond Birthday. BB. Not B." He pressed one palm to his lower jaw, red eyes flashing in fury. "I'm not Backup." BB hissed in frustration. "So what if I used your name? There was no time." BB started speaking slowly, mixing truth with lies as he put his mask back on. "It will work. We need to catch Kira. And this was the best way to make him slip."
"That," L spoke through gritted teeth. "Was not the point." L closed his eyes and sighed, all tension gone from his frame. "Go back to your room. Stay there. I don't want to see you before tomorrow's victim list comes out. That's an order, BB."
"I am not some child you can banish to the time out corner," BB temporized. "I don't take orders from you." L opened his eyes and stared at him.
"Are you not?" He said idly. "I see no difference. Only a child lashing out again and again, in a desperate bid for attention and validation. First it was the string of bodies in the LABB case, now it is a string of mistakes in the Kira case-"
"This is not about you nor the Kira case!" BB shouted. "Fuck the Kira case and fuck you! We needed the fourth Kira to make a mistake and this would do it-" L scoffed.
"All actions have consequences, BB," L said flatly. "The circumstances surrounding my actions in the beginning, calling out Kira on television, and what you just did, taunting Kira on television, are different. The Kiras in question are different. This is going to blow up in your face. In my face, because you put my name and my reputation out there and so I will have to take care of the mess this will make." L paused, observing BB's face to see if he had realized the mistake he had made. There was no change there, so L decided to put it plainly.
"You should have told me before pulling this stunt. Now, this Kira is threatening all law enforcement, politicians and celebrities to bend knee or they will kill them. These are all people in power whose names and faces are easily accessible."
BB's eyes flicked over to Soichiro Yagami, standing in the corner and watching this confrontation. Then, he looked back at L and swallowed down, his throat suddenly dry.
"You said Matt took care of that," BB said. "And the Task Force members had their name changed to it's romanji equivalent some days ago. They're safe." L hadn't known that. While having name changed on all publicly available information avenues would be helpful, the problem here wasn't the safety of the Task Force members.
"You still don't get it." L stated. He then turned to the Task Force members who had been looking on at the discussion from a safe distance. "Asahi-san, Aihara-san, Moji-san, Matsui-san. Thank you for your services. When Director Kitamura asks you to quit the Kira case tomorrow, please accept his offer."
"Qu-quit?" Matsuda asked weakly. "But- but we spent months, Ryuuzaki. And we're so close! We already know there's a Kira in Yotsuba, and now Beyond-san has called out another, sooner or later he- they will slip up and-!"
"Matsui-san," L said. "I will not make you choose between your job and the Kira case. We're clearly on the right track here. It's just a matter of time."
"Time in which Kira will kill more people," Soichiro pointed out. "Ryuuzaki, let us help you. We can cut down that time by a significant amount and save people's lives. We need to get these Death Notes out of human hands as soon as possible. This power- is evil. It corrupts humans. And when it's done corrupting one, it simply changes hands and passes on to the next innocent human to begin the cycle all over again. The first Kira, the second, and now third and fourth." Soichiro paused. "We need to burn it. We need to see it burned, to know we're safe once more. Ryuuzaki-"
"Light-kun will never forgive me if I get his father killed while chasing Kira," L interrupted. It was true, for Light had taken the pains to expose himself and changed all information about Soichiro Yagami to make it difficult to kill him with a Death Note. "Asahi-san. Please. Give up on the case tomorrow and go back home to your family. I'm sure they will be worried." He turned to look at the rest of members.
"You all as well. Don't worry about the case. I'm L." And then his lips twisted into a sardonic smile as he spoke words that Light had once spoken to him in idle thought. The one that had cemented Light's position as Kira firmly in L's mind. "If not me, then whom?"
*****
[28 September, 2004]
L stared at the the day's victim list in silence. BB's plan had worked. The fourth Kira had been enraged into killing recklessly. But had the fourth Kira devolved enough to make a mistake that could lead to their identity? That was still a question that had to be answered.
"Ryuuzaki, are you alright?" Wammy asked in concern. L wanted to scowl. The Task Force was gone, BB was sulking in his room and L was left alone with Misa in the room while forming a plan to find out the identities of the third and fourth Kiras. He wished Aiber and Wedy arrived soon. Then, he could finally start his work on Yotsuba.
"Just fine, Watari," L said and focused back on the list in front of him, sorting the victims into several categories. Sitting at the center table, Misa Amane was poking at the fresh set of flowers that were sent, most probably, by her newest stalker. L pressed a thumb to his lips, observing the flowers and the despondent mood they left Misa in.
Purple hyacinth and red tulips. 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you'.
Despite his heart being set on Light, L could appreciate beauty when he saw it. Misa was a beautiful woman, model and now an actress. She had both stalkers and fans. She had even charmed a Shinigami into dying for her. But just what kind of people were her obsessed fans that they kept sending her flowers for a whole week straight? And to apologize for an imagined slight with flowers as well? For that matter-
How did the flowers get here? They were there daily before Misa arrived. Did that mean Misa's fans tracked down where she lives and sent flowers for her to the Task Force Headquarters? Or was Matsuda responsible for it? The man did show an interest in being Misa Misa's manager and was a fan. So was he the one responsible for the flowers? No wait, Matsuda had left along with the rest of the Task Force yesterday. So why were Misa's flowers still arriving at their location?
Why was L thinking about Misa Amane's fans and flowers when he had the fourth Kira to catch and BB's mess to untangle?
Still, for the sake of his mind, L asked her, "Misa-san. Do you have a problem with stalkers?"
"No," Misa looked up from running her fingers along a tulip's petals. "Misa Misa hasn't had any problems with stalkers recently." Then she paused and narrowed her eyes at L. "Have you?"
"No, Misa-san," L replied dryly. Who would be stalking him? No one knew what the detective L looked like. And as a person, L was not particularly attractive either. He was not under any delusions regarding his own looks.
"Ryuga," Misa said, not looking convinced by his words. "You don't have to hide. Let Misa know if the advances are forceful, alright? I will-" Misa paused, likely remembering the fight she had seen L and BB get into two days ago. "Misa will ask Rem to help her friends."
L looked from Misa, to the Shinigami Rem and then back to Misa again. The amount of enthusiasm Misa and Rem showed in helping him was inversely proportional to each other's.
"Thank you, Misa-san," L said and focused back on his work. The sooner he finished up with the Kira case, the sooner he could go back to tracking down Light. BB's methods might not have yielded his expected results, but the speech the fourth Kira had the criminal give on TV made one thing clear: they didn't know anything about Light.
The fourth had repeatedly referred to themselves as 'Kami' and 'justice'. Granted, it might be because the fourth was having a psychotic break, but if they had been under orders of the first, then they would have referred to the 'first' as Kami. Not taken such a position for themselves.
Which meant, L was back to square one in terms of finding his Light. Matt's clue led to a highly secure and private bank, oddly named as 'Tanuki Central'. They had all their records offline and refused to work with him. The fourth Kira was acting independently. Sayu was not talking.
Light had vanished. The world was back in darkness.
L scowled to himself at that horrible, terrible pun. He was L. He would find something soon. Figure something out. The Kira Case was distracting him from catching his Kira. BB's stunt didn't help matters. It was good that Aiber and Wedy were arriving soon. Finally, L would have some competent, obedient help.
*****
[30 September, 2004]
BB slammed down his final pick for fourth Kira in front of L.
"Teru Mikami," he said and pressed a finger down on the picture of his face. "Was on the list of attendees for Light Yagami's funeral. They had interacted with each other in an interschool debate competition before. The topic was on the inadequacies of the justice system. Is intelligent enough to graduate top of his class in high school and with Honors from Kyodo University's Department of Law. Which has a first semester course on Introduction to Criminal Law shared with To-Oh's. Has had problems with bullies noted down in his middle school file, so possible trauma in childhood leading to developing a black and white view of good and evil."
BB opened another file and passed it onto L. L stared at the list of Kira victims from the past week. Some of the names were highlighted in green. "Mikami was an intern at the prosecutor's office till about three months ago. He got a full time position since then and had worked on a few cases. There are names among the recent Kira victims that were people Mikami had tried to put behind bars, but failed due to lack of evidence, tampering, or bribery. Their names were never made public and Kira still got them. But," BB paused. "He has a lifespan."
L looked up at that. BB sounded sure of his suspect being Kira. But Teru Mikami had a lifespan. Owners of Death Notes didn't have a lifespan. That was a fact. Then, how come Teru Mikami did? What did Light do-?
"Oh," L whispered, eyes lighting up in realization. "Light-kun is brilliant." Then, to confirm his suspicion, L turned to Shinigami Rem and asked, "Shinigami-san, is it possible to remove pages from the Death Note and kill with them?" Rem turned to L, and L's eyes involuntarily fell upon the red rose crown made from origami and painted wire sitting on top of her purple locks. Misa really went all out this time.
"Yes," Rem answered. "Pages and pieces taken from the Death Note have the same effect as the whole." BB's eyes widened in realization as well.
"Son of a bitch," BB cursed. "Kira darling didn't want to give up his Notebook. So he took out pages from it, made another book and just gave it to the first justice minded, traumatized civilian he came across to send us on a merry goose chase. Since Mikami wasn't an owner, we couldn't have used the Eyes to find him. That's why he slipped through Misa's cursory glance at the pictures of people present at Yagami's funeral."
"Light-kun sent us on a merry goose chase," L repeated and then tilted his head in thought. "But why?"
"I don't know." BB shrugged. "You are the Light Yagami expert here. I'm just your employee. I found fourth Kira for you. Where to go from here is on you." Yes, BB found fourth Kira for him, but only after making a mess out of things. Still, L gave him that point. Things were still tense between them after the confrontation that day, but BB did seem to have done some self reflection.
That, or the lunch with Soichiro Yagami and Sachiko Yagami on the 27th left him with a change in mindset. It was a Monday too, so Sayu-chan wouldn't have been there to sabotage BB's most recent effort. It seemed to have been good for him, as BB had changed a lot since then. For one, he had apologized to L for taking hasty actions and using his name without permission.
L was still surprised that the most unexpected part of his plan for BB went so well. Soichiro Yagami knew how to raise genuises, how to interact with them and make them listen to him. The man had raised Light, after-all, and granted something went wrong somewhere down the line, the Yagamis still seemed to have whatever it was they had when it came to young genii.
It made sense that if the Chief of NPA could wrangle Light into a somewhat respectable human being, then he could achieve the same with BB. Wammy should take notes and send them to Roger to emulate. L was now curious about Sachiko Yagami as well. The woman had married Soichiro, raised Light and Sayu and then, politely threw both Soichiro and BB out of her house when it became too much for her to tolerate.
L now knew where Light had gotten certain aspects of his personality from. Like that ego of his. Light was someone who had once wanted to be God. The sheer depth of narcissism that took, for a person to go after that goal with such single-minded focus, and nearly achieve it. L had never met anyone with more pride than Light. Except himself. L's ego was about the same as well.
In fact, the Kira case had changed from a game of Justice to a game of pride since the moment L had first laid eyes on Light Yagami through his monitor screens on that day in January.
Despite what BB believed, it hadn't been love at first sight. It had been fascination at first game. It only made sense love followed right after.
"Thank you, BB," L said in the end, collecting Mikami Teru's file and placing it at a corner of his desk. "Wedy and Aiber are done bugging the Yotsuba building as well. We found evidence of eight of them meeting weekly to decide whom to kill to advance their company. Wedy will be conducting a search of their homes to find the Death Note. Once we do, my contacts at the NPA will move in and catch him. Then, we will repeat the same with Mikami tomorrow." L sighed. "Finally, the Kira case will be over."
"Then you will leave?" Misa asked from her place at the center table. Since the past ten days, she had taken that place as her own, sitting next to the flowers and folding origami and making paper accessories for her Shinigami. Right now, she had her finger touching the blooms of the most recent flowers in the vase. "I will miss you guys. You are Misa Misa's only friends. The only ones who care. Except, well-" Misa's eyes went to Rem and the rest of her words remained unsaid.
L tilted his head thoughtfully as he took in the blooms Misa was caressing. White clover and Heliotrope. 'I promise', 'Think of me' were self explanatory. But with 'Eternal love' and 'Devotion'? This was one odd collection.
"No, not for a while. Maybe at the end of October." L answered. He waited a while, thinking his words over before asking again. "Misa," L said slowly. "Are you sure you don't have a stalker problem?" He pointed at the flowers in front of her.
"Your fans keep finding you here, at the Task Force headquarters. And keep sending amorous flowers. The later might be a coincidence but- once is a coincidence, twice is pattern and this is the fourth time." L pressed a thumb to his lips. "It is a security risk. How do they keep finding you and how are you sneaking them in through the front door? Is it-" L's eyes fell on Rem. "Did Shinigami Rem help you bring them in?"
"I'm curious about that too," BB admitted. "Though I don't think it is Rem. Misa's fans sending her flowers would mean competition. Rem wouldn't help her sneak in flowers sent by the opposition." Shinigami Rem turned her yellow eyes on BB.
"Misa is a human. I am a Shinigami," Rem said. "Physical affection is forbidden. If Misa wants human affection on the side, then she can have it. I won't deny her of something I can never provide for her." Misa's eyes widened as she heard Rem's words. Her hands dropped from the blooms in the vase and she covered her suddenly red cheeks.
"Oh, Rem, I-" Misa stammered. "I- You have been there for me since- Since my parents died and I had no one and-" Misa took in a deep breath before saying firmly. "I love you, Rem. Please stay with me forever?" Rem placed one hand on Misa's head and stroked her hair.
"Of course, Misa," the Shinigami said. "I would have done so even if you didn't return my feelings. Staying with you forever would be an honor." Misa beamed up at the Shinigami, both seemingly lost in their own world.
L started to feel awkward and hated Light for not being there at the moment. Light's hair looked so soft, shining in the morning sun. L would have liked to touch it, to run his fingers through the silky strands and marvel at the feeling of silk beneath his hands. Light would have absolutely loathed having L's sticky fingers near his immaculate tresses and made him wash his hands at least thrice before he permitted any touching. But it would have been worth it.
Or, L could have it done the other way around. Light's fingers were long and elegant, skin tanned and golden, as if dipped in honey. They would feel warm and comforting when running through his own hair. Light would complain about how messy it was, how he needed a comb and how his fingers kept catching at knots. But he would caress his head regardless, gently untangling every knot, scratching at his scalp and soothing away aches.
In fact, L should have asked Light to accompany him to an Onsen. L could have gotten Light to wash his hair, and then offered to return the same courtesy before getting in the water. He should have taken advantage of it while he could have. Then he wouldn't have only fantasies lurking in his mind. There would have been reality to go along with it.
L couldn't figure out whether that would have made his longing for Light any better or worse. But it would certainly have given him more material to work with in his mind.
"Oh yes," Misa turned to look at L, having finally gotten her fill of looking into the Shinigami's yellow slitted eyes. "Those flowers aren't for me. My fans didn't send them," she said as a matter-of-fact. "They are for Ryuga."
L froze. So did BB.
"What?" Both of them asked in perfect sync. Misa nodded. She ducked under Rem's claws, leaned in to the vase, and pulled out a single Black-eyed Susan from underneath the densely assorted blooms.
"Black-eyed Susan," she said pointedly. "Just one. A yellow flower in a mix of whites, reds, pinks and purples. For Justice." L felt his eyes widen. "And if that isn't enough-" Misa reached further in and pulled the entire bouquet out. There, tying them together was a thin string and a small placard attached to it. She opened the folded piece of paper and showed the single letter written on it. An L, handwritten in perfect calligraphy. "Not for me. For Ryuga," she repeated herself.
"Who- what-" L felt himself go pale. Pieces fit in his mind and he practically threw himself on the table. L took the placard from Misa's hands, tore it off the thin string. And then, opened the folded piece of paper slowly. It was there, his name. And on other side of his name, was the symbol of a bulb. Small, inconspicuous, almost like a logo.
Except L knew it wasn't a logo.
"Light," L breathed. His fingers clenched around the paper in desperation. L's eyes went to the flowers again, and his raised his other hand to gently stroke the petals of a heliotrope. Eternal Love. Devotion. Just what had happened over the past few months that L had missed? Had Light finally gotten a clue after their last meeting had him oblivious to L's intentions? How? When? Why?
And L had missed it. Missed it when Light would have realized how much he meant to L and that his own feelings were not unrequited. Seeing Light's eyes widen in delayed recognition, his cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment and the mess of confusion that would come right after would have been so very satisfying. A flustered Light was adorable. "Light sent me flowers."
Then, he thought back to the various bouquets sent over the past ten days and went bright red. All those flowers, all those meanings, all those messages. L had missed them all. Carnations, iris, camellia, purple hyacinth, red tulips, white clover, heliotrope. Messages of missing him, of thinking back on time spent together, of gratitude and respect, of apologies, passion, love, devotion and compliments that L had never had anyone shower him with before.
Light couldn't have been clearer about what he wanted even if he had sent up fireworks in the middle of the night in Tokyo.
"Wasn't Sayu's brother dead?" Misa asked, breaking the silence. L ignored her in favor of pulling the vase closer to himself. These were for him. They were his. From Light. What had Wammy done with the previous flowers? Had he thrown them out? Or were they somewhere safe? L needed to get them back if he could. Light sent them for him. L.
"He's alive. Pretty sure he's behind the fourth Kira," BB was the one who answered in L's stead. He was looking at the flowers and vase as if he was trying and failing to make sense of it all. "Kira darling sent you flowers. Sappy flowers. Huh. Guess there's hope there. Congratulations, L. Your obsession isn't one sided." L looked up at BB. He couldn't think straight. All he knew was-
"Light sent me flowers, BB," L said, eyes wide in disbelief. "He sent me flowers to confess."
"Congratulations, Ryuga," Misa clapped her hands as well, her joy more real, more open than BB's. "That's one mystery solved. Now you know Sayu's brother is alive and likes you too. A mutual crush. How exciting! Today is a day for love all around. Ah, a delayed spring is still so beautiful. I'm still better at romance though. Rem said mine are handmade and thus better than Ryuga's." Then, she paused in thought. "Wait, does Sayu know her brother is alive? What about Sayu's parents? They would want to know as well."
"Pretty sure Kira's darling sister knows," BB snorted. "Not the parents, no. They are grief stricken and think of him everyday. But does Kira care? No. That ungrateful bastard. But the sister. Yes. I wouldn't be surprised if she's in on the whole plan. She knew he was alive and Kira from the very beginning." L turned to him.
"Sayu-chan was in on the plan? She told Light to send me flowers?" L asked, mind still stuck on the vivid white and purple blooms gifted to him. White, purple, red, pink and one specific yellow flower of Justice, all for him. BB stared at him in shock.
"No!" BB spluttered. "She knows he's Kira! Why would she know Light Yagami sent you flowers?" Then BB thought back to how Sayu Yagami knew Light Yagami was Kira, was somehow in touch with him, and the level of trust required for the whole thing.
"You know what, yes. That could be true as well. I mean, why not? Perfect pretty boy Light Yagami asked his teenage sister for advice regarding dating and she told him to send romantic flowers like in some cheesy, teenage drama. I mean," BB started counting off his fingers, "We have murder, angst, Death Gods, magical notebooks, magical eyeballs, titles like World's Greatest Detective and World's Greatest Criminal being thrown around like candy, fake deaths, a blonde model, a human-Shinigami relationship and a detective-suspect relationship. All the ingredients for a regular k-drama. Hell, that's putting it mildly. With the level of ridiculousness we have going on, we are an anime!"
L looked down at his flowers with a small smile. "Light sent me flowers," he repeated, BB's rant ignored and long forgotten. Then, he thought back to what had brought up the topic in the first place and frowned. "How did Light send me flowers?"
BB froze. So did Misa, now that she had realized the importance of that question.
"That was the problem, wasn't it?" BB asked slowly. "Just how did Kira darling get flowers for you inside the Task Force Headquarters, past all the gates and cameras, without anyone knowing and without being here in the first place? Someone would have noticed if a 'supposed to be dead' person was walking around with colorful bouquets in his hands."
"We need to check the cameras," L decided. "The footage over the past week. And-" L sniffed at his flowers. Vanilla and cherry pie. Sweet. Light really knew him well. "I need to get back the rest of the flowers. Do you think Watari kept them?"
*****
[3 October, 2004]
Higuchi was caught and convicted. Teru Mikami was caught and in the process of being convicted. L still hadn't found anything about Light from the surveillance videos of the Headquarters building.
Just how was Light sending him flowers?
And how could L send a message back?
"Ryuuzaki?" Matsuda called out. L gave a questioning hum in response, still focused on the video from last night. Yet another bouquet had appeared on the main hall's table in the middle of the night yesterday. A mix of red and blue roses. 'Passionate love' and then- Blue. A compliment. 'You are extraordinary, unique, beyond attainable and I love you'. Light was really going all out here.
For a serial mass-murderer, Light was very romantic.
L just wanted Light to show himself for once. He would hug him, slap a handcuff on one wrist, and tie the other end on L's own so Light could never run away again. Then, once he had reassured Light that he was safe, L would take Light with him to Wammy's and kiss him senseless.
"Ryuuzaki, Mikami Teru has confessed to being the first Kira," Matsuda said again. L turned to him in shock.
"What?" He asked. "Teru confessed to being the first?" Matsuda shifted awkwardly on his feet. Apparently, the fresh faced detective was feeling guilty at having left the Task Force and then coming back on just in time to arrest the fourth Kira. As if he was getting the glory without the hard work. L had practically manipulated the Task Force members into giving up and going back to their day job, so he didn't get what the hang-up here was.
"Yes." Matsuda nodded. "Ryuuzaki, he's insane. Mikami keeps talking about how he's God's chosen, then confesses to being God and then says Kira was him all along. It's all-" Matsuda hesitated. "It's bad. But it reminds me of Light." Now L was really interested. L gestured for Matsuda to go on.
"When Light was still alive, he said that the second Kira could be the same as first. Except, with DID. You know. One personality being the first Kira, another not knowing about the first and claiming the titles as second Kira. Now, Misa wasn't like that but-" Matsuda sighed. "Mikami Teru is insane. The chances are high that he really is both first and fourth Kira."
L froze.
"Does the rest of the Task Force believe it as well?" L asked slowly. Matsuda nodded.
L wanted to laugh.
This was real life. The Kira case. Worked on by a group of the finest detectives Japan had to offer and L himself. And Light had fed Matsuda some bullshit story straight out of a daily soap in preparation for just this day, months ago. Even more amusing, Matsuda had believed it. Even more ridiculous, the rest of the highly experienced Task Force members also believed it. Dissociative Identity Disorder, indeed. L suspected he knew very well what was going on here.
The Death Note had driven Mikami Teru insane. BB's taunt had driven him into a psychotic rage. Without a support structure, Teru had no one to pull him back from it and had just gone further down the rabbit hole. He now believed himself to have been Kira all along.
There was no DID here. Just one very intelligent Criminal Law and Psychology major handing a madness inducing magical murder notebook to an innocent person who was very susceptible to it's corruption and driving them insane.
L was very, very impressed. Light knew human nature enough to map this all down, the reactions and steps of the Kiras involved, the Task Force, and L himself. From the degree of Teru's increasing insanity, to the pressure from BB (Light must have taken L's aggressive chasing of his suspect into consideration instead) driving Teru into delusion, to the fact that Mikami Teru, no matter how clever, would finally get caught by L, break down and admit to being the first Kira under confinement.
L picked up the Notebook, or rather, fake Death Note, from his desk with gloved fingers. There were names of first Kira's victims on the front pages, no doubt to help along Teru's delusions. Before all that, there were rules written inside the cover of the Death Note. Two rules, in particular, that exonerated both Light and Misa Amane from being Kira, and one that prevented the Death Note from being used as a weapon by the world governments.
Light had made his own alibi, his own scapegoat, plus thrown in a freebie for the second Kira and then giftwrapped the case for L.
- If the person using this Note fails to consecutively write names of people to be killed within 5 days of each other, then the user will die.
- If you make this Note unusable by tearing it up, all the humans who have touched the Note till then will die.
- This Notebook can only be disposed by burning it whole or giving it back to the Shinigami who had originally owned it.
"See here," Light was saying. "Now I can't be first Kira and Misa can't be second. You can close the case. You can go back home. You have no more reason to come after me. We're through. Sayonara."
If this had been before L had seen the flowers and got Light's message, this fake Notebook would have been Light's way of saying goodbye and breaking up whatever relationship they had had. It would have broken his heart, and not discouraged L one bit. L would have gone after Light anyways, willing or not. But Light didn't need to know that.
Now, L knew for certain that Light had set up this whole plan and sent the fake Death Note to Teru before he realized his own feelings. The flowers were a confession, as well as an apology for the cruel, thoughtless message. It was even sweeter than L's strawberry cakes.
This also raised a heavy burden from L's shoulders. These fake rules and Mikami Teru's confession enabled L to frame Teru as both first and fourth Kira. And thus, it would make it easier to frame Higuchi as second Kira. Both notebooks, Gelus's and Light's fake Death Note, would belong to Rem. Misa's only involvement in the case was as the human whom Rem fell in love with. She had come forward to help in the Kira case out of a sense of duty.
Rem had already said that the fake Notebook had bound her to it as it's Shinigami, much to her surprise as such a thing had never happened before. Light had probably, somehow, made a fake Death Note with no Shinigami ownership. Because if he had not done so, then anyone who touched the fake Notebook would have been able to see Light's Shinigami from the 5-day long surveillance footage of the Yagami household from the beginning of the case. Another thing that marked Light as 'innocent'.
It all tied in.
L sighed, pulling his feet closer to his torso in relief. He now had a solid plan of action. L had to convince the Task Force to lie for Misa's sake. An easy thing, given none of them wanted Rem to kill them for failing to save Misa. Then, L would call Interpol, submit his report, have Mikami and Higuchi sentenced to Death, and either burn or return the Notebooks to Rem on live record.
This case would not stain L's case history. Another reason for L to love Light. He really wanted to kiss the youth and then push him down to show how much he appreciated his thoughtfulness. With the handcuffs still on. While at Wammy's. Because L did not trust Light to not run away from him again in Japan. Alas, Light was not here and L was left with his fantasies alone.
The Kira case was finally over, and would be closed within a week. Higuchi and Mikami would be executed. L had even found his Light, albeit it was Light who had reached out- something even better! Now, he only needed to figure out how to send Light a message back.
Would Sayu Yagami know?