End Games

Chapter 14: Reverie

L went head first into the wall, the blow and pain from his shoulder rendering him dazed for a moment.
"That's for getting my girlfriend pregnant, you bastard" Said Light marching toward the detective. 'And also for surviving my plan...' He thought.
L recovered and stood up. As he did, Light punched him once again, only this time L was more prepared and only fell back slightly. The rest of the KIT members were gaping at the scene while nurses and other hospital staff looked on, horrified.
"I understand that I probably deserved that first punch, however, I owe you for that second one" Said L seriously. He dodged a third punch from Light, turned back and round-house kicked Light across the face. This time, it was the brunette who went flying into the opposing wall.
Someone screamed as the two men lunged for each other.
"We have to stop them!" Yelled Chief Yagami. Aizawa and Mogi looked at each other and nodded as if to say "you take one, and I'll take the other." Before they could do serious damage to themselves, Aizawa grabbed L while Mogi took care of Light.
"Gentlemen! Please control yourselves, this is a hospital, not an arena!" Yelled one of the doctors that was passing by. Aizawa and Mogi let go of L and Light and quickly apologized to the doctor. Light and L said nothing but merely looked at each other with contempt before walking away in separate directions.
'I promise you L, this isn't over yet...' Thought Light angrily.
"Ryuzaki, where are you going? Aren't you going to see Misa?" Asked Aizawa as L reached the exit staircase. The detective stopped in his tracks for a moment.
"There's something I have to do. Watari, I'm taking the car. You stay here and take care of Misa for me. Thanks" He said as he walked out.
"Is he seriously thinking of driving with that bad shoulder?" Asked Aizawa, actually showing concern for L.
"...Does Ryuzaki even know how to drive?!" Asked Matsuda. The rest of the KIT members looked at him disapprovingly, not answering his irrelevant question.
"Yes, Mr. Matsuda, L knows how to drive" Answered Watari politely.
"...wait if he can drive, how come you're always driving him around to places?" Matsuda asked Watari.
"Matsuda stop asking dumb questions. L doesn't drive because he doesn't carry any photo identification or license on him." Answered Light, as he sat back down with his arms crossed. He didn't have the patience for Matsuda's stupidity today.
"Precisely... that and he has me to do it for him." Said Watari, smiling. With that, they all fell silent, wondering what was so important that L would leave Misa's side.
...
Meanwhile, inside the hospital room across the hall, a certain young, blonde woman was becoming conscious after the commotion outside woke her. Misa opened her eyes to find herself in a dimly lit room with white walls, a tv set, and a sofa-chair. She felt something by her feet and when she looked up, she saw a male nurse smiling at her as he placed some blankets at the foot of her bed.
"Good morning" He told her.
Misa returned his smile and tried to sit up. That's when she realized that she felt as though she'd just been hit by a bus. Her neck hurt and and her body ached all over. She took a moment to think back on everything that had happened and that's when she recalled the events of the day before: Higuchi trying to rape her, Hatori's death, and worst of all, L being shot. At that last recollection, she shot up from her bed, ignoring her body's protests.
"I'm sorry, I have to ask you something! Was someone else admitted alongside me? He's about a foot taller than I am, with dark hair, handsome but on the pale side and has dark eyes! He was shot and I really need to know if he's ok!" She said anxiously.
The nurse looked concerned and walked over to adjust the pillows behind her so they would support her back.
"You mean Hideki Ryuga?" Said the nurse, gently pressing down on her shoulder, forcing her to lean back on the pillows. Misa looked confused for a second until she remembered that Hideki Ryuga was L's public alias.
"Right! Him!" She said.
"Ah...the fellow with the sweet tooth." Said the nurse smiling. "He's fine. We treated him hours ago. He had a bullet lodged in his shoulder but we removed that without any complications. Other than that, he had a few minor scrapes. He's technically been discharged but he refused to leave until you were discharged as well." He said, reassuring her.
Misa felt as though a ton of bricks had been lifted from her. Words could not explain how relieved she was to hear that her sweet panda was doing well. Misa sat up abruptly again, startling the nurse.
"I have to see him! Is he outside?" She asked eagerly.
"You shouldn't exert yourself like this for a while. It's bad for the baby" He told her, forcing her to lean back once more. Misa looked at the man as though he had three heads.
"Um...what? What baby?" She asked, perplexed.
The nurse gave her an amused look and then chuckled.
"You remind me of my sister. She didn't know she was pregnant either until it was almost time to give birth!" Said the nurse with a twinkle in his eyes. Misa's face slowly changed into an expression of pure terror as she stared at the nurse like a deer in headlights.
"Well, you're nowhere near close to giving birth yet! You're only a few weeks along. Congratulations!" Said the nurse.
Once the news fully hit her, Misa let out an ear-piercing scream that caused the nurse to jump back, startled, and several other nurses to run into her room.
-At taskforce Headquarters-
L wasted no time in taking the elevator up to Misa's room. On the way up, he reflected on the alarming situation. He was certain that Misa was on birth control pills as he'd seen her take them before.
'That begs the question, of: Did she do this on purpose?' Thought L. Before he faced her, he needed to know the answer to that question. The tone of his conversation with her depended on whether it was an accidental pregnancy or her having purposely stopped taking the pills to achieve this. Deep down he knew that Misa would never do something like that, but there was only one way to be sure.
The detective walked into Misa's apartment and went straight to her room. He began to rummage through her drawers, where he knew she kept the small pack of pills. He found what he was looking for and with it, the answer to his question. All of the pills were missing, except for one. One small, forgotten pill. He counted the days since the missed pill and if memory served him right, that was the night he laid with Misa for the first time. It wasn't unlike Misa to forget things so it all made sense to him. She forgot to take that pill and didn't think anything of it since it's not like they planned the events of that night.
'So she's been pregnant for a month...' He thought morosely as he held the pack of pills in his hand. He sighed and sat normally on the bed, staring at the single tiny pill in its case, imaging the small life form that was now developing inside of Misa. L was petrified at the thought of being a father to that small life form. He put the pill case down and cradled his head in his hands, wishing that this had never happened.
'This is bad...I can't be a father. If I had known that she'd forgotten her pill I never would have-...' He trailed off as his phone rang. It was Watari.
"Yes?" Answered L, sounding as normal as possible.
"Ryuzaki, Miss Amane is awake. The doctors are discharging her and so far it looks like they're both doing splendid" Said Watari, referring to Misa and their child. L felt relieved for a moment, but then the knot of fear in his stomach took hold of him once again.
"Does she know?" Asked L.
"Yes, she does" Answered Watari.
"Good. Thank you for informing me, Watari. I will not be returning to the hospital so please have one of the taskforce members bring you and Misa back to Headquarters." Said L calmly. He wasn't ready to face everyone yet, especially not Misa. Not only that but he needed to clear his head of all these emotions he was experiencing. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to dive right back to work on the Kira investigation. He'll deal with the rest later.
-Back at the hospital-
Misa would not stop talking. After getting over the initial shock of finding out that she was pregnant, Misa became obsessed with every detail of her pregnancy. The whole time it took to check out of the hospital, she talked nonstop about all the things she would have to do for her child.
"I'm going to have to contact my publicist, and tell her this can't get out to the media. I'm going to have to hire a doppelganger to take my place in public. This can't get out to the media. I'm going to have to go on an extended vacation where no one will recognize me. This can't get out to the media..." She said, listing each item on her to-do list one by one.
"Wow, Misa, don't you think you're over-thinking this?" Asked Matsuda.
"No, Matsu, you don't understand! This CAN'T get out to the media so I have to be careful! I will NOT have my child making headlines" She said, glaring at Matsuda.
"It just...seems like a lot to think about" He said carefully, shrinking away from her. The last thing he wanted to do was get on Misa's bad side.
"It is, but that's ok. I'm like in love with this baby already!" She declared, hugging her flat stomach.
Misa didn't even try to hide the fact that L was the father, since she figured everyone would find out eventually. Luckily, Mr. Yagami and Light left before Misa woke. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation with Light, especially since the doctors told her she needed to be at peace for a few days. The remaining KIT members all looked at her, amazed by how well she was taking things. Then as they exited the hospital, the mother-to-be stopped in her tracks.
"Where is L? Shouldn't he be here?" She asked, frowning. The others looked at each other uneasily. They neither knew where he was, nor how well he was taking the news of his impending fatherhood. Lucky for them, Watari stepped in.
"L is waiting for us at headquarters. He had some business to take care of" Explained Watari.
"Oh ok. He knows, right?" She asked.
"Yes he does" Said Watari, smiling.
"And is he excited?!" Asked Misa, hopeful.
"You'll have to ask him yourself Miss Amane" Said Watari, with a twinkle in his eyes.
"You can just call me Misa, Watari. We're almost like family now!" She told him, smiling brightly.
In that moment, Watari had to fight hard not to shed tears of joy. He never imagined that something like this would happen to his adoptive son. It had always been a secret wish of his for L to find someone to be happy with and start a family. He was excited when L started going out with Naomi Misora. Alas, that didn't end well, and Watari had almost given up on ever seeing L happy. Until now. Misa was a lovely woman, full of life and joy, and even though she was involved in the Kira case, she could save his adoptive son from himself. The old man beamed at her.
"I suppose we are, Misa!" He said happily. The two boarded Aizawa's car and they departed from the hospital.
-At headquarters-
L sat in his usual spot in the main investigation room. He was deep in thought as he went through all of Higuchi's property that was recovered at the crime scene. In particular, he was most intrigued by the black notebook that Higuchi took out before going mad. L opened the notebook and read what was written on the inside cover.
"Deathnote...the human whose name is written in this notebook shall die" He read out loud, holding the notebook delicately between his forefingers and thumbs. "How curious" He said.
L inspected the notebook carefully, not noticing the white, bony Shinigami standing behind him, quietly looking over his shoulder. Rem could easily make her presence known, but she wanted to observe this human some more. She knew he was the one who saved Misa from Higuchi. She was curious to see if he was the reason that her beloved Misa was so happy.
"If this thing works, then it would explain how Kira is able to kill. But that's ridiculous. Am I supposed to believe that this notebook kills people?" Thought L, skeptically. 'Well, I suppose that it can't hurt to try...but whose name would I write?'
Rem looked on as L lifted a pencil and held it tentatively over a page of the notebook. Something told her that if L tested the Deathnote, this whole investigation would be turned on its head. Not only that, but if L happened to kill Light Yagami, then he would become the new owner of the Deathnote, and it would fall on her to write his name down in her notebook when it was his time to die.
'Before he uses it, perhaps I should tell him that a human who uses the Deathnote can go to neither heaven nor hell' She considered silently.
L stared silently at the page of the suspicious notebook. He made up his mind, pictured the face of the person he wanted to try the notebook on and went for it.
"Here goes nothing..." Thought L as he got ready to write down the name. Before his pencil touched the paper, he heard a sound behind him. Just as the detective turned around, Rem, disappeared in a white haze. L caught a brief glimpse of the Shinigami's white shadow. The detective shut his eyes tightly and then opened them again, believing that his eyes must have played a trick on him. Upon seeing nothing behind him, he turned back to the notebook, except this time he was interrupted by the definite sound of the door being opened.
"WE'RE HERE!" Announced Misa as she ran into the investigation room, making a beeline for L. He felt a familiar pair of slender arms wrap firmly around his torso from behind. L grunted in pain as Misa unknowingly pressed on his shoulder wound.
"Misa, you're hurting my shoulder" He said in a strained tone.
"Oh sorry!" Said Misa sheepishly as she released L. He turned his chair around to face her and as soon as he did, Misa brought her lips down to meet his in a passionate kiss. L let himself enjoy the kiss for a moment before he heard someone clear their throat loudly, reminding them that they were not alone. He broke the kiss to find the KIT members standing behind Misa, staring at them with disbelief.
"I still can't believe those two...actually like each other..." Said Matsuda, in awe. The rest were thinking along the same lines. It was going to take some time for them to get used to seeing the two together. Misa giggled and sat on L's lap, facing the others.
"Oh it's more than just a crush Matsu. I'm convinced wholeheartedly that my feelings for Light are no more! The one who I truly love and will forever be faithful to is none other than L!" She said, giving her boyfriend a bright smile. L groaned inwardly at Misa's declaration of love. The others just looked at her, amazed. Even Rem who was nearby and heard everything was impressed.
"And now that we're going to be parents together, things will be even better! Won't they?" She asked, turning to L. The detective simply gave her a blank stare, a flurry of mixed emotions battling inside him. Misa's face fell a little at his loss for words. However, her smile quickly returned.
"It's alright, you're probably still shocked by the news. I know I was!" She said, laughing, and placing a kiss on his cheek.
L simply sat there, not saying anything. He couldn't just tell her flat out that he didn't want to be a father. Or rather that he couldn't. At least not in front of the other taskforce members. Lucky for him, Misa decided to take her leave then. She got up from his lap and announced that she was going upstairs to rest. Before she left, however, she leaned down and whispered something into L's ear that made the detective shift in his chair and blush slightly. Having obtained the desired effect, Misa smiled and cheerfully made her way to the door of the main investigation room.
"I'll be waiting for you tonight..." She said suggestively to L before walking out. Everyone simply stared at L, who turned around swiftly so as to hide his embarrassment.
"I think you should all take the day off. Thank you for all your hard work, I'm very pleased with the results" Said L, typing away at his keyboard. All the KIT members except for Watari, smiled at each other and gathered their things. They said their goodbyes and exited the building, leaving L and the old man in the room.
L noticed that Watari was still standing there, observing him.
"Is something the matter, Watari?" Asked L carelessly.
Watari hesitated for a moment. There was so much that he wanted to say to his adoptive son, he didn't even know where to begin. He sensed that L was not as enthusiastic about the current situation as Misa was. He had something to say about it, but in the end he thought it best to save it for a later time.
"Nothing, Ryuzaki. Is there something that you require of me?" Asked the old man.
"Not right now. Thank you" Said L, going back to his work.
Meanwhile, the Shinigami followed in the direction that Misa went. Even though she could not yet see the god of death watching over her, Rem still wanted to be there by her side.