The 'L' in Light (A Death Note Fanfiction)

Chapter 20: Interrogate

~ Light's POV ~

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"I need to ask a few more questions to make sure that you aren't Kira," he said plainly.

***

"What, why?" asked Light, somewhat hurt. How does he still suspect me after everything that has happened?

"I need to clear all of my suspicions," he replied, pulling out a chair from the oaken table with a screech. "Please, sit."

Light sighed and plopped down as asked. He recalled the occasion when L had interrogated him for the first time, at his favourite coffee shop. It was also the day that Light had begun to find L's locks of black hair especially attractive.

"Light, you were the only person holding a Death Note at the time of Higuchi's murder. How do you respond to that?" questioned L.

The straightforward question took Light aback, but he tried to repress his expression. "You think that I...killed him? But you said it yourself; there may be multiple Death Notes out there. And besides, you forgot about the '13-day rule'. I can't be Kira - I would have died when you imprisoned me," replied Light matter-of-factly.

"Yes, your innocence depends on the validity of that rule," he sighed. "However, without any of the Task Force members' knowledge, I have tested it".

Light frowned. "What?" he asked.

"I made a death row prisoner write his name down on a shred of paper from the Death Note. Since I had suspected that we would lose it somehow, I had ripped out a page," he explained. "The prisoner also added the cause of death as a heart attack and manipulated the time of death to 14 days after writing his name down. As I suspected, that day turned out to be the one which he later died on. Do you understand what this means Light?"

Light knew all too well. He's invalidated the 13-day rule - my only defense.

"Yes, I do. That means that I'm still the... main suspect in the Kira case," he replied, trying his best not to seem overly sorrowful. He wanted to scream, to cry - yet, he had decided on what to prioritise in his current situation. "Why didn't you tell us what you were about to do?"

"What sort of detective tells his prime suspects what his plan is?" retaliated L.

"Oh. So that's all I am. A... suspect?"

"Light, please don't make this harder than it already is," he pleaded. "It's only speculation so far, and I don't really believe that you are Kira." He paused before continuing, "There's one, final test that I would like to carry out, with your permission."

"Anything that will help disprove me," said Light.

"Alright then. In this final test, we're going to draw each other."

Light frowned, half-expecting L to smile and admit that his request had been a joke. When this didn't occur he exclaimed, "What? You must be kidding."

"I can assure you, I'm not," he said. He took out a folded piece of paper, ripped it in half and placed it in front of Light. "Do you have two pencils?"

They spent the next half an hour glancing at each other and sketching artlessly. When they lifted their drawing for the other to see, the atmosphere of the room lightened with laughter stemming from their pitiful artistic skills.

Light's drawing was vaguely realistic with its satisfactory facial proportions but was otherwise mediocre. L's consisted of a crude stickman with a curved arrow pointing to its head, labelling him as 'Kira'.

"It's just a joke. As I said earlier, I don't believe that you could be Kira," said L after seeing Light stiffen. He turned the drawing around and managed to repress a laugh when he compared it to Light's face.

"I'm sure you'll get better if you keep practising," encouraged Light, shocked when he realised what he'd just said. "My sister is great at drawing, but my parents would never allow her to continue on that path. Do you have any siblings, Ryuzaki?"

"Not that I know of," replied L gloomily.

What does he mean by that? Now that I think of it, he's never mentioned his family.

"So, what did you conclude from all of this?" asked Light, attempting to change the subject.

"Only that you're a terrible artist," joked L.

"Did this 'test' have anything to do with the interrogation? And you're not any bett-"

Light is cut short when L plants a shy kiss on his cheek. L's face was so close to his that he could smell the sweet fragrance that one of the cakes must have imparted onto his lips. All Light wanted was to savour that moment and be able to gaze at his lover's face for as long as possible. His wishes were unfulfilled when this later developed into a tongue-wrestling match.

Kira hates losing, thought Light.