𝙍𝙀𝙎𝙊𝙇𝙑𝙀 | l lawliet

Truth

October 31, 2004

Hikari walked into the workspace, looking for the detective with more anticipation than she usually did.

She found him at his desk, staring at his computer with his brow furrowed in concentration.

"I don't understand it..." he muttered.

Hikari bent her knees and slouched over to observe what was written on the screen, laughing as she did.

"A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object..." L read under his breath, somehow not realising her presence.

"What the hell are you doing?"

His gaze drifted to his shoulder, where her chin was resting.

"Ah, good that you're here. I wanted to ask... Are we... intimate?"

"Huh?"

"It feels... different. Why?"

"Uh... different?"

"Well, it's... not something I'm used to... definitely not what I feel with Watari... I read an article on it, and my symptoms matched those."

"Symptoms? What're you getting at?"

"I felt... feel like smiling."

"Obviously. What's the big deal?"

"Particularly... around you."

Hikari clapped her hands against her face, practically trembling.

"Don't be saying cheesy stuff like that, idiot!"

"Why not? It's a fact, isn't it? Do you feel the same? Is that what a romantic relationship means?"

She let out a shaky breath, finally lowering her hands. Hikari was smiling, so wide it looked almost stupid.

"Uh... it's... there's no need to delve so deep into it. I'm happy, you're happy... We can end it at that."

"For the record, I have noticed that you smile seventy-six percent more than usual around me."

"I'm gonna go get some coffee!" Hikari announced, blushing furiously. "You... want some?"

"Yes,--"

"Six sugar cubes per 100 mililitres, strong. And room temperature," She interrupted in a tone filled with unnecessary pride.

Hikari practically ran out of the room, returning with two cups of coffee, one large and steaming hot, and the other an elegant tea-cup which practically looked like a sugar slushie at that point.

Handing him his cup, she muttered something about it being an absolute insult to black coffee, which made him chuckle.

"Uh, about the thing with Yagami... I've asked the Shinigami to do it in front of the Task Force. Is that... advisable?"

The raven narrowed his eyes, his thumb back on his lip.

"Wouldn't doing it in Yagami-san's presence just make it worse for him?"

She sighed, smile fading.

"Maybe, but in a way, it'll give him closure. The plan was never to reveal Light's true identity to the world, but rather to make the world see him as a victim. It's gonna be hard, but..."

Hikari was no saint, she'd admitted and accepted that. But, this was cold, even for her.

'If I'm so worried about L dying, then that's a father-son relationship. I've really become a monster, haven't I?'

"No. This is the right thing to do for the world. All you're doing is making sacrifices."

She wasn't even surprised at that point.

"We both know why I'm doing this, L. And it's a fact that I am being selfish with this."

"I doubt anyone has the slightest concern for the 'why'. It is useless to try and accuse yourself. You have the goal, the brains, the influence, and that's why you stand here, instructing a Shinigami to kill an 18 year old."

That was what she needed. The truth. She had to face the truth, that this would make her a murderer, but for what cause?

Directly or indirectly, she was saving the world from the cruel reign of Kira; more importantly, she was saving L. That's all that mattered to everyone, and all that mattered to her.

And as the empty walls of the huge building were filled with the echoes of the whines of Touta Matsuda and the deception-conceited words of Light Yagami, she could sense it coming. Victory.