Failure (A Death Note/L Love Story)

Chapter 31

With no other option, L and I agreed, quickly as to not spend much time being awkward near each other, that we needed to switch hotels once more. It wasn't safe if Kira and the second Kira were working together. If there was anything we could do to get them off our tail, then we'd do it. Even though we were both very fond of that suite.

We decided to check the tapes sent by the second Kira one more time. I knew there had been no fingerprints on the tapes, but forensics had found hairs, fibers, and other small pieces in the packing tape used to seal the envelopes. When we ran them for a DNA test, there hadn't been anyone in the system. She was a first time offender, and that meant she'd be harder to look for.

We sat together at a table, inspecting the evidence bags closer. L said what was inside the bags as he picked them up and then handed them to me, "Hair.... Snack crumbs.... Hair.... Mr. Yagami, if I die within the next few days, your son is Kira. Hm, another hair...."

Having already talked about this previously, I sighed, "Way to approach the subject gently, Ryuzaki." I put down the bag with the hair and crossed my arms, preparing for the questions.

"What did you just say, Ryuzaki?" Yagami demanded as he stood.

Matsuda gasped, "Exactly what are you talking about?"

"If anything happens to me, I've asked Watari to make himself available to you, as will Hikari since she will be the next L, so I'm counting on the team."

"Ryuzaki, you said he was almost cleared and now this? Honestly, how much do you two suspect my son?" he wondered as he walked over to us.

I admitted, "A lot. Maybe that's because he's the only suspect? I don't know. It's not that I want him to be, though. I hope he isn't."

L answered, "The truth is, I don't even know what to think anymore. I've never been in a situation like this. If Kira and the second Kira are working together right now, things are not looking good for me. Given that, I may not be thinking as clearly as I normally do, so I could be wrong. Like Hikari said, maybe I still consider him a suspect only because we don't have anyone else. But still, if I do happen to be killed soon, please assume that your son is Kira."

I turned to the others completely and started, "We have a plan, and I think it might work. I'm not sure how any of you will take the information I'm about to give you, but... you need to know." They nodded. "As you may know, Mogi has been tailing Light for about a week now, and there was been some interesting things he came across."

L took over, "Light has a girlfriend named Kiyomi Takada whom he goes to school with, but Mr. Mogi has seen Light with another girlfriend. Her name is Misa Amane."

"My son would never cheat!" Yagami defended.

"Please, don't get upset. Let us finish. After she left her house, Watari searched her apartment. He couldn't find anything suspicious, but he did pick up hair, fibers, and things of that nature we found on the packages sent by the second Kira. Everything turned out to be a match. This is why we suspect Misa Amane of being the second Kira," I explained. I felt so horrible seeing how defeated Yagami looked. "Now, this doesn't mean that Light knows or is the real Kira. Please, remember that. We're about to do something very risky, but if L thinks it's worth it, then I won't argue."

"I'm wagering my life on this, and I could very well end up dead. This is our plan," he told them.

After hearing the plan, we allowed them to leave for the day and come to terms with what we were about to do. Watari was going to spend the day getting the arrest warrant issued. It was just L and I.

"I don't want to die with this tension between us, Hikari. I don't want to have any regrets tomorrow," L suddenly told me. He had been staring at the evidence since everyone left, and I had moved to the couch to mull things over.

I said quietly, "You won't die tomorrow."

"I could," he reminded me, turning to face me. He looked at me expectantly.

I began blushing at the memory, "About the other night-"

Immediately, he interrupted me, "You realize you did nothing wrong, right? Neither of us did. Not too many people would have reacted differently after one of them telling the other something like that."

I paused, "What?"

"There's nothing for us to be ashamed of, is all. You were right to stop us from kissing. It would have made things much more difficult from then on. You did good by not letting your emotions get the best of you. In fact, I'm very proud."

"Thanks...?" I hesitated, not expecting that to be the way the conversation to go. "So, you're not mad at me? Not even a little?"

He shook his head, "Of course not. But if you have anything you want to tell me, I suggest you tell me now."

"You're not going to die tomorrow, Ryuzaki. You wouldn't leave me like that. I'm not ready to be the next L," I tried to convince him. I refused to tell him my secret. I felt like if I did, then there would be no reason for him to stick around anymore. He would actually disappear that time. He'd die.

"You'll do great. You've been ready for a long time," he grinned. My heart began to break at how proud he looked.

Tears sprung to my eyes, "Stop talking like that! You're not supposed to prepare me for your death! That's just wrong!" He stood and walked over, sitting next to me.

"I'm being forced to because you won't consider the possibility," L smiled sadly and wiped a stray tear off my cheek.

"Of course, I have. But I know you won't die tomorrow, no matter what you say. I just know it," I clenched my teeth and took a deep breath. "Please, stop talking about it. Let's just do a puzzle or something."

"If it'll make you happy, then fine. But I need to do one more thing before I let it go," he revealed.

I sighed, "Yeah, what is it?" My breath caught in my throat when L suddenly put his lips on mine. I was completely still from the shock of what was happening. Did I just spend the past few days freaking out for nothing? Had I had nothing to worry about since he was doing exactly what I tried to stop so he wouldn't regret it?

It took a few seconds before I finally realized I seemed to have transformed into a statue. I found myself kissing back without even thinking about. He pulled me closer, and I locked my arms around his neck. Much to my disappointment, he pulled away a few seconds later. He was blushing, and I felt my face turning a bright red. I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

I stuttered, "R-Ryuzaki? Why did you do that?"

"I didn't want to die without having a first kiss. Somehow, I always figured it would be with you," he explained. My eyebrows came together in confusion. He smiled at me. "I guess I understand why people do that so often. It was... nice."

"Uh, yeah, it was nice.... Very nice," I agreed. When we noticed we hadn't moved, we immediately released each other, but we didn't move farther away. I tucked my hair behind my right ear and said, looking for anything to talk about, "So, the puzzle?"

"Yes, let's get started."