Realization (L Lawliet)

Eight

     Watari had officially grounded L, who was an adult. He didn't know it was possible to ground an adult, but if the person that grounded you is your mission leader...

     L could still go outside, but he had to have Watari come with him. 

     And Watari also found out how to block websites, so he blocked Tumblr, Youtube, Guff.com, and all of the other "frequently visited" websites on L's internet history. 

     All L had left was sweets and K-drama. It was a horrible life, but he was certain it wouldn't last very long. In other words, Watari was making sure L had no way to go out and screw things up. It was perfect.

     L had spent his whole day curled up in front of his laptop, going through the evidence for the case. Finally, Watari opened the door and said, "You need fresh air." 

     L was soon crouched on top of a playground structure that was technically a seesaw for three people, four if you counted the platform that connected the three seats...you know, where L was crouched on. He had brought his laptop and was still reviewing pictures from the Long Beach crime scene. 

     Meanwhile, Watari was sitting on a bench a distance away, reading the newspaper, which featured the death of that woman. At least he didn't make L wear one of those human leashes. 

     Suddenly, someone sat on a red seat, tipping the threesaw (it's a word now, deal with it) so much that L almost fell off. 

     Watari, meanwhile, saw that action and stopped reading the newspaper, keeping an eye on what was going on. 

     L shut his laptop and saw Nikola, the cat ears one, sitting on the threesaw. "You almost made me drop my laptop." 

     "That thing looks expensive...oops." Nikola sheepishly smiled. He looked over at Watari. "He has it for me."

      "Don't mind him. That's just Watari." 

     "You call your father Watari?" 

      "How did you come to that conclusion?" 

     "It's kinda obvious. He's just trying to protect you. But how come you don't call him 'Dad' or whatever?" 

      "Because...he's Watari." 

       "That doesn't explain anything." 

     "Maybe I don't want to explain." 

      "Okay." 

     There was a long silence. Watari returned to reading his newspaper, and L returned to typing up more notes. 

     "Ryuzaki? What you working on?" 

     "Stuff." 

      "Very fun."

     L couldn't take it anymore. He looked up from his laptop and asked, "Nikola, do you have dissociative identity disorder...or in other words...more than one personality?" 

     Nikola fell silent, frowning. He didn't answer L for a very long time. 

    L sighed. "I'm going to see Watari." He swung his legs over the platform, but before he could get off the threesaw, Nikola said, "Yes, yes I do." 

     L looked at Nikola. "How many personalities?" 

     "I don't think I ever counted myself. They probably have it on file though. Why are you so interested? Do you think I'm crazy, Ryuzaki?!" Nikola said that last sentence loud enough to attract the attention of Watari, who gave L a stern glance. 

    "When did I ever say that you were crazy? It's fairly common..." 

    "Ryuzaki, you're so unpredictable. You're obsessed with this case. And you ask me about my mental disorders? It doesn't change me or make me someone you should stay away from!" 

     L took a deep breath, gritting his teeth. "I have nightmare disorder...and depression. I don't believe that mental disorders make me a person people should stay away from. They should stay away from me for different reasons." 

     Before Nikola could reply, L got up and left, walking straight to Watari. 

    Watari looked up. "Who's he?" 

   "His name is Nikola...and I want to leave." L noticed his voice was a little less monotone and more of a whine...a new one for him. 

     Watari got up, folding the newspaper and tucking it into his pocket, wrapping one arm around L's shoulders and leading him away. "You're gonna have to explain to me who exactly is this Nikola person. He seems...familiar..." 

     He was sitting in front of the laptop, smiling at every little detail he found. He was reading a written version of the police interview of Beyond Birthday. He couldn't listen to the audio version because his laptop was old and the sound had failed on his a year ago. They did say not to listen to the audio version because half of it was Beyond Birthday screaming and crying. 

     As he scrolled through the dialogue, he noticed that Beyond had talked about a man named L a lot. With all that talking and crying about L, anyone else would have thought that Beyond must have been in love, but he knew that it went a lot deeper than that. 

     He knew from personal experience. He could relate with Beyond. Fuck, they could be best friends. He smiled, trying hard not to burst into laughter. He didn't know for sure, but he thought that he had found Beyond's beloved...and hated L. 

     And L was a freak. 

    And all freaks needed to go.