The True Genius (Death Note fanfiction)

Preparing for Death

FYI this is going to be a LONG chapter considering the shortish chapters I usually write so bear with me.

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Today was the day that L was going to die. Rem had already received the signal and both Watari and L injected the paralyzer into their blood. All that was left now was the wait.

The sleuth was plagued today with more guilt than he could bear. No matter what he did, he kept hearing the loud ring of the church bell. When he first started his detective work at the age of six, the other children at Wammy's House were trained to replace him if he were to die. The two specially trained were A and B. A stood for Apprentice and B for Backup. A felt the pressure to live up to L's name was too much and hung himself. L, still a young boy, went to the funeral to pay homage to his dead successor.

The detective knew it was his fault A committed suicide. The Wammy's House constantly compared their prize success—L—to their learning students, repeatedly telling them that what they did was never as good as what L achieved. They put a world of pressure on their backs to make them suffer like Atlas from Greek mythology; and pressure killed.

Now that L had to fake his deaht and set the pressure on Near and Mello, the guilt had come back with a vengeance. The faint ringing of the church bell became a deafening roar in his ears, everytme he shut his eyes or even blinked the image of the pale corpse once named A haunted his vision, his hand throbbed as if he were still a child and gripping Watari's hand with ferocity as he stood in front of the gothic iron gates leading to the churh. He couldn't escape the nightmare.

In the last hour L had, he trudged outside on the roof in the pouring rain. Each water droplet pelted him like ice shards, and he felt he deserved it. Pelt. He was going to put two more kids in danger. Pelt. They were going to be pressured to stop Kira, the world-wide serial killer. Pelt. They would never be able to live like a normal person and enjoy life. They would be reduced to just letters on a computer screen and a faceless person out in a dark room. Their legacies would make them famous, but what's the point if not one single person will be there to celebrate their success? He took away their futures so that he could stop a murderer from killing criminals. They deserved a better life than the one he forced them into.

Contrary to the icy rain, L felt a warm trickle down his face. Raising his hand to his face, he found the origin of the warmth from his eyes. The warmth was his tears, he realized. He was crying, and he knew he wouldn't be able to stop.

At first it was just silent weeping, but it quickly escalated to full-out sobs racking his body. L gripped his wet black hair, unable to control himself for the first time he could ever remember. The sorry part, though, was that a small part of him enjoyed not being in control. It reminded him that, not matter how much of a genius he was, he was sitll a human with real emotions. He wasn't just a machine that solved the world's toughest cases, because he was real.

After a while, the tears died down and L was yet again just staring at the horizon with the church bell clanging in his ears. He didn't know how long he was standing outside on the roof, but it must have been too long because, to his utter surprise, Light stepped outside under the cover.

NOTE: I do not own the rest of what happens in the chapter, as this was a part of episode 25 (*sniff* the saddest episode of the whole series!) so please don't sue me for using this.

L turned his head to stare at the younger detective. He caled out something, but L didn't quite catch what he was saying. He cupped a hand over his ear as a geture for the younger one to speak up.

Light called out again, this time more irritated, yet L didn't quite hear the message. Even though he knew he seemed cocky, he gestured more enthusiastically.

Reluctantly Light stepped out of the cover and into the pouring rain to talk to the older detective. "What are you doing, Ryuuzaki?" Light asked once he was close enough.

L mused in his nonchalant tenor. "Oh, I'm not doing anything particular, it's just..." he looked up at the skies, knowing Light wouldn't understand. "I hear the bell."

Light stared at L in confusion. "The bell?"

"Yes," L replied. "The sound of the bell's been unusually loud lately."

Light followed L's gaze, which led to nothing. "I don't hear anything," he said to the detective as he looked back at him.

L met Light's stare. "Really, you can't hear it?" Of course Light couldn't hear it; who was he trying to fool? L was the only one plagued by the guilt of A's death. "It's been ringing nonstop all day. I find it very distracting." L took a breath. "I wonder if it's a church, maybe a wedding, or perhaps a..." he didn't go on, but the implied meaning hung in the air.

"What are you getting at, Ryuuzaki?" Light asked with accusation. He didn't understand. No one did. "C'mon, cut it out, let's get back inside."

L adverted his gaze back to the metal floor. "I'm sorry," he said in a low voice while turning away from the younger man. "Nothing I say makes any sense anyway. If I were you, I wouldn't believe any of it."

For a moment Light studied L in silence. L didn't dare look up.

After the moment, Light let out a small chuckle. "You know you're totally right. Honestly most of the things you say sound like complete sonsense. There'd be no end to my troubles if I actually took you seriously all the time. I probably know that better than anyone."

"Yes," L said after a pause. "I could say that's a fair assessment. But," he added, "I could say the same about you."

"Hm?" Light glanced up at L in mild surprise. "What's that supposed to mean?"

L finally turned his head to acknowledge Light. "Tell me, Light. From the moment you were born, has there ever been a point where you actually told the truth?"

The two detectives stared at each other. L knew he was poking at a dead body with that question, but it was his last day, and he was entitled to ask what he wanted.

"Where's this coming from, Ryuuzaki?" Unlike the Light L's been handcuffed to a wile back, he was calm. A different reaction than before. It was as if something had changed in Light. "I do admit I've stretched the truth here and there. However, find me one person who's never had to tell a lie. It wouldn't be easy. Human beings just aren't made to be perfect like that. Everybody lies from time to time. Even so, I've always made a concious effort to be careful not to tell a lie that could hurt others. That's my answer."

L glared a moment at Light's near-perfect answer (which was too perfect to be the truth), then turned away again. "I had a feeling that you'd say something like that." Another pause. "Let's go back inside, we're both drenched."

Light laughed hallowly. "Yeah."

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Again, sorry for the longish chapter. But please vote and comment for the final chapter!