Law and Right

Warnings for this chapter: Angst, death, fluff, WIP.
SPOILERS: Volumes 1-7, 13 of manga, episodes 1-26 of anime, L's true name.

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Law and Right

Chapter 15: Photogenic

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"You let Matsuda-san hit you," Ryuzaki said softly, glancing over at Light.

He was busy reviewing death certificates in the seat next to Ryuzaki, gave a soft grunt. "He needed to, and they needed to see him do it. I wouldn't have let him hit me twice."

"Hmm," Ryuzaki replied softly. "Are you sure it wasn't that you wanted him to hit you?"

Light spared the detective a glance. "I'm sure. They're all very angry with me, and while they're not a violent bunch, a little violence will go a long way to sooth their desire for it," he shrugged. "They haven't seen me in the last six years. They haven't had the chance to see how I've changed yet. In their minds, I am still Kira."

Ryuzaki considered that for a long moment before he replied. "If you are assaulted again, I will be very cross."

A soft chuckle rose from Light's lips. "I don't think you need to worry about that. Besides, I can take care of myself -- or did you forget the fight we had, back when we were handcuffed together?"

"That was rather fun," Ryuzaki replied with that impish smile of his, putting a spoonful of pudding into his mouth.

"If you ignored the bruises that came with it," Light replied, laughter hidden in his voice.

Ryuzaki only smiled and continued his work in silence.

A few hours passed, evening approached when Soichiro's phone rang. He picked up, spoke quietly, his face grim as he hung up, walking over to Ryuzaki. "Mogi just called. As he was transporting Misa, they were in an accident. She didn't make it."

Ryuzaki frowned, his eyes narrowing slightly. "This is most unsettling. We have no way of knowing if it was Kira's work or not. Is Mogi-san injured?"

"No," Soichiro sighed softly. "At least not severely enough to be hospitalized. He's on his way here, now."

"We'll need to find out what types of vehicles were involved in the crash," Light said softly, frowning at the death certificate he was checking. "If the probability of Mogi surviving was small, we can assume it was most likely Kira's work."

"And if it was not, we will be unable to assume Kira was not involved," Ryuzaki replied, gnawing on the tip of his thumb again. "I believe it is safe to assume that he lived within viewing range of Sakura TV and has been fluent in Japanese for several years."

"Yes," Light agreed. "That he took the note directly to them, and the neatness of the kanji indicates that to be true. Sakura TV only broadcasts in the Kanto region."

"The same as before," Ryuzaki agreed, "and he's attempting to imitate you, with Ryuk's help. Let's take a look at test scores, shall we, Yagami-kun?"

"It's a good place to start," Light agreed.

So they both dove into the test scores, high school and above, for the Kanto region. They came up with several dozen possibilities by the time Mogi arrived. He had a few scratches and bruises, but he otherwise seemed perfectly fine.

"What kind of vehicle was it, Mogi-san?" Ryuzaki asked.

"It was a truck," he replied with a frown. "Loaded with cinder block."

"Then I believe it is safe to assume Kira has killed Misa-san," Ryuzaki said quietly, biting on his thumb again. "We all must take aliases. I have already corrupted all data files accessible by the public that contain your photographs or names. Let us hope it was not done too late. Yagami-kun," Ryuzaki turned his gaze to Light. "I suggest you get used to being called Toshio-kun."

Irritation rose in Light's features, but he nodded his agreement. A few seconds later, his thoughts caught up with that. "Wait, why do I need a pseudonym? I'm not going to be leaving the building at all," Light accused.

"I never said that, Toshio-kun," Ryuzaki replied, attention already returned to his computer screen. He did, however, notice from the corner of his eyes that Light had gone pale.

"I-I can't do that!" he rose to his feet as the words exploded from him. Fear crept into his eyes, clawed at him. "No! Ryuzaki, you know I can't do that!"

"And that's exactly why I want you to do it," Ryuzaki replied, turning to look at Light. "You need to remain calm, Toshio-kun, or you will suffer a panic attack."

"And for good reason!" Light yelled, but he was taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He wiped sweat from his face, paced as he fought down a crippling wave of nausea. He grimaced, gripped the back of the chair he'd been sitting in. It had been years since he'd felt so much anxiety from anything other than a nightmare.

"You will be fine, Toshio-kun. You will be with the other task force members. I will not ask you to go out alone," Ryuzaki explained softly.

Matsuda opened his mouth, about to pry his curious little nose into places best left alone when Soichiro silenced him with a glare. A pout rose on Matsuda's lips, but he closed his mouth and turned his gaze away.

"I'm not ready," Light growled.

"It has been over six years, Toshio-kun," Ryuzaki said softly. "You are as ready as you will ever be."

Light looked away. "I need a shower," he muttered, heading for the stairs and pounding his way up them. Up, up, to the very top floor. He showered, then went to the roof, knelt there, looking up at the sky as if it might, somehow, hold the answers.

He was still there, three hours later when Ryuzaki joined him. "I thought you might be up here," he said softly, crouching down at Light's side, gnawing on his thumb.

Light sighed deeply, let his gaze move to L. "Yeah," he sighed. "The bells aren't ringing, but it feels like they should be."

"It is not raining, either, Toshio-kun," Ryuzaki replied quietly.

"I know. It's not raining, the bells aren't ringing, the world isn't falling apart, even though it feels like that," Light turned his gaze to the surface of the roof. "Ryuzaki... why did you let me live?"

"It was Misa, actually," Ryuzaki raised an eyebrow. Light had never asked him that before. "The day before you were flown to America. Who am I accountable to, that was what she asked. How was I any different, if I let you be put to death. So I decided that I would be accountable to you, who has nothing to gain, nothing to lose. It wasn't until much later that I realized I had been searching for a reason to let you live... to force you to do so in close proximity to me."

Light considered that for a long moment, his gaze returning to Ryuzaki. "You love me."

"Yes," Ryuzaki agreed. "It was a strange thing to realize."

"You also think I prefer females," Light couldn't hide the lopsided smile on his lips.

"You do not?" Ryuzaki's eyebrow lifted slowly when Light laughed at him.

"I don't. I can remain cool-headed with females. That's why I chose to court them," Light replied easily. "I've been nursing a strong affection for you these past six years."

"Then how do we proceed?" It was obvious, Ryuzaki knew, that he was terribly inexperienced in this particular field.

"Slowly. With patience and caution, just like everything else, I suppose," Light shrugged a little, looking over at Ryuzaki.

"Hn," Ryuzaki agreed, pulling his thumb away from his mouth. "And let hormones take their course, I suppose."

"When the time comes," Light agreed. He reached out, let his hand slide over Ryuzaki's, taking hold of it gently and bringing it up, pressing a soft kiss to the skin there.

The soft touch of lips on skin drowned rational thought from Ryuzaki's mind, letting a soft smile slip onto his lips.

The jammers that surrounded the building were superb. It was a dead zone for nearly everything. The problem with jammers, though, is that they only disrupt digital equipment. They wouldn't jam anything that worked in an entirely mechanical way. It was a boon to evil.

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A/N: The plot thickens further, the romance shows the first real signs of blooming and Misa-Misa bites it. =3

TenshiHaku: Thank you so much! I did try to keep it true to the theme. =3 And it really wouldn't have felt right for me, to just skip over all that recovery. It was too important, and I was rather pleased with the way it turned out thus far. Now I'm getting to the really difficult part of the story. XD And yes, Light isn't anywhere near as healed as he thinks he is, as we just saw in this chapter he has a few more issues to work out, and he certainly never will be the same. For me as a writer, the rape adds complexity to the story, lets me delve into the emotional aspects of a story, instead of focusing only on the external events in the character's lives. I certainly worry a bit that I'm not giving the secondary characters enough time, but I'm hoping to focus on them a bit more in the next few chapters and to expand the cast further. My Spoiler warning will be changing in a few chapters, I think.