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Fifty Days	By : sashocirrione Category: Death Note > Het-Male/Female > L/Misa Views: 2868 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
CHAPTER 16: Visit
L couldn't move his arms, but his attacker was holding him in such a way that it wouldn't be too difficult to kick. L waited a couple of seconds, puffing himself up with air, then suddenly let out his breath and used the slight slack to slip a bit inside the attacker's grasp and kick backwards. L still couldn't see what he was doing, but his guessed aim was good and he felt the upward jab of his heel slip between thighs and connect hard with someone's crotch. At the same moment the guy let go and L heard cursing in Italian.
L spun around to see Aiber, curled on the floor in agony. Aiber's movements dislodged a mop from the small janitorial room they were in, and L neatly caught the mop, holding it as a weapon, watching for any danger. In a couple more seconds, Aiber gasped, "Ryuzaki, don't hurt me."
L said, "Explain yourself."
"I can't seem to say things directly, but I'll do my best. I've been trying to go somewhere and do something..."
Aiber held open his coat, revealing a gun nestled in an inside pocket.
"...but I can't seem to do it. I've been to a certain place twelve times already, and each time I just leave without accomplishing my objective."
L said, "I do not know what Misa wrote for you, but I'm guessing you are prevented from mentioning what you know or what you've been doing so that you can't give evidence to investigators, and you have probably been prevented from hurting anyone. You couldn't have been ordered to specifically avoid harming Misa, because the notebook doesn't work like that. The question is why you are still alive. Do you have any ideas?"
Aiber said, "It's because... because... there is this thing... I mean, there's something I am doing, was doing... Oh shit! Why can't I say a damn thing?"
Aiber's eyes were blazing with anger, and he suddenly pulled the gun out and held it for L to take, saying, "You! Can you do it? Do you still have a will of your own?"
L's eyes fastened on the gun, and for one second he wanted to take it, rush to Misa's room and be done with her forever, no matter what the consequences were. The next moment, he felt sick. Misa was possibly carrying his child, and she needed to be put on trial, convicted, and punished by the justice system, not face a vigilante execution. No, even if it were a good idea to kill Misa, this wouldn't be the way, for a whole bunch of reasons.
A living Misa was probably the only reason Rem hadn't killed him yet, and sending untraceable attackers to threaten a living Misa was also the only way to test Rem for that crucial shinigami weakness. Misa needed to stay alive at least long enough to set up an unsuspicious test of that sort, and that would take time. And, even if L did want to kill Misa right away, the best way to do it would be to secretly poison her, not rush in with a gun.
L said, "Aiber, you are interfering with my plans. You need to trust me that this will all work out. I cannot allow you to participate in the investigation or know anything about it because you might be being controlled into leaving reports where Misa or the newest Kira will obtain them."
Aiber said, "I want to help. Can't you find a loophole?"
"Without knowing exactly what was written, I can't be sure that any loophole I might discover is actually safe. You are too dangerous to have around. Please understand."
L knew his life hinged on Rem not being too suspicious. If Rem thought he was plotting against Misa, it was all over. Aiber was a good guy, but his free will had been impaired and he might not be able to stop himself from leaking secrets. He couldn't be allowed to know anything about what was really going on. Furthermore, even if Aiber could be trusted, now was not the time to tell him anything. Rem was lurking somewhere nearby, and even though she wasn't evident in this janitorial storage room, there was no telling what could be heard through the walls or the door, and she might be just on the other side of any of them.
Gently, L said, "Aiber, other people will take care of this issue now. You have less than twenty-three days of life, perhaps much less. Your wife and son deserve to spend that time with you. Are you able to go home? Are you controlled to stay in Japan?"
"I don't know. I haven't tried."
"I would like to put you into protective custody and bring your family to Japan to stay with you. I will also ask Rem about your death. If it is disgusting or painful I can take measures so it reverts to a heart attack instead."
L got out Hideki Ryuga's cellphone. "May I call the police to take you into custody now?"
Aiber said, "Why do you think you can trust the shinigami? Is that child yours? Did you betray us? Even before the attack?"
L saw the hurt and anger in Aiber's eyes, and felt sick that he couldn't just explain everything, but Rem could be listening.
L said, "Aiber, I can't tell you anything. But, I would never betray the investigation team. You must believe me."
L realized the mop he held was trembling when he saw Aiber's gaze drawn to it and then soften.
Aiber sighed and sat up on the floor, then slowly and gingerly got to his feet. He said, "I wish I could do something. I feel so... so... I don't like it. I'm not useless!"
Aiber rolled the gun around in his palm thoughtfully. "I hate guns, and look at what I'm doing! I'm already essentially dead, with nothing to lose, and I got this, and I still can't do it. I'm so goddamn close, and I can't do it!"
L put down the mop, placed one of his hands on Aiber's shoulder and said, "It isn't your fault. You've been forced into this."
Aiber nodded, his eyes downcast.
L said, "Shall I call? I'll put you in VIP protective custody. That usually means a very nice, expensive house in a secluded area. You can tell your family it is a vacation if you wish. I'm afraid I'll probably have to leave guards with you at all times, unless I can find the other notebook and see exactly what is written. I do not trust the shinigami to tell me the truth."
"It's so unfair. But, yes, I'll let you do that. I suppose there's nothing else to do."
Aiber rubbed his face, looking incredibly tired and worn out. L felt like he was truly betraying Aiber as he called the police and had Aiber put into protective custody, and then made arrangements for Aiber's family to join him. L made sure there would be guards who had been instructed that Aiber was harmless but insane and should be prevented from escaping or self-harm, and that any erratic behavior should immediately be reported to a special phone number. Within twenty minutes, the police came and went, and everything had been set up. Only then did L continue his journey down the hallway toward Misa's room. He felt like ages had passed in the meantime.
With every step, he felt more of a sick, jittery adrenaline rush. L felt like he'd be happy if he could just never see Misa or Rem again, but he had to talk to Rem, and he had to display at least a bit of loving behavior toward Misa in front of Rem. L put a worried expression on his face as he stepped into the room.
The first thing he saw was Misa's sister sitting in a chair, looking completely despondent, with red-rimmed eyes. He already knew all about her and had seen her photo, because he'd compiled enormous amounts of information on Misa during his investigation of the second Kira. L knew a lot of information, perhaps more than Misa knew, about even her passing acquaintances and distant relatives.
Misa's sister was three years older, an alcoholic, and she tended to drift from job to job. Nevertheless, she looked more respectable than Misa. She had long black hair, and a body build similar to Misa but with a distinctly longer face and sharper nose. Furthermore, she had a completely different taste in clothing, looking more like business attire. There wasn't a hint of the gothic lolita style about her.
L ignored the stare Misa's sister was giving him, and instead shed his coat, hat and oversized sunglasses into an empty chair on his way to Misa's side, his eyes at first on Rem's worried form, hovering over Misa, and then on Misa's unconscious body. Wires and tubes monitored her vital signs and fed her oxygen, nutrients and medicine. But it was her eyes that drew L's attention.
Misa's eyes were open, and the eyeballs were sunk just a bit back into the sockets, with pools of tears collected in the depressions formed that way. Her eyes were dead, so dead, like corpse eyes. It was like the experience of buying whole fish in the market and seeing the fish-eyes sitting there, not looking in any direction, not looking at all.
L gently and delicately pulled each eyelid down, closing her eyes, but the image was still haunting him, burned into his brain. He swallowed, and let his gaze roam over the rest of her body. She looked tinier than ever, and very, very pale. If not for the machine showing the rhythm of her heartbeat and for the slight rise and fall of her chest, L might suppose her to be a corpse. L felt guilty, as if all of this were his fault instead of self-inflicted, as if Misa were an innocent instead of a mass-murderer. But, it wasn't like that at all! He'd given her a choice.
She could have tried to carry on as Kira after giving him a clean death, or she could have opted to let him help her hide, at least for a time. Did she expect betrayal? Is that why she chose a horrendous third option? Or, was it the thought of all those innocent people she'd killed, the kids who would lose their parents, all those deaths for no reason at all since she couldn't continue as Kira any more? In any case, L had to admit, Misa had somehow outsmarted him. He'd tried to put her in a situation with only two options, and she'd defiantly created a third option. It was a crazy, tragic third option, but it still wasn't anything he'd planned for.
L was broken out of his thoughts by hands on his shoulders, hands that made his skin crawl as he jumped back instinctively. The touch was familiar. It felt like her hands. He blinked up in a panic at Misa's sister. She looked angry.
She said, "Can't you hear when people talk to you? I asked you if you're that guy, if you made her do this. Did you?"
L made a polite little bow and said, "I apologize. I'm Hideki Ryuga, Misa's husband."
Misa's sister let out a shocked gasp. Her mouth opened and closed several times without anything coming out, though she looked like she desperately wanted to say something.
L said, "We married three months ago, and Misa asked me to keep it a secret. I do not see the point in concealing it from her family now. I assume you are her sister? Yumiko Amane?"
Yumiko said, "Yes. What is going on? Are you really her husband?"
"I am. Misa shot herself. I do not know why. I am sorry."
Yumiko's eyes looked terribly betrayed and angry. She suddenly dropped to one knee and yanked up one leg of L's baggy jeans. L jumped back, out of her reach. He didn't want to be touched, especially by someone who reminded him of Misa.
Yumiko said, "Needle marks, just as the articles said. You're a drug addict, and you're corrupting Misa! You and that other druggie who killed himself! Maybe you even shot her!"
"I don't take drugs. Those marks are from bee sting therapy. I need it for my scoliosis. I would never hurt Misa."
Yumiko screamed, "You're lying! Misa was never like this before three months ago! Suddenly, it's drugs, and suicides, and all this weird stuff. Misa wouldn't be like this! It's all your fault! You took a sweet girl who was mourning her parents' deaths and did all this to her! You took advantage of my sister!"
Yumiko was advancing, her fists held up, and L didn't want to hit her but he couldn't stand to be touched by the woman one more time, and he didn't know where to go. Suddenly, he ducked down, slithered under the bed and popped up on the other side, retreating toward the exit. He looked at Rem and said, "We need to talk."
Rem was completely oblivious, still hovering over Misa.
Yumiko said, "Nothing you can say will change my mind."
L waved his arms and yelled, "I really need to talk with you!"
Rem was still oblivious.
L said, "Let's go to the men's room and talk about Misa."
At that, Rem's head snapped up and looked at L as Yumiko said, "You pervert! How many men did you whore out my sister to? And now you proposition me?"
L said, "Excuse me, but I need to talk to my hallucination."
As L quickly retreated, he grabbed up his hat, coat and sunglasses on the way out of the room. Yumiko and Rem both pursued him, but Yumiko stopped at the entrance to the men's room. L ducked inside, his heart pounding in his chest. Yumiko really scared him. He opened every stall, finding them all empty, then retreated to the wall furthest from the entrance and said, "I'll whisper. For Misa's sake, we need a lot of secrecy. Come close."
Rem positioned one ear right by his mouth.
L whispered, "Aiber was coming here to kill Misa. I stopped him and had him arrested. Guards are watching him now."
Rem said, "He is not a threat. He is unable to harm anyone."
"How long does he have to live? What is his death? Will he do anything disgusting first, like masturbate in public and then cut off his own penis?"
"No, nothing like that. He has fifteen days to live. He'll die of a brain aneurysm. He is your friend, isn't he?"
L whispered, "Yes. I want to spare him as much pain as I can. Rem, we need to protect Misa. I know there is a new Kira. If the new Kira knows Misa's identity, or even suspects it, Misa could die at any time."
L almost held his breath. Rem must know the truth, and this part of the Kira case could be solved very quickly if she decided to cooperate.
Rem said, "This new Kira does not know Misa's face or name. There is no danger. Also, if the criminal deaths continue while Misa is obviously unable to kill, then when she wakes up she will be less likely to ever be a Kira suspect again."
L whispered, "The other investigators know there are at least two notebooks. This will prove nothing."
"It will prove nothing, but it will still help Misa seem innocent. There is no conclusive evidence on Misa except what you know. I do not care if you pursue this new Kira, or even catch this Kira, but I will not help you. I want you to arrange it so that Higuchi and this new Kira share the blame and no accusations ever stick to Misa. Even implicating Light Yagami as Kira is a bad thing, since that trail might lead to Misa."
"I will do my best, for my wife and child. How often do you want me to report on my progress?"
"Once a week, unless there is a breakthrough. Then report immediately."
"Are you able to go as far as the street outside this hospital?"
"Yes."
"Then, when you need a report, or when I'm visiting Misa and I try to catch your attention, follow me back to my car at the end of my visit so I can report to you."
With that, Rem phased through the wall and left L alone. He tried to exit the restroom, but found an angry Yumiko there every time he attempted it, with her fists ready and looking like she was about to punch. He knew he could easily win a fight and hurt her badly enough that she wouldn't bother him again, but he also knew he might need to be on her good side, as much as possible, in order to investigate her for possible clues later. So, he allowed her to trap him in the bathroom until she got bored and left, nearly an hour later.
L quickly found some doctors to advise him on Misa's condition and made sure they'd perform a pregnancy test. The doctors all had conflicting opinions about how likely Misa was to survive, along with how likely she was to wake up from her coma. L knew it would take a few days for the doctor's opinions to come more into alignment with each other, and even once the doctors agreed with each other, the chances might very well fluctuate quite a bit for the first week or two. In these cases, a lot of things only became apparent with time.
Before L had finished talking with the doctors, he received a call from Watari, reporting that a new headquarters had been purchased and stocked with furniture, computers and office equipment. It was ready for L whenever he wished. L did not feel like facing the others yet, so he left the hospital and stopped nearby at the fancy hotel where he'd previously reserved a suite merely for the concierge service to get him the clothing he needed. He felt like being alone. He hadn't been alone and free for a long time, and extremely nice hotel suites felt like home to him. He could conduct most of his cases from anywhere in the world, but in those few cases where he had felt a need to be near the scene, he quite often lived in hotel suites for weeks.
He entered the room, kicking off his shoes and sinking his bare toes into the carpet, and then throwing down his hat, sunglasses and coat. He inhaled. It smelled like clean, fresh fabric, like home. He made his way to a window, one that was three times as high as he was tall, and opened the curtains. He leaned against the cool glass, looking out at the black sky with stars twinkling in it above, and the similar landscape below, the cityscape of blackness punctuated by many lights of various colors, some stationary, some moving.
He remembered a night like this, about a year ago, in a similar hotel, leaning against a window and watching the world, thinking about how he was inexorably drawing Kira toward him, how their paths must collide. That self he'd been then, and that night, seemed so far away and long ago, yet he also felt very close to that moment. He'd come full circle, with two Kiras dead, another Kira partially neutralized and a new, unknown Kira out there somewhere. L sincerely hoped he'd see a true end to the Kira case. If Kiras endlessly spawned, one after another, that would be his worst nightmare.
Well, if he'd known the killings were done with a magic notebook back when he'd first developed a list of suspects, he could have solved the Kira case within a week at most. All it would have taken was a bunch of really diligent surprise searches. It was what you didn't know in a case that always made for the hardest parts. Now, knowing how Kira killed, and furthermore being able to see Ryuk, it should be easy.
L knew he just needed to develop a manageable list of suspects. Even a list that was a few thousand long would be doable. He could just check them all and see if Ryuk followed any. It might end up being very tedious, but the new Kira would certainly be caught eventually. L knew he had the stamina and endurance for such tasks. He could go on stakeouts that lasted 24/7 if he needed to. He'd trained himself to be able to run on little sleep and he could pay attention and focus on minute, subtle clues among vast amounts of meaningless nonsense, in ways that few other investigators could. Yes, the new Kira was doomed. He or she just didn't know it yet.
- 15
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- 17
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Fifty Days