Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

A Doppelganger\'s Bet	By : pinkfeline Category: Death Note > Yaoi-Male/Male > L/Light Views: 3881 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
A Doppelganger�s Bet: Chapter 1

Updated 27/03/09 with Beta-ed version by Kati-chan.

In the dark sanctuary that was his room, Light watched with no little irritation as the doppelganger made itself comfortable on his bed. The trip back from the ruined house had been relatively uneventful, with the creature once more leading. It had been different though, for both parties. The creature was obviously unused to the restriction that the physical world imposed upon him, whereas Light was unused to being free of it.

It was pride on both of their parts that made the trip uneventful, each unwilling to be belittled by making any kind of mistake no matter how small. The doppelganger had often been on the verge of tripping as it tried to move at speeds that no mortal body could achieve. Similarly Light had to take extra care to remind himself that he could not lean nor press against an object without the mortification of passing through it unexpectedly.

It had been disconcerting to observe how easily the doppelganger had managed to ease past his mother, fending off her gentle concerns and quiet praise before proceeding to his room. Light did not follow immediately but instead stood and watched as his mother gazed at his doppelganger�s retreating back.

Her expression was soft with an emotion that Light was not certain he could plac; it was one he had not seen before. She passed him without a glance when she at last returned to the kitchen, humming softly under her breath.

Only now did Light truly realise what it meant to give up a year of his life. It would be a year without any human interaction, without the quiet love of his mother, the pride of his father and the adoration of his little sister.

It was true that Light had never been particularly close with any of his family members, but it was their quiet, constant presence and contribution to his life that gave him the stability he treasured so much.

When he had finally gone up to his room, Light had found the doppelganger stretched out over his bed, fully relaxed. Light seated himself on his desk chair and turned scathing eyes on his double. He was about to speak when the doppelganger suddenly righted itself, its attention fixed on the television.

Confused by the sudden shift in attention, Light turned to the television as well. The television was tuned to the news, as it always was, and was updating on an continuous hostage story that had been covered earlier in the evening.

The story was headlined �The Shinjuku Phantom Killer Incident�, and showed the profile of forty-two year old Otaharada Kurou. The man had already accumulated six assault charges from a previous incident and had now taken a nursery hostage. The hostages consisted of eight children and their teachers, and all negotiations with the criminal had been unsuccessful thus far.

It had already been hours since the situation had started and the police had yet to find a solution to the situation. Otaharada was adamantly refusing to let the hostages go despite any promises made by police. The police could not storm the place without the significant risk of any of the hostages getting hurt, and the fact that the hostages consisted mostly of children only sensitised the issue. The crisis had currently reached a stalemate.

Light frowned at the news, a familiar discontent at the state of the world filling him and temporarily letting him forget the injustice his own life was suddenly subject to. Unbeknownst to him, the doppelganger had turned from watching the television to watching Light.

"Die."

Light was startled from his brooding by the softly spoken word. He turned cautious eyes to his double and was unexpectedly caught in its gaze. There was a strange gleam in the double�s eyes, which made the teenager shift nervously.

The commotion on the news had the desired effect of catching both being�s attentions once more. Hostages were fleeing the building to be swallowed up by the waiting rescuers outside. Special force units immediately converged upon the building, intent upon capturing Otaharada before the man himself could escape. There was chaos on the screen as the reporter tried to make sense of this sudden change of events.

- "It has just been confirmed that Otaharada has been found dead! The police deny having fired a shot and have stated that they will investigate the criminal�s cause of death. Some of the hostages are reportedly saying that Otaharada had simply and quite suddenly collapsed. This is truly a strange turn of events�" -

Light simply stared at the screen in shock. Turning stunned eyes to the doppelganger, he found it smirking at the screen with that same strange gleam in its eyes. Had the day�s events not proceeded as it had, Light might have brushed such an incident off as one of nature�s funny coincidences. However it was not natural for a man to suddenly keel over and die, especially not when a supernatural creature commanded it. The creature had something to do with the man�s death, and as little as Light cared for scum like Otaharada, the thought made him uncomfortable.

The doppelganger turned gleeful eyes to Light, a smirk playing at the corners of its mouth.

"What was that?"

Light�s tone was flat and serious, used in combination with a chilling glare that would have made most people squirm. The doppelganger merely lifted an eyebrow in amusement.

"I am merely testing the limits imposed on my abilities due to my physical state."

"I thought you were going to take over my life and pretend to be me. Last I knew, I was unable to kill someone merely by wishing it."

The doppelganger chuckled softly, shaking his head as if it found Light�s nav�et� amusing.

"The reason for this game is because we were both bored. By pretending to be you and taking over your life and continuing it as it has been thus far, well, I�d still be bored wouldn�t I?"

Light scowled at the creature but could not deny its twisted logic. He had not really considered the possibility that the creature would start making changes to his life, not that it would probably matter in the end anyway. Still, it did not excuse the creature from killing.

"There are ways to amuse yourself other than killing criminals."

The doppelganger nodded at the words, but his smirk did not disappear. It stood and walked towards Light, invading the teen�s personal space when it leaned closer. Their gazes locked and once more Light found himself unable to look away.

"Yes, there are other methods of amusing oneself, but you see, Light, I am bound by your nature through your memories and thoughts. Everything I do, I can only do when it coincides with your nature and character. I cannot amuse myself with computer games, theme parks or whatever else you humans create to stimulate interests, because it is not something you would do or even consider."

Light�s breathing was becoming heavier and shorter under the creature�s gaze. His next words carried heavy undertones of repressed anger, a fact the creature was sure to notice.

"Are you implying that I would find amusement in killing?"

The creature smirked at the teen and leaned even closer, until its mouth hovered close to his right ear. It was pride that kept Light from jerking his head away and iron will that stopped a shiver from taking him. The creature�s breath brushed lightly over his ear, and when it spoke the voice had a dark, low tone.

"Given the means, I believe you would"

The creature gradually stood, smirking down at the frozen Light before returning to the bed. Looking back the creature found Light seated with his head down, his hair covering his eyes and face. Light�s hands were clasped tightly together, knuckles turning white with tension.

A soft knock came at his door, before Light�s mother carefully opened it and peeked in.

"Light, honey, dinner is ready."

At the doppelganger�s nod she retreated, closing the door softly and returning downstairs. The doppelganger stood and glanced once more at Light who had yet to move. Without another thought the doppelganger left the room and walked downstairs to the dining room, leaving Light to his own dark thoughts.

Light was thoroughly shocked at the doppelganger�s words. Was there truth to the creatures accusation? Did he have the potential to be a cold-blooded killer? Yes, Light had thought often enough that the world would be better off without certain people, but would he kill them if he had the ability? That would make him a hypocrite, a characteristic that Light abhorred.

What did the creature know of it? What cause did it have to speak the truth when it found amusement in the spinning of lies? This game was one of lies and deceit; could he trust the words of such a creature?

Despite the untrustworthy nature of the doppelganger, the seeds of doubt had been sown and were being nurtured by Light's questioning and analytical mind. If there was one thing that Light was unused to, it was self-doubt. To experience it now only fed the steadily growing fire of hatred for the doppelganger.

Light sulked for the remainder of the evening, completely ignoring the doppelganger when it returned from dinner.

His sulking continued well into the next day as his doppelganger left for school. Light obediently followed, though he distantly wondered why. He had no obligation to follow the creature around, after all, and would only later reluctantly admit to himself that he did it out of curiosity. That night the doppelganger killed five more criminals, their identities gathered from various sources - newspapers, television, radio, the internet and even Light�s father�s case notes.

Light could only watch dispassionately his double�s actions, concerned at the apathy with which he viewed the deaths and the unpleasant self-doubt he had to deal with because of it. Light could voice no more objections, lest it give cause for the creature to accuse him of other atrocious things.

A full week passed in such a manner. The doppelganger went to school like the dutiful son and student, only to vent his boredom later in the evening through the killing of criminals. Light was alarmed to see the increasing amount of victims, concerned mostly with the knowledge that the sheer number of deaths must have already caught the attention of the police and higher authorities.

The doppelganger was putting his life in a very dangerous and difficult position. The only comfort he had was that there was no evidence to incriminate him at all. The likelihood of anybody figuring out that a demon posing as a seventeen-year-old Japanese student was murdering criminals merely by commanding their deaths was so far off the scale of impossible that it was almost depressing.

It was late into the following week that the first news story was broadcasted that directly connected the series of deaths. The television in Light�s room was turned on as was customary, the doppelganger busily typing away at the computer while Light watched.

- "Last night in a prison in western Tokyo, thirty-two year old Kurotsukayama Naoki, was reported to have died from a sudden heart attack. Kurotsukayama had been convicted of several cases of armed robbery and can now be counted amongst the casualties of the continuous strange phenomenon of dying inmates." �

The soft �ah� that escaped the doppelganger caught Light�s attention immediately, though he was careful not to let any of his curiosity show. The doppelganger leaned back in the chair, quiet chuckles escaping him while his eyes flew over the screen.

Light was definitely curious now, but pride would not allow him to ask what the creature was so happy about. Thankfully the doppelganger seemed unable to keep his excitement to itself for it turned to Light soon enough, still laughing softly. Its eyes shone with something akin to childish pleasure, a sight that was out of place on the face of normally stoic Light Yagami�s face.

"I have a name."

Light frowned but the creature did not elaborate and simply kept laughing softly to itself. It would appear that the creature was taken by the childish urge to keep all the information secret until the other begged to hear it. Unwilling to play such a silly game but very curious by now, Light was hard-pressed to keep his silence.

As he had hoped, the creature was the first to break, indicating to the computer screen as he began to explain.

"Here, see?"

Light stood casually and strode over to the desk, leaning over the creature�s shoulder to look at whatever the creature had indicated.

"Hm. The legend of Kira � Our saviour?"

The doppelganger nodded gleefully, eyes once more riveted to the screen.

"It�s about me. They are calling me Kira, a god. Imagine that!"

"Kira, huh? I suppose it is derived from the english word �killer�. That is appropriate enough, but to call you a god? The idiocy of such a statement is truly incomprehensible. People will just about believe anything."

�Kira�, as the doppelganger could now be called, seemed unfazed by Lights derisive comments and continued scanning through pages dedicated to the support of the Kira phenomenon. Barely two weeks and already Kira had a growing fanbase. It made Light sick to think about the amount of support a murderer was getting, even as a part of him rejoiced at the culling of criminals and other scum from society.

The hypocrisy that was a part of human nature was made clearly visible in these Kira supporters. If anyone were to ask any of the people behind these anonymous internet names what their view of Kira was, most of them would probably publicly denounce him as evil, while secretly rallying behind him. It was the law of society that required people to hide their true opinions and thoughts beneath a socially acceptable fa�ade of good will and righteousness.

Light grudgingly admitted to himself that, had the creature not chosen to reveal itself to him, he would have been one of Kira�s silent supporters. He would most likely have taken the side of justice and condemned Kira while urging him to continue to kill. His own hypocrisy was the worst and the most disgusting of all, a deep and ugly wound in his pride, a flaw in his personality.

Light stumbled back, a hand covering his face as he tried to fend off the nausea that threatened to take him. A sudden break in the tireless noise of the television caught both Light's and Kira�s attention. A blue screen proclaiming an "interruption for a special broadcast" was flashing, before it turned over to the news presenter.

- "We would like to apologise for the interruption. As of now we are bringing you a live worldwide broadcast of Interpol�s ICPO. It looks like they are ready to begin. We take you live.." �

Light was watching the news intently now, while Kira turned back to the computer to continue soak up the praise offered him by various anonymous Kira supporters.

- "I head up an international police task force which includes all member nations. I am Lind L. Tailor, otherwise known by the codename �L�." �

Light sat forward in surprise, catching Kira�s attention and drawing it to the broadcast.

- "Criminals around the world are being murdered by a serial killer. I consider this crime to be the most atrocious act of murder in history and entirely unforgivable. I will not rest until the person or persons responsible are brought to justice. Kira! I will hunt you down, I will find you." -

Light glanced over at Kira when the demon started laughing once more, uncertain as to what it found so amusing in this situation.

- "Kira, I�ve got a pretty good idea of what your motivation might be and I can guess what you hope to achieve. However what you are doing right now is evil." -

And still the demon laughed.

"What do you think, Light? These humans believe I am a god, a saviour, and then this man comes and calls me evil. I should kill him don�t you think? Show my people a public example of my power, and then there can be no doubt as to my divinity!"

Light stared at the self-proclaimed god in shock. A few idiots sing his praises and now Kira believes himself to be divine?

"Don�t be a fool!" he snapped back at the creature.

Surely it would not make such a stupid move?

"Die!"

Kira all but sang the word, grinning maniacally at the doomed man. Soft snickers echoed through the room as the man on the screen, this Lind L Tailor, suddenly clutched at his chest before collapsing.

"You fool!"

Light had barely gritted the words out when the screen changed once more, boldly displaying the letter "L" in gothic script. Kira�s glee was short lived as it curiously watched once more.

- "I can�t believe it�" -

The harsh, synthetic, computerised voice grated on Light�s nerves almost as much as the creature's voice did, and alerted him to the fact that whoever was behind the voice was bad news.

"I tested it just in case but� I had never thought it could actually be true. Kira, it appears that you need not be physically present to kill people. I would not have believed such a thing if I had not just witnessed it. Listen carefully, Kira: if you are the one who killed Lind L. Tailor, I can tell you that he was a criminal whose execution was scheduled for today. That was not me. Tailor was captured in absolute secrecy, so there was no way you could have known of him from either the internet or the media. It seems that even you do not have the access to this kind of information." -

Kira and Light continued to watch in stunned silence.

"As for L, he does exist as my own persona. Now try and kill me!"

"Go on then!"

"Hurry up!"

"Kill me!"

"Well Kira, this L is making a fool out of you in public. Aren�t you going to kill him?"

Light�s tone was sarcastic but he was beginning to wonder why the demon didn�t just kill this person.

"I can�t."

Light blinked at the confession before narrowing his eyes at the double once more.

"What do you mean you can�t?"

"What�s wrong? Kill me!"

Kira shrugged, irritation clear to see on his face.

"I can only kill those whose face I have seen and whose name I know"

Light turned his attention back to the television. The voice was still taunting the "demi-god".

- "What�s the matter? Can�t you do it?"

"So it seems you can�t kill me."

Light scoffed at Kira.

"So much for being a god."

Kira glared briefly at Light before turning his attention back to the L on the screen.

"So there are certain people you can�t kill. Thanks for the hint. As a reward I will tell you one more thing. We lied about this being a worldwide broadcast. This announcement is currently only being broadcasted across the Kanto region of Japan. We were planning to broadcast it at different times across different regions, but it seems there is no longer any need for this. I know you�re in Kanto."

Damn it! Why did Kira have to go and do something so stupid? This wasn�t good for either of them. Even if Light managed to win this game, at this rate, he would be stuck in a different kind of hell: prison. Actually this didn�t negatively affect the doppelganger at all. Light was the one who would bear all the consequences should he survive while the demon would simply return to his non-existence and possibly torment another bored individual.

- "Your first killing was overlooked by the police as it was such a small incident. However, your first true victim was in fact the Phantom Killer in Shinjuku. Whilst other high profile criminals were dying of heart attacks, this was the one incident that stuck out as being quite a heavy punishment for a relatively low-profile crime. In addition, this incident was only reported within Japan. Just those pieces of information were enough for me to figure it out. It means that you are in Japan and that that criminal was your first experiment." -

This L guy was brilliant, and it irked Light a great deal. This was his life on the line it did not bode well to have someone like this �L� on his tail; it did not bode well at all.

- "Due to its large population, this broadcast was aired first in the Kanto region, and what luck! We found you! To be honest I never thought it would go this smoothly. Kira, it seems that it won�t be too long before I can sentence you to death. I�m curious to know your true motives behind this�but I guess that can wait until I�ve caught you. Let�s meet again soon Kira." �

In the silence that followed L�s closing statements, Light and Kira shared a glance.

Screw prison. His only hope of returning to a normal life was rapidly fading away. To be executed.

Executed.

Like a criminal.

Slowly a wicked smile crossed Kira�s face, matching Light�s own growing exhilaration. The game�s stakes had been upped, failure was now so much more damning and therefore unacceptable. They now had a common enemy, doppelganger and human, against which to play. There was no time for boredom now. Like it or not, Light had to ally himself to the demon or else kiss his life and pride good-bye.

TBC.
- 1
- 2
- 3
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

A Doppelganger\'s Bet