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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
- 4
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Chapter Four

The first clue that all was not what it should be was when Kira returned to an empty home. Sachiko had always made a point of being home before the rest of the family started to arrive from their various daily routines and would usually alert them if she would not. This rather strange deviation from the norm created a feeling of unease, one that only ever came to him with unexpected change. Kira made no outward sign of discomfort, pulling out his key and entering the house. Light followed slowly after, eyes roaming the hall for anything that appeared out of place.

Finding none, he continued up the stairs behind Kira. It was the subtle tension of his double�s shoulders that alerted him that something had been found. The hand clasping the door handle pushed down on it slowly before opening it. The little piece of paper that acted as a decoy to the real trap fluttered uselessly to the ground, largely ignored by both doppelganger and poltergeist.

Light made no attempt to engage Kira in conversation nor asked for the reason for his sudden silence. Light had seen the broken lead, and though he could not have known that the handle had been tampered with, he had proof enough. Someone had entered his room while Kira had been attending school. Considering that the little paper had been replaced confirmed that it had been neither Sachiko nor Sayu to trespass, which made it all the more suspicious.

Ignoring Kira as said creature flopped onto his bed, Light began to survey his room. In light of the discovery that they were being followed, Light could not discard the idea that whomever had entered had been under the instruction of L. Light had yet to mention the stalker to Kira but had decreased any communication between the two of them except for in crowded and noisy surroundings. If Kira had noticed, he had not commented on it.

However it appeared that Raye must have seen or heard something that had prevented Kira from clearing suspicion. The fact that Light himself could not say when they had acquired their stalker weighed heavily on his mind. There could have been many an instance when Kira had spoken with him in public or in general earshot of the one following them. To not have fully considered the repercussions of speaking in public should they be overheard irked Light into a furious tirade against his own foolishness.

In certain situations it was normal, but generally speaking to oneself or to thin air was considered a sign of questionable mental health. L was surely aware though that Kira�s power could not function outside of the supernatural. Therefore it was logical that L would interpret any stated comments of his habit of speaking to himself in a supernatural light, or attribute it to possible symptoms of insanity to be considered when profiling Kira.

That was not to say that Agent Raye had actually witnessed or heard the conversations conducted between human and creature, it was merely the most logical conclusion considering that they were being investigated even more thoroughly. Whatever Raye had said in his report, L had felt that it was enough evidence to merit further inquiry.

Spotting the first camera, Light was made aware of just how much L suspected him. Glancing at Kira whom had yet to move from the bed, Light moved closer to examine the camera. It was small and well hidden, providing a good view of his desk. If there was one camera, there was bound to be more.

"Cameras. It would seem we are being investigated."

Kira sat up, passing a hand quickly through his hair in a gesture meant to convey a sense of boredom and a little fatigue. Standing he walked over to the closet and extracted a jacket, clearly getting ready to go out. Light, with a last glance to the one camera he had managed to find, followed his double out.

They walked in silence for a while, Light thinking on the situation as he considered Kira�s back. Anger was slowly starting to roll off of Kira in slow intense waves. His doppelganger was not happy, no doubt about the fact that Light had not revealed vital information that concerned the both of them. There was no doubt in Light�s mind that Kira was of a competitive nature and therefore could not stand having missed something that could very well spell the end of the game before it�s time.

Light himself was not sure whether to look on the recent findings favourably or otherwise. It all depended on L�s mind and what he or she made of any evidence that was gathered. If L did consider that some external supernatural force was somehow guiding or using Kira, it could well be manipulated to the revelation that Kira was not in fact Light. If L considered that Kira was potentially insane, well, that would only make it harder if not impossible to convince the detective that Light and Kira were not one and the same.

"You are playing a dangerous game, Light Yagami"

The words were breathed out softly but with much venom contained therein, nearly impossible for even Light to hear close as he was to the creature, much less any stalker that may still be lurking around. The malice directed at him made Light pause for a second. Light was not all that familiar by the ways of the doppelganger, but basing the idea on what he knew, it appeared as if Kira was loosing sight of the original game.

The game had been offered on the basis that they were both bored individuals and it had seemed for a time that Kira was intent on destroying Light�s ordered world as far as he could. Now it was as if Kira was taking things a lot more personally and seriously. Was it perhaps the elevation to godhood by the foolish and unsuspecting followers of Kira that had caused the shift? To fool thousands into believing that one was a god, to be worshipped and admired could inflate anyone�s ego to indescribable and apocalyptic proportions. If Kira�s attentions were expanding from playing a simple (though highly unfair) game to world domination, then the situation was degenerating at an alarming rate and putting a lot more at stake.

If things continued as it did, then it would not be just Light�s life being destroyed, but the lives of many thousands of innocents. What proved to be a terrible blow was the very fact that Kira was bound to his own morals, ideals and nature. Somewhere inside of himself, Light had the potential to destroy millions of lives without remorse, without any consideration or accountability to anyone but to himself.

"Perhaps you could enlighten me as to what you kept hidden from me?"

That hated voice, the same as his own, managed to divert his attention before Light was crushed by the weight of depression. He considered his words, knowing that he had to tread carefully. If he revealed Raye to Kira, the agent would no doubt be on the death list sooner rather than later. Having witnessed the gentle intimacy of the man and his bride to be, Light could find no favour in opening the way to death and heartache. They were innocents in this game, Raye an agent of the justice that Light had moulded himself by.

"We were being followed for an undetermined amount of time by an agent I suspect was working for L. Whatever gave cause for suspicion would have to have happened before I became aware of the stalker�s presence. I had monitored our routine and actions to ensure that nothing was out of place in your behavioural patterns that would lead to suspicion. If I had made you aware of the fact that we were being followed, you would no doubt have attempted to kill the agent thereby compromising us. For all purposes you had to appear unaware of the man�s presence, and you will remain ignorant as to his identity. Besides, he is no longer trailing us, I made a point to check as soon as we left the house."

Kira said no more as they walked; though Light was well aware that it was not the end of the story. It was more than likely that the killer did not speak further due to the fact that he was formulating new plans to counteract and use to his advantage this turn of events. When they returned to the house, by an unspoken agreement, Light began searching for all the cameras and bugs within his room. Kira meanwhile busied himself with his studies, the distant look in his eyes as he worked revealing to Light how little Kira was concentrating on the work before him.

Kira had not killed anymore criminals after the death of the teacher, his challenge delivered to L. There were hoaxes and false claims aplenty to fill this sudden gap in the killings, enough to keep the police busy. However, unless the killings started again with L baring witness to the fact that �Light� was doing nothing suspicious, the surveillance period could extend to unbearable lengths.

Light did not want the doppelganger to start killing again, but while it appeared that Kira in the guise of Light was concentrating on his upcoming exam it would perhaps be the most ideal time to reintroduce Kira�s judgement. As much as he hated to admit it, Light was not all that adverse to the killing of the criminals and could therefore without much difficulty use their deaths if only to give him a fighting chance of getting his life back.

Until Light knew more about L�s thought processes and deductions, it would do no good to have Kira captured just yet.

"Perhaps it would be beneficial to ease into killing criminals once more. If you were to start killing after the exam, it would imply that Kira was too busy studying to pass judgement. That in itself would only increase the suspicion against us."

Kira sighed quietly, rubbing at his eyes as if tired. Light knew it was a silent confirmation that Kira agreed, considering they were following identical thought processes. Killing would not entirely erase suspicions, but it would create a convincing alibi.

Kira leaned back in his chair, letting his head fall back so that his eyes could search the ceiling as if in thought. He sighed again, a frown creasing his brow contemplatively.

"I don�t get it. Why has Kira stopped killing?"

Those words, muttered as if to himself, were there to excuse the apparent distraction that plagued the teen from his studies. The diary that acted as a decoy to the secret hidden beneath the false bottom was filled with notes of the Kira investigation. Those whom had installed the cameras surely would have done a search, and if they had bothered to read the diary they would have assumed that he was conducting his own investigation into the Kira phenomenon. Surely if that was true he would question Kira�s apparent silence and be distracted by it.

If L or the police were unaware of his safeguard, such a question would not be seen as strange at all. Surely there were many people and criminals wondering the exact same thing.

Kira would start killing again, and though it could backfire on them, the alternative was just as uncertain.

()

It was with an expression of boredom that Kira entered the hall where the exams were to take place. Around him the atmosphere was thick with nerves and hushed voices. Some took their seats with confidence, others with much shuffling and twitching. Kira, shadowed by Light, found his seat and gracefully placed himself thereon. Light stood to his side, scanning the expanse of the room and the faces therein.

Light had been in a foul mood for the entirety of the morning, knowing that passing the exam was an important stepping stone in progressing with the life he had aimed himself for. To not be the one writing it but instead depending on an untrustworthy copy felt like cheating, and even if he passed, he could never say now that it was by his own accomplishment.

A hush fell over the hall's occupants, a sure sign that the exam was to begin. Light pulled back a little, wondering what he was going to do with his time. Watching someone writing an exam was no form of entertainment, and anything to distract his mind would have been more than welcome.

The distraction came in the form of a hunched man seated three tables behind Kira, whose dark and unrelenting gaze bore into said doppelganger�s back. Black hair stuck out haphazardly as though it had not been brushed for a long time and the clothes he wore was ill suited to him. That was hardly the extent of the dark haired man�s eccentricity. Despite his obvious European features, it was the man�s posture and manner of sitting that was the true distraction. Obviously Light wasn�t the only one to notice this as the other was reprimanded and told to be seated correctly.

Light would have snorted had he not noticed then that Kira and the stranger had found each other�s gaze. Light could feel the tension between the two, despite it being their first meeting. There was something about the man that made both Kira and his proverbial hackles raise.

Wanting to find out more, Light walked over to the hunched man, Kira�s eyes briefly flicking to him before turning back to the exam paper.

�Hideki Ryuuga�

This time Light did snort in incredulous surprise. This Ryuuga was as far from the famous star of the same name as was the east from the west, and the mere coincidence of it was absurd. Still what purpose did this man have in writing a false name?

Watching Ryuuga, Light was impressed by the seemingly effortless way the exam was being answered. Light recognised most of the questions and could answer all of them himself, so it came as somewhat a surprise that all of Ryuuga�s answers were correct. Hideki Ryuuga was another genius then and a potential rival.

To think that this freak of nature could possibly be up to par with his own mental capabilities and intelligence was unspeakably irritating and a little insulting. Perhaps it was his own pride and the fact that he had always been unrivalled in intelligence that made such judgement, though Light would never admit to such.

Light glared darkly at Ryuuga for the remainder of the exam even as Ryuuga watched Kira. There was something wrong with this man, and it had nothing to do with being a rival to his intelligence. His eccentric persona obviously hid a clever mind while being relatively inconspicuous. However seated like that, it was only due to the nature of the settings and the intense concentration directed at exam papers that �Ryuuga� managed to escape much notice from the students around him.

Perhaps it was another of L�s agents, for the way he watched Kira was unnerving at best, and very suspicious. Light had to blink when the end of the exam was announced. He had not been aware of the passing time, having been busy committing the man�s face to memory and analysing said man�s strange eccentricities.

With the rush of students making for the exit, Light lost sight of Hideki. Kira was one of the last to leave, taking his time so as not to be pressured by the others. As Kira turned to walk home, Light caught sight of Hideki Ryuuga skipping into a black car of expensive taste. He would have followed had he entertained the notion of being able to keep up with a car. He would perhaps not tire from the run, but he highly doubted he was that fast.

The eccentric man would not leave his thoughts for the remainder of the night, nor the weeks following. There had been something different, irritatingly so, about that man and the way he had watched Kira through the duration of the exam gave much food for thought. Light contented himself with the knowledge that they would see Ryuuga again, for with those grades he was sure to pass.

It was thus that Light was not surprised when he was notified that another would share the podium with him during the entrance ceremony speech. He had no doubt in his mind who this other person was, and he had yet to decide his thoughts on it.

TBC

Reviews are much loved and appreciated!

I am aware that some people find that this is basically a retelling of the original DN plot, and thus far it has been. However at this point in the story the story will be deviating more fully as most of the DN events cannot actually happen due to elements taken out. Just bare with me, you�ll see.
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A Doppelganger\'s Bet