Truth and Justice

Warnings for this chapter: Angst, Language, reference to N/C, Violence, WIP.
SPOILERS: All manga, all anime, L's true name, Another Note, Law and Right.

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Truth and Justice

Chapter 8: Silhouette

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It wasn't long before a second Death Note was in L's possession, locked away with Light's. Mikami's note had a crisp, black cover, with the same writing on it that Ryuk had put on Light's original Death Note.

"How many years were you buying him apples?" Light asked, shaking his head softly as Mikami's Death Note was locked away.

"He left just a few weeks before I became a prosecuting attorney, said he was going to find someone else to relieve his boredom," Mikami shrugged. "It was close to eight years."

"And I came forward as Kira just a little while later, didn't I?" Light shook his head. "Ryuk is really the one behind all this. It's a shame shinigami can't be punished."

"Rem died," L pointed out as he set up the security on the second Death Note. "It is possible to kill Ryuk."

"We know why Rem died," Light pointed out, pushing away from the wall he'd been leaning on. "Ryuk doesn't allow himself to form attachments to humans, so he can't be killed that way. It's the only way we know of, to kill a Shinigami."

"I'm willing to bet there's a ruler in the Shinigami realm," Mikami replied easily. "The only question would be, how do we attract the attention of that ruler? If Kira didn't interest him, what would?"

"There is no way to capture or contain a shinigami," L replied, pressing his thumb to his mouth as he turned away from the security system. "Because I know nothing of this shinigami ruler, I cannot suppose about what would attract its attention. For now, we must focus on the human offenders," his gaze settled on Mikami. "We will decide what to do about you at the end of the case. I will review your kills personally when this case is finished and made a decision on what to do then. Your assistance will, of course, be taken into consideration."

"You don't need to threaten me to get my assistance," Mikami replied mildly. "Have I not given you my Death Note already?"

"I was only attempting to be clear, not to threaten," L shrugged slightly.

"Either way, we need to get in touch with this girl. Would you happen to have her name?" Light turned his gaze to Mikami.

"I already have the name," L replied with a soft frown. "She is the one that took the photos that we have hanging in the living room."

"The silhouettes?" Light raised an eyebrow. "Who has the negatives for those?"

"I believe B has them," L flinched slightly when he watched Light go pale. "I've already taken precautions so that, in the event that B comes in contact with a Death Note, he can't kill us."

"The misspelling rule?" Mikami asked.

L nodded. "I misspelled our names twice, and had the original Watari do the same. We did it for the entire task force just before Near's arrest. You, me, Watari, Aiber, Wedy, Matsuda, Aizawa, Mogi, Mello, Matt and Near. I suppose, in hindsight, I should have done it for Near's Watari as well, but," he shrugged. "I will do the same for Mikami-san within the week."

"Do you have the eyes?" Light asked as they walked to the door.

"No. I had no need for them, and no desire to cut my life short," Mikami replied easily.

"Good. If you see anyone who resembles L outside this building, let us know as soon as you are able," Light opened the door, held it for him. "That is the only time you should contact us. We'll contact you for any further information you've managed to gather relevant to the case."

"And I am to return to my normal schedule, of course," Mikami nodded. "I understand, and will keep my questions quiet."

"Thank you. We'll be in touch," L replied, his gaze turning to Light as soon as Mikami left the building.

Light turned to him, started for the stairs. "This may have nothing to do with the Kira case."

"The fact that B may be in possession of the negatives is something very important. No matter how little or much that has to do with the Kira case, with your rape case, we must get these negatives from him," L replied firmly, walking up the stairs with him. "Our identities as L must remain secret."

"L... exactly what sort of evidence was left behind, from the rape?" Light asked softly, his gaze on the stairs as they ascended.

"You had showered after the fact, so the only uncontaminated evidence, and the only evidence we could find, was semen," L's hand found Light's, squeezed it softly. "The DNA was confirmed to be the same as the man who was convicted. It would be helpful if we knew how that evidence had been faked."

"I... will see if I can recall anything relevant," Light replied, though he felt as if a stone had been dropped into his stomach from the very idea. "Perhaps we should look into the people he was convicted of assaulting. One of them could have been the actual rapist. Or perhaps someone whose charges weren't brought up."

"Motive," L agreed. "We'll go over the police files."

When they reached the main floor, they settled into their seats and went to work on just that.

The dirt, the grime, the air thick with rain. Light knew it was another flashback, and instead of scrabbling to escape it, as he normally did, he focused on it. Concentrated on every sound, every movement his attacker made.

He shuddered when he felt his pants pulled down, his belt thrown to the side.

That was when he heard it. Like a wrapper being stepped on, or torn, the crinkle of foil. Like a condom wrapper. The sound of a plastic bag, and a few seconds of long silence.

When the rapist lowered over him again, he started clawing to escape the dream, screaming against the memory of such painful intrusion.

There were hands then, on him, holding him down. Someone's voice, he couldn't tell whose, couldn't hear of the rushing of his own blood in his ears. He was still screaming, pushing away, twisting, squirming, escaping!

Falling, with a thud, to the floor, still shaking, still struggling against the sheets that wrapped around him, even as his mind returned to the present. When he was free of the sheets, too, he stumbled to the bathroom, heaved over the toilet for a moment.

L joined him a few seconds later, kneeling at his side. "Are you all right?"

Something about it, Light knew immediately, had been worse. "I think so," he whispered, even as the scent hit him, and he knew exactly what had happened. What he'd done.

The last time he'd wet a bed, he'd been five. The humiliation of such a thing was nothing in the face of the terror, and in the face of the information. "I stayed in it. Made myself stay in it," he closed his eyes tightly as the images threatened to rush him again. "I think he used a condom. I heard a sound, like someone was opening one."

"That's very valuable information," L assured, "but you don't need to stay in the flashback now. You're here. With me, safe, locked behind several lines of security."

Light's mind had calmed, but his body had not. He was trembling uncontrollably as he slowly got up, pulled off his clothing and made it into the shower. He let L choose the temperature and gave himself a quick wash while L took care of the bed, then took his own turn in the shower.

Light was still trembling when they settled onto the couch for the rest of the night. It was eased a bit when he was wrapped with blankets, in his lover's arms. An hour later, he had managed to go still, and not long after he fell asleep again.

The next morning, Light had to explain why they had ordered a steam cleaner to be brought up. Surprisingly, Matt and Mello made no fuss over it, refrained entirely from teasing him about it and simply shrugged, heading back to their work. They had several small leads they were tracing, mostly Lidner's associates.

It was around noon that Light came up with a rather disturbing lead. He showed the image to L and had it confirmed, but he was pretty sure on his own that he was looking at B. Beyond Birthday. Quite possibly the man that raped him.

And that, L announced, made all the sense in the world. "B would have followed the Kira case closely once I signed on. He would have realized that you were about to defeat me, and chose that moment to defeat you. By defeating you, he defeated us both, in his mind."

"Now we just have to prove it was him," Light replied, sitting back and looking at the image on the screen, the numbers given for height, weight. "He's about big enough, and he didn't file a sexual assault charge against the one we thought raped me. The sexual assault charge was against B but later dropped. Probably after a few of his mob friends paid a visit."

"The yakuza is known for being ruthless like that," L agreed, pressing his thumb to his lips. "And he would have been in the mob at that point still. He's not quite as disfigured, but it matches the sketch provided to us by the mob boss, and the bone structure is similar enough that we can safely say there is an eighty percent chance that this person is B."

"Here's a question," Matt replied. "How would he have known the progress of the investigation? I mean, sure, you're hooked up to the internet, but the firewall is killer."

"He would have had a way," L replied quietly. "He would have known. His skills rival my own, especially in that area."

"He was from the orphanage?" Mello demanded, glancing over his shoulder.

"Not precisely. He was another child that Watari found. That child and I were both trained together, showed similar traits and abilities. We were nurtured, but I was slightly higher in most areas. His hacking skills were definitely better, and he was very good at deception, but other than that, I was able to beat his scores on all fronts."

"Even at tennis?" Light chuckled.

"Yes. Especially tennis. He was not good at physical activities," L recalled softly. "He had the muscle strength and reaction time, but his coordination was lacking."

"Which explains why I nearly got away. If he was the one that raped me," Light agreed, sighing weakly. "Now we just have to find him."

"Yes. I'll send this information to Near. It will be of interest to him, and possibly help his investigation into Kira," L nodded, turning to his computer and sending off two emails. One to Linda, with slightly inaccurate information, another directly to Near with the accurate data.

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A/N: And the plot thickens!