Chapter 1: Japan And The Crazy People In It
Notes:
~: About
USD: United States Dollar
1 USD($) ~ 108.85 Japanese Yen(¥); 1 Pound Sterling(£) ~ ¥151.86; £1 ~ $1.40Edit: There really aren't any changes, just a number change to account for the time skip, but I am working on the next chapter. I've always had it as a draft but I've honestly never had motivation to keep writing publicly for a long time. I think y'all can tell, but I am American, I just write weird ig
Edit 2: just formatting changes, but i've brought chap 2 up from 800 words to 3.5k so it will be out eventually
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Of course, when Beyond Birthday had snuck onto a plane, he didn't exactly know where he was headed. He just knew that he was leaving Los Angeles and that he was escaping L, who seemed to always be at least one step away from his tail.
BB cursed as he left the plane, stepping into the Tokyo Airport. He didn't know Japanese- no, scratch that. He didn't know enough Japanese. He didn't know how to read it or speak it enough to have a conversation and he certainly didn't know anybody who lived there. The man had to suppress a wry smile.
He just held his head high and refused to talk to anyone until he got out of the stuffy airport. Beyond knew that not everyone in Japan could speak and understand English, much less fluently but he would have to try. He didn't fancy having to speak to people in English until he found someone to help him. He cringed at the thought of getting help but it was the only thing that he could do for now. He regretted not learning Japanese while he was at Wammy's with A and L (even though A is dead and therefore has no need for Japanese).
He screwed his jaw tight as he found a bench and sat on it. He was outside and Beyond could breathe but he would have to get up and find some place to stay and soon.
He sighed as he opened his phone, opening a map to find the closest thing to the airport. He found a mall that he could stop at and try to find someone. It was half a kilometer away so it wasn't too much of a walk though he wished he could take a train. He didn't have a train pass though so he couldn't just get on without one even with his stealthy skills. He just stood and followed the map on his phone.
As he walked through a crowd, he was itching to pull out the pocket knife on him and brutally stab somebody that was too close to him. He ended up accidentally pushing a kid down, causing the child to burst out in loud sobs. The mother glared at him and the father seemed as if he was waiting for Beyond to say something or walk away. He didn't bother looking up for their names.
He was caught in an awkward situation and his own panic was kicking in just as a young man came over and easily attracted their attention. "I'm so very sorry for my friend. He hasn't outside his house in a very long time. He lives a very sheltered life. I assure you that he is very apologetic and had no malicious intents." The teen said. Beyond had no clue what he was saying but he knew he was being talked about and he had said something to calm the parents down judging by their faces as they scooped up their kid and left.
Beyond looked above his head. Light Yagami, it read. Light had 70 odd years before his death. Light studied his face before leading him into a place with less people. Beyond knew he would have to thank the kid by doing something. "Do you understand me when I speak like this?" Light asked. Beyond nearly melted from relief. He nodded hastily. "Oh, that's good. I don't know what I'd do if you didn't speak English." Beyond was told.
"I'm just glad that you speak English. I need... help." Beyond said, mouth souring at the words he spoke. He never liked asking for help, even if it was an act.
Light snorted. "Well, obviously. I can bring you to my house for a little while and you can stay the night. I can tell them that you're a friend. Since you're just a smidgen taller than I am, I can give you clothes that I have to grow into and you can use my shower."
Beyond nodded. This kid would be a very valuable part in his stay at Japan, he could tell. Light already had a foolproof plan just from a couple minutes of meeting each other. He couldn't say that he wasn't impressed at Light's quick thinking.
The older wondered just how old and smart the other was. "Oh, I'm Light Yagami, by the way. What's your name?
"My name is Beyond Birthday." He wondered if the kid would think it to be an alias of some sort. Light mulled over the information before reaching a mental conclusion and nodding. "You'll need an alias while you stay here or my father will attempt to arrest you."
"Wait, what?" Beyond certainly didn't know how Light knew who he was so quickly, and he certainly didn't expect Light to still keep the offer up much less help him hide.
"You're around your mid-twenties, right? And you were the killer for the LA BB case in California? L will find you in two seconds if you don't hide yourself well."
"How did you know about that case, L, and more importantly, about me?" Beyond wonders if he should be worried that Light will manipulate him first or if he should just try to find another plan to go with. He supposes that it would be safer to go with the latter in order to get what he needs. Maybe he'll try to become friends with Light to be able to escape, though he didn't know how long he would be staying nor how long gaining Light's friendship will take.
"My father is chief of the police and detective agencies here so I learn a couple things. I'm also watching L. Because you ran away, he might take new cases while thinking of how to trap and catch you. I've narrowed the cases to five possible cases he might take while you are hiding and so far, I've always been right. I'm also looking into his real identity and name and such." Light rambled.
"Terrifying kid."Beyond muttered under his breath in German. Light just shrugged as if he understood but didn't mention anything about it. "Should we start going to my house? I'll give you an alias on the way there. Do you have a good memory?"
"Perfect, in fact." The still-disguised man gloated. Light perked up at that. "I do, too! I haven't met anyone with a perfect memory until you!" The older sweat-dropped as he thought he could see an auburn-coloured dog tail wagging in happiness behind him with dog ears perched high on his head, facing toward him in interest.
He supposed that until he knew the kid well, he couldn't get a leg up on him so his newly-formed plan with getting Light to be his friend will have to suffice until he can form a better plan. Light reminded Beyond Birthday of A, in a sick, twisted way. They nearly had the same, brighter, tone of brown hair, and Beyond had to stop himself from patting the head of Light or doing something he would've done to his ex-boyfriend. Beyond could admit that Light's appearance was pleasing to the eyes but he held no sort of feelings for Light, except for maybe surprise. (Besides, he wasn't a pedophile.)
Beyond shook away his thoughts of A. It would only make him more depressed. If Light noticed his sudden odd behaviour, he was glad that the teenager had thought better of involving himself in the serial killer's personal affairs and just started walking in a direction that Beyond would just have to assume lead to the house he would be staying over at for a couple nights, or longer. Beyond hummed a random tune to himself as they walked and they stopped at a place nearby a neighbourhood. Light turned to him and cleared his throat. "I've made up a name and it is Yeong-Su Dang. Yeong-Su means eternal lifespan and Dang means sugar. The name is Korean. Is that a suitable alias?"
Beyond nodded and let Light lead him into the gate surrounding the home then into the two-story building. Light walked in, looked around, then quickly went up the stairs to his room with Beyond following on his heels. Once they reached his room successfully without getting spotted, Beyond sat at the chair at the desk and Light sat on his bed. "Now, in order for you to be able to separate from me, you'll have to learn Japanese. Are you a quick learner?"
"Yes, I am. Are you going to teach me it yourself or are you going to give me a book on how to learn Japanese and let me figure it out by myself?"
"Both. I'll print papers for you then I'll teach you how to speak it because then at least you'll know how to read and write Japanese by then. I'll also probably say phrases once you've learned something at certain points and I'll have you tell me what they mean. Plus, having you around means that my mother can't get mad at me for bringing over a friend without telling her prior to your visit because you aren't stupid in the slightest bit, in any aspect."
"Lucky you. I'm glad that you have my future planned out."
"Only for as long as two weeks. I was thinking of your stay while we were walking to my house. I'm guessing that things are going very quickly. Is your thought process slowed?"
"Just a little." Beyond admitted. Light nodded. "Hopefully by tomorrow, you'll be fine. Do you want my bed or do you want a tatami mat?"
"Tatami." The answer came quickly. Beyond didn't want to sleep in the same bed that an untrustworthy person slept in, even if he had no clue what a tatami mat was. He still couldn't help at how the more humane part of himself was a little creeped out at the Japanese standard of politeness and friendliness. Honestly, helping out a serial killer while your father is chief of police. This kid has got to have a screw loose somewhere. Light just shrugged and went to his closet, pulling out a tatami mat and laid it on the ground, getting a blanket and a small pillow and placing the neatly folded items on top of it. Light went back to the closet, digging around in the hung clothes and pulled out his larger clothes, setting it prettily by the blanket and pillow. Beyond would have to be careful around Light.
6 months later; October 6th
Beyond had successfully been able to stay with the Yagamis and was able to quickly learn Japanese, not needing his disguise while he was with them. While he still isn't completely fluent quite yet, needing another two weeks, he was able to hold a conversation in Japanese. With how often he was using it, he was using it a lot more often than he used English now.
"Flighty Lighty~!" Beyond sang, skipping himself into the 17 year old. They both fell onto the ground, Light with a groan and Beyond with a nearly maniacal laugh. Light shoved Beyond off of him and stood, brushing himself off. "Yeong-Su, I told you to stop doing that." Light groaned. Beyond just laughed in response and bounced back up, ignoring the glares at having disrupted people's peace. Since they practically lived together, they never opted to use any sort of suffix to each other's names. It was better that way, they decided.
Light held his bag close to him, always having a hand on it and his other hand was preoccupied by a paper that Beyond could deduce the contents on it. Beyond scowled at his hand, Light sighing at his glare. "I hate how your mom just doesn't give a single shit about your mental health. By this point, she should know that you don't get any grade less than perfect marks."
"And I've moved on from trying to get love from my parents. I don't care." Light said and started their walk back home. The older brunette quickly took after Light, not willing to get left behind. He still had some sort of lingering thoughts and feelings that L was out to get him and was watching behind his back, silently waiting to strike and pull him away from his perfect opportunity (and felt like A was disappointed in him but he doesn't talk about that-). Once they reached the house, Light greeted his mother with his usual fake smile for her and passed her the paper. She smiled and left to the phone, Light and Beyond going to Light's room without a sound.
"Beyond, I want to show you something..." Light said. Beyond felt something strange from the request and looked up to check at Light's name. He froze as he stared at it. It was only Light's name. His lifespan was gone and the only lifespan he could never see was his own and people who were already dead. He stared slightly horrified at Light and while the young university student obviously noticed, he didn't mention anything about Beyond looking above his head. Light pulled out a black, leather-bound book from his bag that he always was required to bring to school and showed the front to Beyond. The older brunette choked on a breath and Light hummed. "I think that it's a joke but it gives me a bad feeling so it's hard to really say. I saw it fall from the sky."
"Light... I don't think that it's a joke." Beyond said, trying not to gasp on his own breath again. Light immediately shifted into a more serious mindset. He always took Beyond's words seriously when Beyond used his actual name rather than a stupid nickname he had come up with on the fly. "What's your reason?"
"I'm not ready to tell you that. Give me a couple more months and I'll give you my answer then if it hasn't proved itself already."
"Will there be another chance for you to tell me if it does, then? Or is it a one time thing?"
"If you're with me before I die, I'll tell you." Beyond joked and Light rolled his eyes.
"Should I think this to be a yes?" Light half-sighed as he asked. Beyond smirked as he stared at Light. "You already know the answer to that, my dear." Light had to stop himself from rolling his eyes in exasperation again.
"Whatever, beloved." Light teased, although unintentionally. Beyond's grin became impossibly wider at the jab and seemed both surprised and as if he had expected Light to do that. Beyond cackles at Light's sudden flush of embarrassment and struggle to explain. He ended up pouting and turning away, refusing to look at the darker brunette. Beyond smirked as he stopped laughing and wrapped an arm around Light's shoulders. "Now, now, Lighty dear, I know that you love me." He cooed disgustingly sweetly, getting in Light's personal space even more. Light just jabbed him in the neck and Beyond relented, backing away from the teenager.
Light usually had the T.V. in his room turned to the news and it was mainly used only for background noise and the occasional entertainment for BB (which only peaked his interest when there was a story about a murder, something almost equally as bad, or worse) though this time, there was a news article being addressed about world-famous detective L coming to Japan for the rumour of visiting family, which caught a strangled laugh from Beyond. "L doesn't have family. He's an orphan." He voice sounded strained as he fought with his anxiety (he would never admit he had anxiety but A, L, and Light have got him all figured out). Light looked at the screen with both childish excitement at possibly meeting his idol and indifference at how L makes Beyond feel. Light's had the unfortunate luck of growing close and befriending the murderer, after all.
'How Light achieved such a face is one of the seven wonders of the world', Beyond surmised, trying to distract himself from thinking about his impending doom. Light turned off the T.V. and got up to turn off the bedroom lights only for Beyond to hold onto his wrist. "Stay." Beyond uttered that word in such a quiet voice that it sounded almost violent, in a way. Light just nodded and sat back down again. "Light, he hasn't seen my real appearance in a long time. Do you think he remembers what I look like? Will he take me away and I will never see anybody again? Will everyone leave me just like A did?"
"No, I won't leave you like A did," Light answered, despite having no clue who A was. "Nobody will take you away and lock you up, I'll make sure of it."
"Are you sure?" His voice seemed distant but not like he was about to cry. Beyond has only ever cried once and he vowed to never cry again and he has kept to it for this long, there was no way he was about to break his self-promise now. Crying was annoying anyway and it gave him a headache afterward, based from the only time he cried.
"Dead serious, Beyond Birthday. Nothing will happen intentionally while I do everything in my power to prevent it." Light said in a firm voice. Beyond just shuddered in relief and nodded. "Light.."
"Hush. Do you want to sleep? I'll wake you up for dinner."
"Yes... That would be optimal for me." He mumbled just loud enough for Light to hear. The black Death Note was laid under papers and the Japanese student went to the closet to get the self-warming tatami mat and the weighted blanket that he himself had used on occasion. He plugged in the tatami and laid it down perfectly, handing the blanket to the English man who took it and quickly curled up like a cat on the warm, comfortable, safe contraption, pulling the heavy blanket over his head.
"Beyond, I'm going to get some food. What would you like to eat?"
"Jam..." Beyond muttered. Light hummed in acknowledgement at the request and leaves the room, leaving the door cracked open a tad bit so that Beyond could hear what is happening. Light's footsteps pattered down to a soft thud against the wooden floors of the kitchen, hearing the fridge door open, a glass jar clinking, and plastic scraping along plastic. The door closed and a drawer is opened, metal tapping metal and the drawer shuts; the footsteps get louder as Light comes back to the room. The bedroom door closes, Light stepping to the mass hidden under the blanket and he taps on the ground, a popping-hiss sound fills his ears for a second as the jar of jam is opened and Beyond sits up, keeping the blanket around his shoulders as he devours the strawberry jam that Light had been stocking up on.
Light goes to his desk and turns on his laptop before setting his own food down, a salad, and placing the silver fork on top of the plastic that preserved it. Light logged into his laptop, turning down the brightness and searching up the news station and the rumoured articles about L coming into country. He realised that L wasn't just anywhere in Japan, he was in the Kanto region and it seemed as if he wasn't going to stop searching for Beyond, even if the case had happened over half a year ago.
Light was just going to have to protect Beyond with everything he has in his arsenal (which wasn't a lot and there was no way he was using the Death Note on L of all people). Light uncovered the Death Note from the papers and opened it, reading the rules as he closed his laptop again. The Death Note was real, proven by BB (who has never been wrong for as long as Light has known him), and it had a corrupting influence, from what Light feels just looking at it. He was just going to have to find another use for it if he was ever going to use it (probably not).
10 days later; October 16th
A shinigami by the name of Ryuk had shown himself on the fifth day of Light having the Death Note, claiming that Light was interesting as he had never seen a human keep the Death Note that long and not use it even once as a test. Light had just shrugged, fully expecting something or someone supernatural showing themselves as the owner of the notebook since Beyond had already confirmed its existence as something to not mess around with. BB stopped Light from even thinking about using it and he automatically shut down Ryuk's attempts at getting the auburn-haired teen to write in the book. Ryuk claimed he only stuck around because they were interesting to watch; they both easily caught the lie about being interesting to watch. Light wouldn't doubt if it was because of the apples.
Beyond had pushed the thought of L to the back of his mind, though he could never exactly forget. Light grinned internally as he left the school. Today was the last day for the third term, getting off school sooner than the other schools do for the younger students. Now he could be focused on something else. Beyond tackled him like always but this time he seemed a bit more tense. "L's here. I heard him at your house and I saw Whammy outside the window." Beyond spoke quickly. Light stiffened. "Wait, what? Why was he at my house? Did he see you? Do you know if you were mentioned?" Light shot questions at him like a machine gun and Beyond had to cover Light's mouth to be able to answer them.
"Yes, really. I think it is because your father is the chief; it would've happened sometime anyway. No, he didn't see me but he discussed placing bugs in the house so that his family will be quote, "kept safe", unquote. I think he might have a suspicion I'm here and he wanted to manipulate your father into it. Soichiro fucking agreed to it, dammit. But no, I wasn't mentioned by anyone. Your mother and sister are out shopping and your father was purely business-like with him, not bringing up his family unless L had brought it up first." The dark brunette explained and then some. Light nearly sighed in relief before stiffening. "Wait, bugs? We'll have to find a new place for you, and soon. There's no doubt that he will place cameras as well and he will most definitely recognise your voice. Have you been working?"
"Yeah, I got promoted many times very quickly. I mean, they are pretty gullible. I'm just too smart for them." Beyond gloated. Light rolled his eyes and patted the older's cheek in an imitation of an action performed on a child. Beyond pouted and Light had to repress the urge to roll his eyes again. Beyond grabbed his hand and started skipping to home. Light quickened his pace as to not get pulled along and followed him to his house like always. Now that Beyond knew the road to his house by heart, he was always the one leading the way to the modest house.
"Light, will you help me find a place I can stay? I don't want one too far from work or you." Beyond said in occasional seriousness. Light nodded, "I'll find an apartment for you. That way you won't have to spend as much yen and you can save up to get an actual house. You should also probably live in one of the special wards, though you might have to ask for a job transfer, unless you take the train since you can't exactly walk."
"I want something as close to the city as possible, since that's where you are. I might as well convert my England money into Japanese money but I have a feeling that L is monitoring my bank account so I would have to open a new one."
"I already have a new one under your alias in the bank I use. Currently, you have about 30'000 yen in it right now. I haven't had time to tell you." Light said.
"Jesus, Light. Next thing you'll tell me is that you've got a million pounds at home just waiting for me." He huffed and Light raised his eyebrows in amusement. They entered the house silently, knowing that L would've put bugs at whatever place he sat and seeing as how Beyond wasn't found, Light can safely assume that no bugs had been placed in his room yet. Light went up to his room carefully going inside and checking the mechanism on his door to see it still in place. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief and went in, motioning for Beyond to follow, which he did silently. The teenager closed and locked his door, turning to Beyond, who already pulled out the tatami mat and was laying on his side, an elbow propping up his head and a hand on his hip. Beyond smirked at Light's exasperated face and shifted to lay on his stomach. "So, what's the plan?" Beyond whispered.
"I'll look for houses, a car, a phone, and an apartment in Nerima-ku so that you can contact me and your workplace and you can drive to and fro. It shouldn't be that expensive for you if you used pounds but it's pretty damn expensive in yen. We can shop for your necessities, like food and toiletries, at Daiso." Light whispered back. Beyond nodded and was handed a couple pieces of paper and a pencil. "Write what you need first then the things you want to have, like soda." Light told him quietly. The darker brunette nodded and promptly went to work, writing down strawberry jam as his first necessity. Light didn't even comment on the start of the list.
Light went to find apartments on his school laptop, not bothering on his personal laptop. The school laptop will end up reclaimed to someone else in the next year anyway and it gets totally reset with new cartridges while the old ones get destroyed. He ended up finding a good apartment for ¥63'855 a month in Nerima-ku close to the edge of the special ward and a small car that would serve its purpose and wouldn't take too much money to refill the car's tank. He hid the tabs and closed the laptop lid, setting the school-issued laptop in the specialized bag. He checked the time and grimaced. It was later than he usually goes to bed. Beyond was still working, though so he decided to leave him to it. "I'm going to sleep. Stay quiet. I don't know how good the range and recording skills of those bugs in the living room are." Light warned. Beyond rolled his eyes but nodded, staying silent as he flipped the fourth page onto the back so he could write down more things he wanted, since he already gave the one-and-a-half back-to-back pages to Light, who hid it in the same place as the Death Note after skimming over the list and going back to looking at apartments, cars, and phones for Beyond, who would input his own desires.
Ryuk watched the humans in interest at how fast they worked and how efficiently terrifying they are. He shivered in both the excitement for the outcome of this and slight fear at how smart they are together. He could feel that he'd regret if he made them mad, even if they can't physically harm him. Ryuk let an ugly grimace take over his face at the ideas that sprung up into his head at the possibilities they would use against him. There would probably be worse outcomes than what he was thinking of. The shinigami shuddered at his own thoughts and went back to watching the humans. Light had gone to sleep so he was hovering over B's list of wants. The shinigami-eyed mortal turned and glared at Ryuk, who jumped up and away from the skull-piercing gaze. The dark shinigami wasn't necessarily a quiet shinigami, but with these two mortals, he preferred to be forgotten, though he knew it wasn't likely he was ever forgotten about. For as long as he had known them, they remembered everything, even the things they never wrote down. Most of the time, the humans that had used his death note had always had to write down a note to remember something.
Beyond rolled his eyes and went back to writing before stretching and putting the list with the other items. He quickly fell asleep. Ryuk, despite being slightly scared of the mortals, decided that when he recognised B falling into a deeper sleep, he would play a prank on the two. Ryuk picked up Beyond as gently as possibly and set him on the bed with Light.
Ryuk snickered. In the morning, Light was curled up against Beyond's lanky body and said man had his arm under Light's head while he slept on his back, though his leg was tangled with Light's. Ryuk unlocked the door a while ago and was hunting for some apples to eat when L had decided to come back and talk to Soichiro in the morning. Sayu was wide-awake when L had come back, having already met him and was infatuated with him. Soichiro was awake as well, getting ready to go to work but having to wait for L. "L," Soichiro greeted, welcoming the man into the house again. L sat in the same spot, discreetly checking the bugs he had already put into place in the couch.
"My son has just finished his third term, so he is here and probably still asleep. Do you want to meet him?"
"If you would want me to." L said. He didn't really want to, he was just being polite, though he heard a bit from when Light was mentioned. Something about him being the perfect son, so L kind of expects Light to be some sort of stuck-up kid. He didn't want to meet a stuck-up in the morning, since it would just sour his mood for the rest of the day. Watari was luckily with him, close but not hovering over his shoulder like he usually was.
Soichiro nodded and left to go get his son, only for Sayu to interrupt and state that she could get him. The man just let her and sat back down onto the adjacent chair. A thud sounded from upstairs, some confused shouting, then more aggravated shouting then Sayu rushing down the stairs with a beautiful auburn haired man skidding down the hall to the stairs, throwing a shoe at her before going back to his room. The shoe had hit her square in the back and she yelped, quickly going over to where they were. Watari's eyes were alight with amusement while Soichiro looked surprised, as if he expected his son to act like a perfect person and come out all poised and collected.
Sayu faked her injury as something worse than it was as she flopped onto the couch with an exaggerated whine of pain. After a couple more minutes, the son came back down with his hair tamed and in a more presentable, yet still casual, outfit than pajamas. He had just the right amount of tan so that he didn't look golden and just the right amount of pale, so he didn't look like sheet. Once Light got to the living room, where the four of them were, he bowed politely and addressed them with the proper suffixes attached to the end of their names. L hid his surprise at the respect and he looked at Watari, who was already trying to psychoanalyze him. They both caught that Light was ignoring Watari's stare.
"Yagami-kun, good morning."
"Ah, just call me Light. I don't want to force you to have to fit customs here." Light smiled easily.
"Okay, then, Light. Light, I'd like to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?"
Watari hid a chuckle behind a cough. L never asked for permission and if he did, it was always for show. L always got what he wanted, no matter the cost. Light just smiled and nodded. When L started to get up, Light just shook his head, "My family doesn't speak or understand spoken English, so it's fine to question me right here."
"Good to know." L said as he settled down again. "So, I gather that you would at least have an idea of why I'm here?"
"Because of a case you recently picked up or you have narrowed down Japan as one of the places Beyond Birthday would be. Or possibly both."
"Both. I have a feeling you know where Beyond is."
"I do. I'm not going to tell you, however. And this new case you've taken is the Kira case." It wasn't a question. Light knew which case L had taken and even L had to say he was surprised at the teen's frowardness. Nobody except the kids at Whammy's and Watari and Roger were the only ones who would be so direct. Usually everyone else was scared of him or hated him too much to try anything stupid because they knew what he could do.
"You're quite bold, for a teenager." Watari spoke.
"Well, what can I say? Putting a mask up to at least fake confidence makes me feel better than just sitting quietly. Plus, you both would see through any lies, had I decided to try to lie to you."
"Why won't you tell me where Beyond is?" L took control of the conversation again.
"That reason is entirely mine own." L was quickly becoming annoyed at how easily this pretty and amazingly smart teenager could evade his questions while leaving more questions up to be answered. "Then, are you Kira or in cahoots with this murderer?"
Light looked genuinely surprised at the theory before shaking his head, "No, but I do have a very strong theory on how Kira kills, with proof. They obviously get their information from the internet and even private cases too, however. I'd start looking into people who work in or regarding the legal and probably judicial system here." Light said and turned, seeing his mother in the doorway. He quickly put on a strained smile for her, "Good morning, mother. What are you doing awake so early?"
"I heard talking and assumed that it was your father out here, at the very least. Why didn't you wake me up, Light? I could've prepared tea." Sachiko answered, quickly turning the conversation.
L and Watari noticed, obviously, and they seemed to pick up on the fact that Light didn't try to say he couldn't be at two places at once, or remind her that she had just seen him occupied. "I apologise, mother. I'll wake you up next time."
"You are so sweet, Light. I'll go make the tea right now for our guests." Sachiko smiled and left to the kitchen to start brewing a tea. L frowned minutely at the interaction between the two. Now that he was actually thinking about it, Light hadn't sat down at all and his back was practically rim-rod straight the entire time. "Light, your living conditions here are...bo–"
"My living conditions have nothing to do with the case at hand and how you are planning on getting me to tell you where Beyond is." Light interrupted, becoming more tense at the question. L just groaned at Light's stubbornness and transfixed a hard stare at Light. "I will get you to answer both of my questions and even more if I feel like it. There is no getting out of it. I might even demand that you work with your father and I on the Kira case, since you seem to know everything about it."
"I never implied that I know everything about that murderer's case. I'm simply inputting my ideas and my theory on how he kills will turn up a lot later, when I actually trust you with that secret." Light bristled. He wasn't about to be a doormat, even to the one person he actively respected. Soichiro caught his eye and sent him a warning glance at his son's actions and Light forced himself to show composure.
"L, how far do the range on the bugs in the couch go?" Light asked. Watari choked on saliva and sputtered at the straightforward question while L's wide eyes only widened a slight more to show he wasn't expecting the question this early.
"It covers about 5 to 10 meters, why?"
"Why can't I inquire on listening devices in my family's house?"
"I suppose that makes sense." L frowned at the comeback and seemed to think before he regarded Light with a blank look, "You do realise that the tiny listening devices are going to be hidden in your room, yes? Most likely with a high-definition camera with it to watch you, as well. I still suspect you are Kira, and this will catch you in the act." It was obvious to Light that L was both giving him a chance to confess and carefully pick his words to work as a subtle threat and intimidation tactic.
"I can't say anything against it because, one, you are L. Two, my father has already agreed to this, from what I've heard, therefore my mother will ultimately agree to it. Three, because they still see me as a child who can't do anything by myself, they will not let me have any say in the matter and it wouldn't matter anyway." Light answered, not playing into L's hands.
"Is your family traditional?" L was almost glad he could have a rival of sorts, and not one to easily bend into any threats.
"To a point, yes. Obviously not everything is that way, but their views on relationships and societal roles are very much traditional." Light said, not sparing a glance at his father. Light flicked his eyes over to the kitchen when the teapot whistled and then it stopped, accompanied by the soft thudding of cups being placed down and the familiar pouring sound of boiling water, with the tea bags in the water already. Light took a deep breath and slowly let it out through his nose, calming himself before he snapped at L. He was almost to that point of just punching his idol in the face, but that was how it was with intelligent people. If they become rivals, its very easy to get underneath one another's skin, even if one or both might not actively show it. Or, that's how people tend to stereotype it as—even if some of it rings with some semblance of truth.
"L, do you have a perfect memory?"
"I have some gaps in my memory from when I was younger due to trauma, but otherwise yes. Did that sate your curiosity?"
"For now, yes." Light hummed. L just looked over Light's face and nodded slightly to himself before turning to the other two Yagamis that shared a couch in front of him. Soichiro looked slightly confused, probably able to pick up the more similar words to Japanese but not able to understand enough of the conversation to follow what they were saying. Sayu just whined pathetically now that L's attention was on her. She probably wanted to be told what the conversation was about but neither of the three men were about to tell her any details.
L turns his attention to the kitchen to see Sachiko bring out a tray with three steaming cups of hot tea and a bowl of sugar cubes. She set the tray down on an old and worn out towel to protect the table from getting burned. "Thank you, Sachiko-san." He said, and took a cup of tea from the tray, holding it with a hand underneath as he blew on it to slightly cool it down before adding seven sugar cubes and then he let the hot leaf water in his mouth to drink. Light made no acknowledgement towards the Whammy duo or the extra cup left on the tray as he grabbed his own tea, not waiting to cool it and simply drinking it. He liked the slight burn in his mouth from fresh tea. He, however, didn't like the excessive bitter taste but it did help him wake up before he added his own two sugars and stirring it using one of three stirrer that was on the tray next to the small cup that held the sugar.
"Are you going to let me know what this questioning was about?" the Yagami father asked, a little rudely.
"No, that is purely confidential information only to be between Light, Watari, and I. I see no place for your involvement, Soichiro-san." L retorted. He wasn't about to let anybody not of importance be told such valuable information. He silently raised potential Kira percentages on Light, though he did have a feeling that Light could be innocent in this whole thing and just honestly wanting to be a help to the case.
"Ah, Soichiro-san, you know of the new Kira killer, yes?"
"Yes, of course. I've been told that every police force knows of Kira since he is dangerous."
"Then you should also know that I have taken up that case due to a request from INTERPOL. I will be working with you and your team so I need a set-up at your workplace. I also recommend Light to be there with us to help work on the case."
"You really needn't demand things but I can supply you with want you want so it shouldn't be a problem. And I know Light is smart, but you want for him to work with you on the case? Did my son impress you so much so?" Soichiro seemed arrogant with the trust he had placed in Light's smarts.
L seemed contemplative for a small moment but nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly. Light rolled his eyes and was a bit surprised his father hadn't caught the lie. After all, why would he ever think that the world's greatest detective would ever lie to him. It was just an absurd notion. Light coughed a bit to hide the small snort that threatened to burst from his lips at his sarcastic thoughts. He liked the way L worked and to even have the chance to speak to him much less work with him was just absolutely fueling his admiration and fanboy-ness to the noirette.
Light had gotten a slight preview of what L would look like due to Beyond's mimicking of the young man but it was nothing in comparison to L's actual beauty. He could see how it could come across as creepy, though, so not a lot of people could say that L was attractive. Light stopped himself from saying anything concerning the matter, though, including complimenting him. L sent a glance Light's way and he figured that L knew he had wanted to say something but didn't push for answers right then. Light nearly sighed in relief at not being pressed to say what was on his mind and turned to his father. "Father, I'm going to go back up to my room. I have some things I need to sort out before my room is gone through."
"Don't be so dramatic, Light." Soichiro chastised. Light nodded in acknowledgement at the words and left up to his room. An empty tea cup sat in front of his spot he stood at. L just stared at it for a little bit before looking away and turning back to the conversation.
Notes:
The suffix -ku means ward; Tokyo has 23 special wards beside it.
Daiso: Basically a dollar tree/dollar general/family dollar but Japanese
Chapter 2: Infested House And Empty House
Summary:
BB moves out and struggles getting used to being alone again. Light makes sure BB knows he can be contacted at (almost) any time. L starts getting more involved with this new puzzle to figure out: Light. They all act gay asf, it's mostly for the imaginary sitcom laugh soundtrack.
Takes place about 3 days later, October 19th
Notes:
Actually did look it up, it can take anywhere from same-day service to about a month or longer to get someone to approve the application to move into an apartment in Japan. And just to be clear, what Light is feeling for L rn is all just admiration bc L has been his justice idol, but also incredibly annoyed/mad at him bc he's literally helping BB be a fugitive and its a love the house, love its crow kinda deal
also like, I've just had no motivation to write and post publicly for forever, I didn't think anyone was still reading this tbh lmao. I'll try to update more often than every 4 years but also, the chapter count is gonna change from 3 to ? bc I have no clue how many chapters this is gonna be or even what is gonna happen in this story whether I'm gonna focus on BB and Light or if I wanna do changing POVs about how they live their lives hiding BB from L while also figuring out who Kira is.
Feel free to comment, be that ideas or theories how this could progress or scenes that y'all want to see or even soft criticism. It'll help me figure out which direction this story will go and hopefully end up more defined. If I end up using an idea from the comments, the person/people who mentioned it will definitely get credit for it.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Once again, Light was eternally thankful that guarantors can work quickly. Putting himself down as BB's emergency contact was perfect since he had his own phone after working for a while to get it and using his own money to mainly cover initial costs of using the service and getting the apartment. Beyond was quickly moved in after about two days of paperwork and other financial things to go through. What the company workers saw was two very capable and smart and responsible men who were able to do their own thing. Their image was perfectly constructed and they were able to get a place much sooner than Beyond thought was possible, not that he ever really paid attention to the time it took to get the process done.
Beyond was settled into his new apartment and with an old phone and charger that Light kept on him, he gave it to the brunette and gave him his number on a slip of paper that was undoubtedly already memorised once he finished the look-over. "Now, the apartment should already have a tatami mat in the closet so don't worry about any place to sleep." Light struggled around a bit in a bag filled with clothes for the man.
Beyond thankfully didn't tease him over being weak as he opened the door for the teen. "Now, I've got clothes and toiletries and your stash. Things I couldn't buy are marked down on my list to buy later, there's my phone number and anything you don't want tracked, just send it to him and we'll get him to do things." Light huffed out. Beyond nodded, quiet as he took the bag from Light and brought it into the car Shoichiro was letting them borrow to help Beyond move out. "Are you okay?" They both walked outside and Light started the car, since he was the one driving.
"Just feel weird. I'm going to have to get used to being alone again." He muttered in a strange burst of honesty. Light smiled, "Well, I'm going to regret this, but you have my number so it'll almost be like I'm right there. Just not physically. And as long as you don't spam call for the sake of annoying me when I'm supposed to be asleep or in class, we'll be fine. I've got two more years of university and then you can call all you want to." He assured.
"You definitely are going to regret that. Also, I'm taking that shitty thing with me. I don't want you to get under the influence." Light huffed.
"Then you can't use it either."
"At least it can't affect me."
"If I can't use it, you can't either." Light rephrased, stubborn. Beyond smirked at the childish display. "Fine, I won't use it. But tell me if you need it, like during the case with that dumb kid being called Kira. Just don't bring me into it."
"I wouldn't ever try to do that. Unless it's absolutely unavoidable, I won't ever drag you into my things."
"Maybe never is a strong word. You aren't that smart." Beyond gloated, sticking his tongue out mockingly. Light slapped Beyond's arm, not looking away from the road. "I won't rely on you. I'm at least smart enough not to do that," Light sent him a look from the corner of his eye before focusing on the road with a smirk.
"Bitch. My wife's a bitch."
"Always so crude. How'd I ever get a husband like you?" Light decided to play along, as long as it would get Beyond to stop thinking about living alone for a while. Beyond grinned slyly, resting his chin on his hand. "It's 'cause I'm so attractive."
"Oh please, I'm more attractive than you could ever be."
The darker brunette guffawed at the remark. Light looked over long enough to flick at his forehead. "I've got people begging to go on a date with me! You don't have anything!"
"I never go outside you pompous fuck!" Beyond gasped out. Light rolled his eyes but was glad that he got Beyond out of his own head for a little while. They reached the house and kind of just tossed his things on the ground except the bag that contained his stash of jam. That was put into the fridge as soon as it was brought inside from the car. His apartment was ground-level so they were lucky that they didn't need to climb any stairs.
Beyond initially had concerns about it being on the ground floor, but with a bit of Light's teasing, the concern was quickly evaporated. Not only did he not have anything worth it to steal, Light basically called him insane. Anybody who broke in would have a terrible time, if they even managed to make it out alive. On top of that, Japan was generally pretty safe anyway, and there weren't many break-ins compared to some other places Beyond previously lived at. After bringing the bags in, they just laid on the floor together. The drive was long and Light was not looking forward to making the trip back, but by himself. BB never really showed any of the dread that Light had about the drive, saying something about how the US had such a big part of the continent that most Americans traveled place to place relying on how long it would take and not the distance itself. Light thought it was absurd, frankly, but he only grumbled about the concept and didn't directly say anything about it.
It didn't take much time at all to unpack and store BB's things once they were ready. Light wouldn't admit it, but he lingered around BB's new apartment for as long as he could for any reasonable excuse he could dig out of his brain, like making sure everything was clean, things were out away properly, the layout of the whole place, how different things in the apartment worked (that one was a stretch but at least Beyond also knew how they worked, too). After a couple more hours of bullshitting his way through spending time with the criminal on the run, he finally left. Beyond wouldn't admit he knew that Light was feeling lonely, too, and reluctantly let him leave. Though, he definitely made sure to tease Light a little about "leaving so soon" before he was out the door.
Almost as soon as BB saw Light pull out of the apartment complex's driveway, he called him. Light picked up after only a couple rings, which was really telling, considering he had to pay attention to the road and also dig his phone out of wherever he had put it to answer him, and the fact that he even answered instead of hanging up to be "a responsible driver."
"Took you long enough to pick up. I was starting to worry if you had another man in the car with you." Beyond immediately whined and he could practically hear Light roll his eyes.
"Yeah, alright, you big baby. I'll have you know that I don't drive just anybody in this car. I'm not stupid and I certainly wouldn't let myself be in a car with some unknown person for so long just to bring them to my house." Light retorted, sounding haughty and Beyond couldn't help the stupefied silence before breaking out in hideous cackles. Light groaned, likely realising his misstep when he thoughtlessly responded to Beyond's routine provocation. "I don't think you have any room to say that, Lighty, you brought me home. You should really think before you speak." BB spoke through giggles he could hardly contain.
"You know that wasn't what I meant. And you weren't exactly unknown to me like the other people would be, I would say I knew you quite well."
"And now you know me even better than before." BB purred, before bursting out into laughter again. They were mad cackles, definitely not the cute laughs that some women would make around Light and not any of the more reserved chuckles the men around him would make. This was pure, unadulterated laughter and Light was just happy that someone didn't feel the need to put up appearances around him. The drive back was filled with the sounds of their conversation, Beyond mindlessly eating his jam in the background of the call as Light drove. Admittedly, he didn't feel lonely on the way back home and he felt that he also helped BB not get into his own head.
A Week Later; October 26th
True to his word, L had put the bugs up in very nearly every corner of the house when only Sachiko and Soichiro were home. Light only knew because the pencil lead trap he put by his door had broken. (He had gotten a little paranoid when L visited for the very first time, since Beyond was still living in the house and staying in his room.) His father hadn't even mentioned that L would stop by soon, it was just that one day he had privacy, he went to school, and then his whole room had been invaded. He had texted Beyond that night, and the other had made a joke about his house being infested. After a moment of squeamish disgust, he couldn't help laughing. It was a slightly nervous laugh, but it was still a laugh that had gotten him out of his annoyed mood. Besides, his father was probably told not to say anything so that he didn't alter his behaviour. Not that he was going to anyway, since BB wasn't in his house anymore. He'd just talk to Ryuk outside of the house and everything was fine. Of course, he'd be better off texting BB in the bathroom or under his covers so that the cameras L had mentioned couldn't see their conversations, but still. His point stands.
It wasn't long after that L finally decided to stop by again for some reason. This time, instead of coming when Light was still asleep in the morning, he had shown up when Light was on his way home. When he entered, he could almost immediately tell something was off, and when his eyes panned over to the couch in the living room, he soon found out why. His lips quivered a little, suppressing a smile but also an annoyed sneer. These complicated emotions were really getting on his nerves and he couldn't wait until they either went away or got sorted out. He really didn't have time to be worrying about something like emotions when he was well aware that L didn't hold anything but suspicion about him. L was going to be critical about what he did and Light couldn't afford to slip up just because of a momentary lapse in judgement.
Besides getting Beyond sorted out, he had also been doing his own investigation on the side. He had a couple suspects for now, but he couldn't be too sure until something else happened to make it clear. He looked away from Watari and L, who was sitting in the same place, and gave a glance to Ryuk. The shinigami seemed happy enough, apparently enjoying the show. Ryuk happened to look over at the same moment Light looked at him and he suddenly straightened, feeling a shiver go down his gangly spine, a grotesque frown etching itself onto his horrid features. Light suppressed a look of disgust as he took a seat next to the couch. Soichiro had left soon after Light had gotten home, so it was assumed that L had said something about talking to him in private. Light made himself look busy while he prepared for the talk with L.
"That panda guy talked to your dad about taking you to the station to do an evaluation on if you are able to join the little force they have. Then something about doing the evaluation here so at least it can be done quickly. Seems like a set-up to me. Oh, and Beyond said to just text him 'do it' or something if you want L's name written down." Ryuk reported faithfully. He didn't dare use a nickname for Beyond, the kid intimidated him much more than Light did alone, and the one time he did try to give the other human a nickname, he was kicked in the knee. Ryuk hadn't even seen it coming, and he honestly didn't even know he could be touched by humans outside of him making his body tangible. Needless to say, Beyond had very quickly and very successfully intimidated the shinigami into further obedience. However, neither of the two who had control over Ryuk's death note had any sort of illusion that Ryuk was truly obedient to them.
Light didn't respond to him, mainly because L and Watari were around, but Ryuk knew he had heard him and that was all he needed to do. Light suppressed a twitch as he heard BB's message for him as he took out the most recent test he had done. The brown-haired teen didn't even question how BB knew L's name. From what he said, he grew up with the other so it shouldn't be strange that he had knowledge that nobody else did. He set the tests down on the coffee table and L glanced at it, finding a perfect score written on the top. L vaguely wondered if this was some sort of pride tactic from Light to indirectly show off how smart he was without having to say anything about it. L frowned a little, displeased that the other that he had quite an interesting talk with was actually the arrogant child he had first thought. It wasn't easy making L change his mind, and yet Light had already made him do it twice in a ten-day period. Light didn't say anything about the visible test scores, setting his bag down in between his feet.
He could feel the judgmental stare on him, but he didn't bother to clarify anything. Light didn't need to explain anything, and L was free to think whatever he wanted to. He was already doing that anyway, and trying to speak up about what he was doing would just make him seem more suspicious. It was better to use actions instead of words to prove himself to L, since there were undoubtedly countless people who had tried to persuade him before. Using words against him just wouldn't work and there was no need to put in the energy. Sayu tried to peek out from the hallway, still in her 'finding-emos-attractive' phase, but she was quickly ushered back into her room.
L didn't speak first and neither did Light, just looking at each other in silence for a little bit. After another moment, that Watari found slightly amusing that they spent so long looking each other up and down and mentally evaluating the other, Sachiko made her way to the living room and collected the test papers, quickly flipping through them to see the scores. She didn't touch him, only giving him a proud smile. "Good job, Light. Full scores again; you really know how to make a mother proud." Sachiko said, obviously taking the chance to gloat about her son in front of the world's greatest detective. Light offered her a sweet smile back and she said a couple more words of proud praise before she finally left with the papers.
L couldn't help the slight feeling of his brain reeling to keep up with how often Light was making his view on him switch back and forth. So, he was wrong about the test papers, which he should've known if he had thought about how Sachiko had talked to her son the first time he had met Light. But he was so caught up in making Light suspicious enough to detain him for being Kira that he had completely regarded the interaction as unimportant in the big picture. However, this seemingly unimportant detail revealed that the test papers weren't for him to see, but for his mother to see. Light still wasn't the arrogant and prideful child, his parents had enough pride in him that he didn't even need to say anything. Of course, he just wasn't arrogant in the normal way. Light wasn't a normal child and helping Beyond Birthday hide from him was an incredibly arrogant move. Light was arrogant in the smart way, knowing that what he does must be grand but quiet until the big finale.
It was going to be difficult figuring out who Light was underneath his carefully construed mask but it would be peeled back and his true face would be exposed soon enough. Light wasn't the only suspect, just the most likely, so that's why L was putting so much focus on him. Combined with the fact that Light was the police chief's son and an incredibly smart kid, it just raised every suspicious bar ever. Light had even directly admitted that he knew the most possible method Kira was using to kill his victims, which would mean either he had the same access to the mystery weapon or he was directly cooperating with them. Light could argue his innocence all he wanted to, but it wouldn't change the fact that L knew that Light either was Kira or is working with him.
When it seemed that there would be no interruptions and that they were both ready, L finally took the initiative to speak. "So, I take it you must have noticed that I have put the bugs in your room?" Light gave a slight shiver and an involuntary smile rose his lips before he covered his mouth, cleared his throat, and looked away for a moment.
"Oh, yeah. BB said the house was infested and I haven't stopped finding it disgusting and funny, yet." Light answered, giving a short explanation on why he had to regain his composure. L raised an eyebrow, before he frowned a little. Exposing that he was still talking to Beyond Birthday even after he had apparently gotten away again just irked him. The only clue so far was the strange man people talked about that had showed up around Light a couple months ago, but even descriptions of the man would make it difficult to figure out if it was actually him or not because of Beyond's tendency to disguise himself thoroughly. He could've changed how he looked by now and there were still a decent amount of English people in Japan that having such a general description of him wouldn't actually help him narrow it down much. On top of that, nobody seemed to have overhead a name he can look for, so the only thing he could do currently is focus on the current case and investigate more about Beyond Birthday's whereabouts when he had time.
Five more people had been killed in the ten days before this second meeting, and L's only direction so far was Light was the prime suspect, and a couple others in some law-related job. A couple police officers, some PIs, and a lawyer here and there were on the list to be investigated, but L really only personally investigated Light. He left the other investigations to Watari so that he wouldn't have to handle them. "Tomorrow, you're going to be excused from school, and we are going to the investigation team." L said monotonously, trying to not let Light's blatant arrogance get to him. He couldn't wait to win this stupid game they started and show him who's the superior genius.
"Sure, and are you going to give me the college lessons to go with my absence?" Light rolled his eyes. L was going to throttle this teenager for being sarcastic with him. Being sarcastic was his thing, something to egg on suspects and gain leverage over others so they admit things they shouldn't. He couldn't have one of his own techniques turned against him, that would be a disgrace. "Oh, are you not smart enough to teach yourself? I should've known." L replied, keeping his tone level so that this stupid kid couldn't tell that he was getting on L's nerves so easily. Poking at where his pride laid in seemed to be the right choice, because the other had finally shut up, crossed his arms, and glared at him like he didn't want to speak any longer. He was really just a petulant brat, and L was annoyed that Light had hidden it so well earlier that he couldn't see it at first. The amount of times L has had to reevaluate what character type he is truly infuriates him. L would figure out every tiny secret Light has, even if it was the last thing he does.
They glared at each other for a little longer before Watari cleared his throat and they broke out of whatever competition they had started, but L looked away first, accustomed to responding to the old man, so Light counted it as a minor win despite the interruption. Light didn't even care that he was arguing so childishly with a 20-something year old man. He had acted very similarly with Beyond, so he wasn't even phased at this point. It was so natural, he didn't even question it at first, but then he grimaced and looked at the pocket that had his phone tucked inside. He didn't even know L like this, he shouldn't be acting so... familiar with him.
"Besides that, have you been narrowing down your other suspects? I've got a couple of my own, but I want to see if any of our suspects match up." Light said, and he couldn't help the slight indignant tone that had slipped into his voice. He was lucky his father wasn't around, or else he would've gotten smacked on the back of his head for that once L left. L so easily got under his skin, and he was even more annoyed that he either didn't bother L that much or he was way better at hiding his expressions. Light had no doubt that once they had to spend more time around the other that he would inevitably learn to read the older man much better, but for now, he had to depend on his own observational skills and guessing games about what each twitch meant.
L frowned slightly, his tongue tracing the back of his teeth and he thought about the fact that he could totally be eating something sweet right now, but he had to deal with this brat and his family first. "I guess I have, but I see no reason to let you look at the list. You'd just figure out a way to manipulate the scenes to make them even more suspicious and throw me off your tail." L hummed, as if he couldn't be bothered to come up with an excuse. To be honest, he wanted to see just how bad he got under his skin, wanted to see the other's jaw clench as he pissed him off. He could practically feel how Light's glare practically spelled out every way he would rip him apart, and yet L couldn't help but find it amusing, taking every shift in his expression towards rage as another level higher above the younger genius. In the back of his mind, he had to admit to himself that if this kid really was Kira, and if he really did have access to this mysterious murder weapon, that playing this game and being so competitive would end up his downfall, but he couldn't stop himself. Light might not be established enough to be a proper rival, but he would soon get there.
"Wow, you're a terrible asshole. I already told you I'm not Kira, and I have suspects of my own, you know." Light groaned, clearly annoyed. Then, he stood, picking his backpack up and swinging it over his shoulder. L and Watari stiffened up a little, ready for anything if Light decided to attack or throw something in some sort of anger burst. Light didn't do anything. He just started moving past them on the couch to the doorway that led further into the house. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, L." Light sighed, still sounding annoyed at having to miss a day of school.
Just as he reached the bottom steps, his phone started vibrating and he took it out of his pocket and answered it as he walked up the stairs. "Hey B, what's up?" Light hummed, sounding much friendlier than when he was talking to L. The other couldn't help but end up curious as to why the tonal difference, but he surmised it was probably because he knew Beyond Birthday and because L was actively suspecting him as an up-and-coming serial killer. Though, both him and Watari couldn't help but be astounded at the confidence this kid had to directly answer a call from Beyond while L was still sitting on his couch. "Yeah, he told me. It's not necessary, but thanks for.." And then Light was too far upstairs for their human ears to catch the rest of what he was saying. Though, it would definitely be caught on the listening devices so L wasn't in a hurry to eavesdrop on the other.
Likely, Beyond had probably offered to do something, possible kill (the target was definitely L himself-), and Light was at least sensible to reject him. Strange that Beyond Birthday even offered something to Light in the first place, with how selfish he was, but was almost stranger was that there was a third person involved with the two of them. And yet there was nothing in any CCTV cams or eye witnesses that reported a third person so this mysterious third variable knew their way around cameras and people. Once Light went upstairs, Soichiro came back into the room and L gave a perfunctory goodbye before leaving. Watari was much more elegant in his farewell, but L was more intent on listening to the rest of the conversation between Light and Beyond and then looking over security footage of Light throughout the town to see if he could see any suspicious activity in certain places with lower surveillance that would indicate a meeting spot for that secret third person.
Light had long since closed his bedroom door, separating himself from the rest of his family. While he had no true sense of privacy any more, he could at least prevent the other people actually inside the house from disturbing him while he did his own thing. Luckily, once everyone had settled into routine, his parents left him alone for the majority of the time he was home, citing that their genius son needed to focus on studying instead of distractions. Sayu had been close to him before everything, when they were both in elementary and then secondary school, but they started drifting apart after Light almost directly skipped high school for college. He wouldn't ever admit it to himself, but he had begun feeling a little lonely, which is why he had been so eager around BB in the beginning. He craved friendship, though he couldn't form proper connections with the others in his college. They couldn't keep up with his thought process and he couldn't fathom all the social rules they had. He knew and had learned them, so he was far from clueless, but it was so- so below him, that he didn't like having to lower himself to their level just to have relationships. And to do it constantly would just tire him out more than necessary so he never forged any relationship past classmates or acquaintances.
The talk with BB went on for a little while, with Light locked in his own bathroom so he could muffle the conversation the best he could. It was mostly just catching up with each other, both being extremely careful not to reveal anything that could possibly give away where BB was hiding away at. Though, they could only hope that the current murders were taking more precedence over the past murders in the USA. After their talk, they texted for a little longer while Light did the next couple days worth of homework and study notes so he didn't have to do it later before he went to sleep. Light was slowly getting used to falling asleep with the knowledge that he was constantly being monitored. It was difficult at first but it was slowly getting easier to selectively ignore. He would just have to remember not to make it a habit before he slipped up and revealed information he shouldn't have exposed yet. He was somewhat enjoying keeping BB away and knowing more information about the case than L did, but he did genuinely want to help out and stop the murders.
In the morning, he sleepily texted Beyond that he was up, and then he went about his daily routine. He met with his father downstairs and they rode to the task force building. Light wasn't really paying attention to what his father was saying, knowing it was all self-gloating, pleased with himself for having a smart enough son that he was personally added to the team by L. Light knew that L hadn't told Soichiro that he was a suspect, and he would soon find out whether or not L had told the other team members if he was a suspect or if L was still just personally investigating Light. Light, looking out the window, memorised the way to get to the building and when they arrived so quickly, he was somewhat shocked that L had chosen to have the operation running so close. He had heard from his father at some point that L had just directly bought the whole building even though there weren't many people assigned to the task force. He could probably walk home if he wanted to, so it made him wonder why Soichiro chose to drive there and back every day. Probably for convenience, but Light would rather walk to the force building. He preferred the exercise compared to sitting for so long when he already sat in classes and in his room for so long.
Being in the car again reminded him of the long drive he had taken with BB when he moved out and he couldn't help but feel a little dejected, wondering what the other was doing. Light hoped he wasn't overthinking and was doing alright now that he was by himself. Speaking of the devil, BB just texted him. Light spent no time before checking the text and replying. Soichiro gave him a couple glances, knowing exactly who he was texting, but Light ignored him. Soichiro couldn't do anything to him, not when they were already pulling into the parking lot of the headquarters. Light had to put a pause on the conversation with Beyond, but promised he'd talk to him as soon as he could. BB whined over text, how he could do that, Light didn't know, but BB said goodbye and Light turned off his phone, getting out of the car before his father could say anything.
Beyond sighed, laying on the floor with his arm over his eyes. Light had said that he was at L's headquarters and he couldn't help but be worried. L would definitely do whatever he could to find out the absolute truth from Light and he could already tell that the other man suspected his friend. Light probably wasn't going to have a fun time with L, not when things pass the interest phase and start to get serious. Once L was no longer having any fun, he would use any means necessary to pry out the information he wanted from Light. The poor kid was still so young, and nobody would know how a prodigy's mind works better than another prodigy like L, especially how to break it. Except he was on the run, and no matter what, he couldn't expose himself to L this early. He couldn't help Light other than on the phone. Light would kill him if he tried to help him more than that, especially if he rushed over from Nerima-ku back to Tokyo and ended up caught.
Ryuk was sent back to Beyond, so the shinigami just watched the man wallow in his own thoughts. Watching the human's (probably, hopefully) distress always made his own a lot easier to handle, especially since whatever shinigami helped spawn this thing, ended up passing down enough genes that he could not only already have the shinigami eyes, he could touch a shinigami whenever he wanted. Ryuk felt a very real threat to his well being whenever he was with Beyond. He flinched when he refocused on the man, seeing his eyes, tinged with red circling around in his irises, staring at him. Ryuk grimaces as Beyond Birthday, having seen Ryuk paying attention to him now. "Ryuk," Beyond called, and Ryuk shuddered at the unnatural tone. "Go watch Light for me. I want you to report back to me every night what goes on around him. You'd better have a good memory."
"Yup, uh-huh, got it, going now." Ryuk hurried, almost stumbling over his own feet as he gave Beyond a wide berth, escaping from the apartment as soon as possible. With Ryuk gone, the air seemed to quiet even more, leaving the apartment in such stillness that Beyond curled up on his side, looking at his phone with wild eyes. He wanted to text Light, call him, hear his voice just so he knew that he wouldn't be left alone again. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't possibly distract Light, shouldn't bring any more attention to himself than before. What everybody needed to focus on now was Kira, not the American murders and the escaped murderer from about a year ago. At least with Ryuk watching over Light when he couldn't, knowing that nobody else would be able to see the shinigami, he could have some sort of security. Beyond really didn't want to have to do this but with some sort of watch over Light, even if Light didn't want it, he could feel better about Light constantly interacting with L when he wasn't there, couldn't be there.
Beyond had to let go of his phone before he broke it, clenching his hands into fists as he got up and paced, biting his thumb's fingernail. He couldn't help himself from glaring occasionally, staring at the phone screen. He didn't have work today, so he was stuck at home. He wanted to talk to Light, wanted to reassure himself that he'd be okay. And yet, he wasn't allowed, not while Light had to focus on not getting imprisoned, starved, tortured. Beyond didn't want to imagine what else could possibly happen to the seventeen year old. He was a new seventeen year old, too, his birthday happening just months before they had met. Light had to make it to adulthood, he must. If Light died, he would definitely make sure whoever killed him has their retribution, and then he would kill himself. It was sick, being so attached to the kid that it was unhealthy. He was so much like A that Beyond couldn't help himself. It was already good enough he wasn't directly attracted to him, not seeing Light as A. He could see them as separate people, didn't tangle them together in his perception of Light, but they were so... alike that it was a little difficult, hard to keep himself from expecting Light to act as A, but he made the effort.
Light was his friend, L wasn't allowed to do anything to him. He would kill L if Ryuk told him that L had taken his interrogation tactics too far. The moment anything happened to his kid, his friend, it was war. A war that he would win easily with the Death Note in his grasp. His fingers twitched, itching to fly over the keyboard and bother Light, make sure he was okay. He knew that Light would text him back, knew that Light was attached to him too. Though they were separated by distance, there was no way their bond could ever be broken. They only had each other, could only understand each other, in a way that nobody else could ever achieve. Beyond was insane, though he hid it well from Light. He needed Light's trust, needed it like he needed air, and jam, and water. Light wasn't as unhinged as he was, but he was getting there. The closer they got, the more the Death Note and Beyond's own personality influenced Light, Beyond could tell that he would do anything for him, too. Nothing would dare take them away from each other, neither of them would allow it. Not now, not ever.
Notes:
Next chapter is going to add a couple more people, building on the situation and timeline on each side and I'm p sure it's not gonna be surprising who the "new" characters r but feel free to guess anyway. I'm feeling more motivated to post even tho I got hit with the Wattpad/AO3 curse and got in a car accident a couple days ago-
Chapters will be coming out faster than four years each I promise lmao I'm so sorry to keep ya'll hanging like this
Brenna1918 on Chapter 1 Wed 21 Apr 2021 06:34PM UTC
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BestNightmare on Chapter 1 Thu 22 Apr 2021 11:16PM UTC
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loucidreamer on Chapter 1 Sun 23 May 2021 05:54PM UTC
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BestNightmare on Chapter 1 Sun 06 Jun 2021 10:20PM UTC
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loucidreamer on Chapter 1 Sat 14 Aug 2021 12:36PM UTC
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Neev_vee on Chapter 1 Mon 05 Jul 2021 05:43PM UTC
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mulixue on Chapter 1 Sun 25 Jul 2021 08:45AM UTC
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ally_axolotl on Chapter 1 Thu 01 Sep 2022 10:19PM UTC
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Eszerokage (Guest) on Chapter 1 Wed 11 Dec 2024 06:57PM UTC
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Luzzxsgabi on Chapter 1 Sat 04 Jan 2025 07:49PM UTC
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XliiTheDragon on Chapter 2 Mon 24 Mar 2025 12:47AM UTC
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ReadRichards (CalaMariC17) on Chapter 2 Sun 27 Jul 2025 11:35PM UTC
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Regal_Bloom476 on Chapter 2 Thu 28 Aug 2025 08:19PM UTC
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