004 // survival

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

[L is on the scene; he glances left than right before assuming his preferred crouching position, palms laid out upon his knees. He waits a moment before lifting a hand and chewing thoughtfully on his thumb.]

B, are you here? Mr. Fang King?

Comments

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

[B ponders.] Ah, so it is not only criminals, but anyone counter-productive to the user's purpose? That is quite serious. And people are bowing to the power...

Seventy-percent. [B knows that the remaining thirty percent must be people like himself. Such a punishment for crime would not have deterred him in the least from executing his plans. As a matter of fact, he would rather have been killed when his plan didn't succeed. ...Come to think of it, isn't it possible that he does eventually meet his end by the hands of this notebook user? His time is before L's...so perhaps when the user was still in possession of the notebook...] Does this person also kill criminals who were already incarcerated? And perhaps even those who have been released, having already done their time?

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

[L knows what B is thinking; he's been withholding this information for as long as possible. There is a long pause of silence.]

...Yes.

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

[B has a feeling about that long silence. He also realizes that the other notebook L spoke of might still be in the possession of the killer, and thus B could be killed at any time. If he hasn't been already.] And the user kills criminals internationally?

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

...yes. They are his primary targets.

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

...I see. [B pauses. Then:] When did I die?

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

[L slouches a bit further in his crouched position, pausing again before answering.]

January 21st of 2004.

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

[It's somehow important to B that L knows the date.] I see. [Pause.] Seeing me here must have been a big shock for you. [He gets quieter.] Even moreso, anyway.

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

[L decides to forgo a reply, not wanting to verbalize any of his thoughts or lead B down a path that intruded too much upon his future. He sits, silent.]

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

[B is silent for a little while, thinking about this. It is not so much the death that gets to him, but death by hands other than his own. He is almost...disappointed. Not angry, not depressed.]

[Eventually, he resumes the conversation about the notebook, deciding it best not to discuss his death with L.] Have you determined the owner of the second notebook?

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

Yes, but the notebook itself has... yet to be recovered.

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

Is it being used by the original user of the first notebook?

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

The original user is not in possession of either notebook as things stand now, as I believe... I could be wrong... Right now, the situation is... not black and white.

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

You know who the original user is?

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

Yes.

Kira.

Light Yagami.

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

[B is surprised L is giving him the name. It makes him feel like he's not on the outside. Almost like an ally.]

"Kira"..."Killer"?

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

Yes. He was deemed "Kira" and is thought to be a God passing down judgment...

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

Ah...yes, I imagine he's fond of that interpretation.

[B licks his lips, staring past L in thought. He is still holding the jam.] How long has L been investigating Light Yagami?

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

One year. Kira appeared in 2003.

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

[He's still staring past him.] Does he know that you suspect him?

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

...He does. [L is wondering what he is staring at, but says nothing, for now.]

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

L, the greatest detective in the world. [A pause.] And Light Yagami, the hopeful God of a new era. [He says nothing for a while.] He won't win. Light won't.

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

I have no intention of letting him win, no. Though, I do concede that Light Yagami has pushed me farther than any other suspect ever has.

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

[B grimaces. Those words remind him of his failure - not that he doesn't think about it all the time. But they drive it home.] Farther...

[He looks at L again, finally, seeing the letters floating above his head. "L Lawliet". There are no numbers. B is starting to accept that he cannot see lifespans. Not anymore.]

Light won't win. [He says this like a fact. It is mostly to convince himself. He wants to be sure of it. He wants to eliminate the nagging in his mind, the feeling that he knows it's not true. Funny, how he once wanted so badly for L to lose, but now very much wants him to win.]

[sucre-justice.livejournal.com]

...

[L wishes he could take B's certainty as truth, as a definitive truth. However, with Shinigami in the equation - with known logic thrown out the door, nothing was definitive anymore.]

I am telling you this in the eventuality that our worlds should happen to swap or otherwise effect one another's, so you'll be properly prepared, though I imagine you can do no greater damage to yourself or others than Agito managed.

[None too pleased about that.]

[b-ittersweets.livejournal.com]

[B grins. He is rather glad for the lightening of the mood.] I can only imagine. [He is also amused by the irony in the statement. B, the serial killer, would not do as much damage as Agito.]

[And then he nods. He understands the reasoning. He is almost glad for it. It's almost as if, once again, he is L's Backup. And thinking this, the date floats through his head. November 5, 2004. Would he need to be L's backup? No. L would not disappear anymore, not now that death wasn't permanent. L would always be L.]

L will always be L. [He hardly notices or cares that he says this aloud.]