Chapter Text
Y/N POV:
The air was filled with a light breeze, causing petals of cherry blossoms to dance through the sky. A banner reading 'Welcome T-OH University Freshmen' softly swayed in the wind.
"I'm filled with happiness that you're now college students," Ryuk said. "Gosh, I'm so proud of you, Light, Kiddo."
"Thanks, Ryuk," I said with a grin.
"No problem, Kiddo," Ryuk said. "Truthfully, I'm more proud of you than Light."
"I would be, too," I replied. "Who would be proud of someone like Light?"
"I'm right here," Light said with a roll of his eyes.
"Doesn't matter to me," I said. "I don't care if I hurt your little feelings."
As we walked into the entrance building, Light remained silent. Ryuk and I laughed at him as we walked to our seats.
"We'll take this moment to hear from our freshmen representatives," A man on the platform said. "Light Yagami and Hideki Ryuga."
I groaned in annoyance as Light made his way upstage. Honestly, I couldn't be bothered to listen to his speech. I slide down a little in my chair, closing my eyes and resting my head on the back. Suddenly, I felt someone brush a hand across my kneecap as they walked by. I felt a strange jolt of familiarity with the touch.
"That wasn't Light's hand, Kiddo," Ryuk said. "You might want to look at that person standing next to Light. He was the one who touched your knee."
I shot up straight as I looked at the man next to Light. Standing there with a bored look on his face was none other than Ryuzaki! He caught my eye and gave me a slight smirk. I couldn't focus on either speech as a small pit of fear grew in my stomach. If Ryuzaki was coming out in the open, what did this mean?
My eyes trailed after the two as they walked off the stage and towards my seat. Light sat to my left, and Ryuzaki took the previous empty right seat. The air around us was tense as we played a waiting game to see who spoke first.
"Hello," Ryuzaki said as he turned to face me. "Who might you be? A friend of Light's?"
"No, I'm-" I started to say before Light interrupted me.
"It doesn't matter who she is," Light said. "Not to you, at least."
I sighed in annoyance. "Ignore Light; I know I do," I said with a smile. "I'm Y/N L/N, but I would barely count myself as a friend of Light's. It's more of a one-sided friendship."
“Is that any way to talk about your childhood best friend?” Light asked, hurt evident in his voice.
After everything Light’s done, he still had this crazy notion that we’re still best friends. I would wake up one day and be okay with him being Kira. But I can’t forget the sins of his past and present. That’s why I’m working so hard to take down Light. This isn’t about lessening guilt or trying to save Light from himself. It’s about doing the right thing, even if Light has long forgotten what that is.
“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N,” Ryuzaki said, bringing me back to earth.
“It's nice to meet you, too,” I said.
“So, what do you want from us?” Light asked. “You want something; otherwise, you wouldn’t have sat with us.”
“I have important information regarding the Kira case, but you must keep it secret,” Ryuzaki said
“You don’t have to worry about us telling anyone,” Light replies.
“I’m L,” Ryuzaki said.
I felt the blood drain from my face, panic surging through my veins. Why was Ryuzaki telling Light of all people this? While Light looked calm, I knew he was worried.
“If I can believe you’re truly L,” Light said calmly. “Then I offer you nothing but admiration and respect.”
“Yes,” I said, agreeing with Light. “I’ve always wanted to meet the famous L in person. But I can’t help but wonder why you chose to reveal your identity to us. As far as I know, your identity is very secretive.”
“Yes, thank you, and that’s correct,” Ryuzaki said. “But I have a good reason for revealing my identity. I think the two of you can help us somehow in this case.”
“I’m impressed,” Ryuk said. “If this guy is L.”
It was indeed a brilliant plan. Light most likely thought Soichiro knew what L looked like. This ensures that Ryuzaki can safely reveal his identity because Light can’t kill him yet. Light doesn’t know what Ryuzaki’s real name is. It would still be suspicious if L died right after meeting Light.
Also, since Ryuzaki is used as the name of a famous pop star, Light might accidentally picture the real person and kill him instead. Killing Ryuzaki now will be like making a neon sign that screams Light is Kira. Last time I knew, Light was still a possible candidate for being Kira in Ryuzaki’s eyes.
As Light, Ryuk, and I left the ceremony hall, Ryuk laughed.
“ Who knew that a graduation ceremony could be so exciting?” Ryuk said.
“Hey, Y/N,Light,” Ryuzaki said off in the distance.
“You guys hear that?” Ryuk asked. “It sounds like your new friend is calling you.”
“It was nice meeting you two.” Ryuzaki said, standing close to us.
“It was my pleasure,” Light said.
“Yes,” I said, smiling at Ryuzaki. “Hopefully, we’ll see each other around campus.”
“I hope so,” Ryuzaki smiled at me as he walked towards his car.
A man exited the front seat and opened the back passenger door. My eyes widened a little, and I was in shock as I saw that the man was Watari. I was surprised that Ryuzaki would want to be seen with Watari.
Also, the car was nothing to scuff at. It was a black car that looked worth a good amount of money, so much so that I heard people murmuring around us about how rich he was. If he was trying to blend in, he was doing a terrible job.
I sighed in relief as I walked into my room. The whole way back home, Light was quiet. Usually, I won’t mind, but after the bombshell Ryuzaki dropped, it made me nervous. Making up my mind, I walked over to Light’s room only to find him sitting silently. It didn’t last long, however, and as soon as I walked in and shut the door, he started shaking with anger.
“Damn!” Light exclaiming, clutching his hands over his head. “He got me! Damn L! I don’t think I’ve ever been so embarrassed in my life.”
“You should just take the Shinigami eye deal,” Ryuk said, trying to reason with Light. “Then it’ll be easier to kill him.”
“Shinigami eye deal?” I questioned.
“Yes,” Ryuk said. “If I give him the power of Shinigami eyes, Light can see people's real names and the date of their deaths. But in return, I get half of his remaining life.”
“Yes, but if this is a trap,” Light angrily shouted at Ryuk. “Then the eye deal doesn’t work! If I kill him and he isn’t L, then the real L will know I am Kira.”
“Sorry,” Ryuk said, shocked.
“Don’t go around thinking Shinigami killing people and humans killing people are the same,” Light said. “Because that’s the farthest thing from the truth. I want nothing else but to kill him. But I would be asking to get caught if I did so. Unfortunately, the Death Note can only kill the person whose name is written in it. So I can’t make it, so someone else kills him. It’s annoying and a flaw with the Death Note.” Light said, turning his chair around to face us.
I can tell that Ryuzaki's plan was working. Light was usually calm, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this worked up.
“In the beginning,” Light continued. “I figured once I found out his name, I could have him die in an accident or kill himself. That won’t do me any good, though, unless I’m sure this guy is L. Unfortunately, it’s too late since he approached me and introduced himself as L. It doesn't matter if I’m sure or not. It doesn’t matter how L dies, because the police will suspect me. I didn’t think he would go this far. I didn’t know he would purposely show his true identity to me. I imagine him telling the suspects the same thing; it doesn’t have to be him. There’s a chance he sent a double instead. This is a solid plan for L, because he can confront Kira in person. He’s able to defend and attack. It was a great move, and he was able to get me. I know I haven’t seen the last of Ryuga. As long as he plays the part of the absent-minded genius, he’ll keep coming after me, and we will pretend that everything is fine.”
Light started laughing like a manic. His eyes went from anger to pure insanity.
“This is amazing,” Light said. “This is proof they don’t have a thing on me yet. This is a contest between L and me—a match of brains. On the outside, it’ll look like we’re friendly classmates. But we’ll be investigating each other. This is fun, Ryuga. I’ll gladly accept your friendship if that’s what you want. I’ll earn your trust in time. Then, when you tell me what I need to know, I’ll kill you. Even if I have to do it with my bare hands.”
As Light smirked sinfully, it drove home how insane he had become. He was talking about killing someone in cold blood as calmly as he would about the weather. I couldn’t help but wonder, did this insane side of him always exist, waiting for the right moment to surface? Or did the Death Note cause this insane side to form? It doesn’t matter now because the result is the same. The once normal boy turned into a monster of his own making.