InsaneJournal

I Burn Burn Like A Wicker Cabinet, Chalk White and Oh So Frail
Who: L Lawliet and Watari (closed)
What: Waking up where he's supposed to be, for a change.
Where: Winchester, England, the Wammy's House (an orphanage)
When: Day 25, from 7:00 A.M.-1:00 P.M.
Rating: PG
Status: Finished



L didn't want to wake up. Every day, the future seemed bleaker to him, and he was far from happy with the way his life was going. To be quite honest, he felt like he was almost finished with it. If he'd gotten sick, or another shovel in his side, or even presented with a chance to kill himself easily, he would have likely taken it. There were two reasons he hadn't taken his own life: the first was Jenny, whom he had promised to survive for, and the fact that he just couldn't gather the motivation to do anything that strenuous.

This morning reminded him of only one other in Vas Captio. He had sheets and blankets and pillows, but rather than being on a bed, he was curled in the corner of a small, bare room with alarms and locks to announce forced entry of anyone except the person who knew the access code. He sat up with a start, realizing that this meant that this was either some trick of management, or he was home. He rushed to the center of the room, leaving his nest in the corner, to the only other thing occupying the dimly lighted space: a computer. He wanted to check the date, see how much time had actually passed since he'd been taken away and placed inside that nightmare.

He stared. Something was wrong.

"Good morning," said the voice of an elderly man, sliding open the locking door and entering with a smile. "It's good to see you awake and at work already. There's something you need to see regarding..."

"The Kira case," L said, chewing his thumb, going pale.

"Oh," Watari answered, looking impressed but not overly surprised. "Then you know. Very good... your thoughts?"

"I don't want anything to do with it," L answered, standing and walking toward his nest. He crawled back into the blankets, pulling them over his head. Watari was quiet for a moment.

"I beg your pardon, L?"

"The killer is Light Yagami. He has a notebook of death with a Shinigami who kills people with heart attacks when he writes their names in it. He is the son of Soichiro Yagami and if we investigate this too far, we'll both die on November 5 in 2004. I don't want to take the case."

Watari stared at the lump under the blankets in shock and disturbed silence. "Perhaps you would benefit from a break... you've worked hard lately. It's been a few years since we've evaluated your mental health..."

"I'm not insane," L said. "Go to Light Yagami's house. No... let me go. We're going to stage a television broadcast, using a criminal named Lind L. Taylor as a stand-in for me, and then we're going to catch him in the act by entering the chief of the N.P.A.'s house. A search warrant approved by L is nothing such an upstanding detective would say no to. If it's as I think and he is writing names in a black leather notebook, we will immediately take him into custody."

Watari stared. "What is this based on?" he asked, taking out his cell phone. "You've put thought into this, but you have to be drawing all this from some sort of evidence..."

"The date is correct. Everything will work out. Please take it on faith that I know exactly what is going to happen. We will contact the N.P.A. and send Soichiro Yagami home early from work, and ask him to quietly surprise his son while we are playing the broadcast."

"I understand," Watari sighed. "L... if this doesn't work..."

"It will. We can save many lives if you indulge this one... hunch."

"L. I understand your enthusiasm, but we cannot rush into something like this. You must understand this. As your handler, it is my responsibility to see that you don't do anything rash." Watari squeezed L's shoulder. "I have faith in your abilities, but let's take this slowly to keep from making the world angry with you."

L sighed. "So. Proof. Fine... I understand. I know what to do." he sighed, going toward his computer. "I accept the case."