Chapter Text
"Thyself shall see the act; For as thou
urgest justice, Thou shalt have justice
more than thou desir'st."
- William Shakespeare
(The Merchant of Venice)
She watched with bated breath as the hooded figure tailed the unsuspecting blonde, the model humming to herself. Her cherry painted lips were stretched wide as she made her way to her apartment, blissfully unaware of the rapidly decreasing lifespan beneath her name.
The stalker grabbed Misa by the back of her jacket, manoeuvring her into a headlock the moment she’d unlocked the door. The girl’s screams were quickly stifled when her eyes spied a glint of silver before the knife ever so slowly — almost… sensually — traced a path from her soft belly to where her heart was nestled safely behind her rib cage.
To Rem, it seemed like the numbers were decreasing faster from her ‘sanctuary’ of the portals used to view the humans in Mu. The lifespan of Misa Amane was dangerously close to zero when the stalker whispered a few indiscernible sweet nothings in the struggling blonde’s ear as the knife was raised, ready to end her life at a moment’s notice.
What a shock it was to see the lifespan increase, immediately baffling the Shinigami. The questions that had been ready to fall from her lips were answered the second she spied a rapidly crumbling Gelus scribbling in his Death Note.
Rem blinked as she registered the clumsy human (Matsuzaka? Matsuri? Matsu- something) had groaned when he’d accidentally torn a page he’d been writing on.
No, it wouldn’t do Rem any good to dwell on the loss of Gelus. Letting the sorrow overwhelm her was not going to help in keeping her promise to give Misa a life where she was happy. She was frustrated by the Yagami boy being the cause of cutting that life even shorter not once — but twice from thirty long years to fifteen and now seven with a few months to spare.
Rem knew that her days of holding his death over his head simply wasn’t enough anymore. Misa was becoming more of a liability to Light, what with her impulsive nature and excessive clinginess. The more Rem thought on it — Misa did not need Light in her life. The model needed mental health assistance after the death of her parents.
Many a night had Rem witnessed Misa simply sit a the foot of her bed after drinking herself silly, blank faced whilst her fingers lightly fiddled with a razor for hours until she decided to simply hold it over a pale, milky wrist — never grazing skin, merely looming over.
Rem wanted Misa happy. Misa thinks Light is her happiness. Misa’s object of affection was not her happiness. Rem, in good faith, couldn’t allow Misa to indulge in delusions that would lead to her untimely demise.
Light was going to kill Misa one way or another. Rem knew it. Light wasn’t going to protect her forever. She’d be dead right now if Rem hadn’t done something about it. It was laughable to think Light would see the blonde as anything valuable. Light was a manipulative, unfeeling killer who could easily get another Kira fanatic unknown to the police and more efficient to take Misa’s place, easily dumping the model.
Rem also knew Light was attempting to trap the Shinigami into killing her self to save Misa at a certain point. With the detective backing the youth into a corner and tiptoeing dangerously close to the truth far too quickly, she’d almost gotten rid of L then. But she kept her head. Her death would be futile since Misa would only continue being in danger without her.
It hurt Rem to come to this conclusion — but it was most likely best if Misa were caught. Only under the right circumstances, however. If she could strike a deal with L, perhaps she could ensure a softer punishment for Misa?
What other options did Rem have? Either way, Misa would be in trouble. At least with the detective, Rem was allowed more wiggle room.
Rem’s lone eye scanned the investigation room from her corner. L was no where to be seen. How did the man simply disappear like that? Why the hell hadn’t Light been watching the detective better?
A small part of her was a bit satisfied to see the brunet teen discretely surveying the room, a subtle nervous glint present in his eyes. It was nice to see Light squirm at times, but now it confirmed L simply hadn’t gone on a little trip for a treat nor the bathroom.
When amber eyes met hers, Light gave Rem an imperceptible nod. She took it as a signal to search the building.
She’d checked all the floors, her lips only pursing tighter when she saw no sign of the inky haired detective. Halfheartedly, she decided to check the roof.
Lo and behold, L was on the roof. The detective stood seemingly motionless in the heavy rain, staring at nothing. Rem eyed him for a while.
Was this a boon in disguise? She could never seem to get a moment alone with the young detective. Light always seemed to be around at every corner, making it impossible for her to think properly.
It’s said that all who possess a Death Note would end up with great misfortune — but for someone like Light, everything had been tipping in the little bastard’s favour no matter how sticky the situation. If she left the roof, it seemed that fashion would only continue. The gnawing feeling at the back of her mind pulled her to L. L would be the lesser evil between himself and Kira. He had to be— for Misa. It was about time Light had to have his actions bite him. Painfully as well.
“Ryuzaki?”Rem called from her safe haven underneath an air conditioner. The detective showed no inclination of having heard her.
She braced herself momentarily before leaving her safe haven and ventured into the down pour, fluttering down next to the detective.
L didn’t flinch or anything of the like. He merely turned his head to look up at her.
“Hello, Shinigami Rem,”the detective greeted.
“Ryuzaki,”Rem acknowledged in response. Silence stretched on for a while after, L finding his feet more interesting to look at. The gnawing feeling returned. “Why are you up here?”she eventually asked.
“Merely listening to the bells,”he said, not bothering to look up this time.
“Bells?”
“Mhm,”L hummed. “Many would find their ringing a bit of a nuisance… However, the bells create such beautiful sounds in my opinion. They’ve been ringing all day without pause. I wouldn’t mind them so much if they allowed me to concentrate.”
Rem could only stare. Was this some kind of ear issue other humans struggled with? Had L been losing his grip lately and succumbed to hallucinations?
Or had he, in a way, felt that his death was imminent and only admitting it to himself now?
A part of Rem squirmed uncomfortably in guilt. If she sided with Light, L’s death wouldn’t be a thing of dreams. Abstract, far away. It would be fact. Cold, harsh, unforgiving and oh so unfortunately real. The detective looked smaller than she’d ever seen him — a frail, helpless kitten in the rain unknowingly facing the jaws of the hungry constrictor that was death.
Rem blinked again, attempting to ground herself. It wasn’t the time to get distracted. She had to be careful. She couldn’t exactly try threatening L the same way she’d done Light. The man was smart — startlingly so. He’d see it was a bluff soon enough and everything would blow up in her face. No, she had had to entice him by presenting a means to an end that would make him likely to listen to her.
“I would like to make a deal with you,”she said. L tilted his head to the side minutely — he was listening.
Rem took that as a hint to carry on. “I understand that should Kira be apprehended, they are to be executed, correct?”
“Yes.”
“I see…”Rem muttered before sighing. “Detective. I’m not going to insult your intelligence — I’m more than aware that you have an idea as to who Kira is-“
“And you know exactly who Kira is.” It wasn’t a question. “Are you here to make a confession?”
“Not quite. I can’t tell you certain things, seeing as they’d come at the cost of my life.”
At Rem’s statement, inky pools of black were fixed on the Shinigami. Grim determination could be seen glinting dimly in those eyes that so many secrets. Rem could practically hear L’s brain whirring as pros and cons were weighed carefully.
“You’ve been withholding information in an effort to protect at least one of the Kiras. You’re here to make a deal in return of a less harsh punishment.” Another statement.
Well, if he wasn’t beating around the bush, so would she.
“Correct,”Rem replied. “If my information is valuable, then will you guarantee a lesser punishment?”
L was quiet for a long while, his eyes seemingly piercing into Rem. She almost had the impression he could read her thoughts.
“Depends on who Kira is and specifically which Kira you’re protecting,”the detective muttered, raising a hand to his lips in a bid to gently chew on his thumb. “Also, please consider that whilst my word holds some sway in certain situations — I don’t have absolute authority over what happens to the Kiras. Others will be upset if you suggest letting them go free.”
“I understand. The Kira I’m asking you to save is the Second. They… are extremely mentally unstable — and besides they don’t have long to left to live anyway. I merely want their last years comfortable enough despite having to pay for their crimes. I want them to get help… and be happy. That is all.”
“Hn,”came the noise from the back of L’s throat. “Tell me what you can and I’ll see what I can do afterwards.”
Rem stared at the detective, searching hard for any sign that he was intending to not keep his word. When she saw none, she relaxed a little.
“I can’t tell you the identities of the Kiras — seeing as they’re Death Note users,”she said. “I can point you in the right direction. Thirteen Day Rule is false. If you can prove that, then you’ll be well on your way to catching them. You merely have to be wise about it.”
L’s lips quirked upwards briefly. “Thank you, Shinigami Rem. Whilst little, you’ve given me quite the upper hand,”the inky haired detective hummed. “Of course,”he continued. “You won’t go unpaid — this is a deal, after all. The best I can do is argue for the Second Kira to plead insanity and have them locked up in an asylum of my choosing. Don’t worry, they will be cared for - so long as you do not try ending my own or my associate's life. I'm sure you're familiar with Watari.”
A breath Rem hadn't even known she'd been holding was let out. The Shinigami was relieved. Misa was safe and the Yagami brat was going to pay his dues. She knew that the detective would plan things out better than she ever could. She could try keeping the detective and the old man out of harm's way. It was the least she could do in return for something so great.
The door knob of the door leading to the roof made a noise from behind them and Rem took it as her cue to become intangible. Light appeared. It seemed the teen had gotten frustrated enough to look for L himself. With a satisfied, toothy grin, she phased through the roof, leaving the two geniuses alone.