Death Note Fan Fiction / Death Note Fan Fiction ❯ Suppression ❯ Hooded Innocence ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Thank you very much for the reviews! This is my first fanfic, so I’m glad you like it. :3
Here’s chapter 2! Someone owes me their stash of sweets now... xD

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of the characters. L owns me.


The bathroom L and Light shared was occupied by both, due to the chain binding them together. L stood hunched over, barefoot on the cold linoleum floor, holding his limp wrist to the side at such an angle that Light could move around more freely. The younger of the two was in the shower, his naked figure visible yet distorted through the foggy glass of the door.

Light glanced over his shoulder. Ryuzaki was staring off into space, most likely absorbed in thought. He looked rather odd, Light thought, standing there with his right arm outstretched and his left thumb resting elegantly on his lower incisors. His dull, sallow skin contrasted starkly with his raven locks, and along with the dark circles under his eyes and his vacant expression, he could’ve easily passed for a ghost. But then again, Ryuzaki always looked that way.

Light stepped out of the shower, grabbing for his towel. L didn’t stir from his trance. It was typical; a typical late evening. There were two sinks, so the men brushed their teeth side by side, L with his bubblegum flavored toothpaste and Light with his cool mint.

L slipped into his pajamas as Light removed the towel from his waist and pulled on his boxers. This was the only case during which the handcuffs were removed: when either L or Light had to change his shirt. Otherwise, the two were always connected. It was a physical reminder of their tied fates. In the end, Ryuzaki needed to solve the case, and in the end, when Ryuzaki caught Kira, and only then, would Light be free. There was no other way.

There was a muffled silence as the two young men climbed into the queen-sized bed they shared. L snatched his laptop off the night stand and Light grabbed his book. A half hour passed and Light was just beginning to lose focus due to fatigue when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. A tiny electric wave shot up his spine. Ryuzaki was looking at him.

“Yes?” Light asked calmly, returning L’s gaze.

“You seem quieter than usual. Are you feeling alright?”

Light was taken aback. “What do you mean, Ryuzaki? I’m not normally much of a conversationalist at this hour.”

“I guess so,” replied L, turning back to his online data.

Vague. For such a smart detective, Ryuzaki was always so conspicuous and vague. It was annoying. Light tried not to let it bother him. He couldn’t possibly display a negative emotion around someone who never showed any true emotion at all. So he merely shrugged and said with a chuckle, “You are a strange one, Ryuzaki,” as he placed his book back on the night stand and made himself comfortable under the covers.

“Yes,” L mused, not even looking up from his work.

The night wore on, and still the insomniac tapped away on his keyboard, eyes as wide and consuming as always. Light, on the other hand, was fast asleep, a soft, almost innocent expression portrayed across his relaxed features. Ryuzaki paused from typing to study Light. The youth’s reddish, light brown hair was covering his eyes. Ryuzaki brushed it aside gently with the tips of his fingers, so as not to wake his roommate. Even when Light Yagami’s eyes were hooded in peaceful slumber, criminals kept on dying. And L, who was never wrong, had been so sure that Yagami-kun was Kira.

So L had shackled Light Yagami to himself. It wasn’t so much a personal vendetta against Light than an insatiable urge to prove himself right. L saw himself as Justice, and Justice could not be wrong. Justice was right. And perhaps a small part (maybe two percent) of L wanted Light to be linked to Justice. If the price to pay for Light’s innocence was being in the wrong, then L would pay it off. However, the other ninety-eight percent of L was positive that Light was, at least at some point, Kira, or had had Kira’s powers. If L had to shackle Light to Justice in order to prevent him from committing atrocious murders, then so be it. L would get his evidence sooner or later either way.

L frowned as he finished up his research. Light Yagami was not his friend. He had been lying when he’d said that. L didn’t have such trivial, vulnerable connections as friends. However, he did, undeniably, have a connection to Light. A strong one. That was another reason for the chained handcuffs. The two of them were in this together, and L didn’t want Light to forget that. L wanted Light to be very aware of how fate had twisted the two of them together in a tight knot.

L turned off his laptop and slipped under the covers. It was 4:17 a.m. Another two hours and they would be with the task force again, investigating the interminable Kira case. Light stirred and muttered something in his sleep as L turned onto his side, facing away from the damned alarm clock. This meant that L was now facing Light. His large, wide eyes stared out through the darkness, piercing a path to Light’s face. Sometimes when L would lie awake at night, he’d try to decipher the words that Light tended to mumble while asleep. It was never anything that sounded like “Kira” or “kill” though. (A/N: It was more like “Ryuzakiiiii!”)

Suddenly Light’s eyes shot open, the whites almost glowing in the stage of pre-awareness. Then the eighteen-year-old sat straight up, sweat appearing on his now conscious brow. All this time, L remained quiet and still, observing from his curled position under the covers.

Light came to terms with reality and quickly regained his composure, but it was too late, Ryuzaki had already seen his discomfort. As Light lay back down, a unwelcome voice filled his ears. “What’s the matter, Light-kun?”

“Nothing,” replied Light. “It was just a dream. I’m sorry. Go back to sleep, Ryuzaki.”

“I wasn’t asleep before, Light-kun.”

“Well, go back to whatever you were doing then.”

L smirked. It was dark, but Light may have still been able to see L’s smirk, had he been looking at the detective’s face, but he wasn’t. His back was turned towards L in an unsociable gesture, yet his eyes were wide open. Light had just awoken from a rather disturbing dream.

Yes, a disturbing dream, that was all it was. But dreams stemmed from the subconscious, and if he was subconsciously thinking that–

“What’s wrong, Light-kun,” came Ryuzaki’s persistent voice.

“Nothing, Ryuzaki,” said Light irritably. “I already told you it was just a dream.”

“A bad dream?”

“Yes, a bad dream.”

“Is Light-kun remembering his actions as Kira through dreams?”

“What? No!”

“What is Light-kun dreaming then?”

“Forget about it, Ryuzaki.”

Silence. Not for long of course.

“Would Light-kun like some tea?”

“Huh? Oh. No thank you, Ryuzaki.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m quite sure.” Light turned over to face L. The man was sure as hell persistent. Obnoxiously so. No wonder I’m his first-ever friend, Light recalled bitterly.

The truth was that Light’s dream had revealed a side to him that he didn’t want to acknowledge, let alone share. But what did Light or L know about truth? It wasn’t a part of their vast vocabulary. Or if it was, it was just a hollow, meaningless word that had no significance whatsoever in either of their lives. Therefore Light passed the dream off as insignificant. And when he finally turned over to face Ryuzaki, there was no longer any...stiff evidence that he had even had the dream at all.


A/N: There will be ACTION in the next chapter. ;)