História Teste - Teste

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination,

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had 

Countless thoughts flew around in Light's mind as he guided this new girl, Misa, apparently, up to his bedroom. "Have a seat."

"T-Thank you." She said, and Light's expression became cold, no longer planning on maintaining a friendly facade unless it proved necessary.

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, I thought so. You didn't do the eye deal, did you?" She smiled, "When you have the Shinigami eyes, you can see a person's lifespan and age. But you cannot see the lifespan of someone who owns a Death Note." Light glared at Ryuk, who just laughed in response,

"Well, I didn't know that detail." Seeing as there was a literal rule in the notebook about even the Shinigami themselves not knowing much about its powers, Light permitted himself to give Ryuk the benefit of the doubt since he had more significant issues to deal with.

"Okay, I understand that, but I'm asking how you found me. How do you know where I live?"

"I bought your information online," Misa explained happily, seemingly unaware of what a massive violation of his privacy getting his info was, "Your blood type is A, weight is 119 pounds, you were born February 28th, 1989."

Light hid how sickened he was. He wasn't sure what was more disturbing—the fact she bought his information or the fact she could. Without a doubt, that was something in need of being changed in his perfect world. And he knew now that there was no way he could work with her.

"What would happen if you were caught by the police, and Kira's secret was discovered—?"

"It's all right." Misa interjected, "I wasn't caught, and if I continue to do as you say, I won't be. Right? And I will see L's name I will become your eyes. So..." she looked away for a moment, then gave what Light assumed was her best innocent and nervous face, "Please make me your girlfriend!"

"No." Light said faster than he had ever rejected someone before—and seeing how many people were lusting after him daily, this was impressive. Only after he had said it did his brain register what a horrible mistake that had been because she could quickly go into "if I can't have you" mode. That being said, after the stunt that she had pulled revealing secret information and also killing innocents for no good reason whatsoever, he was already skeptical. And now coming to his house late at night and asking to date him, he wasn't going to humor this girl for even a second. Those eyes were tempting, but now worth it.

"WHAT?!" Misa shrieked at the top of her lungs, only stopping when Light put a finger to her lips before his mother or sister came to investigate the sound.

"I'm afraid what you're asking is impossible for several reasons."

"Are you already in a relationship?! She can't be prettier than me! I can do it better for you, Light! Who is she? I'll kill her!" 

"We're just not compatible." Light said softly, putting back on a gentle mask, hoping she wouldn't lose her mind even more than she already had. He was consciously fighting the rapidly growing temptation to kill her here and now. No, he had to be patient if he was going to do that. She was already claiming him as her own by saying she would kill any partner he had. He was glad he had no interest in dating right now. Women just weren't appealing to him. In the back of his mind, he wondered what would happen if he was with a guy, would she leave him alone then? But that plan was still too risky unless he was planning to say L was his boyfriend... actually that might work—no, he wasn't going to be working with his psychobitch whatsoever.

Misa tilted her head sideways, confusion was evident on her face. Something told him that her looks allowed rejection to be a new concept to her, and she probably had as many admirers as Light had—which only made him angrier that she had found him the way she had. "What do you mean?"

"If you really killed innocent people to try getting in my pants and not actually to help me, I'm afraid that's even more reason not to work with you." He wouldn't usually say it as bluntly and crudely as he had, but he already knew she wasn't bright, so maybe dumbing down his speech would make her wrap her head around it.

Misa started shrieking as she made a big show of throwing herself at his feet, and Light pointed to the door with a warning glare, reminding her that they weren't the only people here. "Don't you understand? We're perfect! I only did that to get your attention, and I can be useful!"

Light closed his eyes against the oncoming headache. He really hoped stupidity of this magnitude didn't pass like a cold. Was this really what lust did to people? Well, rapists were a thing, so that wasn't out of the question. Light himself had never experienced lust—Sayu sometimes said the price for his brains was the inability to experience that kind of thing.

"But… but I have the Shinigami eyes!" Misa persuaded. "If you make me your girlfriend, I can easily kill L for you! I can help you!" 

Light let out a long, drawn-out sigh, knowing full well that she really could be useful. It was a golden opportunity, but Misa was the opposite of someone who belonged in the perfect world Kira sought to build and had even dragged his name through the mud—which he was still more than a little bitter about since the Kira hate had quadrupled since those tapes. She was a murderer of innocents, and not even for self-preservation. This was the type of person he killed daily. "As I have said before, I don't kill innocents..." then he was silent as he thought of something to say, his bangs falling into his face. Then he spoke in a soft, sad voice, "Misa, you have crossed the line between vigilante and villain. I intend to build a world where kind people live, but you have torn apart families to meet me? You do understand that what you've done counts as people I punish, right?"

Instead of getting discouraged like he had hoped, Misa only perked up even more. "You can help me find my way again!" 

"No, Misa. I—" 

"We'll do it together! The power of love prevails!" The blonde decreed while giving him a two-fingered hand gesture right out of Sailor Moon. 

"Misa, I already told you I can't be your boyfriend. I actually have no interest in dating right now, and everybody, including L, knows that. So for me to start dating would bring up instant suspicion, especially considering the Second Kira is known." He actually wasn't sure if L knew, but it wasn't like Misa would be able to disprove that bluff. He did go on the occasional one-time date to test it out, usually at Sayu's insistence, but he always said after getting home that a long term relationship just didn't seem in the cards for him.

"Aw… that's okay, Light, I understand." Misa assured, and Light felt his left eye start twitching, and that was something he had never experienced before. Even as weird and infuriatingly brilliant as L was, making Light twitch was something that hadn't been achieved. "You can just pretend for now. I'm sure you'll fall in love with me eventually!" 

"Did you not hear me? I am not interested in you." Light ground out past clenched teeth, but still bent down by her side, putting on a mask of being regretful and frustrated, not letting his real fury be seen, "Nothing personal, you're just not my type. I'm sure there is somebody out there who would be able to appreciate you better than I would be able."

Misa's bawling came to an abrupt stop. She smiled dangerously. "You know, you're making Rem angry. She loves me, you know, and she says that if you don't be my boyfriend, she'll kill you." The Shinigami, Rem apparently, said nothing to disprove this, and Light's eyes widened, horrified at knowing he had been right about what she would do to make him obey. But then he noticed that Ryuk was laughing. Was it a bluff? Regardless, he took a deep breath, hoping to get through to her civilly and  without  dying.

"Listen. That's not how it works!" He let some of his anger be shown, "You can't just threaten me and expect me to spontaneously change my brain chemistry! Be reasonable!" He gripped her shoulders firmly, not to harm her, but to ensure she was listening to what he said, "Misa, listen to me! You can't be my girlfriend. You can't introduce yourself as my girlfriend. If you go around introducing yourself as my girlfriend, you'll be arrested immediately, and I will be too. As I said before, everybody knows I don't have much in the way of emotional attachments to people and don't even express love to my own family all too well." He noticed Ryuk turn to the other Shinigami,

"It's true, but here I thought he'd ignore that fact and go for it anyway." Light visibly relaxed, seeing out of the corner of his eye that Rem was acknowledging what Ryuk said, meaning there was a chance she would accept that Light just couldn't love Misa, regardless of the eyes. However, the real reason Light couldn't even pretend was his disgust for her, but nobody had to know that tiny detail.

"Besides," he continued, "And because of your message, there were three times the usual number of surveillance cameras. Anyone in Aoyama would have been caught on camera, including you and I. If we were seen together after that, it would be suspicious. Try to understand." Misa then brightened as though she was getting an idea, then dug a picture out of her bag,

"This was a picture of me when I went to Aoyama. I'm sure no one would recognize me like this." Light blinked a few times, realizing that  damn, she's right.  He actually remembered seeing this girl because one of his friends had pointed her out and that she seemed to be leering at him. Now that made sense.

"So, what about your fingerprints?" He tried, "The tapes you sent to the television station all have the same prints."

"Those aren't my fingerprints." Misa explained with a nonchalant hand gesture, and it was clear she was acting smug now to impress him, "I did put some thought into my actions. A little while back, I lived in the Kansai region. I had a friend who was into the occult. When I told her we should make fake ghost videos and send it to several TV shows, she agreed to help me. I had her dub ten tapes, so I didn't have to touch the tapes. I took those videotapes, recorded the dub, and added the Kira graphic on it."

Light's brow furrowed because while he had done some less than godlike things to keep himself out of prison, he hadn't thrown any of his semi-existent friends under the bus, and the only innocent kills he did were out of self-preservation, nothing more. "And what is that friend doing now?"

"If you want me to kill her," Misa snapped, "I'll kill her right now!"

"Let's not." He said, regarding Misa warily and backing up a tiny bit, making it clear that she was just proving his concerns. But instead of recognizing the error of what she was doing, she became insulted, standing up. Light did the same, so he could remain taller than her, have a little bit more power. 

"Why are you so suspicious of me?! I don't mind if you just use me! Believe me."

Curiosity got the better of him, "How can you say that?" Misa fell back down to her knees, and Light looked down at her judgementally. At this point, it was clear both Shinigami understood how this was going to end. At least Rem didn't seem murderously mad—which she probably would be if Light went with his instincts and killed Misa with the Death Note.

"Exactly one year ago, my parents were killed by a burglar right before my eyes." Um... that's not how you properly burgle someone, was Light's first thought, followed by what the hell kind of psycho burglars does she deal with?! What could she have possibly had that was so valuable a murder was the go-to to get it?  "I couldn't forgive him. The trial was drawn-out, and some people started saying he was falsely accused." Misa continued explaining, and Light could already see where this was going, "That's when Kira punished him. Kira means everything to me. I just—I just wanted to meet you so badly! I wanted to thank you."

And it was at this moment Light almost regretted doing her a service. Whoever this criminal had been—he killed dozens of people a day, so the name of this particular burglar eluded him—had to die. Still, it seemed that in making the world a better place, Light had made himself the savior to a clearly unstable individual.

"Well, you've thanked me. Goodbye." He went to the door, but Misa grabbed his hand,

"What?! No, but you're supposed to love me, and we can build a better world!" Seeing that saying no was clearly not getting through to her, he tried a different tactic that, while it might blow up in his face, would also give him enough time to think about a proper course of action.

"Misa, I believe you are misguided, but a good person at heart. You gave up half your lifespan to find me, and I am not going to ignore that, so I will give you mercy and turn a blind eye towards your actions. However, it's dangerous for us. I am a suspect, and I don't want to put you in danger too. Please, Misa, for your own safety, leave this place and never return. The more people who know Kira's secret, the worse it will be. I wouldn't doubt L already suspects you, even without fingerprints. After all, he's zeroed in on  me  already." 

"Oh, Light, you do care!"

"Goodbye, Misa." He showed her to the door and waved goodbye, quickly telling his mother and Sayu to keep this a secret, before walking back to his room and growling, "I give it a day before she's back, what do you think, Ryuk?"

"Why did you refuse her help?" Ryuk asked, "That's Shinigami eyes for free!"

"She's too okay with killing innocents—even her own friend! She's a nutcase, Ryuk. And if I didn't know all too well that there is a chance she wasn't bluffing about her Shinigami loving her enough to kill for her, I would arrange a little accident in a month. If I cut all ties with her, it is possible I will not be held accountable in Rem's book if she gets caught and executed, since she would be in no way working on my orders." He crossed his arms, "All I have to do is subtly lead the investigation team right to her, and take her notebook. Then I can get someone actually useful and not an insane stalker of an ally. Or maybe I'll simply mention to my father that she's been stalking me, that would get the issue dealt with extremely fast. No, L might actually be suspecting her by now, and if I was associated with her, that would essentially confirm L's suspicions."

Ryuk laughed, and Light was blissfully unaware the Shinigami was currently thinking of every single way this could become interesting and wondering if he should use his expert notebook-stealing skills and stir the pot a little. "That's a good point."

"Besides, I'm smart enough on my own. I can get L's name without Shinigami eyes. I don't know  how  yet, but I'm going to do it."

 

...

 

"That didn't go well at all," Misa sulked as she walked home. Rem watched her. 

In truth, the Shinigami had a sense of respect for Light Yagami now. He wasn't a saint, and she was mad that he had upset Misa, but he had recognized his own morals and hadn't used Misa for his personal gain. And he had tried to let her down easy multiple times; it was admirable that he had admitted he couldn't give her that love she deserved, even if he was unaware how much Misa merited.

"Misa, Light Yagami was right, you could be killed if you continue. He was just looking out for you." Misa brightened,

"Yeah! He was! I'll visit him again tomorrow to see if he's changed his mind when he sees I'm not afraid of danger."

"Misa, I do not think Light Yagami can love you the way you wish him to," Rem pleaded, "He admitted that much."

"I know, but everybody loves Misa-Misa, he just needs to learn to appreciate it. We're going to be King and Queen of the new world, I know it! Because I'm going to do whatever it takes for Light to become mine."

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Light found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Misa out of his mind. Not because he had any regrets about turning her down, but because he realized how much of a problem she would have been even if he did accept her lust. However, this also distracted him from his classes, until eventually, he felt someone tap his shoulder after class. It was Kiyomi. She was pretty and relatively smart, and maybe he would have considered asking her out once, but he knew it wasn't safe with the whole Misa situation.

"Hey, Light, are you doing okay? I noticed you've seen a little off today."

"Oh," he looked away, embarrassed that he hadn't hidden it all too well, "I've got a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Hey, do you want to go out sometime, maybe take your mind off things?" She offered, and he noticed she sounded a tad bit concerned for his wellbeing. He knew about her crush on him, and maybe this was the prime time for her to have the confidence. He sent her a regretful expression,

"Kiyomi, normally I would say yes, but I recently learned I have this stalker, and she confronted me. If I'm seen with other girls, she said she'd kill them."

Kiyomi could tell he wasn't lying because he was revealing his genuine concern, and her brow furrowed, "Really? I mean, I'm not surprised, you're a great guy, but do you really think that girl would kill anyone you're with?"

"I don't know. But I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're my friend, Kiyomi, and I don't want you to get hurt." 

Kiyomi crossed her arms, "Light, if this is really that serious, you need to go to the police about this. Why not talk to your father? Surely he would help you with this."

Light sighed, knowing it wouldn't be that simple, "I don't usually like going to my father with this kind of thing. This girl is probably going after me now since my father is distracted with a big case." 

"The Kira case?" Light shrugged,

"I don't know. He's never home, and doesn't tell me much." 

"Well, if you want, I can call the police for you. What's the girl's name?" And here was when Light had to lie. 

"I don't know. She just came up to me when I was on one of my walks late at night and demanded to be my girlfriend. When I said no, she threatened to kill anyone I was with, seemingly under the impression that I was dating somebody."

"But we don't know what she will consider to be dating or not." Kiyomi mused, "You and I could go to the movies as friends, and she might consider it like that. Meaning that you're going to have to be careful."

"I know. Thank you for listening, Kiyomi, but on the off chance she's watching, I should probably get going. And can you please keep this a secret? I'm hoping I can resolve the situation on my own. I think this is a very troubled girl, and I don't want to risk her getting locked up and killed by Kira when she actually needs help."

"You're a better man than me, Light," Kiyomi smiled, walking away, and Light started walking to the library so he could get some books since he had read all the ones he owned and needed some more to amuse himself when he had some time to spare. This was also because he had a feeling Misa was going to follow him home and jump him, and he was trying to brace himself.

Ryuk watched him as he finished checking out the books and was walking home, "I didn't think you were the type to tell other people about your problems."

"I'm not. The only reason I told Kiyomi anything," he whispered, "Is because I know her well enough that I know she is one of the only reporters who actually look for the truth. And it's human nature to want to help someone you care about, so there is a high probability she's going to attempt to get to the bottom of this, and then Misa will be arrested for stalking, nothing about the Death Note related."

He continued to walk in silence, making it to task force headquarters just on time, and he helped work on the case, already hating Misa even more for sending out another tape that made him look even more suspicious in L's eyes. Now it was  really  going to make things difficult if she got arrested!

He was walking home, in a foul mood at this point, when he heard the shrill gleeful shout of, "Light!" 

Light spun around just in time for Misa to jump at him and send him crashing to the ground, where his head slammed onto the pavement and made his vision momentarily go dark. This was the first time in his life he had been tempted to hit a woman.

"I know you said you wanted nothing to do with me, but I had to see you! I was just on my way to your house when I saw you!" Light sat up, slowly standing, only to find her arms around his neck, and she had her best seductive face on, "So, I gave you a day, have you reconsidered? You know now that we're meant to be together now that I've given you time to think, right?"

He took her arms off him, "Misa, I never said I needed time to think. I said no, and I meant it." 

"But," she stammered, "You refused Misa-Misa, so of course you needed time to reconsider!" 

"Misa, I'm going home now, and if you follow me, I'm calling the police—which you're lucky I haven't done already." 

Misa stared at him blankly for a moment, before there was a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smirk on her face that sent a momentary shiver up Light's spine as he was already debating buying pepper spray. But right now, his headache was not only from her stupidity, but also from being slammed onto the pavement, and he could tell it was going to become a migraine quickly if he didn't get away.

"Okay, Light. Have a good night." She walked away, "I'll see you soon!"

"No, Misa—" he huffed, noticing Rem was looking back at him with an unreadable expression before flying away. 

Light sighed and walked back home.

 

OoOoO

 

Unbeknownst to Light, he had been followed all day by Mogi, who reported what he had heard and saw to L and the rest of the task force.

"So Light is being stalked by Misa Amane..." L mused, eating a caramel cup, "Seeing how many stalkers these police reports say she's dealt with, her doing the same thing, in turn, is quite the hypocritical move. Mr. Yagami, has Light had this problem before?" The chief looked to L,

"Yes, many times in his youth. I always told him that if he was going to be a police officer, it would be best if he handled the situation himself."

"And Light-Kun is very prideful," L mused, "He wouldn't go running to his father for help."

"Misa-Misa is stalking Light?" Matsuda asked, and Aizawa let out a long-suffering groan, but didn't comment on it,

"So, can we just arrest her for stalking and be done with it?"

"No." L replied, "Well, not yet, at least. If we are going to investigate Light, we can't have him knowing Mogi follows him most of the day. I was planning on arresting her tomorrow under suspicion of being the second Kira, but unfortunately, this new knowledge will make that harder."

"How so?" Soichiro asked, "From where I stand, that should make things easier."

"Because from the tape we recovered had hair and such matching that of Ms. Amane. The tape we listened to today with the second Kira saying they found the original, heavily implies Light Yagami is the first. However, if the second Kira can kill with just a face, making her killing power even deadlier than his, why would Light possibly refuse such an easy opportunity to kill me? And why wouldn't Light kill her himself?"

Mr. Yagami brightened, "Are you saying that Light being stalked by the second Kira actually decreases his chances of being the first?"

"Yes, I believe that is the case." L replied, "From what Mogi saw today, it is quite likely Misa is using her celebrity and second Kira status to make Light date her, but Light is not accepting. The fact Mogi overheard Light mention a death threat to anyone he dated supports that theory. We will investigate further into this stalking case before taking steps in the Kira case, as while capturing Misa now would solve the short-term problem, it won't help us determine if Light is innocent or not."

"I understand," everyone said, and L nodded, but in the pit of his stomach, he felt a pool of dread that even if this would help the case in the long run, he was making a huge mistake. 

And, the next night, he was proven right to have been worried.

He had heard a knock at the door and opened it. They were going over various footage again, and L was surprised with how late it was to find Light standing at the door. Only something was wrong—very wrong. 

Light was shivering, bleeding, and his body language showed he was scared. There was also a clouded and slightly dazed look in his eyes—he was drugged. He looked like he'd been assaulted. 

Looking up at L, swaying slightly as though he was close to passing out, Light mumbled, "...didn't know where else to go..." before collapsing into L's arms.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

Watari exited the bedroom where Light had been rested, and the elderly man actually had tears in his eyes. L was pacing around the room, hoping fervently that this wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he was never wrong, and not for the first time during this case, he hated that fact.

He and Watari made eye contact, and Watari didn't need to say anything or move a muscle to get the point across that Light had indeed been raped. And L didn't need to be told that it was likely Misa Amane was the culprit.

Blood roared in his ears, and he could almost feel the temperature drop in the room as he slowly closed his eyes, entire lithe body shaking for a moment. Forcing himself to calm down, he ignored the task force's conversing and walked into his bedroom, seeing Light asleep under the warm covers, which were all the way up to his chin.

L smiled bitterly, seeing how peaceful Light looked in sleep, mind far away from the atrocious crime he had been victim to tonight. He noticed that Watari had changed Light into some pajamas instead of the torn-up clothing he had had before.

What kind of drug had been used on Light? Was there a possibility he wouldn't remember? It would be good for Light to not retain those memories, for this was a terrible misfortune nobody, not even Kira, deserved.

If Light did remember and was Kira, then Misa  should  be dead in a week tops. L could see no reason this wouldn't be the case. Kira saw himself as a god and to be violated by someone like that would be considered a terrible offense. Or the killings may continue as usual.

But this was impossible to tell, as it was possible the killings would continue with Misa being the one to do it.

And this brought him back to the most critical issue that had every single nerve in his body supercharged, and he wasn't sure what to do. It hadn't taken long to identify the emotion he was feeling as fury, which had thankfully channeled itself into a killing calm instead of breaking things in rage.

Yet as he stood up to look out the window, he felt like he could punch something. It was his own damn mistake to not arrest Misa on the spot. If he had captured her this afternoon like he had initially planned, this wouldn't have happened.

Obviously, the most logical choice was to arrest her now. Destroy her.

Then he hesitated, realizing a  huge  issue.

In this day and age, a man being the victim of rape was still a new concept for people to grasp, even if it had been going on for decades. However, only men were considered the culprits—which was sexist, and L had always had a problem with that, but no one man can change the world, so there wasn't anything he could do to change the stereotype.

For Light to have been raped by a woman, this getting out would destroy Light's life, reputation, any hope of being a police officer... it was a mess.

But since when had that stopped him? If he needed to lie a little about the real crimes of Misa Amane, that was fine. He was L, the greatest detective in the world, so why the hell would tiny details bother him?

Now, the jury would be a bigger pain. He could  arrest  Misa, but another thing he hated about the world was how the rich and famous could get away with murder, due to lawyers cutting deals or simply being persuasive high price mouthpieces with their lies to preserve their client and get paid.

If Misa wasn't a celebrity, this would be easy as pie. But she was, so while her arrest would cause a ton of gossip and maybe dent her reputation, she was bound to be out in a month. Or she could pay her way out of prison. L tensed as he realized there may be more truth to Kira's heavily implied claim about the world being rotten than he had admitted to himself before.

If the world found out she was the second Kira, support for the mass killer would skyrocket. Again, this wasn't something L was worried about, but the  last  thing he needed was for world leaders to be lusty for Misa and decide to spare her. 

So he decided he was going to find her, arrest her and torture her until she confessed. He would think of what to do after that later. But there was still the aforementioned celebrity issue. 

What he needed was much more... permanent... way to get rid of her.

Little did he know, a certain God of Death was feeling the same way.

 

...

 

For Ryuk, the situation was a mixed bag. He had gotten countless lessons about various crimes from Light over half a year of knowing the young man. He had found them fascinating, what humans would do to each other for thrills, and even more so how the victims responded. 

From what Ryuk had gathered, it was a hotly debated topic whether murder or rape was worse. Light was much more careful and did research into the situation with murder cases due to varying motives. But with rapists, they would have their name written the very same second Light learned of their crime.

So Ryuk knew rape was bad and could have devastating psychological consequences for the victim. Meaning that what Rem's little brat had done could have changed Light completely. 

And Ryuk liked Light. Not only was he an amusing apple provider and a constant source of entertainment, but the months had also created a bond between them, and Ryuk knew Light was someone incredible. The Shinigami knew he would never be the same after Light inevitably died.

So while he had little understanding of that sentimental crap humans talked about, he did understand that Light was his friend. Now, this didn't mean he was going to be going and sacrificing himself for the young man like a lovesick fool, he didn't want to see any harm befall Light, and was angry when it did happen. Meaning while he wouldn't rescue Light if he was arrested, he would do the honors of letting Light die peacefully before suffering through prison and execution.

As he watched Light sleep shockingly peacefully with how terrified he had been not even two hours ago, he also noticed a change in L Lawliet, Light's sworn enemy who seemed furious about what had happened. Of course, rape was bad, and all humans with a brain understood that—Ryuk was now convinced due to Misa's actions that rapists were purely  stupid  because that girl had directly said to Light while raping him that surely he was kind to those with pure hearts. Together they would rule a perfect world, and all Light had to do was learn to love her. Ryuk knew he wasn't the brightest individual, but he did know enough from Light's lessons that even a literal God of Death could cringe at Misa's idiocy.

Regardless of that, as Ryuk flew over to see the detective's expression, he was surprised. While his face was blank, his dark eyes may as well have had a literal flame in it with how much anger was visible there.

And then Ryuk got an idea of how to amuse himself  and  make sure Misa paid for what she did. Honestly, Ryuk had no idea whatsoever what had made Gelus sacrifice himself, and it looked like Rem was okay with doing that too, for this girl. Maybe Light was just rubbing off on him, but Ryuk just saw that girl, while pretty, as kind of annoying. Interesting, no doubt, but he would still not want to be tied to her for however long she has the Death Note.

And for what Ryuk wanted to do, L fit the bill. Light, originally enthusiastic about his ideals and ready to make big speeches about justice in the middle of class—or so he had said he used to do—had needed to step back and be calculating and cold. 

L, on the other hand, seemed to have always been calculating and cold, and only recently had to step out and be aggressive and open. Meaning he too could successfully own a Death Note, and also doubtfully have any morality issues against using it. Anger was a powerful motivator, and it was clear L was angry. And to top it all off, L being a Death Note owner would make him more reluctant to harm Light for doing the same thing, unless he was one of those people who wore their hypocrisy like a badge. 

Even if Ryuk himself did take revenge and kill Misa, Rem would just kill Light in retaliation, and the whole thing would be pointless. And grudges between Shinigami were excruciatingly  boring  because neither could do anything to each other. Hence, the only purpose it served was to deprive you of someone else to play cards with. Did he mention the Shinigami Realm was boring as fuck?

Thankful that he had stolen yet another Death Note before coming to the human world—just in case he had wanted another situation like Taro and having two Death Notes at play—Ryuk flew over to the desk in the corner of the room and dropped the spare Death Note there.

L turned from the window, and Ryuk laughed as he instantly took notice of the notebook which hadn't been there before.

 

OoOoO

 

Rem watched Misa, who had just gotten back after buying a pregnancy test, "Misa, are you sure you need that now? Isn't it supposed to be weeks before you know?"

"I know, but I'm so excited!" Misa grinned as she tied up her hair, "If anything is going to bring us together, a baby has to do it!" 

"Misa, using the Death Note is one thing, but you do realize that Light Yagami's father now has grounds to arrest you whether you are the second Kira or not. You need to run and lay low for your own safety."

Misa turned, "Rem, Light is kind to those with pure hearts."

Rem smiled, "He may be, but his family and friends may not be." The young model jumped up, pumping her fists in determination, 

"I'll lay low for a bit, and help Kira's mission. Then Light will have more time to learn to love me." Rem nodded, ruffling Misa's hair, but the Shinigami already knew from the expression she had