Chapter Text
L felt the tightness forming in his chest, like somebody had reached through the flesh and muscles protecting his life force, and aimed to squeeze and strangle his poor heart to death. At the beginning of the Kira case, he had refreshed his memory on the symptoms of a heart attack. He had considered the possibility that his own life would end in this way. Running through the list of symptoms, and making a mental checklist of things that applied to him, the detective was 100% certain he had met his fate by Kira's design. Looking up at Light Yagami for the last time, L was content with his demise. Light had called check, and the only friend L had ever had was fittingly the one to end him forever.
L's consciousness returned a few minutes later. He opened his eyes to see his own corpse, pale and stiffening on the cold floor. Light was feigning distress at the death that he knew he had caused, and L caught that twinkle of pride in his eyes that everyone else seemed to miss. L had never much cared for considerations of the afterlife - too many beliefs, too little evidence. He'd admit, he was on the fence about the existence of souls, believing that a human was defined by the presence of brain activity. His continued consciousness meant he was present as a soul, meaning supernatural theories of ghosts must be true after all. L will be content with continuing his existence, if only to witness the extent to which Light can lie and manipulate his way through more investigation. If he gets too bored, he can also explore and research the new rules his existence must follow, seemingly without a physical mass.
L started by inspecting his own physical form. He needed to figure out what he had to work with. He looked at his hands, and they seemed to appear as they had been before his death, except that they were less opaque, and he could see the floor through his skin. Glancing around the room, everything else appeared as it should be. The medical team was respectfully removing the mess that was his remains, and his investigation team was somber and deep in thought. L would probably not be a martyr, and his team would surely forget him once the investigation halted. Except, perhaps, for Light, who had triumphed over him, and likely was going to have an inflated ego about it for years to come. Soon, Light would learn of his calling to "continue the investigation" as L, which would set him up for more and more opportunities to be discovered.
Approaching Light, Lawliet began to feel dizzy. His chest tightened again, and he immediately recognized that feeling as the same from his death. Though it was uncomfortable, it was familiar, and that was intriguing. Trying to take mental notes of this experience, L quickly blacked out.
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L appeared beside Light's bed this time. The last time he'd woken up at his own funeral, a private gathering the task force had planned to honor his memory. Matsuda was by far the most distraught, appearing as though he hadn't slept in days. L wasn't there for long before the familiar pang hit again, and he vanished, finding himself in his rival's bedroom.
Light was sound asleep, laying on his back with one arm behind his head. L was familiar with Light's sleeping position, as he had spent plenty of time watching him sleep when they shared a bed. He knew that Light would most likely remain nearly statuesque through the night, the only clue that he was alive was the steady rise and fall of his chest. L recalled the familiar cold pressure of metal around his wrist. He imagined where the chain would hang down, and his eyes followed the path from his own wrist to the killer's. Light stirred momentarily - he must have been having a particularly interesting dream - and reached his arm from under the blanket to adjust the sheets covering him. This revealed the wrist L was looking to, which had an actual metal cuff around it, with the chain cut short. L felt a pang of longing. Light's eyes sleepily fluttered open, and stared straight through L. A hint of a smile graced Light's lips, and L watched his eyes close as he faded away once again.
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