"What are you doing?" asked Light, his eyebrow raised at the two of them.

Jubilee gaped at him for a moment, still caught in a daze over everything that had just transpired between her and L. It was the latter extricating his hand from hers that brought her back to her senses. She glanced nervously at the detective, unsure of how to respond to the other boy's entrance.

The colors around L had rescinded abruptly back into a cloud of gray. He gave Light a quizzical look, then held his hand up to his ear and leaned towards him as if to say, Come again?

Light cupped his hands around his mouth. "I said," he called through the rain, more loudly this time, "What are you guys doing out there, standing in the rain by yourselves?"

L made a show of furrowing his brow, then shook his head before cupping his hand to his ear again. Over his head, the line that had been wobbling throughout this entire exchange snapped in two. Jubilee cast the broken pieces a suspicious look.

"You can hear him perfectly, can't you," she stated. It wasn't a question.

"Of course," replied the detective without missing a beat. A slight hint of light winked through the gray around him. "But he doesn't need to know that."

Jubilee couldn't help but smirk at this. In front of them Light, with a sigh, had ventured out into the downpour. He held one hand up over his head, which did little to nothing in shielding him from the deluge. By the time he reached them, he was as soaked as they were.

"What are you doing, Ryuzaki?" he asked tiredly when he stood before them. The black haze rolled off of him in irritable wisps.

"Oh, nothing worth mentioning," said L, turning away to face the distance again. "It's just that I hear the bells."

Light looked confused. "...The bells?" he repeated.

"Yes. They have been exceptionally loud today."

Light gave L a dubious look. He stared out towards the distance, brow furrowed, then back at L. The detective ignored him. Finally Light turned to Jubilee. She returned his questioning gaze with a calm look.

"What?" she said coolly. "You don't hear them?"

Light arched an eyebrow high. Beside Jubilee, she thought she could hear a sound of ringing mirth bubble forth from L's countenance, though he made no move or sound to indicate that he was paying any attention to either of them.

The flash of a scowl passed briefly across Light's face, before he schooled his features and looked towards the distance again. The writhing black haze around him grew still as he strained to listen.

"I don't hear anything," he said after a long moment.

"No?" said L, sounding surprised. He turned to face Light. "That's odd. They've been ringing incessantly all day. Terribly distracting, I must say. I couldn't focus on the case at all, all I could think about were the sound of those bells."

Jubilee noted with interest that the line over the detective's head stayed straight.

He continued, "I wonder if it's a church, perhaps a wedding. Or..." The gray around him took on a darker tinge, but his face showed no emotion. "Is it a funeral?" He put a finger to his chin and looked up thoughtfully. Then, as though having a new thought, he gestured towards Jubilee. "Miss Amachi here can hear them, can't you, Miss—"

"Ryuzaki," Light cut him off, a bite of impatience in his tone. "What are you playing at? Come on, cut it out." He turned back towards the door. "Let's all go back inside."

L stopped and gave the other boy a long, measuring look. His expression became almost sad all of a sudden, and he turned away again. "I'm sorry. It seems that nothing I say is making much sense these days."

The line over his head still didn't break, although Jubilee's heart did. She opened her mouth to object, but Light had turned back around and beat her to speaking.

"You know, you're right," he said. "There'd be no end to my troubles if I actually took you seriously all the time." He considered L's back for a moment, before adding, "Because a lot of the things that you say aren't true."

"That may be so," returned L. "But..." He turned around slowly to lock eyes with Light. "I could say the same of you." His voice lowered as he went on, "Tell me, Light...has there ever been a point, from the moment you were born—that you have actually told the truth?"

There was a tense beat. Jubilee looked between the two men. Over both their heads, lines wavered but did not break. All of a sudden, tendrils from Light's haze lashed out towards the detective, making her flinch. They stopped just before reaching him, however, and recoiled slightly just as Light cleared his throat.

"I don't know what you're getting at," he began, his tone cool. The tendrils of darkness withdrew slowly back into him. "But, first of all...no one is ever truthful their entire lives. People aren't perfect."

Jubilee's hands clenched. It was true. Who knew that better than she did?

He went on, more coldly, "Even so, I can honestly say that if I have ever lied, I've made a point of making sure that it was only ever for the good of others."

In the brief pause that ensued, the line over his head stayed straight. Which, Jubilee thought to herself, meant that he was either telling the truth or sincerely thought that he was.

"I thought you'd say that," said L at last, softly.

Light turned from both of them then. "Let's go back inside, guys. There's going to be a thunder storm soon."

"Very well," agreed the detective. He began to follow Light to the door, then glanced back at Jubilee. For the briefest moment, color sparked from him again, though his expression didn't change as he addressed her. "Let's go and get dried off, shall we—Julie?" He turned from her before she could respond, continuing to the door.

Jubilee stood frozen in the rain for a second. That's the first time he's called me by just that name. No added use of her fake surname, no formal title of Miss tacked on beforehand. And it will be the last, whispered a premonition in the back of her mind.

The sound of bells still chimed in the distance, sounding louder somehow. She glanced over at where Hellenos had been standing to see if he was still there. He was, but only as a mere ghost of an image.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

Child, I'm not sure if you've never looked happier, or sadder, he commented. His voice sounded faint and distant.

The rain continued to pour down on her. She couldn't tell if that was what was streaming down her face, or if it was her own tears.

"Probably both," she whispered.

Then, she turned and ran after L.

----------------------------------------

L, Light and Jubilee sat in the kitchenette that was sectioned off from the main investigative room, drying themselves off with towels that they had grabbed from the laundry room on their way downstairs. The distant sound of thunder rumbled overhead. Jubilee wrung out her long hair in the sink, grumbling over all the wet knots that it had accrued. Next to her Hellenos hovered quietly, only a slight shimmer.

"That was quite an ordeal," commented L from where he stood hunched in a corner, wiping at his mop of hair with a thick white towel. He had grabbed the fluffiest one for himself.

"It's your fault for being out in that downpour," muttered Light from where he sat on a low wooden stool, towel drying his own hair. "Pretty sure you were the one who was out there first, and then Julie must have failed to talk any sense into you." With a sigh, he kicked off his soggy shoes and began stripping wet socks from his feet.

L eyed the other man's feet for a second, then raised his eyes to Jubilee, who had turned from the sink to face them.

"Actually," he began quietly, "There were a few things she said that I took to heart."

Jubilee's heart thumped at this, and she watched as L suddenly knelt before Light, towel in hand.

"Here," he said, lifting one of Light's feet with a pale hand. "Let me help you." He brought his towel to the sole of Light's foot and began drying it.

Light flinched at the detective's touch. "Uh—" he began. "That's really...not necessary..." He tried to pull his foot back.

L didn't release his foot. "Please," he said, his attention on his work. "I insist. My towel is thicker, and—" Briefly he lifted his eyes again to Jubilee, before returning his gaze downwards as he continued to dry Light's feet. "It's the least I can do...to atone for my sins."

Light stopped protesting and gazed with wide eyes down at the man kneeling before him and drying his feet. He opened his mouth to say something else, seemed to think better of it, and closed it again. Slowly, he reached forward with his towel to catch the drips of water falling from L's hair.

"You're dripping on me," he said quietly.

L was silent for a long beat. Then he said simply, "I am sorry." The line over his head was straight and unbending. "For everything." He glanced up at Light then, a strange look in his eyes. "You and I will be parting ways very soon...won't we, Light?"

Light said nothing, just stared back at the detective.

Jubilee silently watched the two men, unable to look away. Beside her Hellenos' presence began to flicker in and out of her awareness, like flashes of lightning. There was a feeling in the air like that of a distant storm brewing, both indoors as well as outside. Her head began to throb slightly.

The sound of a ringtone shattered the silence. L released Light's foot and fished a cell phone out of his pocket, delicately flipping it open with the tips of his fingers.

"Yes?" he said into the mobile. "I see. Yes, I will proceed straight away." He snapped the phone shut and stood abruptly, facing both Light and Jubilee. "Shall we go then?" he asked them.

Light nodded stiffly and, needing no further prodding, got up and walked ahead of them out the kitchenette exit. L made to follow him, when Jubilee reached over and grabbed him by the sleeve of his elbow. He stopped and turned to her.

"L," she whispered, staring at the floor. The throbbing in her head was slowly increasing, like the cadence of many tribal drums. "Is...I mean...something is about to happen." She looked up at him and added softly, "Isn't it?"

He returned her gaze for a long moment, before taking a small step towards her. Reaching out, he took the thin towel from between her fingers and used it to wipe away the dampness still lingering on her brow.

"I would use my towel, as it's more absorbent," he said. "But then you'd have Light's feet all over your face."

At this she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. A sound escaped her throat that was a mixture of both. "That might be even more humiliating than washing and drying his feet," she commented with a shaky laugh. "Speaking of which...was it?"

"Humiliating?" L finished wiping her forehead and dropped his hand. "A bit, yes. But I thought it might be worth it to practice 'seeing through a lens of grace,' as you put it."

She smiled widely at him, tears brimming her eyes. "L," she began slowly. "I—I know you probably aren't going to want to hear this, but...there's something I have to tell you."

L went silent, gazing down at her with an unreadable expression. She took a deep breath, her heart pounding, and was about to continue when the sound of Aizawa's voice broke through the air.

"Ryuzaki!" roared the other man from the main room. "What is the meaning of this!"

Jubilee faltered. L's large gray eyes remained locked on hers, and for a moment he gave no sign that he had heard the other man. Then, without turning, he called behind him, "The meaning of what, Aizawa?"

The older man's voice thundered from the kitchenette entrance. "I go home for one night—one night!—and you go and get permission from another country to use the notebook in an execution?! At what lengths are you willing to go to, man?"

"At whatever lengths it will take," answered L. He finally turned from Jubilee to face Aizawa, who was now standing red-faced at the door. L continued calmly, "This test is the last thing standing in our way, and then the case can be solved. Welcome back by the way, Aizawa, glad to see you have been caught up with the proceedings. Please begin the arrangements to transport the notebook at once."

"Like hell I'll do that!" shouted Aizawa. "I'm not taking orders from an immoral madman!" He stormed away again.

"Very well," said L. He fished out his cell phone once more, dialing a number. "I'll take care of it myself."

The drum-like throbbing in Jubilee's head had reached a fever pitch. She could barely hear herself through it as she tried to speak again. "L, listen. I..." She took another deep breath, both to calm her nerves and to try and quiet the the drumming in her head. "I lo—"

A loud crack of thunder sounded from outside, and the lights suddenly went out. At the same time a shrill alarm began to blare. From the main room, a harsh red light started flashing, flooding into the entrance of the kitchenette where they stood.

L looked up from his phone, his hand tightening around the device as a dark look overtook his features.

Jubilee, startled, took a step back. The flashing light and the sound of the alarm, mixed in with the the pulsing throb in her head, made her feel disoriented and painfully dizzy. "Wha—what is that?"

L had turned swiftly on his heel and was striding into the main room. Jubilee followed helplessly after him. Back in the main room, the red light continued to flash and the alarm was even louder. Matsuda and Mogi had returned along with Aizawa, and everyone was in an uproar.

"What's going on?" cried Matsuda. "Is this a blackout?"

L hopped into his chair, grabbing the intercom by his computer. "Watari," he said into the mic. There was no response. "Watari!" he repeated, with more force.

Still the old man's voice did not come. Instead, every monitor in the room suddenly turned blinding white and displayed, in big black letters, the words: ALL DATA DELETION.

"Data deletion?" read Aizawa, sounding shocked. "But...why?"

L's head had lowered so that his hair fell forward and hid his face. The gray haze around him became dark and ominous. "I told Watari to delete all data pertaining to the case," he grit out. "In the event that something should happen to him."

"Happen to him?" repeated Soichiro, aghast.

Jubilee suddenly gasped and clutched at her heart as a flash of pain pulsed through it. For a second she felt gripped by fear—was this a heart attack? Had Light overheard her name spoken on the roof, had Misa written it into a Death Note, had Kira gotten to her after all?—but then the pain stopped as suddenly as it had come. On impulse she glanced upwards at the ceiling and then froze. Somewhere far, far above her, she sensed an ember of life go out.

"Where is the shinigami?" L demanded. His voice was hard.

"What?" cried Matsuda, just as Mogi repeated, in a panicked voice, "The shinigami?"

Aizawa spun around, looking all over the room. "I don't see it!"

"Come to think of it," said Soichiro, his tone anxious as he scanned the premises, "I haven't seen it for the last hour."

Only Light remained silent, seemingly frozen in shock behind everyone else.

L placed his hands on the desk. "Everyone," he began quickly, his voice urgent. "The shinig—"

His voice suddenly caught in his throat. Jubilee felt her entire world shake then, as though a giant had just rocked the building. She stumbled forward and the flash of pain from before pulsed through her heart again like a signal warning. Gasping for breath, she caught herself and braced her hands against her knees, before looking back up at L to see what had made him stop.

The detective's eyes had gone wide. His body was frozen stiffly atop his chair, like an awkward marionette just before its strings are snipped. The gray haze around him had grown suddenly pale. No lights or colors could be seen in it.

And then he started to fall.