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Light announced, "After we decide whose name to put on the death note, let's talk about the human rights clause in Kira's constitution, shall we?" The cabinet said in one voice: "Yes, Kami-Sama."
Light Yagami glanced around his fellow councilors, who sat on the board with their hands fidgeting nervously and attending to the slightest of Light's facial expressions. These men and women were not remotely intelligent as Light was, and they dared not oppose him, or raise any dissenting advice, or see him show any expressions of displeasure.
Light signed; I've never thought being an emperor would be so boring, even more so than being a high school student. His cabinet members were as dull as dishwashers; the Minister of Justice Mikami Teru, the Minister of Information Kiyomi Takada, the Minister of foreign affairs, the one of Finance, and other ministers were nothing but his puppets. They did not even pick up the irony of my words! L Lawliet would definitely mock me for the stupid "human rights clause."
Light sunk into deep meditation when the man came into his mind. L Lawliet, his sworn enemy, was the only one who was always keeping him intrigued and intoxicated. L Lawliet, the man with cute puppy eyes, the one who had a cute and harmless look that melted Light's heart from the beginning, but a mind as sharp as a razor. He was quite a rebel when first captured by Light, refusing to talk or do anything Light demanded, even to the point of a hunger-and-thirst strike. He was still far from tame now, but after being deprived of sugar and interaction with any humans aside from Light for more than six months, he at least seemed quite interested in talking to Light.
Only if I can make him my council! Not to mention what valuable advice that genius's brain could give to my empire, at least with L here, my day would be much bearable.
Light found his mind drifting for a couple of minutes with no ministers reminding him. He couldn't bear being inefficient, so he resumed discussing the human rights clause with the cabinet - well, it was more of a monologue than a discussion since it was Light dictating what to write on the constitution when the other members simply agreed and praised.
Light was extremely proud of his idea of the constitution. Every nation needs one or many founding documents, and Kira's empire is no different. No wonder it would propagate Kira's philosophy of justice to the world and give Kira's empire a sense of legitimacy.
He found that the most important information he learned at To-oh was the effective methods the dictators could use to consolidate their rule in the 21st century, discussed in great lengths at his comparative politics class. He truly learned these lessons by heart. The professor at To-oh could never imagine the reason why his star student Yagami Light came to his office hour almost every day was that he would put these theories into practice one day. Light could not wait to share his masterpiece with L, the one human who could match his wit and understand him.
The first draft of Kira's constitution was done. Light hastily dismissed his cabinet and went to the house that kept L. L's house was one with the highest security apparatus in the whole palace, with hundreds of cameras all over the rooms and fourteen guards roaming around 24/7. He unlocked the house with his fingerprint, and a guard escorted him into the house.
L was lying lazily on his bed, with a book on his lap when Light came in. Light could see L's eyes shine when he saw Light, even though L tried his best to conceal his excitement to meet the first living being he encountered in the day.
"Kira, how's today's hunt?" L asked with a fake but adorable smile.
"How many times should I tell you to say Kira-Sama?" He patted L's head reproachingly but with a hint of affection and resumed, "Not much. Just wrote the name of the leaders of Russia and Venezuela on the death note. The two leaders refused to cater to the will of their citizens and to succumb to Kira, so that is what they deserve. We spent the remaining hours working on this."
Light handed over the copy of Kira's Constitution to L, and the latter curiously asked, "What is this thing?" He burst into laughter after seeing the words, "Are you kidding me? The Constitution of the Divine Empire of Kira?"
L nearly choked on his laughter when reading the first amendment of the constitution, "The emperor shall encourage the freedom of speech, and of the press; and the right to assemble peacefully…"
L paused, put his finger into his mouth, and stared at Light, "Ummm, I see, we do have the freedom *of * speech, but we don't really have the freedom *after* speech, do we? Or I guess there's a certain degree of freedom in death because death is freer than living in an empire like this…"
He turned to the next page and seemed very much amused, "There is even a clause of human rights? With your speed of writing names, in a short time, there will neither be human *rights*, nor humans *left* ! This constitution is literally…"
Before he could ever finish, Light punched L on his face that sent him across the room. "Yeah, very funny, L Lawliet. You enjoy defying me so much, don't you?"
L did not kick back but curled up at the corner of the wall, his nose bleeding. Light realized the blow was too heavy, but he needed to punish any defiance, even if it was from his L. He kneeled down and held L in his arms, whispering to his ears, "You are the only person who can still live after disrespecting me, do you know it, L? You should be glad that you are still alive."
L did not bother to fight and leaned into Light's arms. He wiped the blood off his face and murmured ironically, "Thank you, Kami-Sama, for showing me what freedom of speech looks like. The blow so feels like freedom." He cannot but smell Light's scent when they were sort of cuddling; it is not some artificial scents from cologne or shampoo, but a natural scent - Light's skin smells like honey. He felt as if he were drowning in it and unconsciously nuzzled into Light's neck.
Light was surprised at how tamed L was today; L looked like a wounded, vulnerable child, spurring a wave of affection and guilt from Light. Light gently caressed his raven hair and whispered softly, "I am sorry to have hurt you… Have you had dinner yet, honey? Would you like to have some cakes?"
Hearing cakes, L jumped on his feet, forgetting about his bleeding nose or Light's body scent, "Really? After six months of sugar deprivation, I can finally have cakes today? I give it to you that you are a more benevolent dictator than both Stalin and Hitler!"
Light pretended to aim his fist at L's face again while the latter darted away agilely. After calling the servant to fetch the menu, Light showed it to L and asked, "No more cakes if you keep on bullshitting. Which one do you want, honey?"
L snatched the menu from Light's hands, "Strawberry cheesecake! Wow, look at the ingredients! Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese from Palma's farm, and large, bright Honeoye strawberries fresh-picked by Portuguese farmers, shrouded in dawn mist… It seems really nice! I want this one."
"You can't have this one unless you give me a kiss."
For weeks, Light was asking L to kiss him, but L refused each time. It was not that L was not attracted to the handsome auburn-haired boy - Light's cuddles always put his heart on wings, and he was not too proud to admit that he was expecting Light's visit all day long. But still, he cannot kiss a murderer and a dictator!
"Uhhh, then pass it. What about the chocolate cake and the tiramisu? Can I have these? And I also want a lemon cake." L pointed at the next three items on the menu.
"No, these ones also come only with a kiss."
L groaned, "Everything on the menu looks so nice, but I cannot have any of these listed here? I thought this is a menu, not your freaking constitution!"
Light pushed L to the bed and pressed him under his chest, with L trying to put on an innocent look and staring with his round puppy-like eyes. Both of them breathed heavily, and the air was getting thick. "Don't you dare humiliate me, or my empire, or my constitution? It is not fun."
"But your constitution was just too …" L didn't manage to finish this sentence since Light pressed his lips against his. L had not kissed anyone before, nor did he want to, since kissing felt so unsanitary with the exchanging of millions of bacteria. But this kiss was not unpleasant. It felt … warm, and wet, and he smelt the honey scent in Light, which made him feel drunk. His mind went blank for the first time and gave into the sweetness; electricity seemed to flow through his veins from his chest to under his waist… And shit. Was he getting hard from Light's kiss?
L pulled himself from Light, and gazed at him with misty eyes clouded with desire. Light cannot help but marvel at the beauty of the male underneath him; even now, he looked so innocent and holy, Light knew it was cliches, but he said all the same, "You look like an angel, you know, when we are just kissing, and you stop mocking my empire or calculating how to overthrow it."
L murmured, "Well, but what you did to me just now might not be very … constitutional. It's like the spirit of your constitution attaches importance to consent in sexual activities."
Light frowned, "If you don't like it, I won't do it again. And can you just spare my constitution?"
"I didn't say I didn't like it… Shit, I'm not saying I do like it…"
L was interrupted by another kiss. This time he fervently kissed back and forgot all about the motherfucking empire or that stupid constitution. He moaned, "Yeah, I do like it." Both of them completely lost track of time in the heated kiss.
After they finally managed to keep their hands off each other, Light ordered a strawberry cheesecake, a chocolate cake, and a tiramisu for L, which the latter gobbled up in minutes and asked for more. Light signed affectionately and ordered every cake on the menu for L. "When we finish dining, would you like some entertainment? Like playing chess?"
"I don't wanna play chess…" L spoke in a voice muffled by the cake in his mouth. Every time they played chess, they ended in a stalemate—true equals in intelligence.
L swallowed his cake and said with a beam on his face, "Oh, a more interesting competition just came to my mind! It's better than chess. It's even better than the cat and mouse game we once had. I dare you to play this game with me."
"What is it, L?"
"I wanna form an opposition party and compete with your Kira party. We'll compete to see who is the more intelligent, the more charismatic, and more of a representative of justice in the public's eyes..."
"That surely is a part of your scheme to overthrow my rule, isn't it? What makes you believe I will agree to it?"
"Oh, C'mon, man! You should know better considering how much you loved comparative politics back at To-oh! As much as you might hate it, tons of people out there still believe in democracy, and they may be reluctant to support you if you just claim power with violence. There's no better way to gain legitimacy than to beat an opposition leader in a free and fair election when that leader is simultaneously the famous 'best detective in the world.' And allowing an opposition party signals to the world that your constitution is not a hundred percent fake! Yeah, you might be overthrown by me if I outsmart you, but do you dare to take this challenge?"
"Emmm, I will think about it." L's words had some truth to them; elections might give the public an illusion that they somehow participate in politics and are useful to gain more supporters of Kira. And he was really thrilled at the prospect to have another game with L, which he trusted he was sure to beat L. Sure, he needed to be careful when playing with L; outright censorship will make him critiqued by the opposition party, but that doesn't mean he cannot manipulate the media and spread news favorable to Kira's rule.. There might be risks, but one thing for certain is that he would never be bored again!
"And will I have more kisses if I agree with the formation of your little opposition party?"
"You will get more than just kisses." Smirked L, who pressed another kiss on Light's lips.
L never imagined it would be so easy to tear up Kira's Empire.
Well, technically, it is a republic now.