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A donut, half-eaten, abandoned on a pristine desk beside a cup of black tea. The morning birds chirp, though muffled by the thick glass and sound of the bell. His footsteps hit the tile, the sound of his skin hitting the cold surface frantic. A door whooshes open, revealing an elderly British man. He sits at his own desk surrounded by monitors of data and surveillance. He turns to face the younger man.
"Ryuzaki," he says. "Is something the matter?" What is it?"
He's met with only the grey stare of the young man before him.
The old man grows worried, confusion bubbling in his gut.
Why does he look so scared? He's never scared. What's the matter?
"What's wrong?" The old man inquires, his eyes scanning the tired frame and face of the scraggly-looking man before him.
"Watari." The young man sighs. His throat is tight and his hands fumble with the hem of his white shirt. "Promise me something."
"You know I don't make promises I cannot keep, Ryuzaki."
"It's just us. Call me L, Watari." L insists.
"Of course, L. What's this promise?"
L bites the inside of his lip and shuts the door behind him. His chest feels heavy and his mind races. He hears something... the bell... it's too familiar.
"If something happens to you-" L sighs. He doesn't want to say this. If he says this, then it's real. It's real and the implications are, well, dire.
"If something happens to you I need you to promise me that you'll delete all the data we have from this database and immediately transfer it to my successor."
Watari's jaw tightens. "What brings this on, L?" He asks through gritted teeth.
L finds a chair and perches upon it. "If you die, so do I."
"L!" Watari's voice grows firm. "Do not say such things-"
"Light is Kira and he's going to have me killed, Watari. He's going to kill you first, I just know it." L nearly shouts. His eyes twitch and his pupils dilate in the dark room. His hands shake.
"L-" Watari sighs, standing to meet the man he's raised. "I promise."
"Thank you." L looks up at him. His face contorts and his heart races. He feels the air getting thicker and thicker, his chest getting heavier and heavier. Is this it? Is this the end? "Watari..."
"Yes, L?"
"I'm... I'm scared." L sniffles, wiping his face off. Had he been crying? "And I'm angry. Angry at Light. Angry at the task force. Angry at myself. God, this is all so pathetic. Crying over my own death!" He spits the word like it leaves a bad taste in his mouth, as if it's spoilt milk. "And it's all my fault. I couldn't catch him alone."
"It's not your fault, L."
"But it is! I couldn't find the proof. I couldn't catch him. And yet... I don't think he's won, either." Light chuckles wetly, the light of computer screens bouncing off his pale face. "This doesn't end with us, Watari."
"Of course, L."
"And I'm scared. Perhaps that is what makes me human after all, Watari."
"How do you mean?"
"All are equal in death, are they not? At the end... Kira, well, Light, and I... we end up in the same place, don't we?"
"Hm. Perhaps. Though I like to believe we'd be rewarded in the end for all the good done."
"I envy your optimism, Watari." L responds, his voice flat. "Maybe you're right. But no human really goes to Heaven or Hell. That's the flaw, really. The idea of Heaven for the Good, Hell for the Bad... it ignores inherent humanity. We are not Gods. We are animals." The bags under his eyes seem darker than usual.
"Been awake thinking, L?" Watari smirks.
"You caught me." L raises his hands in mock surrender with a smug look on his face.
He sighs and leans back in the chair. "I do hope we find eachother in the end, Watari. You've been good to me."
"Of course." Watari smiles. Truthfully, L is the son he never had.
L give a quick, singular nod before standing back up. He exits the room, his feet slapping upon the tile as he walks back to the main room; the room in which he will soon take his last breaths.