A Year of Jubilee [The Death Note Fanfic]

Chapter 66

The yellow warehouse was a dark, dusty place. Sparse shafts of sunlight filtered through steel rafters, highlighting dust motes as they fell upon the nine Task Force members. The only sound that could be heard was the creaking rotations of an industrial fan overhead.

It had been exactly fifteen minutes.

L stood in the center of the group, hands stuffed in his pockets, waiting. Jubilee stood on his left, with Wedy, Aiber, and Mello spread out behind her. Light stood to L's right, the reinstated police officers lined up beside him. None of them spoke.

Matsuda finally broke the silence. "It's past the appointed time," he whispered. "Where is Kira?"

"More likely than not, he's already here," answered L, not bothering to lower his voice.

"Huh?!" Matsuda's hand flew to his holstered gun in alarm.

"Stand down," ordered L calmly. "We have to wait for him to make the first move."

Jubilee nervously eyed their surroundings. It's gonna be okay, she told herself, taking a shaky breath. The plan will work. We'll prove that Light's Kira, and we'll all get out of this alive. We're gonna be okay.

She was acutely aware of the shinigami hovering by Light's side, a look of gleeful anticipation on its face that made goosebumps prickle her skin. No doubt L was aware of the demon too, if the cold blue fear pulsing faintly from him were any indication. Nonetheless, he maintained an impressively steady poker face and didn't make any eye contact with her, much to her chagrin.

To her right, Light visibly glowed with a confidence that unnerved her. Shades of bronzed yellow—which were so like his former aura, yet now sullied with a sickening, darker tinge—rolled off of him in waves. Jubilee gulped, a queasy mixture of fear and mournfulness coiling in her stomach. The old Light was gone...and this one could not be treated like the old one.

She clenched her fists with renewed determination. You haven't achieved checkmate yet, Light. Just because he thought he'd win didn't mean that he actually would.

Hellenos gave her a slight nod when she glanced at him for assurance. Pride cometh before a fall,he agreed, but said nothing more.

The ember of another soul entered her awareness. Beside her Hellenos grew faint, as a sinister Cheshire Cat like grin flitted through her mind's eye. Mikami. She jolted, turning for the door where she felt the man's presence.

"Don't move," said L sharply, freezing her in her tracks.

"But—!"

He brought a finger to his lips. "Not yet," he said, more gently this time. "Keep calm."

Her lips flattened into a thin line but she obeyed, even while trembling all over. Keep calm, he says. Keep calm, and don't die.

Easier said than done.

Light glanced over at her where she stood shaking like a leaf, but he said nothing, wearing an almost imperceptible smirk. He knows Mikami's here, she thought grimly.

"Miss Julie?" Matsuda looked confusedly between her and L. "Did something just happen?"

"Keep your voice down, Matsuda," said L, his own voice low. "To answer your question...the hand of Kira has just arrived, and he is about to write our names down in his notebook to kill us all. Please remain calm and do not let on that you are aware of the fact."

Matsuda flinched violently but, to his credit, restrained himself from a loud outburst. "W-what?" he squeaked.

"Ryuzaki," growled Aizawa, whose shoulders had tensed with the effort to keep from turning around. "You expect us to just do nothing and be killed?"