A Year of Jubilee [The Death Note Fanfic]

Chapter 68

Jubilee's consciousness swirled somewhere amidst the warehouse rafters, coldly aware of the chaos below. She felt no pain, which gave her a distant sense of relief, but any emotional attachment she had to the people and events below was fleeting, sliding in and out of her comprehension like water through grasping fingers.

She recognized one body on the ground as her own. It was pale, half lying in a small pool of blood, half held by a dark-haired man who looked equally pale. The sight provoked a curious feeling of both tenderness and sadness in her, though she didn't know why. Loud shouts interrupted her thoughts before she could puzzle it out. There were more people below, yelling and waving guns, and a tall, dark thing standing among them all.

Shinigami, she remembered.

As she strained to make sense of what they were saying, her perspective shifted and splayed into a confusing multitude of different views and possibilities. She was the dust in the air, floating and falling; she was the light filtering through rafters, shining down from a star far above. Her awareness expanded further, and she saw a whole universe above her, trails of ethereal colors beckoning her to follow their path upwards to a place far, far away from the chaos below.

Longing filled her and she started to reach for the colors, for the starlight, when other thoughts invaded her mind like a flood. Her consciousness intertwined with those of the people below, then, one after another; glimpses of their respective panic and anger flitting through her awareness. When she reached the black-haired man's mind, a feeling of devastation slammed through her. Reeling from the impact, her soul meandered in the ether, torn between retreating to the light above or lingering to witness the scene below...

L surged forward the moment the shot was fired, his arms encircling Jubilee's limp body before she could fall. At the same time, a volley of shots sounded from behind him, and Light screamed a curse as he dropped his gun. Blood coursed down his arm.

Blocking out the chaos, L gently lowered Jubilee's body to the ground in a reclining position against himself. He glanced at her face, his brain giving her a clinical once-over on autopilot. She was unconscious. Distantly, he had the thought that he hoped she hadn't seen Light get shot before she lost consciousness, as it would've surely distressed her. Instinctively, L's hands pressed against her abdomen to stop the flow of blood. There was a lot.

"You fools!" Light was shrieking. "Idiots! What the hell do you think you're doing?" He clutched at his arm, swaying on his feet, as he spun to the shinigami. "Kill them, Ryuk! Write their names into your Death Note. Kill them all!"

At that, L finally felt his own anger. It rushed through him like a forest fire and, for the first time in his life, eliminated every rational from his mind.

The only thing that kept him from leaping up and killing Light right there on the spot was the fact that L was still holding Jubilee. He needed to stop her from losing any more blood. The realization brought him back to his senses.

"Mello," he said quickly, ignoring the still raving Light. "Call an ambulance."

"Yes, sir!" Mello said, obeying immediately.

"Matsuda," L continued, "Go and get the med kit from the car."

"B-but, Ryuzaki..." Matsuda's eyes darted from Light to the corners of the room, searching for Ryuk but unable to see him. "The shini—"

L cut him off with a death glare. "Get the med kit, now."

"Yes, sir!" the police officer gulped. With one last glance at Light and the others, he ran for the door.

"Matsuda and Mogi," L went on, "Arrest Light."

The two men looked dubious but moved to wordlessly obey. Light sputtered as they approached him.