Death Note: Judas - The Fall of a God || ✔️

07. Apostate

Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely you don't mean me, Rabbi?"

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L sat in his chair as Watari spoke from his observatory upstairs. "L, they're just about to arrive. Are you sure you don't wish for me to accompany you?"

"Yes." His voice was numb, and his hands were pure frost as they rested on his knees, dressed in baggy green cargo pants. L's breath exited in heavy sighs as the door opened.

Light, Misa, and the men who'd gone to watch them entered the room. Near L, Mogi stood; the quiet task force member was a welcome comfort amid the absolute storm about to rise within the skyscraper.

L addressed Light once he was approximately ten meters away. "It's been a while," he said, fingering the cuff on his hand. "Kira."

"Ryuzaki, are you still going on about that?" Light snapped.

"Right?" Misa added in a shriek. "I mean, how could you even say that?"

L's chest tightened as he gazed upon the man with the red-brown hair. You abused her. You led her to her grave. "You are Kira. And I have definitive proof."

He pulled the case report thus far from a file cabinet nearby. "During your confinement, we experimented on two criminals to test the notebook's authenticity and the thirteen-day rule. The result was that Homura Manabu, the criminal who wrote Okono Ton's name in the notebook, survived to the fourteenth day – which passed us by just an hour ago.

"Furthermore," he continued, his voice carrying more and more passion, "we recovered this note." He pulled out a scrap of paper containing the message to the Second Kira and read it aloud in the task force's presence. "I withheld this information until the final confrontation, but this was what made me consider the possibility that the notebook we recovered from Higuchi was a decoy after all. The only way to solve this," he finished, "was to test it."

Light's lips parted, and his face was ashen. Let's see him try to talk out of this, L thought, trembling with pain, if he can.

Finally, Light spoke. "You forged that note. I never wrote anything like that."

"What?" Misa shouted. "So does that mean you didn't...love me?"

Oh, Misa, L thought, crumpling the paper yet again. That's not helping your case. He looked at Light. "By Amane's declaration, you are Kira. And with proof that the thirteen-day rule is false, you have no choice but to surrender. You've lost."

A long pause in the room. Light's shuddering, ragged breaths remained the only noise.

"Stop!" he shrieked. "This is all part of your plan to frame me! Isn't it odd that you never shared that note with the police until now? This proves it's a trap!"

"And what do you suppose my motives would be if it were?" L asked, willing his voice to stay low.

Light's eyes darted around the room like those of a rabid dog. They flickered to Yagami, Aizawa, Matsuda, Ide, and Mogi. Before finally landing on Misa.

"You womanizer!" he cried. "This was all so you could get a hold of Misa and rape her!"

"Light –" Misa started.

"Stop!" Light roared. "You traitor!" His hand flew out at her face, and a clap echoed throughout the high-ceilinged room. Misa slammed against the floor with a sob, crumpling to her knees, a huge red mark on her cheek.

L stood. "That's enough." But Light was still glaring at Misa with hatred in his eyes. How long had he been abusing her? How many times had he hit her? "Aizawa, Ide...please restrain him."