L was a fantastic actor, despite all appearances. Gauging the intelligence and thinking of an opponent like B was instrumental is laying out his plan. His actual agent to find B was Naomi Misora. He had covered up that fact with his continued association to Light Yagami. B had possibly assumed that Light was his agent, because there wasn't any reason to suspect Naomi who went about her business as far as he was concerned.

Considering that fact that B was fourteen, it wasn't a far stretch. He just hoped that they would get the Horcrux X and possibly the Basilisk fangs to destroy it with. Along with the rest of the Horcruxes.

Naomi had received a letter. It was printed from a computer, smooth without any errors in the printing ink. It was from L. Of course it was. She had been aspiring to become an Auror, and had started taking side lessons for it. Then, the sudden arrival of this letter. She had been confused, but had realised its urgency. There was no way in hell that she would refuse a task from L.

She had done the work according to the information he had provided. Ascertaining that B was in Hogwarts, she had kept a close watch in the place. However her acting of otherwise fooled B well, apparently. Now, she received another letter just as she was beginning to do her homework in the library. It came with a piece of parchment.

The content of it made her gasp, and she immediately got up, cutting all pretense of doing homework. She called at Moody's office and nearly dragged him to where she had found him.

Beyond was sick of waiting for L to make an actual move. He was somewhat impulsive which is why he had attacked Light Yagami in the corridor to alert L. He had guessed that it might have been a proxy, but atleast this would actually scare L more.

Hopefully.

What he didn't know was the existence of the Mauradar's Map.

Which was why his otherwise fine move totally became the clumiest act he ever pulled. Hearing footsteps near his location, his eyes widened and he ran inside the bathroom and locked himself in. He looked at the diary he had the opportunity of procuring from an unsuspecting Taro Magami. He had come to a negotiation with the being inside it.

Destroying Voldemort was the least of his concerns.

He realised that he had been found out, so he wrote in the diary again, allowing Tom Riddle to take over him. If he killed himself in the Chamber, L would never be able to figure out how he did it. And he would be able to die in peace, with the knowledge that he had beaten L at something.

Ryuzaki, having given up the Map could have chewn his fingernail in half from the dread forming in him. Irritated, he left the room, deciding to go and find Light. Or maybe Near.

He hadn't expected to bump into Misa.

"Sorry—" the both of them said simultaneously, and Misa's face flushed a little as she realised her mistake.

Moving back, she opened her mouth to speak, just as an owl soared into view. It was for him. He took it, eyes widening as he read the letter.

They hadn't managed to apprehend B. B had disappeared somewhere in the bathroom. Naomi was probably banging her head against the wall with exasperation. A sick feeling formed in his stomach as he realised exactly what had happened.

"Uh, Ryuga? You look kinda pale—"

His head snapped up to meet Misa's eyes. He needed her to do this, however going like this was madness. And purely suicidal. However, he didn't trust anyone with this either, Aurors were being possessed and killed right left and centre.

"Ryuga, are you OKAY?"

Misa's scream made him flinch. He needed some place quiet, to contemplate things. Panicking wouldn't help him, not now, not when—.

He nearly punched Misa when she touched him. He sprung back, his mind automatically forming the most reckless plan in his life. However he wished he had Light.

He opened his mouth to explain the matter to Misa.

Light hadn't returned to the Slytherin Common Room as originally planned. Something had made him halt, and he had turned back, towards the Room of Requirement. Something made him consider telling Ryuzaki about this attack. He was pretty sure that it was B.

He was almost half on his way to it, when he saw Misa and Ryuzaki heading to Myrtle's washroom. He frowned, following them, wondering what would have caused the passive man to take such an action. Misa looked pale, but determined. He had a really good idea of how this was going to end.

Ryuzaki had been left with zero options. B had really got him into trouble. Now, he was, plunging to certain death. He had got Moody to tip Dumbledore off. He was sure that he would require Fawkes for this emergency. That is, hoping that the phoenix would arrive.

"Ryuzaki, mind telling me what you are doing?"

"Ah, and here I thought that I was going to die in Misa's company."

"You make it sound like torture, Ryuga."

Misa kept her word. Always. She had given Ryuga and Light her word that she would help them with this matter. Therefore, she couldn't really refuse Ryuga when he had asked her.

Ryuzaki sighed and opened the door. And promptly ignored Myrtle. Light really wanted to punch him, but they needed to be in perfect shape for battle.

Misa hissed for the tap to open, and it slid open perfectly. Ryuzaki went first, followed by Misa and then Light. Ryuzaki mused that his grave would be a fantastic place. Light told him to shut up. Misa ignored them.

Dusting their robes, they went through the Chamber. L had finally the state to mind to actually explain his position to Misa. Her eyes had widened and then she had nodded. Seeing that, Light had realised that she had reached that stage where if Light said that he was Lord Voldemort, she would take it in stride too.

Ryuzaki couldn't really blame the teenagers for being in shock behind him. He had been the one exposed to death continuously, not them. Gory murder after murder, until seeing blood and corpses had become as normal as breathing. The sights of the Soullless being nothing out of the ordinary for him. Reduced to a machine, in the times when he spared his emotions any thought, he wondered sometimes, how did he just stare blankly at such things while others screamed and cried out in utter horror.

The last door slid open, revealing a handsome teen, black hair properly combed with hungry eyes that promised death. He was faded at the outlines and L's eyes immediately slid to B's prone body. He had been correct.

A diary lay, which seemed to be the source of this apparition.

"Oh don't worry, I won't be one for much longer, not that you would live to see it, I am afraid."

L snorted. Misa didn't have any change in her expression. Light's entire body tensed, he wanted to bolt, and avoid this entire situation. However he stuck there, with no alternative.

Tom Riddle seemed to look at L with interest.

"So, this is the mysterious L that I have been hearing about. It's good to meet you."

"Can't say the same about you, however," he returned, eyes scanning the place for the Basilisk.

"So eager to die, already? My, my, what a shame, I was looking forward to an intellectual share of words."

"You are just bidding your time. Now, where is your little pet?" Ryuzaki snapped.

Riddle's smile widened, as Light wondered, again, whether it was too late to run. He didn't want to die, for the love of Merlin. However, L would die if he didn't do something, because Misa was, to him, practically useless. And the mere thought of a dead L was horrifying. He had enough nightmares, thank you very much.

A soft singing was heard the moment Riddle hissed something in Parseltongue and the mouth of the statue of Salazar Slytherin opened. Light completely froze, however, when the Basilisk came through.

Ryuzaki assumed that Fawkes wouldn't be doing him the grace of coming, so with his best aim, he fired the Conjunctivus Charm.

The others had snapped their eyes shut immediately. Misa's brain had shut down, but she remembered enough to close her eyes. They didn't really have to do it for too long, for, as Riddle was monologuing how killing them was a shame and that if they had joined his cause, it would have been lovely, Ryuzaki's second spell of the two quick fired charms worked and the Basilisk was crying out in pain. He had added a Sectumsepra for added security, just in case. Their eyes snapped open as they heard incredibly loud cursing.

Riddle looked beyond furious.

Ryuzaki took that opportunity to jump and grab the diary. They didn't have much time before Riddle completed sucking out B's life force to form a physical form. Since it was mostly voluntary, it was faster, but Ryuzaki had no worries that he would be able to succeed.

Light's mind was a haze of panic. It felt like a dream being played again, except it was reality. He couldn't move, for he was afraid of injuring his own self. He cursed at himself for feeling such, swore at his muscles to move.

Misa stood there like a silent doll, her wand raised.

Ryuzaki had managed to procure the diary. In his haste, he had lost his wand. Wonderful. The rest were standing like porcelain dolls, he couldn't really blame them. He looked at the Basilisk warily, wondering exactly whether it was worth it or not.

In other cases, he always had notes and instructions, so he, as L would never be missed. Sixteen didn't feel like a really good age to die, however.

Throwing caution to the wind, he sprang up and tried to catch the Basilisk's attention by another Sectumsepra.

It lunged at him.

And he did the most foodhardy thing in the fooldhardy history of foolhardy things.

And perfectly missed the arrival of Fawkes.

Light stood there, as if watching in slow motion, the fangs strike Ryuzaki's hands and the notebook as Ryuzaki and Riddle simultaneously cried out in anguish. Their twin screams made him realise something.

His heart breaking, to be exact.

Or wrenching, whichever way you wished to look at it.

Ryuzaki's world fell blank when the pain overrode all his senses. Tom Riddle swore and fizzled and died. The notebook was destroyed. B had managed to go far beyond his goal and actually killed him.

Misa's mouth moved of its own accord.

"Avada Kedavra."

The Basilisk thumped to the floor beside the prone detective, never to see the light of the day again.

All which had the effect of snapping Light out of his shock.

In a moment, he was kneeling beside the detective, tears screaming down his cheeks. Ryuzaki felt the world start spinning around him, as Light's broken apologies made way into his ears. Light had no cause to apologise, he could have done it another way if he had so wished, admittedly a longer one.

There was always an alternative.

In weak hope of survival, he felt around for the phoenix.

He was too weak to actually do anything, the poison was quickly finding its way into his sugar-infested blood stream.

Misa had been the only one to actually notice the Phoenix crying at Ryuzaki's wounds. The spell didn't make her recoil, she didn't feel anything amiss while taking another life with magic. It had been the only way to get this job done, she had realised, and had thus, taken that way. She didn't regret it. Nopes, not even a tiny bit.

Grief was a new emotion to Light, and he struggled with it. In that moment, he realised that he perhaps liked Ryuzaki way more than he liked to admit, even to himself. He felt pathetic and useless. How was he supposed to attempt to change the world if he couldn't even save the innocent ones? That ones who he loved?

Misa had firm faith in Ryuzaki's continued survival. He had assured her of the fact and she had believed it. Because, that's what her gut had said. There was no way he was dying today.

Closed eyes still let an endless stream of tears past his cheeks, and the ache in his heart was too much to bear. He must have howled, he didn't know, the details were too blurred to recall properly.

Thus, he was very surprised when he felt a cold hand brush his cheek and a weak voice whisper,

"I am ashamed of your overwhelming underconfidence in my abilities, Light-kun."

His eyes snapped open. Ryuzaki had a wry smile on his face. He still looked awfully pale, due to the blood loss.

His throat was too scratchy to speak, and the detective seemed to understand that as he pushed himself up, and propped himself against the wall, taking a good look at the injury. It had faded, but the blood was still there. Which had probably soaked both of their robes. He patted Fawkes, closing his eyes to have the world stop spinning.

"I knew you would be alive, Ryuzaki," Misa's cheerful voice broke the silence.

"See, that's the confidence I appreciate," he said, making a rather lame attempt at a lame joke.

Light was still shaking. Of course he was.

He looked at Misa.

"If you would please restrain that boy on the floor. It would be of great help, besides he is a criminal."

Misa nodded, glad to have something to do.

While she restrained him and came to terms with the events, Ryuzaki turned back to Light.

"You are in shock, that's understandable. It isn't everyday that people die right in front of you. You aren't experienced, and that's fine. Don't blame yourself for my decisions, that's a bruise to my own ego, I could have easily taken another path and avoided this direct confrontation. So—"

Light could be really impulsive at times. Ryuzaki's sentence was left unfinished as he felt himself be in a pincer grip from his alleged only friend.

"You just came back to life. Now, shut up and stop messing up my mind more," he mumbled into his neck, completely failing to hide his relief.

Ryuzaki laughed weakly, not really having the strength to pull away.

Misa stood in her spot, her face blank as she came to terms with the information that she had gleaned. Selfishly, she had hoped otherwise, but now she realised that she would just have to deal with it. Atleast they looked happy.

After what felt like ages, but in reality couldn't have been more than thirty seconds, Light pulled away, and decided to not mask his weary expression.

"Don't scare me like that next time."

"Would try my best, your majesty," Ryuzaki said, looking amused.

Light got up. Ryuzaki followed him, but he stumbled. He had lost an incredible amount of blood. Unless he was rushed to the hospital wing fast, he had a good chance of dying of blood loss.

Light had really no other option than to carry him, bridal style because his hands were shaking too much to levitate him, and Misa was occupied with B.

Fawkes, however, seemed to understand their urgency, and offered a leg to transport them.

"Phoenixes can carry people faster, do it," Ryuzaki said, his voice growing faint as he passed out.

Seized with urgency, Light and Misa grabbed its legs, and space seemed to be compressed as they landed in front of the Hospital Wing relatively fast.

Madame Pomprey was waiting, as if she had known this would happen. Ryuzaki was rushed to a bed, and so was B, while Light and Misa sat down on two chairs, winded. Dumbledore would probably ask them for an explanation.

Light felt as if he should congratulate Misa and thus turned to do so, only to be faced with her stony face.

He looked at his bloodstained trousers. He had been foolish and an utter coward back there. Misa had been useful. He had been completely useless there. Suddenly he felt an overwhelming need to hide somewhere and just cry, he was utterly annoyed with himself.

"They wouldn't terribly mind if you snuck off. I can tell the story. There IS a reason I had been selected as a Prefect, Light."

Misa was right, and he was thankful for that. Thanking her, that's exactly what he did.

She just sat there, curling up into a ball, despite herself, pondering exactly how things had changed in a matter of hours.

Life was indeed magical.