Faye (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
said_scarlett) wrote2007-09-28 12:29 am
said_scarlett) wrote2007-09-28 12:29 am
Entry tags:
Fic: Beyond The Note: Midnight At The Lost and Found
This is the first in a series. It came about after talking with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
nijawial about theories. Turns out, we both had the same ones. So... I needed to write this. Even if just for us. :D Yes, a big key point is unexplained, and will be explained in further installations.
Title: Beyond The Note: Midnight at the Lost and Found
Fandom: Death Note
Pairing: N/A, Naomi and L centric
Word Count: 2008
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Full series, small little spoiler for Another Note
Warnings: Depressing and deals with potentially sensitive subject matter.
Summary: Naomi Misora's life had become something dull, empty and meaningless. She couldn't let go of what had happened all those years ago, when the Kira Case first came to light. It consumed her. She didn't realize that tonight, everything was about to change.
She hadn’t even known she was pregnant until she lost the baby.
She’d already been in America by then. She hardly remembered getting there. She only remembered her moment of cowardice. She had come face to face with Kira - he had confessed to her - and she had been able to do nothing. She could only turn and walk away in shock, her heart gripped with a fear she’d never known possible.
She’d failed. She’d sworn to avenge Raye, and she hadn’t been able to. She hadn’t even been able to…
She’d cried for weeks and hadn’t even understood why. Hormones, the doctors told her. It would pass. She hadn’t thought it would. She was stronger than that, better than that. She hadn’t even wanted children anyway. But losing that thing she hadn’t even been aware of had been like losing Raye all over again.
It didn’t matter. None of it mattered anymore. That life was over, and she’d done her best to forge a new one. She’d changed her name, she’d moved to New York, she’d taken a job writing for a small newspaper. Life and time went on. Even under the threat of Kira, life had gone on.
But Kira was gone now. No one knew the details, but Kira was gone and the world was slowly getting back to normal. She kept her engagement ring on a chain around her neck and she wrote her stories and she hardly slept and life went on.
Friday nights found her in a little all night diner, drinking cup after cup of black coffee and staring blankly down at a notebook. She never wrote anything, but she told herself she was working.
She just couldn’t handle seven nights a week alone in her small apartment, listening to the TV drone and climbing into an empty bed. She needed one night a week away from it all. But she couldn’t stand other people. At least in the diner she was out and could tell herself she was among people without having to interact with them.
She was on her sixth cup of coffee. The diner was practically empty - it was just past midnight. Naomi could hear rain hitting against the glass windows. Late fall rain, making the street a freezing hell.
Just another miserable Friday night in the big city.
Another hour and Naomi supposed she’d brave the cold and wet and head down to the bus stop. If it had stopped raining by then, maybe she’d walk. Anything to keep her out of that empty apartment until morning.
Her coffee cup was empty. Naomi signaled for a refund and slid off her stool. Damn smoking ban. She had to go out in the rain for a cigarette. She slipped out the door and stood under a streetlamp, sheltering her lighter with her hand. She hunched over it, coaxing a flame. She was dimly aware of someone passing by her and entering the diner behind her.
Another miserable insomniac, most likely. Or a crackhead, or a cop. New York nights brought out all kinds.
She smoked her cigarette in the cold rain, huddled in her black leather jacket and thinking of the cup of hot coffee waiting for her back in the diner. She finished the cigarette and snuffed it under the heel of her boot.
When she re-entered the diner, Naomi was surprised to see the seat next to hers was occupied. She paused in the doorway, a memory stirring but not quite surfacing. Shaking her head and dismissing her odd feelings as a lack of sleep, she took her seat.
“Ah. Naomi-san. It‘s good to see you well.”
Naomi froze, staring straight ahead. No one had used that name for over seven years. No one knew that name. She’d made sure of that. And yet…
Now the memory surfaced. Los Angeles, 2002. The subway. She’d seen him there. He’d tried to attack her….
It was him, there was no mistaking it. He looked almost exactly the same, though that had been almost ten years ago. The same messy black hair, the same raccoon rimmed eyes, the same white shirt and loose jeans and ratty sneakers without socks. She stared in mute horror at him, and he looked back with a bland and curious expression. There was nothing threatening in his demeanor, and yet….
A slice of pie was set before him.
“Is the pie here good?”
“I… I don’t know.” Naomi blinked. What was going on? “And my name is Noriko.”
“Is it?” He titled his head. What was he doing here? Who was he? How did he know her name?
“Who are you?”
“You don’t remember me? I’m sad.” He cut into his pie, holding his fork awkwardly between his thumb and forefinger. “We worked together, once.”
“Of course I remember you, but…” What? They’d worked together? No, that didn’t make any sense. She’d worked with….
No. It couldn’t be. But what other explanation was there?
This was L? This was the world famous genius detective? A sallow skinned, scrawny kid who had once tried to hug her with all the tact and etiquette of a drunken monkey?
“We shouldn’t talk here.” he picked up his pie plate and hopped off the stool. Struck dumb, Naomi followed him to a booth in the back. The rain was beating steadily against the window now.
“Much better.” He was sitting funny. Crouched, hunched. She’d seen that posture before. The rest of the pieces were beginning to fall into place. She felt foolish for not realizing it then, in the subway.
Naomi fidgeted with her cup of coffee.
“I’m surprised to see you alive, Nori-san. You were reported missing in January of 2005. Shortly after your fiancé was murdered by Kira. They suspected you killed yourself. I knew you were too strong for that.”
Naomi looked down, an angry flush staining her cheeks. She didn’t know what to say. How could she admit what she’d done? That she had turned and run away when faced with the very criminal she’d vowed to apprehend?
“I left Japan,” she said, quietly. “I didn’t even go back to my hotel. I left everything.”
“Why?”
She just shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. You are…?”
“Call me Ryuzaki, please.”
“Ryuzaki. In the subway…”
“That was me. You have a very strong kick.”
She blushed again. God, how many times had she screwed up and not even realized it? She wanted to bury her face in her hands. For once, she wanted to be back in her miserable apartment.
“I’m sorry.” And she was. If only she’d known…. She supposed there was no worrying over it now. It was too late for regrets. Even in the face of L. She’d been so desperate to find him all those years ago. Now she half wanted to run from him.
“You quit the FBI.”
“I did.”
“You were a very good agent, Nori-san.”
“No, I wasn’t.” She didn’t want to elaborate. But a very good agent wouldn’t have run with her tail between her legs.
“You aren’t drinking your coffee.”
“I think I’ve had enough.” She pushed her cup away, feeling sick and strange. And under it, a bit thrilled. This was L, sitting across from her. He’d shown himself to her. Not once, but twice. For whatever reason, he felt her worthy of that unheard of honor.
She didn’t think she deserved it.
“You’re believed to be dead.”
“I know.”
“So am I.”
Naomi once again froze, staring at him blankly. “I don’t understand…”
“You don’t have to.” He scraped the pie filling off his plate. “But it’s best I stay out of Japan. It could cause… disruption.”
Naomi only nodded. Had he sought her out? Or was this coincidence? She didn’t dare ask. He hadn’t seemed surprised to see her, but…
“You shouldn’t be wasting your talents.”
“How do you know I’m wasting them?”
“You quit the FBI.” And that was his only answer. She looked away, out the window. She watched the rain in the glow of the streetlamp.
“I can’t go back to the FBI.”
“I know.” He rubbed at his bottom lip with his thumb. She could see his reflection in the window. “I would like you to work for me.”
“What?” Her head snapped in his direction. “No, I can’t. You don’t understand….”
“We worked well together before. And I…am in need of someone. You meet my requirements.” Now he was looking out the window as well, and Naomi thought there was a strange note in his voice. They sat in silence for a long time, her coffee growing cold and the rain falling steadily outside.
He wanted her to work for him. If he knew she’d let Kira get away, would he still want her? She doubted it. But she supposed she could see the logic. She’d seen him already. They were both, apparently, in the same position. Though how he could be assumed dead when L had never stopped investigating the Kira case….
The answer was obvious. Ryuzaki was believed to be dead. Whoever he needed to avoid must not have known he was L. She still didn’t understand, but she supposed that was to be expected. L was known for his secrets. And she had her own, after all.
“Have you decided?”
“It isn’t that easy.” Naomi rested her head on her hand. But wasn’t it? Life went on. Empty and meaningless and alone. She was being handed back her life - the life she’d had before Raye, before Kira. One sickly looking young man was offering her all she’d ever wanted and more. She could have her life back. A life back.
“Would you like a piece of pie? I’m going to have another.”
“No, thank you.” She shook her head. “And yes.”
He didn’t respond. He just signaled the waitress for another piece of pie. Naomi reached for her coffee cup and took a sip. It was cold. She didn’t care. She didn’t know quite what to think. Her mind was churning with a million thoughts, the only constant that it was nice to sit across from someone for once.
“Maybe I will have a piece of pie,“ she said, after a few moments. He pushed his plate to the middle and slid a spoon across the table to her. He was right. The pie was good.
They sat in the little booth early in the morning, sharing pie and watching the rain until the early commuters began to fill the sidewalks and the streetlights shut off. Ryuzaki paid the tab - for Naomi’s coffee as well - and slid off the booth with a yawn and a stretch.
“I’ll be in touch,” was all he said, before shuffling out and disappearing into the crowd. Naomi followed after a few moments, lighting up a cigarette as she headed down to the bus stop in the early morning mist.
It was the last lonely Friday night Naomi would spend in the little all night diner.
nijawial about theories. Turns out, we both had the same ones. So... I needed to write this. Even if just for us. :D Yes, a big key point is unexplained, and will be explained in further installations.Title: Beyond The Note: Midnight at the Lost and Found
Fandom: Death Note
Pairing: N/A, Naomi and L centric
Word Count: 2008
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Full series, small little spoiler for Another Note
Warnings: Depressing and deals with potentially sensitive subject matter.
Summary: Naomi Misora's life had become something dull, empty and meaningless. She couldn't let go of what had happened all those years ago, when the Kira Case first came to light. It consumed her. She didn't realize that tonight, everything was about to change.
She hadn’t even known she was pregnant until she lost the baby.
She’d already been in America by then. She hardly remembered getting there. She only remembered her moment of cowardice. She had come face to face with Kira - he had confessed to her - and she had been able to do nothing. She could only turn and walk away in shock, her heart gripped with a fear she’d never known possible.
She’d failed. She’d sworn to avenge Raye, and she hadn’t been able to. She hadn’t even been able to…
She’d cried for weeks and hadn’t even understood why. Hormones, the doctors told her. It would pass. She hadn’t thought it would. She was stronger than that, better than that. She hadn’t even wanted children anyway. But losing that thing she hadn’t even been aware of had been like losing Raye all over again.
It didn’t matter. None of it mattered anymore. That life was over, and she’d done her best to forge a new one. She’d changed her name, she’d moved to New York, she’d taken a job writing for a small newspaper. Life and time went on. Even under the threat of Kira, life had gone on.
But Kira was gone now. No one knew the details, but Kira was gone and the world was slowly getting back to normal. She kept her engagement ring on a chain around her neck and she wrote her stories and she hardly slept and life went on.
Friday nights found her in a little all night diner, drinking cup after cup of black coffee and staring blankly down at a notebook. She never wrote anything, but she told herself she was working.
She just couldn’t handle seven nights a week alone in her small apartment, listening to the TV drone and climbing into an empty bed. She needed one night a week away from it all. But she couldn’t stand other people. At least in the diner she was out and could tell herself she was among people without having to interact with them.
She was on her sixth cup of coffee. The diner was practically empty - it was just past midnight. Naomi could hear rain hitting against the glass windows. Late fall rain, making the street a freezing hell.
Just another miserable Friday night in the big city.
Another hour and Naomi supposed she’d brave the cold and wet and head down to the bus stop. If it had stopped raining by then, maybe she’d walk. Anything to keep her out of that empty apartment until morning.
Her coffee cup was empty. Naomi signaled for a refund and slid off her stool. Damn smoking ban. She had to go out in the rain for a cigarette. She slipped out the door and stood under a streetlamp, sheltering her lighter with her hand. She hunched over it, coaxing a flame. She was dimly aware of someone passing by her and entering the diner behind her.
Another miserable insomniac, most likely. Or a crackhead, or a cop. New York nights brought out all kinds.
She smoked her cigarette in the cold rain, huddled in her black leather jacket and thinking of the cup of hot coffee waiting for her back in the diner. She finished the cigarette and snuffed it under the heel of her boot.
When she re-entered the diner, Naomi was surprised to see the seat next to hers was occupied. She paused in the doorway, a memory stirring but not quite surfacing. Shaking her head and dismissing her odd feelings as a lack of sleep, she took her seat.
“Ah. Naomi-san. It‘s good to see you well.”
Naomi froze, staring straight ahead. No one had used that name for over seven years. No one knew that name. She’d made sure of that. And yet…
Now the memory surfaced. Los Angeles, 2002. The subway. She’d seen him there. He’d tried to attack her….
It was him, there was no mistaking it. He looked almost exactly the same, though that had been almost ten years ago. The same messy black hair, the same raccoon rimmed eyes, the same white shirt and loose jeans and ratty sneakers without socks. She stared in mute horror at him, and he looked back with a bland and curious expression. There was nothing threatening in his demeanor, and yet….
A slice of pie was set before him.
“Is the pie here good?”
“I… I don’t know.” Naomi blinked. What was going on? “And my name is Noriko.”
“Is it?” He titled his head. What was he doing here? Who was he? How did he know her name?
“Who are you?”
“You don’t remember me? I’m sad.” He cut into his pie, holding his fork awkwardly between his thumb and forefinger. “We worked together, once.”
“Of course I remember you, but…” What? They’d worked together? No, that didn’t make any sense. She’d worked with….
No. It couldn’t be. But what other explanation was there?
This was L? This was the world famous genius detective? A sallow skinned, scrawny kid who had once tried to hug her with all the tact and etiquette of a drunken monkey?
“We shouldn’t talk here.” he picked up his pie plate and hopped off the stool. Struck dumb, Naomi followed him to a booth in the back. The rain was beating steadily against the window now.
“Much better.” He was sitting funny. Crouched, hunched. She’d seen that posture before. The rest of the pieces were beginning to fall into place. She felt foolish for not realizing it then, in the subway.
Naomi fidgeted with her cup of coffee.
“I’m surprised to see you alive, Nori-san. You were reported missing in January of 2005. Shortly after your fiancé was murdered by Kira. They suspected you killed yourself. I knew you were too strong for that.”
Naomi looked down, an angry flush staining her cheeks. She didn’t know what to say. How could she admit what she’d done? That she had turned and run away when faced with the very criminal she’d vowed to apprehend?
“I left Japan,” she said, quietly. “I didn’t even go back to my hotel. I left everything.”
“Why?”
She just shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. You are…?”
“Call me Ryuzaki, please.”
“Ryuzaki. In the subway…”
“That was me. You have a very strong kick.”
She blushed again. God, how many times had she screwed up and not even realized it? She wanted to bury her face in her hands. For once, she wanted to be back in her miserable apartment.
“I’m sorry.” And she was. If only she’d known…. She supposed there was no worrying over it now. It was too late for regrets. Even in the face of L. She’d been so desperate to find him all those years ago. Now she half wanted to run from him.
“You quit the FBI.”
“I did.”
“You were a very good agent, Nori-san.”
“No, I wasn’t.” She didn’t want to elaborate. But a very good agent wouldn’t have run with her tail between her legs.
“You aren’t drinking your coffee.”
“I think I’ve had enough.” She pushed her cup away, feeling sick and strange. And under it, a bit thrilled. This was L, sitting across from her. He’d shown himself to her. Not once, but twice. For whatever reason, he felt her worthy of that unheard of honor.
She didn’t think she deserved it.
“You’re believed to be dead.”
“I know.”
“So am I.”
Naomi once again froze, staring at him blankly. “I don’t understand…”
“You don’t have to.” He scraped the pie filling off his plate. “But it’s best I stay out of Japan. It could cause… disruption.”
Naomi only nodded. Had he sought her out? Or was this coincidence? She didn’t dare ask. He hadn’t seemed surprised to see her, but…
“You shouldn’t be wasting your talents.”
“How do you know I’m wasting them?”
“You quit the FBI.” And that was his only answer. She looked away, out the window. She watched the rain in the glow of the streetlamp.
“I can’t go back to the FBI.”
“I know.” He rubbed at his bottom lip with his thumb. She could see his reflection in the window. “I would like you to work for me.”
“What?” Her head snapped in his direction. “No, I can’t. You don’t understand….”
“We worked well together before. And I…am in need of someone. You meet my requirements.” Now he was looking out the window as well, and Naomi thought there was a strange note in his voice. They sat in silence for a long time, her coffee growing cold and the rain falling steadily outside.
He wanted her to work for him. If he knew she’d let Kira get away, would he still want her? She doubted it. But she supposed she could see the logic. She’d seen him already. They were both, apparently, in the same position. Though how he could be assumed dead when L had never stopped investigating the Kira case….
The answer was obvious. Ryuzaki was believed to be dead. Whoever he needed to avoid must not have known he was L. She still didn’t understand, but she supposed that was to be expected. L was known for his secrets. And she had her own, after all.
“Have you decided?”
“It isn’t that easy.” Naomi rested her head on her hand. But wasn’t it? Life went on. Empty and meaningless and alone. She was being handed back her life - the life she’d had before Raye, before Kira. One sickly looking young man was offering her all she’d ever wanted and more. She could have her life back. A life back.
“Would you like a piece of pie? I’m going to have another.”
“No, thank you.” She shook her head. “And yes.”
He didn’t respond. He just signaled the waitress for another piece of pie. Naomi reached for her coffee cup and took a sip. It was cold. She didn’t care. She didn’t know quite what to think. Her mind was churning with a million thoughts, the only constant that it was nice to sit across from someone for once.
“Maybe I will have a piece of pie,“ she said, after a few moments. He pushed his plate to the middle and slid a spoon across the table to her. He was right. The pie was good.
They sat in the little booth early in the morning, sharing pie and watching the rain until the early commuters began to fill the sidewalks and the streetlights shut off. Ryuzaki paid the tab - for Naomi’s coffee as well - and slid off the booth with a yawn and a stretch.
“I’ll be in touch,” was all he said, before shuffling out and disappearing into the crowd. Naomi followed after a few moments, lighting up a cigarette as she headed down to the bus stop in the early morning mist.
It was the last lonely Friday night Naomi would spend in the little all night diner.
no subject
Also, I'm curious to see how you'll get around the whole 'their names were written in the Death Note' deal.
And I have to say I kept wondering if L was actually BB while reading this, even though you stated in your story header that it is (partly) L-centric, haha. I guess I'm just a little paranoid for Naomi here.
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Naomi's has actually been explained, sort of. By the rules in the Death Note that state it won't work on someone under 400-whatever days and that it won't work (or will default to a heart attack) if more than one person will be killed. :D Depressing, yes, but... yes.
I'm glad you enjoyed! There will be more to come!
no subject
Ah! Geez, I totally missed that. Clever! So, Naomi was spared - from suicide and the default heart attack - because of her baby, because if she died then the baby would have died. But, the baby died, anyway. Stress, I'm guessing.
There's so many rules, really. But, they do provide some fodder to play around with! ;D
no subject
Yes! The idea came to me and a friend had the same idea independently, and I decided I had to use it in a fic. And yeah, it was stress that triggered her miscarriage. :/
They do!
no subject
And yes, those things would definitely have an impact and change a person forever. Like with Raye, everything was set up to go, and then bam! the plan of a peaceful life is all gone. And that makes me wonder why she gave up the FBI - such a drastic lifestyle change. Was it solely because that was what Raye wished or was it something more fundamental? Hm. In relation, I found that line about Naomi not wanting kids in your fic interesting; it puts her motives for 'settling down' into a different light.
In a way, it's even more sad that it was due to more of an ordinary fact; he/she saved Naomi from something like the Death Note but didn't survive the stress. :/
no subject
I've always seen Raye and Naomi's relationship as Naomi sort of just finally buckling down to cultural and social pressure. Women are supposed to get married and have kids, it's what they do. And I'm sure Raye was very persuasive - we know from Another Note he's been trying to get her to quit for years. I think she finally just got tired of fighting because she loved him, and agreed.
Yeah, it really is sad. :/
no subject
I have to tell you that enjoy the reading the fics you write. I am glad you can put the theory to good use. \o/ I look forward to whats next!
no subject
I'm so glad! It means so much to me, coming from you! *hugs*
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eh, sorry, it's just that I'm real new in the Death Note fandom, and I'm happy to see someone I knows who can write very well!
and Naomis/L !!! I never though about the pairing, but I'm all tingling with the possibilities! and your naomi is ...addictive!
no subject
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For me, it's one of the more obvious pairings in the series, if only because of how their relationship was depicted in the novel Another Note - as far as we know, Naomi is the first person L ever showed himself to and actually insinuated he was L. Plus, come on, he tried to hug her! And he shows a reaction to her disappearance, insists she could be alive, and seems to know all about her personal life. So I see a lot of canon support for him having something of a very inept crush on her. :D
no subject
damn. I'm pretty sure it has not been translated into French, so no chance to buy it! :(
So, you see, I enjoyed L/Naomi without the bit of background information! ;)