A/N — Firstly, I just want to thank @auburnbrunetteb & @GayForVolleyball for their suggestions for the ending. Although I didn't definitively use your ideas, your help was really appreciated & incredibly useful in making me come up with this, so everyone else should go and show them some love too! And lastly, even with people's help, don't expect this to be good. It's rushed and sudden, and very very unrealistic, but remember it's just a fanfic written for fun, okay? Plus the chapter's so long I couldn't be bothered to check through it so I apologise for any obvious errors/bad writing. I might come back and edit it someday, but who knows? I kinda just want to finish it already lol.

So anyway, without further ado, let's get on with the final chapter!

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Light knew that you would no longer be deceived by the illusion he had fabricated with his charm. He knew your trust in him was beginning to wither, like petals on a rose that had been tarnished by frost, and were now falling off, one-by-one, exposing all of the thorns that lay hidden beneath.

Since touching that piece of the death note, you'd been a threat to him. Everything that had followed had simply been a way to keep you loyal, to stop you from betraying him. He'd forged a friendship that, maybe, at some point had become real, but it was built on lies. And once all of those lies and secrets started to unravel, the whole thing would just collapse. It was collapsing. Because you'd seen the sides of him that were ugly, he'd exposed the immorality and sin that lay behind the mask of justice he had crowned himself with.

Now it was only a matter of time before one of you decided to sever the strings that were holding you as his puppet.

As the days imprisoned at the base passed by, you grew more agitated. Ryuk's warning continued to badger you like a record stuck on repeat. In every moment of solitude, every second of doubt, his words stole over you like a nasty chill, luring you into dark places previously kept under lock and key. And it was starting to scare you, terrify you even. 

Light's smiles were now cold and hostile. You saw a threat, a warning in every glance he sent your way. Paranoia hung over you like a storm cloud.

And yet, no matter how much you hated Light, you couldn't reveal him as Kira.

Because you knew that if you did, your end would be inevitable.

—

"Is something going on between you and Yagami-San?" L asked on the fifth day, as you were lounging on one of the sofas downstairs, pouring over a book. You, L and Matsuda were the only ones present, and you could see the latter detective trying to subtly listen in to your conversation.

"Not really," you mumbled, but you had guessed L would notice your cold behaviour sooner or later. "I'm just... pissed about having to spend all day here with only you for company."

"I don't think it's that," he said dismissively. "You seem to be scared of Light."

You stiffened, your throat feeling dry and tight all of a sudden. You had to clear it twice before you could speak properly. "Why would I be scared of Light?"

"Because you know he's Kira. You know he could kill you if you mess things up."

It was stifling how right he was. And you could tell him he was, right there and then, you could tell him everything. Light wasn't there. He wouldn't know until it was too late, until his capture and arrest had been set in motion... You squeezed close your eyes, heart pounding in your throat as anticipation knotted your stomach painfully.

This was it. Tell him. Just tell him, and this whole mess would be over and-

"What're you two talking about?"

You jumped, accidentally biting your tongue, hard enough to draw the bitter taste of iron into your mouth. L sniffed irritably, knowing you were on the verge of revealing something.

"Nothing. I... I need to-"

"Go somewhere? You always seem to leave when I come in," Light said with an injured sigh. You felt a spell of coldness wash over you when he crossed the room and dug his hands into the back of your chair. "Have I done something wrong?"

You swallowed, your throat once again feeling tight. He was taunting you. He had the upper hand in this situation and he knew it. He was pulling your strings again. And you had no choice but to be manipulated.

Because you were scared of Light. You were scared of what he could do. At first you had admired his power, you had revered it. Now it just terrified you.

"I'm tired, sorry." You stood up, knocking the chair so that it ran over his foot, and walked away with your head downcast. You could feel his eyes following you as you went, drilling into the back of your neck. It was hard to breathe under such a suffocating stare.

You weren't sure how much longer you could last.

—

After a week at the task force's base, something inside you snapped. All this waiting around, waiting to be killed, it was driving you insane. It had only been a matter of time, really, before something eventually gave way. 

You were sitting on the edge of the bed, fists curled in your lap as your thoughts spun elusively around your head, when someone knocked at the door. You got up to answer it without a second thought.

And immediately regretted it.

Before you could get the door closed, Light wedged his foot in the doorframe and forced himself inside with a powerful push. You stumbled back, breathing rapidly as Light closed the door behind him and leaned heavily against it.

"What are you-"

"I just want to talk, [Y/N]. I just want to talk about this," he said calmly, spreading his hands. "I want to help you. I'll try and speak to L about it. Obviously keeping you locked up here isn't having such a good effect on-"

"Don't you dare. Don't you even dare," you cut in, taking slow, unsteady steps backwards. He stayed where he was. "It's not L. It's you."

"[Y/N], I need you to think very carefully about what you're saying," he said. You heard the warning in his voice, the latent threat, hidden underneath that sickly voice. "Just listen to me, [Y/N], can you do that?"

He took a step forward and you shuffled back. "Don't!" you snapped, the words tumbling out quickly, desperately. "Stay right where you are, Light. Don't come any closer. P-put your hands up. I want to see them." Your heart was a frenzy, your thoughts were all scrambled.

He raised his hands slowly, glancing furtively over your shoulder. You sensed Ryuk stood there but didn't turn to face him.

"Okay, [Y/N], my hands are up. I'm not going to hurt you," he urged, holding his hands out in surrender. You struggled to read his expression.

"Do you think I believe that?"

"You should," he said.

Why hadn't anyone come upstairs yet? Why wasn't anyone helping you? Couldn't they see what was going on?

"[Y/N], I don't know what this is about-"

"You know exactly what this is about," you hissed, curling your hands into a fist, nails cutting crescents into your palm, to stop them from shaking. "Why did I trust you? Why was I stupid enough to trust you?!"

"You should trust me, because I'm here to help you, [Y/N]." You could tell he was panicking now. He was trying to find his way out of a situation in which he was doomed to fall. You both knew that. Light wasn't getting out of this unscathed. But the question was would you?

You knew you were playing a dangerous game. You were playing with knives, daring him to prick you with those thorns he had so cleverly disguised.

"Help me?" You cried, incredulous. You were against the bed now, the edge of the mattress digging into your lower back, trapping you. Light stood between you and the door, your only escape. "You're the one who got me into this mess in the first place! You and your stupid little games."

"I'm not the one playing games, [Y/N]. L is."

"No, no, no, no. You're the one who's been playing them from the start. You're the one who's been playing me. You thought you could control me, Light. You thought I'd be another of your stupid little puppets."

"[Y/N], you're not making any sense. If you let me come close, we can sort this out, okay? I'll ask L to get you out of here. You can go and see your mum, you can go home."

You felt a spell of anger and bitterness claw up the back of your throat. You wanted to scream in his face for making you like this, for confusing you and scaring you and making you terrified of your own thoughts. You thought you were on Kira's side, but he turned out to be nothing but a manipulative, selfish little bastard.

All of a sudden you lunged forward. Light reacted in a heartbeat, grabbing for your sleeve and pulling you flush against him. He held you tight as you screamed, thrashing your arms frantically in a bid to escape.

"[Y/N], calm dow-"

"Get off me!" You screamed, twisting your body this way and that, finally kicking him in the shin and loosening his grasp enough to break free. You shoved him roughly backwards and raced out of the room, your hair slapping across your face, eyes wide and terrified. You knew the others would have seen what had happened from the cameras. Once you reached them, you'd be fine. Light couldn't kill you in direct view of the others.

You went over on your heel in your rush down the stairs and toppled head first down the remaining three, landing hard on your shoulder. Pain burned up the left side of your body from the impact. The room swam for a few seconds, then you were dragging yourself to your feet, ignoring the dull throbbing in your shoulder. You could see the dark mass of Light stood at the top of the stairs. The calm disposition had vanished from his face. Now he grinning at you, grinning darkly, his eyes black and sinister. To him, you were now just another criminal to dispose of.

Stumbling into a wall as the room continued to sway around you, you managed to stagger into the main room, perpetually lit by the blue glow of the monitors. You were expecting to see the others there, L sat at the desk in his unusual way, Mogi, Aizawa, Matsuda and Soichiro all milling around, chasing leads or pouring over evidence, maybe even watching you on the camera. But the room was oddly silent. And empty.

"Huh? W-what..." You mumbled, raking your hands through your hair as you turned in a full-circle. The computers were on, displaying static images of each room, but there was nobody here. "Hello? Hello, is anyone here?" You cried, hoping someone would hear you and come to your rescue.

But all you got in return was a laugh. Light's laugh. Disturbed and insane.

"Where the fuck is everyone!?" You screamed, pounding your fist against the table and making the computers rattle.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, I sent them on a little excursion," Light said as he reached the bottom of the stairs, crossing the room slowly. Ryuk was nowhere to be seen. He might have had the decency to issue you a warning, but he wasn't going to interfere with whatever happened next.

"No, L wouldn't leave just you here with me. He doesn't trust you enough," you said, shaking your head as the panic started to knot your stomach.

Light sniggered. "No, you're right about that," he said, just as you heard footsteps enter the room behind you.

"Oh, hey guys," a voice said. You turned around and saw Matsuda stood there, fiddling with his tie in his usual agitated way. "What's going on?" His gaze went between the two of you, confused and slightly sceptical. "Are you okay, [Y/N]?"

"Matsuda, where's L?" You said desperately. Light was still stood in the shadows, watching you with a horribly predatory smile.

Matsuda frowned. "He and the others went to chase a lead somewhere. They left me behind to keep an eye on you. Why?"

Your voice faltered. The words stuttered in your throat, unspoken. Because Light's Kira and he's going to kill me. That's what you wanted to say. That's what you should say. But you stayed silent. Because you couldn't say it. You were terrified. You were absolutely fucking terrified of saying those words. And no matter how much you wanted, needed, to get them off your chest, you just couldn't do it.

"It doesn't matter, Matsuda. I'll take [Y/N] back up to her room," Light said, his voice steady as he stepped into the glow of the screens. His face was under the illusion of normalcy again.

"No, don't you dare touch me," you warned, stumbling closer to Matsuda. From the corner of your eye, you could see the small black cylinder strapped to the belt on his waist. Your heart skipped once, twice, three times, as you eyed the gun furtively. If you could get your hands on that...

"[Y/N]?" Matusda questioned. He was looking at Light suspiciously now. "Has Yagami-Kun done anything to you?"

He's Kira. He's Kira. He's Kira.

"No," you whispered, keeping your eyes low. You hated how weak you sounded. "Just keep him away from me. Please call L."

"Matsuda," Light said, his voice steeped in warning. "Don't disturb L. I can sort this."

Matsuda looked conflicted. You edged closer to him, your fingers twitching as you eyed the gun once more.

"Matsuda, call him," you said, your voice growing stronger, more firm.

"Matsuda, don't-"

"Just fucking call him before Light kills us both," you cried, gripping your head in your hands. Your eyes burned with tears you didn't want to shed. You were not weak. You would not be broken so easily.

"What!? Kill us?!"

"You shouldn't have said that, [Y/N]," Light said in a low voice, ignoring Matsuda's outburst. His voice was oddly calm and that scared you. It scared you how bright his eyes were too, full of clarity and intelligence. This wasn't the result of an insanity that had borne from becoming Kira. He knew exactly what he was doing. "This could have worked, you know. We could have done something great. You could have helped me cure the world of the disease of crime." He was reaching into his back pocket now. You started crying as you watched him bring out a single sheet of paper. Paper that carried the power of death. "We could have created a perfect world."

"No, Light. We couldn't," you sobbed through bared teeth. Your nose was running and your cheeks felt sticky with tears. You felt pathetically weak. But you weren't going to surrender. You were not a puppet. You would not be controlled.

Heart now thundering in your throat, you twisted suddenly to the side and rushed towards Matsuda. You snapped the holster on his belt, running him into the desk as you shook the gun loose.

"What are you- My gun!"

The weapon was deathly cold and felt foreign pressed against your palm. The skin on your hands was glossy with sweat, the gun slipping through your trembling fingers as you held it aloft, pointing it at Light.

The paper was still clutched firmly in his hand, and he'd drawn a pen from somewhere too, holding both in front of him, poised to write your name, to sever your strings.

"Don't do anything reckless now, [Y/N]," Light sneered.

"Shut up," you screamed at him, spittle flying from your lips. You tightened your hold on the gun, the hard edges cutting into your palm.

"[Y/N], please put the gun down. I'll call L and we can sort this out, okay, we can talk and sort it all out but please put the gun down," Matsuda stammered, speaking rapidly, with short bursts of panic. His face was pale and dripping with sweat. He looked like he was on the verge of passing out.

"I'm sorry, Matsuda, but it's too late for that," you said, never tearing your eyes away from Light's hands. Hands that were covered in the blood of hundreds. "He's going to kill me. He's... he's going to kill us both if I don't do something!"

"Now, now, [Y/N]. Don't be so hasty. If you put the gun down, I'm sure we can sort this out."

"I'm sick of your stupid little games, Light! This ends here!" You cried, the gun wavering frantically in your hands. Your finger hovered over the trigger, hesitant, unsure.

I'm not a killer. I'm not a killer. I'm doing this to protect me and Matsuda. I'm not a killer.

"Well, what are you waiting for then? If you're going to kill me, go ahead and pull the trigger already" Light said in an almost offhand way, as if he didn't think you were capable of ending his life. You weren't entirely sure if you were yourself.

You wetted your lips, now dry and chapped, and took a deep breath. The air felt thick, almost solid, like you were trying to swallow bricks.

"The safety's on," Matsuda said suddenly from behind you. His voice was low and shallow, speaking slowly as if in a daze. "You need to take the safety off before you shoot."

You blinked, still not taking your eyes of Light but listening to the detective behind you. It seemed as though he'd finally understood what was going on. He'd resigned himself to the fact that L had been right all along. Light Yagami was Kira.

"H-how do I take it off?" You asked, flinching when Light moved his hand. He was grinning, a pale, bloodless grin that dripped down his face like wax.

"Flick the lock," Matsuda whispered, his voice trembling. "Flick the safety lock."

You did as he said and aimed the gun again. Your hand felt steadier now, more confident. You had no other choice. Someone was going to die in this standoff, and it wouldn't be you.

"What are you hoping to achieve, Light? It's over. If you write my name on that paper I'll pull the trigger before you can finish it."

Light smirked. It made his face look ugly, devilish, wicked. Like a killer. He had a light in his eye that was not entirely sane.

"But what if I'm not the one writing it?"

There was a moment of heart-stopping silence as his words sunk in, sunk in deep, sunk your heart right into the pit of your stomach. You blinked, breathing bricks again, and then all of a sudden you were seized by small spasms of pain racing up along your spine, like tiny electric shocks.

Then your heart started racing, constricting and expanding tightly, crushing the air from your lungs. You staggered back, the gun tumbling out of your fingers as your chest burned and throbbed with intense agony.

"Good girl, Misa," Light snickered, taking something out of his ear as your knees buckled and you crumpled to the floor. You were wheezing desperately now, trying to feed oxygen into your lungs, every nerve in your body feeling like it was on fire.

"You... bastard. You fucking... bastard!" You screamed between each pant, fingers scrambling blindly for the gun. When you found it, you raised it above you head and sent off four blind shots, each one leaving a sharp sting in the air that made your ears ring and your eyes water. Every one missed and Light started howling hysterically. He thought he'd won. He thought he'd bested the puppet who had cheated him.

But it wasn't over. Not yet.

You sent off one more gunshot.

And the laughter stopped. It was suddenly replaced by a wet gurgling sound as Light sagged to his knees, his face stricken with shock.

"I'm not... going down... alone," you choked, your body convulsing with pain as you dragged yourself over to the killer. He was coughing up blood, his lips and chin already stained a bright red. You could hear Matsuda talking frantically into his mobile behind you. "You deserve... this is... justice... for... your sins..."

Blackness started to crawl into your vision, like disembodied, shadowy faces, and you knew were out of time. You held onto each breath as it slipped through your lips. This was the end for both of you. At least you'd gotten your own justice.

Light sputtered as more blood pooled out of his chest. "I never... meant for this... to happen," he wheezed, his hand searching for yours through the blood that painted dark strokes of red on the tiles.

You pushed it away as your whole body slumped forward. Your heart was seizing in your chest. "You're a killer... You don't deserve... forgiveness. You don't-"

Your body gave a final spasm and then fell silent.

Light continued to lay beside you for another few minutes as he slowly bled out. Matsuda was sobbing quietly in the corner but made no move to help him. He didn't deserve it, after all he'd done.

As he was drifting in and out of consciousness, a somber black shadow floated over and stood over Light's dying body. Ryuk already held the death note in his hand, gazing down at the pitiful human with a vacant smile on his face.

"It was nice knowing ya, Light," Ryuk said simply, already scribbling his name onto the next clean page.  Light had no strength to utter anything back.

Once he'd finished, the Shinigami threw back his head with a deep-throated laugh, and then left.

Leaving Light Yagami to die alone.

[ FIN ]

I'm so, so sorry.

I've never been good at endings. Read any of my other fics and that much will be obvious too. Even with everyone's help I'm still incapable of writing a good conclusion. I know it's really stupid and rushed and unrealistic and doesn't add up, but I hope it didn't ruin the whole book for you ;-;

Anyway, I'll make this quick, but I just wanted to thank every single person who read all the way to the end of this crappy fanfic.

I know I'm not a great writer, and this is just a fanfic, but your votes and comments really gave me the encouragement I needed to keep at it and improve my writing. So thank you!

And that's it.

Sorry for wasting your time.

~ Jess

— 6th February 2018 —