Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. The credit to the development of this plot is attributed to Nilahxapiel and ChanceXIII on the Plot Bunny Exchange.

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"A many headed foe…returns whenever struck to reveal two below."

Yagami Raito had speculated that when he finished his schooling and entered the same workforce as his father, that life would not be so unbearably dull. He predicted change and excitement rather than the colourless monotony that his childhood and teen years had to offer. It was a sad thing indeed, then, when he realized that the NPA wasn't as glamourous as he had expected it to be. Within a few years' time, the doldrums that his career had degenerated into was too much to take. He fabricated a few believable excuses, apologized profusely to his father, and promptly found a new and promising position in the technological aspect of the government.

A year later, he found himself falling into the same, uninterested stupor that surrounded him like a plague.

"Yagami-kun," called a distinctly feminine voice, ringing from the doorway of the government facility. Raito had hoped that he would be able to vacate the premises before anyone happened to catch him going home, since his coworkers (especially those of the female variety) tended to engage him in long-winded and needless conversation. Now, he realized just a moment too late, he had delayed enough to catch the small group of programmers that worked in his department leaving for the night. The ghost of a scowl distorted his calm expression, though it was a gone in a flash. As set back as he was from this encounter, he put on a pleasant demeanor, smoothed it out, and turned toward the source of the distraction.

"Hello, Takada-san," he said easily. Always the polite gentleman, he was; even to those who didn't exactly warrant it.

"It's a surprise catching you out here," replied the one called Takada, her dark eyes sparkling slightly. Admittedly, she was very beautiful, and quite atypical for the small ring of technical experts that did odd jobs for the technological branch of the government. Then again, the same could be said for Raito himself. "You usually leave so early."

Raito could detect the authentic lament that rang out in her voice, and returned it with a diminutive but apologetic smile.

"Excuse me," came the reply. "I'm simply very busy. Perhaps I could make it up to you someday?" Oh, quite the charmer. And Takada drank it all up; despite the known fact that the Yagami son was currently dating the famed Amane Misa, the woman's eyes seemed to fill with a smug hope.

"That would be wonderful, Yagami-kun. Perhaps we could go out for coffee tomorrow after work." Her hints were powerful, but the object of her affection didn't seem to be as infatuated as she, though he hid it well.

"Coffee sounds wonderful. I'll see you then." He smiled again for good measure. This seemed a satisfactory enough good bye for the young woman, for she merely smiled back, waved primly, and turned sharply in order to stalk brusquely to her car in clacking heels. Raito maintained his pleasant aura even as he shifted as well, until he began his excursion to his car. Fatigue then settled around his eyes and in his grim expression; it had clearly been another long day.

And it wasn't as though his work was particularly difficult or strenuous. In fact, the male excelled above most who worked in the network security division. Granted, there weren't many, considering the government's desire to minimize project participation, but he still was too good at what he did to have the simple construction of a firewall wear him out. No, what stripped him of his stamina was the ennui that his work entailed. He kept up appearances, of course, making it seem as though his career was fulfilling his every dream and more, but there was something about this world…something about it that made his thirst for intrigue unslaked.

The arrival at his car interrupted the introspective considerations of his dreary life, thankfully keeping the more dangerous notions of rebellion or another career change at bay. The key turned in the ignition, and his chocolate brown eyes fell to the rearview mirror, beginning the usual, yet brief, sojourn home. Silence consumed the world for a few precious seconds before a restless hand lifted to flick on the radio.

"—rumour has it that the famous detective L closed this case months before the police themselves—"

Yagami Raito's attention was drawn from his own psychological ailments to the announcement on the diplomatic station that he had his tuner set to perpetually. Usually, the sound that issued from the radio acted more as a distraction, rather than actual news, since most of the things that he heard were either complete nonsense, or he had heard somewhere before. Now, however, the program was offering information about one of the only things that made Raito regret his decision to leave the NPA. Toward the end of his police career, the only thing that kept his interest piqued was the anomaly that presented itself in the form of a famous yet contradictorily unknown detective. The brunette fancied that perhaps he would work on a case with this strange L—who went by no more than a letter. Unfortunately, it was said that L did not take any case except those that interested him. Thus, the chance did not arise for Raito to work personally with the investigator.

"Perhaps we are the same in that respect, L," murmured the young man in response to the broadcast that still issued from his car stereo. Raito mused that he would gauge a case's worth by exactly the same standards, and wondered whether that made him selfish.

Regardless of the answer that he received from his subconscious, all worrisome inclinations were banished immediately as he pulled into the driveway of his apartment complex, knowing exactly who and what would greet him as he scaled the stairway that led to his floor, and similarly his room.

"Raito, you're home!"

As expected, a scantily clad Amane Misa came racing from the miniscule kitchen, and the smell of something burning wafted from the same direction. Yagami sighed and produced a smile, similar to the one he had treated Takada to not moments before, and chanted a familiar mantra in his mind: I love this woman, I love this woman, I love this woman. It had been he, after all, who asked her on a date for the first time. Thinking back on it now, he truly forgot who it was who initiated this charade of intimacy.

"Good evening, Misa," he replied warmly. "I see you took the liberty of cooking dinner for me. How many times have I told you not to go through the trouble?"

"Oh, but I wanted to, Raito," the bubbly blonde countered flirtatiously. "You always work so hard and sometimes forget to eat as much as you should, so Misa thought that she would treat you." The temptation to wrinkle his nose was brushed away; it was the thought that counted, after all.

Raito had been dating the young woman for at least a month. This span of time had earned her a key to his room and full use of everything except his bedroom, which housed his files and hard drives. If he allowed the blonde to touch his more confidential things, then his career would soon end. The government was quite paranoid, after all, and all possibility of a spy lurking in their midst was eradicated by extreme measures. Yet this did not bother the Yagami male. He took the tight security and suspicious procedures as a challenge. Such was the reason why he had taken on the hefty task of hacking the entire government database from his own computer—just to see if he could.

And speaking of which…

"Misa, I have some work to finish," he said blithely, charming his girlfriend with a kiss on her forehead. She blushed like a schoolgirl (despite being older than he by two years) and scampered off to the kitchen again. Truly, her intellect—though considerably not up to par with Raito's own—was not completely lacking. Raito would never answer the question 'Do you love her?' outright, for fear of coming to terms with the fact that…well, he didn't. Perhaps he dated her for pity; perhaps it was simply her publicity.

However, Yagami Raito liked to think that he was not so superficial.

Thinking on it, though, it was quite likely that he was shallow—at least to a degree. That was the reason why he arrived at his room, loosened his tie with an emotionless sigh, and began to set up his laptop on the bedroom desk. The reason he wanted to dig into the underbelly of the Japanese government and the international secret services was to fuel his own pride, he realized. Maybe if this task kept his interest, he would be less apt to change careers again due to suffocating boredom.

A tiny, mechanical jingle rang from the portable computer, announcing merrily that it was fully booted up and ready to perform the secretive deeds that Raito indulged in purely for fun. The fact that he succumbed so easily to monotony developed a settling feeling of shame in the pit of his stomach, likening him to a flighty prepubescent teenager.

A thoughtful gaze swept over the endless amounts of evidence that displayed what kind of corruption the world held. Blackmail, bribery, crime, embezzlement—even the most just of operations run by the government were filled with these. Millions of dollars were lost mysteriously through business transactions, though the missing money was concealed behind scapegoats and flowery words. Powerful people, after all, could not be tied down to the strictures of human law, especially when it was they that governed it.

Raito had been watching over this abomination for approximately a week, recording the more blameworthy notations in his computer's hard drive. If he was found out, his career would be over in a heartbeat, and he would be looked down on as a traitor. He had known the risks from day one, when he discovered the detestable acts performed by greedy world leaders and ambitious organizations. His thoughts then shifted to those first moments:

It did not even take the programmer a half hour before he was mulling about in the supposedly top secret areas of the government. He had broken down each firewall and barrier with ease, being that it was he who had created them to begin with. The things that interested him were searched through first, leaving Raito in a folder marked 'econoactivity'. He read through each report dispassionately—that is, until something detrimental caught his eye.

"What is this?" he demanded to no one in particular, rage melding onto his face as individual accounting and activities came up onto the screen. The credit of each high-ranking member of the government seemed to be directly linked to the debit of others. Hoards of gained income were missing in the translation of business transactions between countries, and likewise for the people's tax. The leader of the country himself seemed to be squirreling away money that belonged to the nation, not to him. 'Surely this is a mistake,' mused the man. 'There can't be this much corruption in the Japanese government.'

Raito hesitated for a moment, and then immediately downloaded the file to his computer. If he was caught, there would be hell to pay, but that wasn't the issue at the moment. Once the download was complete, he moved on to another more tightly guarded area of the database and accessed it, afraid of what he might find.

He was at a loss. The world's secret services—namely the FBI, CIA, and M16—were all under the influence of their governments. Of course this was true, but it didn't help much that bribery and blackmail were being enforced within the more honorable branches of operation; even the mafia seemed to be working, unchecked, within their ranks.

When it came down to it, money was being stolen, blackmail and bribery were influencing powerful figureheads of the world, and illegal actions were being performed everywhere—everywhere where justice was supposedly a ruling and steadfast axiom.

Raito stood from his chair and began to pace the room.

"Wh-what…what is going on here?" he questioned all who cared to listen, the words merely ghosts on his tongue. "How can this be the force that's leading the world? Such corruption…and who's going to do something about it?"

In the darkness of his bedroom, no answer came to him.

Yagami Raito massaged his weary eye sockets with one lazy hand. He had been collecting the condemning data as evidence, evidence that he planned to share once he had gathered enough to show that the government wasn't as beneficial to the people as it so audaciously claimed.

Tonight was the night that all necessary proof was amassed. With one sweeping motion, he printed the pages and pages of documents, smirking prematurely in his victory. He knew that as soon as others in his department were aware of this, then petitions and court investigation could begin. There was no feasible way that such large organizations—these were whole national governments for Christ's sake—could get away with deceiving their people and consequently depriving them of basic rights.

There was one person that he could meet up with at first: the person who shared just as much power in their department as he. Takada Kiyomi. He knew that she would agree with him whole-heartedly, and she would definitely assist him in his movement against the corruption.

His interest was sparked again; in this way, he could do something for the world. Tomorrow, when he met up with his coworker for coffee, he would set a new campaign for justice in motion.

--

Takada was right on time after work, waiting in the vast underground parking lot with a purse hanging primly over her shoulder and a lipsticked smile on her face. It seemed as though she had used her last few minutes of work time in the bathroom adjusting her hair and make-up. It showed, too; the moment that Yagami stepped into view, he smiled wanly at the effort put into her appearance. Obviously she construed this outing as a date. Raito would prefer to put it in terms of something more professional.

Regardless, he stepped up to her, footsteps colliding harshly with the asphalt, and appraised her beauty, earning a light blush.

"I'll drive if you'd like...it would save gas," he proposed, referring to the consolidation of fuel. Takada responded quite positively to this inclination, following her coffee date to his car. She had no idea of his true motives: it was always easier to present one's ideas when the audience is in a favourable mood.

Once both parties had entered the car and Raito had backed out of the lot, the radio was turned on again. There was a vague hope in the brunette's mind that maybe another report on L would be broadcasted: no such luck. As a result, he was forced to drive with only a stock update blaring in the background.

It was a relief, then, that they arrived at their designated café in a timely manner. The two coworkers exited the vehicle with a true, professional air and entered the place, where Raito then commenced in ordering two mugs of coffee and steering the female to a secluded booth so as to keep curious strangers from listening in on their conversation. They sat mirroring each other, Takada positively glowing with delight in their outing, and Raito doing almost the same—though for very different reasons.

"Takada-san," the male expressed lowly, being a bit too furtive in his tone, which caused his coffee date to peer at him concernedly. "I thought I might speak to you about something more professional at first. I'm very sorry, but I believe that this is very important."

Due to Raito's urgency, reluctance seeped into the dark-haired woman's face.

"What is it that you would like to speak to me about?"

This was all the go-ahead the brunette needed to reach into the briefcase leaned against the side of his chair and retrieve a thick, manila folder that housed his culminated evidence. With a satisfactory thwap, he presented it on the table, allowing wary eyes to drink it in before he opened it to reveal the secrets that lay inside.

"In here is recording of detestable acts performed by not only our government, but governments and agencies worldwide," he explained in a hushed whisper. "With this, petitions and investigations can be put through. This world's leaders and ascendant parties are so corrupted that it makes me sick to think about it. We have to do something, or else things are going to stay like this, probably forever."

Concluding his explanatory diatribe, Raito waited expectantly for Takada to peruse the papers he had printed for her. Her frown deepened with each page she flipped through, but other than that, no reaction had been outwardly elicited. Eventually, she pushed the stack bodily away from her, sighing and shaking her head repeatedly.

"This is terrible," she stated plainly, and it was clear that she meant it. "The corruption here is all too evident…and it looks like it's been going on for quite some time."

Yagami leaned back in his chair with an almost unnoticeable smirk. His plan was successful; he had convinced Takada of the horrors he himself had seen.

"…but, Yagami-kun, there's nothing we can do about this."

The haughty smile was immediately wiped from his face.

"What do you mean?"

"We're just two people," she explicated. "Even if we tried to get more people to support a cause like this, we would be going against the government and intelligence agencies. If they wanted to, they would fire and kill us to keep their positions secure. I don't even feel comfortable looking at those files you just showed me."

Raito almost twitched in his seat. So this damned vice had gotten under Takada's skin, too.

"So what do you suggest?" he questioned stiffly.

"Burn these papers and leave it alone," she said, shaking her head. "I don't want you to get hurt, Yagami-kun, and that is exactly what will happen if you pursue this. I don't agree with what's going on, but…" The woman trailed off, turning an apologetic and wary gaze to her companion, who, much to her chagrin, appeared to be livid.

"Yagami-kun," she tried meekly, and earned no response. "There's nothing you can do."

There was the last straw. Nothing he could do? No, that was a lie. He stood, eyes alight with agitation and the promise of change; it was clear that no one would help him, but he knew better ways to take down this outrageous tyranny. He thrust the manila folder back into his briefcase and lifted it, nearly knocking the table over in his rage and haste to leave.

"Thank you for your help, Takada-san," the brunette said crisply, masking his anger immediately and once again becoming the pleasant, intelligent Yagami Raito that was shown in public. "Though I'm afraid that I have urgent business to attend to. Please enjoy your coffee."

A few hundred yen were deposited on the table (to pay for his own cup; he would not make a woman pay for his expense, no matter how irate he was), and he rushed from the shop. His coworker would have to take the subway home, because he was not in any mood to deal with her on the way back. The attaché case was hurled into the passenger seat and he sped off in a fury. This time, he did not waste a moment to turn on the radio. There was nothing on any broadcast now that would gauge his interest. The world was against him…everything he believed in was mocked with vicious grins and barefaced disregard.

But in the face of this treachery, Yagami Raito let out a peal of laughter, one that shook the foundations of his car and was laced with his every intention.

"There's nothing I can do?" he hissed, between estranged and raucous chuckles. "Nothing? That's where you are wrong. How do you break something down? You start by hacking away at its limbs so that it has nothing left to stand on, and then you silence the mind so that it cannot fathom anymore dishonesty. You kill it so that it cannot corrupt anymore. I intend to obliterate this world's vice from the source."

And thus were the assuaging thoughts that danced through the man's head as he returned home—eyes glazed over with hatred. He knew exactly what he was to do in order to save the world from itself.

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A/N: Phew. I was very worried about the posting of this story as a whole, especially since it's my first fanfiction (posted in public, mind you) that isn't about Matt and Mello. I truly hope that it meets the phenomenal expectations that other LightxL writers have set down before me.

And of course, none of this could be remotely possible without my wonderful and talented beta Mikanis, who helped me to get this out into the open—despite my fears that it will be shunned. Thank you, merci beaucoup, arigatou gozaimasu!

-Mail Jeevus