"What are you doing?" Light asked suddenly, his voice sounding urgent, as L grabbed his foot. They were both soaked, having just come in from the pouring rain.

L looked up at him, his face expressionless. "I thought I might help you out. You were busy drying yourself off anyway," he answered simply.

Light was shocked by L's sudden directness. But he knew L was completely unpredictable, the one trait that made him such a worthy opponent. "Look—it's fine. You don't have to do that," he replied quickly, a bit unsure of what to do. He was always a bit unsure how to handle L; it was hard to even know his true intentions sometimes.

"I can give you a massage as well. It's the least I can do to atone for my sins. I'm actually pretty good at this," L retorted. Light stared down at him, having no idea what was going on. His face still looked slightly shocked—which was a huge thing for him. He had trained himself so well not to show any initial reactions through facial expressions to anything that L did or said. That was often L's strategy. But Light was clever and he was a master of acting. But right now, his eyes were slightly wide, his face revealing his uncertainty and hesitation.

Finally, he waved the shock away, deciding it was nothing, just another of L's odd behaviorisms. "Fine. Do what you want." He looked away, unhappy with L for making him reveal himself like he had.

"Alright…" L looked down to Light's feet and began to massage them. Light gave a slight sound of pain. "Hey!" he said, wanting to tell L to stop. He didn't like how this felt, the perplexity it left in the air between them… But L was so persistent. "You'll get used to it," he insisted quietly, without looking up or stopping. Light looked up, surprised again at his determination.

And then a few small drops of water hit Light's foot, dripping from L's hair. But L continued on with his job. Light noticed this, and it was then that something stirred in him... Those little drops was all it took for him to realize… L was so willing to just stop whatever he was doing and sacrifice his time to do something that wasn't even necessary for Light… It was such a tiny act—but like everything else L did, it was all part of a bigger picture.

Why would L do this…? Light had been L's number one enemy, the most feared and hated criminal of his life. And now he was bowing on the floor at Light's feet, free of any dignity, just to save Light the trouble…? No, Light knew better. L's actions could never be taken for surface meaning. Light analyzed exactly what L was doing.

In ancient times, the act of washing one's feet was an act of near worship. It was a dirty and unnecessary chore, and it was only performed by peasants and slaves, the lowest of the social latter. Therefore, the person receiving the treatment was a person of great honor. Jesus the Messiah's feet were washed countless times. Taking this into account, as Light gazed down at L, his eyes were narrowed, wondering if there was any way his deduction was right… Why would L do that?

But then it all made sense to him. L was bent over on the floor in a position of surrender at Light's feet, his head bowed like a dog with its tail between its legs. But this was not a submission of fear—it was a submission of respect. Light had beaten L at his own game. And L was intelligent enough to know that. L would never give up—that was clear by all the measures he'd taken in the past few months, even when he felt hopeless—but right now… He had no moves left. It was checkmate for him. It was as if he knew his end was near… very near.

So why would L do this? The answer is—it was all he had left to do. Admitting his defeat, he decided that he was going to go out of this life with no regrets. He would make peace with his final and biggest enemy… And then something stirred in him. Because only now could L see the secret admiration that he'd had of Light all this time, hidden beneath his desire to deliver "justice". Now L realized he had only ever wanted a friend in Light, deep down… He hated Kira, and wanted nothing more than to bring him down—but for Light, he felt an air of respect and admiration. And somehow he could sense that Kira wasn't here. It was just himself and Light, whom L could see as just the simple, quiet young man he was.

Light was such a good man. He was studious and hard-working in school, he was kind and loving to his family members, and he was nothing but nice all around. But temptation will destroy even the best of men. And as soon as Light bit into the forbidden fruit, he became Kira, a murderer—with good intentions, perhaps, but a ruthless murderer nonetheless. But for the first time since before he lost his memories, and since he got them back… He was just Light. L had some kind of power over him… to control that transformation…

Light was watching L's every move—and he could see L's silent and calm acceptance. The only thing he couldn't see was the fact that L admired Light, more than he had ever admired anyone in his life. But L knew that it was over. For this, Kira would've felt victorious—for it was proof that his battle was won… He would've sat tall with an evil smirk as he looked down on his fallen enemy and realized his triumph... But in this moment, Kira had completely vanished, and Light reached for the rag lying next to him and then leaned down to gently dry L's bangs.

"Here… You're still soaked," came Light's suddenly gentle voice. He had been so uptight but all the sudden now he was kind and tender. "I'm sorry…" L murmured, knowing that Light had reached the level of understanding of what L was feeling. At first, it would've seemed like he was apologizing for being wet or for dripping on Light. But Light knew all too well that that wasn't what he was referring to.

Light looked away with narrowed eyes, unable to handle himself… He felt guilt for putting the poor young man through everything he'd put him through; sympathy for the life L must've had… Because now Light could see in L's unlit black eyes, seeming even blacker than usual, the reflection of his past—a whole world of unspoken emotion… A world Light had never thought about before… But in this tender moment, Light thought about L's family… his friends… or lack of, it seemed… And he wanted nothing more than to comfort the young man; he wanted to finally learn who L really was…

But there was a potent heaviness in the air, a stiffness they both felt… They both knew that it was too late for anything to change. There was nothing Light could do now to stop L's death—the plan was too far in motion. It was terribly depressing that this bittersweet moment had to come when it was already too late… So they sat quietly, trying to disregard the feelings they were both feeling, the sudden air of peace and fondness surrounding them, the change beckoning vainly for them to invite it in… They ignored it—in hopes that if they did, perhaps it would go away…

"It'll be lonely won't it…" L finally spoke, "You and I will be parting ways soon…" Light stared down at L with the saddest expression, knowing that whether L knew it or not, he was speaking of his own death… A tear began to well up behind his eye, and he looked as if he would almost cry… He was so close to opening his mouth and telling L everything he wanted to…

But then L's cell phone rang. Light was gone again—and Kira was back.