Title: The Perfect Enemy
Author: Danielle Anderson
Rating: T (for now)
Pairing: Raito/L
Summary: Sometimes the perfect enemy is the only one you can relate to.
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note

Beta: SunMoonandSpoon
Warnings: AU, diverging somewhere in episode 25; genderswitch

I'm dead as dead can be
The doctor tells me
But I just can't believe him
Ever the optimistic one
I'm sure of your ability
To become my perfect enemy
A Perfect Circle, "Passive"

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words.

This one was worth countless.

That was the thought that entered Raito's mind when he stared down at the photo in his hands, lips curving into an evil smile, brown eyes resting on the pale images. The photograph was old and faded, its edges worn out but he thought that it would be enough. It would be enough to finally bring down the most annoying and most difficult obstacle in his path.

He had just never thought that it would be this easy.

There were rushes of stretchers outside the hospital room. It was a dim woosh in the back of his mind because he was too immersed in standing in the corner and looking at the picture.

Oh, this picture, the clue that he had been awaiting so long, the final piece of the puzzle that would facilitate him becoming the ruler of this rotten world and bringing about a new golden age. He looked up only when he heard the click of the door closing to shut out the noise.

Matsuda smiled nervously at him. "I thought the silence would be good," he said sheepishly and Raito nodded. Making sure that no one saw (and everyone else was too busy worrying about Watari, anyway), he quickly slipped the photograph into the inside breast pocket of his jacket.

L was standing near Watari's bed as the latter lay unconscious against the pillow, hooked up on various medical machines. There was a look of apprehension on the detective's face that Raito didn't think anyone would often see. He liked to think that L had just a few limited expressions that ranged from bored to confused and then smug. He didn't think that he had ever seen her anxious before.

Then again, there was a first time for everything,

Mr Yagami came to stand beside him, his wrinkles more pronounced due to worry. His hair was disheveled and his tie was loose and Raito noticed that he bore an undesirable likeness to the insomniac detective. Hmm.

"The doctors say he'll make it," he said to Raito in a low voice. "It's just the stress from working too much – just like what happened to me a couple of months ago."

Raito nodded, seeming relieved.

"At least it isn't Kira."

Raito hid a self-satisfied smirk. Sure, it may not have been Kira but he was damn fortunate to have the diversion and to find that the spirit named Rem was not so stupid after all.

Originally, he had been looking for a way to finish off both Rem and Ryuuzaki but with this, it looked like he could put the both of them to some use.

He took a look at Watari and thought, Foolish old man.

He went forward and lay a comforting hand on L's bony shoulder. She looked up at him from under inky bangs. Her dark eyes were unreadable to a stranger but he could clearly see how troubled she was.

He didn't sympathize with her.

"He's going to be fine, Ryuuzaki," he said in a reassuring voice that would have deceived any lesser person. But L was L and maybe she felt that something was wrong, although she didn't know what.

She was going to find out soon.

"Thank you, Raito-kun," she answered with a little nod, her voice huskier than usual and she turned back to look at Watari.

What did she think she could achieve just by looking at him?

"Perhaps Yagami-kun would like to go home and rest now?" she suggested without looking at him.

He was taken aback by her proposal. Months of spending every waking moment by her side, handcuffing like a freaking pet had nearly made him forget that there could be a life where he was not bound to her. Inside, he was itching to get out of the hospital, go to Misa and find out her name so that he could finally get a move on his plan. But out of sheer politeness (and trying not to seem suspicious), he said graciously, "It's okay, Ryuuzaki, I don't mind staying here. I'd like to do everything I can to help."

L said nothing to that but Mr Yagami spoke up.

"No, Raito, she's right," he said. "You need to rest. You should go home. I'm sure your mother and sister will be glad to see you."

Oh, yes. His mom and Sayu. He'd almost forgotten about them. "But what about you, dad?" he asked, continuing to play the part of the caring son.

"Don't worry about me. I'll find a couch in the waiting room."

Raito doubted that but he didn't argue. He had more important matters to deal with and it would certainly facilitate things for him if they were giving him leave. He nodded to them and told them to take care and went out the room. Mogi and Aizawa were sitting outside and they stood up when they saw him.

"Any news?" asked Aizawa. He was the one who'd found Watari unconscious in the control room and called the others. For a moment, Raito had actually thought that Rem had done something but he saw now that it was just the old man's heart condition.

"They say he'll be fine," said Raito. "He just needs some rest."

"Where are you going?" Mogi wanted to know. It was just a simple question but any wrong move could cost Raito dearly.

"Ryuuzaki and dad told me to go rest," he explained with a small, easy smile. He shrugged. "I figured I could finally see my mom and Sayu."

"Okay." The two policemen bade him farewell and he left the hospital building with a devilish smile and an evil glint in his eyes.

Things were finally looking up for him.

As he stepped out into the open sky, he looked up and saw Ryuk flying around, aimless that he was. Soon, the seven-foot tall spirit landed beside him, a shark-like grin on his scary face.

"What's up?" he asked.

"You'll soon find out," answered Raito, moving his lips as unnoticeably as possible. He had told Ryuk on several occasions not to address him in public but he guessed that the latter had a feeling that he was up to something and he would fill him up about it later.

That was fine with Raito. Right now, Ryuk was his only consort.

But the spirit refused to be patient, interrupting the young man's cool demeanor when he hailed a taxi.

"Where are we going?" he demanded to know.

"Misa's," said Raito quietly and slipped into the cab to give the hint that he really didn't want to have a conversation right now.

But judging from the way Ryuk was beside him, staring at him expectantly, like a dog wanting a biscuit from his master. Raito realized that the spirit would not be able to wait. With an exasperated sigh, he inconspicuously slipped out the photo and rested it on his palm so that Ryuk could see it.

Ryuk was very surprised for a moment. He hadn't been expecting something like this, such an obvious clue, to fall into Raito's path, He looked at the photograph and laughed that hoarse laugh of his.

Raito just smiled again.

The moon was bright tonight, the atmosphere cool from the late afternoon rain. He saw the little puddles of water on the street gleaming the night light, the moon reflected on the shiny surface. When he looked up at the sky, the clouds were slowly moving like waves, the moon playing hide and seek amidst them.

Almost as though she were afraid to see what would happen next.

"So you're gonna show this to Misa, huh?" Ryuk was saying, the words blaring out of his mouth in a cacophony; Raito kept his face blank, hoping that the other would get the hint.

Ryuk glanced at the taxi driver. "Oh...right."

Raito rolled his eyes. All this time, almost a year, and Ryuk was still as thick-headed as ever. Then again, he had a hunch that the spirit often knew more than he would let on, have a few dirty tricks up his sleeve, so he would definitely have to handle Ryuk with caution.

Not that he was afraid of Ryuk.

Raito Yagami was too immersed in achieving his goal to be afraid of anything, especially when he felt that he had nothing to fear.

"Here we are, mister," said the cab driver. Raito handed him a couple of crumpled bill and got out of the car. Ryuk followed.

They were in a deserted street, and it wasn't a very posh part of Tokyo. Raito had expected that with Misa being a model and actress, she would be able to afford a very luxurious place to live in.

But it didn't matter where she lived as long as she was useful to him.

He went up the steps of the apartment building and rang the bell. Ryuk was chuckling as he floated in the air beside him. Raito was tempted to ask him what was so funny but then again, Ryuk was always laughing for some reason or another.

"Who is it?" Misa's voice poured out from the worn-down speaker.

He held the button down. "It's me," he answered curtly, and suppressed a sigh of irritation when she squealed in excitement.

"Come on up!" she cried.

He went up.

Her apartment was small, though neat and tidy, but he didn't care about that now. As soon as she sat beside her on the couch, he produced the photograph. "Look at this," he said.

The petite blonde took the photograph in her well-manicured hand and fixed her gaze on it. And then her mouth dropped open in amazement.

"Where did you get this?" she breathed in wonder.

"Rem," he replied curtly. And before she could say anything else, he changed the subject and went straight for the main reason he was here.

"Give me her name," he demanded, his voice low and urgent, almost chilling.

Misa looked at the picture again, her blue eyes resting on the image of a young, dark-haired scrawny woman with a slouching posture.

And then she spoke:

"L Lawliet."

In an instant, Raito's handsome face broke into a wide, evil grin, his brown eyes glittering like jewels with triumph. He said the name in his mind, taking care to pronounce each syllable, as though he were a vampire about to taste the blood of his victim.

I've won. I finally know her name.

It was the name that had eluded him for months, slipping away each time he thought that he'd finally gotten it. And now, he had it in his grasp, and he would hold onto it like a much sought-after treasure.

L Lawliet.

That was her name.

Misa scrunched up her nose, ruining the moment. "That's such a weird name," she remarked.

Under different circumstances, Raito would have rebuked her. Would have been hardly surprised that the model was always so shallow. But now, he was content to ignore her.

"It doesn't matter," he said quietly, staring hard at the picture, at L's image, smiling maliciously. "I finally have what I want."

"Are you going to kill her now?" she asked.

Such things she said.

"That was the plan, wasn't it?" he returned, and then his attention was back to the picture. "Tell me the names of the other two."

"Nate River," she pointed a long raspberry nail at the white-blond boy, "and Mihael Keehl." The latter was another young boy with long golden hair. Raito had thought he was a girl first, but now it didn't matter.

"Excellent," he said approvingly. He took the picture and put it in his pocket, thinking hard about what else he could do with this information.

Ryuk casually flew into the adjoining kitchen and then came back munching a red, red apple. It was distracting to hear him crunch the food like that, but Raito had no time to waste.

He got to his feet, a plan already formulating on his mind.

Misa tilted her chin in alarm. "Where are you going?" she demanded to know but he was in no mood to answer her; she had already served her purpose and if she thought that he was going to hang around in her apartment for a kiss and a cuddle, then she had another think coming.

As he headed for the door, she called after him. "Raito!" She sounded whiny, almost desperate, and he hated that.

He cast a brief glance over his shoulder, a forced gesture of consideration. "I'll talk to you later," he said.

And then, he was gone.

It looked like it would rain again.

Raito sat quietly in the taxi, Ryuk hanging around him like a dead albatross as he wondered what his next move should be.

He knew L's real name at last and he had mixed feelings over it (really? L? That was her true first name?). He used to think that things would be much easier when he had this valuable piece of information: he would simply write her name in the notebook and be done with it. It would be made to look like an accident…though judging from the amount of sugar L consumed on a daily basis, Raito reckoned that he could make her cause of death some severe form of diabetes, and still get away with it.

But now, in the light of not having just her name, but two of her colleagues' (who were those boys in the picture with her? They looked younger than her), he found himself considering a different alternative to doing away with her.

Ryuk had the guts to voice his thoughts:

"You're not really gonna kill her, are you?"

The taxi driver was on the cell phone now, talking to his wife about what they should have for dinner. Raito knew that it was illegal to talk on the phone and drive at the same time, but he didn't think anyone deserved the death penalty for that.

Or that the driver could hear him.

So he answered in a low voice.

"Not right away, at least," he said. Ryuk looked at him quizzically. What did he mean?

And in the next few seconds, it dawned on what he really meant.

Raito smirked, and then said to the driver, "Please make a stop at the nearest sweet shop."

Ryuk stared at him stupidly. "Huh?"

The smirk widened as if to say, You'll see.

The nearest sweet shop was three blocks away from the hospital. The clouds had appeared again and there was a very light drizzle, which made him think twice about walking the rest of the way. The driver was kind enough to wait for him as he did his shopping.

He bought a small bag of chocolate éclairs, some rice pudding, a little box of strawberries and a bottle of blueberry yogurt drink. Ryuk watched this, his hideous eyes bulging with incredulity.

"What, you have a craving for sweets now?" he exclaimed.

Raito rolled his eyes inconspicuously, his lips barely moving. "They're not for me," he answered with annoyance. "They're for her."

"Eh?" this confused Ryuk even more but the young man did not have the patience to elaborate. Why couldn't the spirit just be patient?

By the time he stepped out of the shop, the drizzle had become heavier. The remaining ride took just seven minutes, after which he tipped the driver generously. "Keep the change."

The man looked amazed and happy as he drove off. He had no idea how much he'd helped Raito.

He went to the second floor to the room where he knew Watari to be. The rest of the team were waiting outside the room; Aizawa and Mogi were sitting on two comfortable chairs, dozing, while Matsuda and Mr Yagami had gone to the waiting room to get their rest.

Which meant that only L was inside.

Perfect.

Raito rapped his knuckles softly on the door before going in. L wasn't crouching in her usual position, as he had thought she would; she was instead standing near the window and looking out, her attention focused on the little droplets of rain trickling down the glass. For a brief instant, he saw her standing in the rain, hair dripping wet, looking like a lost little girl.

"Ryuuzaki," he nodded a greeting and she nodded back somberly. He shut the door behind him. "Is Watari better now?"

"It's a little too early to tell, isn't it?" she returned, her tone laced with cold humor. "But I am hopeful."

She sure didn't sound like it but he could care less.

"You haven't gotten any rest?" he asked, trying to put on the concerned protégé act. "It's been a long few hours, hasn't it?"

"Yes," she agreed, nodding again, and then she glanced at Watari. "But I don't really feel tired." She turned him, dark eyes penetrating his. "Where has Raito-kun been?"

"I went for a walk," he answered casually, annoyed of how suspicious she suddenly looked. Then again, no matter how much proof she got of his innocence, she would never buy it because she hated to be wrong.

"Some fresh air," he went on. "I feel better now."

"Ah, I see. You didn't go home?"

Inwardly, he clenched his teeth. That blasted detective! Even now, looking for a way to frame him, to know his alibi.

(Well, she did have a point, didn't she?)

"No," he shook his head. "I guess I didn't feel like it. I think I'll go in the morning."

"All right." She glanced at the bags in his hand. "What are those?"

"Oh." Raito pretended to have forgotten about them, "I just stopped at a store and bought you some food."

"Sweet?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, of course," he gave her a friendly smile, and she followed him uncertainly when he suggested that they should go to a private place where they could talk.

There was an empty room a few doors away, a tidy bed and closed curtains. Someone eyed them suspiciously as they went inside, with the experience of one who knew from prior experience that when a man and a woman enter an empty room in the hospital, they intend to get intimate.

Raito had the pleasure of thinking that the spectator's suspicions were wrong.

He drew the curtains so that the light could stream in. There wasn't much from the moon anyway, save for the street lamps and car headlights. He turned to see what L was doing. She didn't seem inclined to flick a switch.

That was fine by him.

She sat on a chair and lifted her legs up, toes curling in anticipation as he placed the bags before her on the low table.

"Thank you," she said as she opened the boxes and started working on the goods.

Raito nodded indifferently. Her meal would be complete with a cup of tea but he had no intention of getting it. For as comfortable he wanted to make her before breaking the bad news, he didn't want to make her that comfortable.

He watched her daintily (was that even the right word to describe her mannerism?) pick out a strawberry from the box and bite into it, the red flesh gently tinting her mouth. How should he bring up the topic? She wasn't saying anything; she was too busy with the strawberries.

"Where's Rem?" asked L suddenly.

The question surprised Raito. He himself hadn't had time to wonder about Rem. Come to think of it, he hadn't even seen her since she'd passed him the picture.

"I don't know," he told her honestly. "I think she's decided to stay back at the headquarters. Maybe she doesn't want to get involved in all this."

"Hmm." L pensively scooped some rice pudding into her mouth with a plastic spoon. She reminded Raito of a baby. She swallowed. "I had a feeling, when Watari collapsed, that the spirit had something to do with this."

What an obvious deduction, thought Raito. Aloud, he said, "Really?"

"Yes. Watari has always been in good shape for his age. You've seen what a good shot he is," she referred to the night they captured Higuchi.

Raito had to agree with that. Watari was probably in his late seventies, wore glasses, and he could still shoot like a young man.

"It's obviously the stress, isn't it, Ryuuzaki?" he offered with a shrug. "Remember when my dad had a heart attack a couple of months ago? I thought it was Kira, too."

"Yes," said L again. "But it does seem too convenient for Watari to fall ill now, doesn't it?" She chewed a little strawberry, her black eyes full of thought. She mumbled, "I wonder if he found something that he wasn't supposed to…"

This time, Raito rolled his eyes. "Stop being paranoid, Ryuuzaki," he berated. "You've already seen how disinterested the spirit is in human affairs. She doesn't care about what happens with the notebook."

"Or she acts that way because she's trying to protect something," L pointed out, "or someone."

L was not called the best detective in the world for no reason.

"I wonder what she could be hiding," L mused aloud, glancing up at the ceiling as though the answer was hanging there.

Raito's gut told him that there were other things that L suspected, too, but she just wasn't telling him because she still couldn't decide whether he was an ally or not.

(She'd have gone with her instinct if it had been up to her. But where was the proof?)

He smirked behind his hand.

The detective was almost done eating now and she was drinking water from one of the empty bottles lying around. He glanced at his watch. It was almost three in the morning and if he wanted to get his plan moving, then he would have to act now.

"Had a good meal?" he asked, and she said yes and thanked him again. So polite and formal, a mask hiding her interior, which was ruthless and determined to get what she wanted, willing to go the most extreme lengths to prove her point.

He recalled, with some resentment, the fifty-three days that he had been locked up in a cell, hands and feet bound. He recalled Misa's imprisonment and though he did not care for the girl, he had to admit that L was hardly just herself.

And it was now his turn to take her by surprise.

"Do you still think I'm Kira?"

She looked at him sharply…well, as sharply as she could with those dilated pupils, like she wanted to say, As if you need to ask that.

It didn't offend him. Rather, it amused him. And what he said to her next was even more shocking.

"You're right," he announced. "I am Kira."

L went very still, the blood draining from her face as she started at him. She made a little noise of surprise, lips parting to speak but he got there first.

"I want you off this case," he instructed her, smoothly. Raito Yagami had always been one to carry out his business gracefully.

"And how do you intend to make me do that?" she retorted, coiling like a deadly snake about to strike.

Naturally, Raito wasn't afraid. He'd already come prepared for the snake's bite with an anti-venom, to ensure that the snake would not bite for a very long time, and would listen to him without a word.

"I'd like you to take a look at this," he brought out the photo and slid it face-down across the table towards her, "L." He added that to show his resentment of her, and his power.

She gave him a mistrustful look before picking up the picture.

He waited for her reaction.

Her dark eyes grew impossibly large and in a tight voice, she demanded, "Where did you get this?"

"That's not important," he leaned back, "but I thought you'd be interested to learn that I now know your true name…L Lawliet."

The expression on L's face was…vindictive, to say the least. He'd never seen her looking so angry and cornered because she'd always been the kind of person to keep their calm; but he supposed that she had a good reason.

"What do you want, then?" was her question.

"Like I told you," replied Raito calmly. "I want you off the Kira case."

"I didn't think Yagami-kun would consider me so naïve to make me stop investigating just by asking nicely," came the stinging reply.

Raito ignored the jibe. "I also know the name of your two consorts."

She waited to see if he was bluffing or not. And he announced, "Mihael Keehl and Nate River."

This made L turn even paler, if such a thing were indeed possible.

"How –" she began to ask.

"You already know that Kira needs just a name and face to kill," he took the picture out of her hands, just the way he had taken the Death Note in the helicopter, the detective being too dazed to notice. "And now that I have not only your name, but also your acquaintances, I trust that this is reason enough for you to stop the investigation?" He watched her closely, "Because if you don't…then you might have to go to two funerals some time soon."

She met his gaze, her onyx eyes burning with rage. "And Misa is the second Kira, too, isn't she?"

Raito's silence was the answer.

L cast her eyes down, the fire suddenly gone out like a snuff, and for a moment, Raito saw her again, the sad, lost girl on the rooftop, asking if he had ever told the truth in his life.

She had wanted the truth. And now that she finally had it, there was nothing she could do about it.

There was a tightness in his heart, a pang, a shift that he didn't understand but he quickly dismissed it as something unimportant.

"Fine, then," she conceded in a quiet voice.

He was surprised. You're giving up so easily? he wanted to say to her. But to L, he just smiled.

"A very wise decision," he said, approvingly.

L hugged her knees close to her chest and regarded with a touch of wariness and apprehension. "So what are you going to do now?" she wondered. "Kill me?"

He gave a short laugh at the honesty of his question. So the great detective L did harbor human fears.

"Not for the time being, at least," he responded, leaning back against the chair comfortably. "Though, I confess that was my first thought."

"What brought about the change of heart then?" she asked dryly.

He scowled to himself. Yes, indeed. What had brought about the change of heart? It angered him that he didn't really have an answer to that. He had been asking himself the same question for the past few hours and he was starting to think that maybe killing the detective would have been smarter.

"If I give you all the answers now, there won't be much suspense left for later, will there?" It was the most bogus non-response he'd ever given anyone, but L had always had the ability to catch him off-guard and make a fool out him.

Well, now the joke was on her.

"You will not be allowed to leave Japan," he informed her suddenly. "Rem will make sure that you don't."

Her gaunt face dawned with another realization. "So Rem was in on this all along," she muttered to herself.

"Apparently so," he answered lazily, and then got to his feet. "I don't need to inform you that you will not confide any of this to the task force."

L glared at him as he continued. "You will remain in Japan as long as I wish, or until I know what to do with you. You are, in other words," his voice dropped, "my slave."

He knew L didn't like the sound of that because she was enslaved by no one but she said nothing. She was looking down at her toes again, very glum, but she had heard him.

"All right," she said, her voice barely audible.

So this was what the big L looked like when she was defeated – quiet and mopey, mumbling her responses as if it hurt to talk. He recalled seeing this before, months ago, when they'd had their fistfight because she was depressed over being wrong about her theory.

But now, when he expected her to protest in rage, to put up a fight, she'd just said some sarcastic words, and then clammed up like an oyster.

Raito shut the door behind him, and walked to the waiting room to check up on his father. He had expected a greater challenge from the one he considered to be the perfect enemy.

A/N: Finally, the first chapter is up!
Okay, folks, before we go on with this story I'd just like to make a note of things that've changed in this fic, since it's AU. The main things are that Ryuk and Rem are just supernatural spirits, and with their eyes, they can see only names. Raito wants to be the king of the world, and this fic is going to be eventually Raito/L, though how, is a difficult matter.
I hope you've enjoyed this fic, and do let me know what you think!