Disclaimer: Do not own, yada yada. I have a habit of writing things and not reading them over, as bad as that sounds... but whatever. Leave comments and such. I don't know if this series should be continued or not...
Chapter One: The Detective and the Drunk
God damnit...
"What's the point of being like this if I can't even use it to my advantage?"
Day fifty-seven and he had still yet to figure out how exactly how to extract the delicious looking morsel from the window of the bakery on the corner. It was ridiculous, it was vexing, and above all else, it was frustrating! He was a genius, right? That's what they called him when he was alive. A genius. An enigma of the highest honor. The greatest detective in the world.
Putting all THAT aside, he once again brought up the issue of his intelligence. How many times did he have to reassure himself of it? As many times as it took to restore his confidence, of course!
Yet, boosting his own ego did nothing to help him get that cake.
"Fufu..."
Swap, swap, swap.
L's arm swished back and forth in a repetative motion, dark rimmed eyes staring boredly at the girl as she pointed out in delight the cake that he was currently lusting for. It was no use. His arm just went right through her each and every time. Nothing happened! A single hair didn't move, and she just continued on her merry little journey of stealing his cake. Rotten kid.
As the man at the cashier smiled, retrieving the frosted goodness from the counter and handing it to her as she handed her money, L could only frown. What he would do to have a taste of sugar again... even if he was never hungry, he just wanted to have that sweetness back into his mouth. His pink tongue darted from his mouth, slowly running over his lips in yearning. The little girl was all smiles and giggles, thanking her mom profusely for the treat, taking said individual's hand, and skipping out of the bakery in delight.
"Brat."
He stuck his hands back into his pockets, hair falling in front of his eyes, slightly obstructing his view. The chain had shortened by some number of centimeters since he last checked, now only protruding six inches from his chest as opposed to the fifteen-foot length that it was originally when he first found out he was... err.. dead. L muttered something incoherent (not like it mattered, no one heard him), before turning and walking out from the store with his spirits-no pun intended-down.
He soon found himself wandering down the street of this god forsaken town, asking himself repeatedly why he chose to cling onto this life when there was perhaps so much more beyond this world. There was nothing that one would usually want to hold onto. It wasn't like he lost a love or anything. It wasn't like he had some purpose he needed to fulfill. He was betrayed and defeated by some high school kid who should've been modeling for shampoo commercials rather than killing people. Of course, following his demise, he had quickly figured out what had happened, albeit the knowledge was rendered useless in this state. He could no longer bring Kira... or should he say, Raito -- to justice. So what was the point of remaining? No purpose. No reason. And, to top it all off -- !!
STOMP, STOMP, STOMP
Bah.
L looked around the desolate street, his back slouched, a thoughtful expression on his features. The ground trembled beneath his feet. "Great. Another one?" he murmured, raising his head towards the source of his recent aggravations.
Surely enough, one of those troublesome things appeared not too far down the street. It came into view clearly. Roughly fifteen feet in length, shaped like a hippo, with stumpy legs and teeth. Big teeth. It was uglier than the others he had miraculously managed to evade over the weeks. L took his hand out of his pocket and reached up to scratch the side of his head, gazing at the masked monster, his face contorting from thoughtfulness to apathy. "Yare, yare. You're a fat thing, aren't you?"
The comment didn't do anything to deter the hippo-being from charging towards him, teeth bared, murderous intentions clear. With every stomp of its flat feet, the ground shook, L's facial features remaining relaxed.
STOMP, STOMP, STOMP!!
It was coming closer... death was coming closer. The spirit let out a small sigh, his eyelids closing. It was apparent now what he was doing... he was waiting for this to come and get him, to eat him. This was probably how souls moved from one place to another... Albeit it was a lot more violent than he originally thought (hell, he never even believed in an afterlife when he was alive), it was better than just idling about until that chain stuck on his chest disappeared. Who knew what would happen to him then?
It was so close now, so close. He could feel it, see it, hear it, even smell it now at that distance. As the beast neared him, it opened its mouth grotesquely wide, ready to take in his soul. He was going to die... again...
"... Yeah right."
An eyelid flitted open as he caught a glimpse of the creature, who was but ten feet away now.
Without a split second of hesitation, L jumped. About twenty feet into the air he jumped, earning a confused gurgle from his opponent. The hippo being immediately halted in its path, obviously not expecting something like that to happen. It let out a sky piercing scream before looking up for its supposed meal. It found him fast, simply because the seemingly passive spirit had just connected his foot with its head.
CRACK.
A rather forceful blow was dealt by the ex-detective. The monster skidded down the street, its large mass of a body crashing into a light pole. By then L had swiftly landed on the ground, hands once more buried into his pockets, observing the being with curious eyes. He scratched at his leg with the heel of his foot. "I've got to lend it to you, though. That time, it actually hurt."
Several seconds had passed before the monster regained it's composure, shifting back onto its feet.
'Heh heh... I knew you had some spiritual power, but I didn't imagine this!! I should eat you now before any others do!!'
He heard this and rolled his eyes. "I suggest you go away, unless you want to get kicked again."
'Pathetic fool. You caught me off-guard then, but that was just a fluke! I have consumed many souls before you... our difference in power is obvious! You will see!'
'Ugly and conceited. What a winner.' L thought placidly. He opened his mouth to say something else when the monster suddenly lifted up its foot, hitting the ground with such force that not only did the ground tremble, but break. A large hole appeared where foot to ground contact was made... and then a crack extended from it. He would've disregarded the act as a means of intimidating him, if not for the fact that it was coming towards him. His hands came out from his pockets in reflex, quick eyes catching sight of the line on the ground that was now below him.
It was quiet for a second.
The ground then opened up, swallowing his feet.
"What the?!"
'Can't move now, eh, spirit? There's no use struggling... you are mine now.'
L bit his bottom lip, attempting to pry his foot out from the ground. It didn't work.
"Shit..."
For the first time since it had appeared, his collected expression faltered. His eyes flickered back towards the creature, watching in horror as it shifted in its spot, opening its mouth yet again. It was preparing for another attack... and he was now a sitting duck.
It smiled back at him, then charged forward.
He was surely going to be eaten now. No matter how hard he pulled on his leg, he could not move from that spot. It was useless. He might as well give up -- no! He couldn't give up... he wouldn't give up. There was no way in hell that he would let himself die like this. L tugged at his leg again, grunting in perseverance; he could feel it, it was coming out! He could do this after all... but in time? It was already so close -- he would be lucky if he got one foot out by the time it would meet him! His eyes widened in stunned horror, body freezing up.
He wasn't going to make it.
This was surely the end.
STOMP, STOMP, STO--
"Unare, Haineko!"