Best Laid Plans

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are the property of Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata, and Viz Media. I don't own them; I just examine all their possibilities.

Author's Note: "Best Laid Plans" is an alternate ending to Death Note, starting in Chapter 57 of the manga and taking a different turn from one key event. A lot of this will be the result of some complicated plotting taking into consideration events and character reasoning and motivation to shape the story in an alternate direction. There will likely be plot oversights of some kind and some reasoning that some may not interpret as being completely in character. However this is based on my reasoning of the plotline and my view of the characters, so bear with me. Be aware that the timeline will also jump around between the "present" and the time the story begins.

"Best Laid Plans" is rated R for graphic descriptions of wounds and some sexual content that will appear later in the storyline.

Prologue: The End is the Beginning

January 28, 2005

12:15 p.m.

Tokyo

It was over

Light cried out, both hands flung upward but he probably knew clutching his chest would do nothing against the surging pain. He had witnessed these heart attacks enough to know the process.

Soichiro clutched him tighter, sweat already pouring off his brow and face bone white. Now he watched as his son flailed through spasms of pain, held him in his arms and savored the last moments his firstborn would be alive. His suit was smeared with Light's blood, a pool of it settled around both of them after the shots Light took to the wrist and the calf.

Light did not fight off his embrace, it was almost as if he accepted it.

Aizawa and Mogi stood frozen, eyes locked on him in gazes of horror muted by exhaustion.

Matsuda's face was buried in his hands. He sat against the wall, knees pulled to his chest and hands draped over his tear-streaked face; he looked like he wanted the wall to swallow him and take him away from this.

Misa clutched L's shoulders tighter, burying her face in his hair and the crook of his neck and sobbing violently. The shoulder of his shirt was now soaked in tears and dripping nasal mucous.

She couldn't look at Light; the sound of his final grunts and gasps were doing enough damage to her psyche already.

Rem stood still and stared at Light, fangs revealed as her purple mouth gaped open. Perhaps it was possible for a God of Death to be scared, or perhaps this was simple amazement. Perhaps her fear was more for Misa than for Light. She wanted Light dead since the beginning. Now she had her wish, but what would this ultimately do to Misa despite the part she played in this moment?

The black-clad Shinigami, the one Light addressed as Ryuk as he called for him to kill everyone, was simply standing and observing; mouth curved in that perpetual grin. It was hard to tell what his view was on this.

His clawed hand closed the Death Note on the page where the kanji reading "Light Yagami" was written 40 seconds ago, the other hand opened the holster on his side and he slid the notebook back in.

Watari paid no mind to Light. His attention was firmly set on pressing his black jacket hard against L's abdomen, desperately trying to stop the river of blood.

L was already lying in a pool of it, a few more trickles flowed up his throat and escaped the sides of his mouth.

The .38 round ruptured his spleen, he knew that much though the bleeding from his mouth was a clear indication the bullet must have damaged his gastro-intestinal tract. It likely clipped his stomach, though that was probably not the largest source of the bleeding.

The gun was on the other side of the floor after being practically thrown over. Fortunately it didn't go off and do more damage as it was hurled, though everyone's respective lifespans were predetermined. No one else was dying today.

He managed to prop his head on Misa's knee, her face keeping the other side of his head supported as he stared at Light through his fading consciousness. L glanced up at Watari; the old man's normally stony visage twisted with the threat of tears. It hurt to see this, a pain perhaps greater than what he was in right now, though his adrenaline and the massive blood loss dulled his senses.

L pulled his gaze to Light. He had to witness every second, watch every one of Light Yagami's flails and hear his dying groans. He had to witness his final victory; a victory that came at an indescribable price.

He had no idea it would come to this.

Light slowly stilled, breath shallower. The end was seconds away.

He looked over at L, giving him a weak smirk.

Light Yagami then looked up at his father as his muscles relaxed and his breathing stopped.

It was over.

"S-someone call an ambulance!" Aizawa yelled, finally finding his voice.

Misa rubbed her nose against L's cheek, her lips finding his ear and whispering.

L wanted to believe he heard what he thought he did, though he couldn't trust his senses at this point.

All he needed to know was he finally had his victory. Whether he would be around to savor it or pick up afterwards remained to be seen.

Author's Note: This storyline is far from over, believe me.