Breaking Point

Word Count: 414

Rating: T

Characters: Matsuda Touta

Genre: Angst

Summary: Matsuda has had enough.

Matsuda was tired.

People were considerate enough not to say it explicitly, but deep down, Matsuda knew. Nobody needed to tell him. He was all too aware of the fact that whenever he was out of earshot, they often asked among themselves, How could he be a detective? He was a burden, a dead weight, an incompetent excuse for a harbinger of justice.

Matsuda knew his boundaries, and had long admitted that he would never become an L or a Light. He had none of Aizawa's resolve nor Yagami Soichiro's leadership.

He could easily see the team replacing him upon his death without much forethought.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was expendable.

But, why?

Was it not enough that he was willing to lay his life on the line to pursue Kira? He might not be as brilliant or as fearless, but did it matter? He was here, right now, to prove that despite his mediocrity, he had a place in this investigation. He had made it this far.

There was no turning back now-

"What do you think you're doing, Matsuda!?" Light screamed, clutching his bleeding hand. "Don't you know who I am?!"

It was an irony how Light could still find the audacity to threaten him, even after admitting he was Kira. At this point, Matsuda no longer cared. Feelings of disappointment, anger, and hatred had already taken over him. Gripping his gun tightly, Matsuda fired bullet after bullet at Light, his emotions betraying him. It was no longer about Light's deception of his own father. It was no longer about bringing Kira to justice.

Matsuda stood there with his fingers still on the trigger, knees shaking, staring at the now-unrecognizable Light, absent of any semblance of being the Kira everyone had once feared. The Light who once ridiculed him for not being capable enough. Now, the tables have turned. He could see himself towering over Light, now powerless. Strangely, it somehow brought him a sense of satisfaction.

Was this what he wanted?

Matsuda was scared of his own thoughts. But there was no denying that he had longed for this moment to come. He could kill Light in revenge for belittling him as a human being and disguise it as merely performing his duty as police. Finally, he could prove himself a worthy member of the task force.

If this was the only way to prove it, then so be it.

"Goodbye, Light."