Gods and Monsters [Sequel to Ethereal] L x Reader • Death Note ✔️

Chapter 5 | never let me go

"Yes I missed you too, but air to breathe would be nice"

The boys loosened their death grip hugs on L, but didn't let him go. The second he showed up at wammys in his human form, his successors were on him like baby koalas clinging to their mother. You just smiled, glad to see even though they'd grown up they still loved L as much as they did as kids.

"Man you need to come visit more, we miss you" Matt said.

"Yeah don't just leave us for the god life dude" Mello added.

"As if I'd do that, I was just busy recently with my devotees. I'm sure you know why I'm here"

The moment signs of another Kira began, the boys were on it. They'd been expecting L to show up eventually, and they'd already prepared what they knew on this new Kira for him.

"We figured you'd show up, but first (y/n) don't think you're escaping the bone crushing hug" Mello said.

"Oh gods-" you muttered, before being swooped up in said bone crushing hug.

They'd gotten a lot stronger you'd give them that.

"Ok yes! I missed you too, air please!" You wheezed.

Letting you breathe, they let you go and smiled up at you, glad to see you again. If L was their father figure you were the other parent, they'd come to love you that way over the years together.

"Look at you all, you're gonna overtake L in height at this rate" you said.

"Absolutely not, I'm the tallest here thank you" L replied.

"I dunno, Matt might beat you"

Matt stood next to L, both of them kept their posture straight and compared heights. L was still taller, but Matt was catching up. They were all 18-20 now so they'd mostly stopped growing. But those last few inches could still sneak in, if they kept fit and healthy.

"And Near look at your hair! It's so pretty!" You said, immediately running your fingers through the now hip length white hair.

It was so soft, wavy and smooth. Near always had such fluffy hair and even long with more weight it managed to keep its bounce.

"That... actually reminds me. I have to tell you guys something..." Near spoke up.

"What's up?" You asked.

"So... when I started growing it out I kind of realised why I like long hair so much. It was like a domino, once I realised that it made me realise tons of other things I missed as a kid. So... basically what I'm trying to say is- I'm non binary"

You know, you and L always had a hunch Near might be some form of trans. It was just the way they carried themselves and the comments they'd made about finding gender pointless. You and L obviously couldn't care less what your kids were, as long as they were happy and healthy. You were deities of love after all, it's be pretty fucked up to not love your kid over something like gender.

"You know... I can't say I'm surprised. I love you Near, no matter what. The long hair suits you" L smiled, running his fingers through their hair.

"Don't stress over it ok? You're still our baby no matter the gender" you added.

Near sighed softly in relief. Even though they knew it'd be fine, and Matt and Mello kept telling them it'd be fine, it was still a scary thing to do.

After several more hugs and playing with Nears luxurious hair, it was finally down to Kira business. Sitting around the computers, the successors pulled up all their findings so far. They'd been working under the tile of L ever since they were old enough to and they'd been doing amazing. They'd never left a case unsolved and had only had to call L for help a few times over several years. L always wanted them to work together to succeed him, and they were doing better than he could have ever hoped.

"Ok so we know he kills on the hour, every hour. So far everything has been a heart attack and no other methods. It's all criminals who's names and faces are made public, notably the first few were in Japan and broadcast locally. So we're guessing it's in Japan again" Mello explained, going over all their notes.

"What is it with Japan and death notes?" You muttered.

"Guess the shinigami just like them since they got their name from the Japanese language" Matt shrugged.

"There hasn't been a single hidden message or anything sent out to the media, the overall public opinion on this has been fear and confusion. But of course the nut job Kira fans have been going nuts saying it's the 'second coming' and all that bullshit" Mello continued.

L examined the data they'd collected. As expected most of the killings were in Japan. Only by a small amount, this Kira was making sure it was fairly even worldwide. But it was enough to suggest that the person was in Japan.

"Could you use your mirror to find the death note like you did last time?" Near asked.

"I'd need a general area first, flying over the entirety of Japan scanning it would take forever" you replied.

"Pulling another stunt like the Lind L Tailor one wouldn't work, it's been done before so he'd know it's a trick... we need another way to narrow down where in Japan this guy is" Mello pondered.

That was a hard task to do. Japans population was massive, and it had several islands. Finding one guy in a sea of people when the best method was already used and known about sounded almost impossible.

"We'll have to think of a plan for that, we'll keep investigating for leads but if you guys could try and find some magic way to pull it off, it'd make things way easier" Near said.

"Hmm... I can't recall anything that wouldn't draw attention. I'll have to ask around the highlands. By the way when you guys are free, Aph wants to see you" you replied.

"Of course she does. I'm down, as long as she makes those bangin cookies again" Matt agreed.

Every time they've visited since they were kids Aphrodite would make them chocolate chip cookies from scratch, making the chocolate chips from fresh cocoa and everything. Of course she enchanted them with and few drops of self love, always making sure the kids were happy. But they were so good, the trio had been craving them since the first time they had them. Every time they saw her they wanted more.

"Her cookies are legendary, I'll give you that" L agreed.

"Didn't you say Hypnos has a kid now last time you visited?" Mello asked.

"He does, Morpheus is a bit older than a toddler. Probably 4 or 5 in human years. He's a such a cute little cloud, kind of reminds me of Near when they were a kid. All quiet and clingy" you smiled.

"I wasn't that clingy..." Near muttered.

"You slept in my bed for a week straight after you had a nightmare once" L sassed.

Near was silent, maybe they were a bit clingy with the people they trusted as a kid...

"As soon as we've got a bit of a rest day in this case you can bring us up there to say hi to everyone, for now we need to focus on tracking this guy down" Mello said.

L sighed, he'd rather be organising a family get together in the highlands than dealing with another Kira. But it needed to be done, he loved to investigate yes, but not when it was Kira related. Too much trauma from last time.

"You're right, we need to find a way to trick him into giving up his location. Although if he's being so secretive and won't even send messages to the media, that could be really hard..."