• And then they were there. It was a big room, with people dressed as Light Yagami, L Lawliet, Misa Amane, and other characters from Death Note. Little did they know, those three were really there. Light gasped and jumped back, Misa clutching his arm. L’s eyes widened slightly as he gazed around the room. “I was right…” he thought, as more thoughts raced around his head frantically. L subconsciously chewed on his thumb nail as he thought, staring out at the crowds of excited fans. Misa let out a squeal, and then turned to Light.
    “Where ARE we?!” she asked him, big brown eyes wide in fear.
    “I-I don’t know…” Light responded. Suddenly, he gasped and whirled around to face L.
    “Ryuuzaki!” he roared. “What is this?! Some sort of test to see if we are murderers? I AM NOT KIRA!!” he repeated, his voice steadily getting louder and higher. L turned calmly to face him. “No, no I didn’t do this. Although,” he added, teasing Light, a small smile spreading across his face, “I could still use this experience to test you.” Light closed his eyes and took a quick breath. When he opened his eyes, L was gone. Light scanned the room in anger, silently searching for him. Finally, he spotted him beside the snack table, holding a paper plate with strawberry cake on it.
    Light stormed over to L, but found himself studying his strange features. L stood slouching, pinching his plastic fork between two fingers. His thick, uncombed black hair stuck out at any angle, and it appeared as though he had tried to brush it a little to the left, but had given up all hope. His wide black eyes seemed to stare Light down, and black bags underlined both eyes from several sleepless nights in front of security cameras. L was tall, even maybe a bit taller than Light, with very pale skin and a simple closet of jeans a white t shirt. “How on earth did he get there so fast?!” Light found himself wondering
    L looked up again, the tongs of his forks pressing into his bottom lip as he thought. Light was storming towards him, Misa Amane trailing faithfully and as devoted as a pet dog behind him.
    “Even if you have nothing to do with this, then surely you have some idea of what’s going on; where we are and what’s going on here,” Light said. L took another bite, then replied, his calm, soft voice slightly muffled by the food in his mouth.
    “This might be very off mark, but it’s the only idea I have, other than we’ve all gone insane,” L started, setting down his cake and lifting his thumb nail back up to his mouth. “I think we might actually be from a book. I think we only exist within some novel. I know it sounds… crazy, but think about it,” Light stared at him in dismay and disbelieve, while Misa nervously began laughing too loudly.
    “YOU’RE FUNNY, RYUUZAKI!” she shouted. A couple heads turned in their direction. L raised his eyebrows, then said, “There’s absolutely no reason to shout. But, I’m not joking. This is my idea,” L picked up his cake and began eating.
    “YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!” Misa cried, then lowered her voice “You can’t be serious!” she whispered. “Light said you were supposed to be the greatest detective in the world!” L looked over.
    “I am. This is only a hunch, but still. Where else could something like the Death Note and Shinigami exist? I’ve put much thought into this, and this experience may be enough to prove it,” Light opened his mouth to speak, but L cut him off. “Just think about it. There is no way something like the Death Note could be real,”
    “But it IS real,” Light muttered, gritting his teeth. L looked around himself and could hardly keep himself from laughing. A small smile spread gently across his lips. If he was right (and he was sure he was), and they were simply book characters, this would be a fan convention. And there were several people struggling to cosplay himself.
    “What are you smiling about?!” Light cried. L glanced over. “Look around yourself. They’re cosplaying us,”
    “Huh?”Light asked, still frantic. His head snapped around as he surveyed the room. His eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped. Light began to back up in shock, and ran into a girl dressed as Misa-Misa. She laughed and asked him to dance. Before he could refuse, she had dragged him onto the dance floor, with the real (or was it?) Misa racing after her, shouting in protest. L felt like laughing although this certainly wasn’t the time to be doing so.
    “Maybe a new book is out,” he thought out loud to himself with another chuckle. “Yes, there is. Number 7 of Death Note. In fact, there’s only one left on the shelf,” L turned to the source of the voice and found himself face to face with a pair of gleaming hazel eyes. He backed up and looked at her. She was just a bit shorter than him, with long, blonde hair in layers, very pale face with those brilliant hazel (or green? Maybe… brown?) eyes. She smiled.
    “Hello Ryuuzaki!” she greeted him.
    “Oh, um, hello…” L said. “Who, who are you dressed as?” he asked, wondering why he did, saying as he had to find a way to leave with Misa and Light soon. The girl looked down at her short black dress, then looked back up at him and shrugged.
    “I thought about Misa-Misa, but EVERYONE is doing her, so I just came as myself! Call me Otaku!” Otaku smiled widely and held out her hand. L shook it hesitantly. “You’ve put together a really good L cosplay. It looks so realistic!” Otaku bubbled, leaning in close to his face.
    “Um. Thank you?” L replied and backed up cautiously, feeling crowded. “Don’t worry, I’m complimenting you!” she laughed. “L is my very favorite character in Death Note. In fact, if he were to see my gaia profile, he’d probably feel very paranoid!” Otaku giggled. L blinked in surprise. “Well if this isn’t the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me…” L thought, his wide, empty black eyes staring into her excited, pale face. Suddenly, a blast of clear, high piano music burst from the little stereo beside them. L nearly jumped, but something was very familiar about the tune.
    “And what do you know? L’s theme song comes on!” Otaku cried and laughed. “I have a theme song?” L thought in shock. Otaku continued to talk as L glanced around nervously, searching for Misa and Light But, of course, they were hidden amongst the crowds of their fans. A new song came on, a fast dancing tune.
    “Ooo, I love this song!” Otaku cried. She grabbed L’s hand. “Let’s dance!” L had never danced in his life, and never really intended to do so, but Otaku had dragged him onto the dance floor. There was nothing he could do, except stand there awkwardly and watch Otaku. She seemed to have other plans, as she grabbed his hands and began moving.
    Light stared in shock at the two Misas fighting over him in the middle of the dance floor. “Who gives you the right to dress up as Misa and steal Misa’s Light!” the real Misa shouted.
    “Uh, the law!? Who says you can have him?!” the other cried. “Okay, okay, don’t hurt yourselves,” Light broke in between the two arguing girls, but they were determined to fight it out over Light. Light began to back up, hoping to disappear before the two figured out he was gone, but he bumped into someone. Light whirled around to see a wide-eyed, hopeless-looking L being dragged across the dance floor by a blonde girl, looking excited.
    “Okay,” the girl said, “I see you’re not a dancing person. How about I introduce you to eL? I mean, with an ‘e’! She’s one of my friends,” Otaku suggested. L didn’t trust himself to answer. Otaku took him anyway. Standing at the snacks table, was eL with shoulder-length thick, white blonde hair. Her face held a wide, bright smile, and a pale complextion with bright, clear blue eyes. She smiled as Otaku and L approached.
    “Hey Otaku, Ryuuzaki,” El laughed. Otaku smiled. “Ryuuzaki, this is El, El, Ryuuzaki,” she announced. “Nice to meet, you Ryuuzaki!” El smiled. “Uh, hello…” L muttered, ripping at his right thumb nail with his teeth. “Is ‘El’ really her name?! Is MY name that easy to figure out?!” As though Otaku had read L’s mind, she laughed and said “Of course, Otaku and El aren’t REALLY our names! Didn’t you hear? We’re all using aliases until the end of the party where we tell everyone what our names are! Why else would I be calling you Ryuuzaki?” Otaku smiled.
    L didn’t reply, then said, “You told me earlier that there was one Death Note book left on the shelf. Could I see it?” he asked. The two girls began excitedly to lead him over to a wall of racks on the other side of the room. The last Death Note book. It was propped up against the wall of the rack in the middle, sitting on the top shelf. L reached up and retrieved it. It had a picture of himself on it, and Light Yagami with the title Death Note in thick white lettering on the top. L held it in his hand and felt strange. It was a book with many pictures of himself in it. L had several pictures of Watari, and a couple of the investigation team, but he had absolutely no pictures of himself. He rarely even looked into the mirror. It was like seeing a photo album of pictures never really taken. Pictures of a man the world had never really seen.
    L sat on a bench, his knees up, holding the book open in front of himself with two fingers, and read it. Everything was new. It was like he was seeing the future. Until he came to one of the last chapters in Death Note number 7. A chapter that would later make a number of fan-girls cry. He read through it slowly, not showing any emotion. Not feeling afraid. Simply feeling sad. He wouldn’t ever be able to prove he was right, to prove that Light Yagami REALLY WAS Kira. Kira would… win. It was a depressing thought. “But,” he thought excitedly, “You are holding the proof in your hand that Light Yagami is Kira! This will prove it all!!” But L stopped. He wouldn’t let him get ahead of himself. “No,” he replied to his own thoughts solemnly. He could see clearly in his head how everything would go down.
    “Ryuuzaki!” Chief Yagami would shout in his face. “To what extent would you go to prove that my son is Kira!? I know Light! He isn’t a murderer!” L would remain quiet until Yagami calmed down. “I didn’t make it, if that’s what your saying. I don’t make up my proof,” “Then what IS this?!” Light would yell, waving the book in his face. “Don’t be so ridiculous, Ryuuzaki!” …Don’t be so ridiculous, L…
    No, it would never work. A book full of Light’s/Kira’s thoughts. It wouldn’t work. Ever…
    “How was it?” a voice interrupted his thoughts. L looked up into Otaku’s face. “It was… okay… Kind of depressing…” he added under his breath. “I haven’t read it yet. I want to wait until I get home to read it!” she bubbled. 'No one here has read it yet...' L realized. “But the party’s almost over. We’ll have to go home soon. And tell our real names!” L stopped. What was he, Light, and Misa going to say? Just make something up and lie? … They could tell Otaku and eL. They were trustworthy, there was something about them that made L want to tell the two of them the truth. Maybe Otaku and eL was their key to getting back home! Yes, that seemed right. There was a good feeling driving him towards that idea. But first, he had to find the real Light and Misa.
    L scanned the crowds of people and soon saw them both. He began to call out their names, but stopped. “Light is plotting to kill me,” he thought and watched him, first angrily, then sadly. His first and only friend, wanting to get him out of the way. His social skills weren’t THAT bad. Finally, L called to them both. Several heads turned as people heard their character’s name called, but went back to their business once they realized they didn’t recognize the L that was calling them.