Far Side of the Moon

by Lunalit_river

Summary:

And even though I know he is unreachable, I still cannot resist trying, chasing, drawing closer to where he stands. A place just beyond the edge of the abyss, not quite touched by the light that could shine on us both.

Neither of us can save the other from the dark.

And my hand grasps his until it hurts, just like how he holds mine.

---

Days in Wammy, LABB arc, Kira case arc, and post-Death Note. The untold private life and weaknesses of the detective that Light Yagami would never know.

Notes:

• Translation into 中文-普通话 國語 available: 巧克力糖漬橙片 by Lunalit_river

Translation into Russian by Scaramuccii

Chapter 1: Embark

Notes:

[2026/4/11] Updated for edits on flow and style.

“Do you know where Kira is 97% of the time?” L asked. A pause. Before receiving a reply from the person behind him, he answered it himself. “In Japan.”

“Japan?” Watari replied.

L gave a small nod.

“I see. I will arrange you and M to go to Japan.”

L didn’t reply. Instead, he gazed at the windows. Moonlight streamed into the dimly-lit room, obscured by running raindrops, casting shifting shadows on his laptop.

“Is there anything you are concerned about?” Watari asked.

“There's a possibility that,” L paused mid-sentence, his gaze not leaving the raindrops on the windows. They chased after each other, merged, and fell together.

“I may not be able to come back here.”

 

---

 

M picked up a piece of sushi with her chopsticks, but before she could bring it to her mouth, L quickly snatched it with his own chopsticks and ate it himself.

"Hey, that's mine!" M protested. She chose another piece of tuna sushi and popped it in. "You don't even like sushi."

“I don't, but I love stealing it from you.” L replied with a grin, mouth full.

"Fine then, keep stealing from me and eating it all," she huffed. He reached for another piece. He was well aware of the trap. He ate it anyway.

M dipped another nigiri into some soy sauce. “I noticed you’ve been busy with Watari recently. Do you want to talk about it?”

L paused. Chopsticks still poised between his lips. Nothing could be hidden from this woman. He looked up and met her gaze, chewing her food and waiting for his response.

“This new case I’m dealing with… It's taking me to Japan.”

She paused, as if sensing his hesitation to continue. If he could, he wished she would tell him that she had work in England, or that there were matters that still needed her to go to LA and contact the FBI, or to wrap up some cases they had worked together on. Stay somewhere he knew that she would be far away from danger.

But he also knew her too well that the woman before him was capable of reading every hint of his hesitation. Always.

"I'm coming with you."

There was only determination in her tone, leaving him no space to argue with her. His only choice was to relent.

"Alright," he said. "We'll leave for Japan tomorrow."

Notes:

This fic is full of my personal interpretation and headcanon of Death Note. I was 12 when I watched the 2008 Japanese live actions films. Matsuyama Kenichi made me fell in love with L. Soon I had my hands on the manga, and was devastated (again) when L died. Who would mourn him? What was his backstory? What was his childhood like?

Young me wrote in my notebook (the paper kind) of L's female friend "M" in Wammy. At the time, I wasn't familiar with the term "fanfic," and was simply drawn to imagining. I then enrolled in law school and thought about my fanfic. And then I got back into the fandom lol

Update:
This story began in 2023, when I was still new to writing in English. I used grammar tools, albeit they were quite immature, for editing.
The early chapters reflect my growth as a writer, and I’ve chosen to keep them mostly as they were, as part of the journey.

Thank you for reading and growing with me.

I hope you enjoy it.

Luna-lit River