A Year of Jubilee [The Death Note Fanfic]

Chapter 71

The taxi ride back to headquarters was unexpectedly quiet. Jubilee and L spent a few minutes discussing—in English, lest the driver become disturbed over talk of angels and demons—what else had happened in the warehouse, Light's upcoming trial, and how the Task Force Members and Wammy boys were doing. After that, conversation between the two of them died. Hellenos remained a faint shimmer in the background in order to, she assumed, continue giving her a sense of privacy. But for what? Now that the case was solved...what was there left to talk about? Her fingers tapped against the window frame as she stared out at the Tokyo streets whizzing by. Where do the two of us go from here?

She snuck a glance at L. He, too, was gazing out his window. For once, he was seated normally, his feet on the floor of the car and hands gripping his knees as though to keep his legs in place. Unusual. She racked her brain for something to say. "So...how are things at headquarters?"

He didn't turn to her. "I couldn't say for sure, as I have not been there," he said, gaze still out the window. "But I imagine the others are wrapping up details on the case report. They'll be glad to see that you are well."

"Anything I can help with?" she asked. "In the case report, I mean."

"No need. You've already contributed more than enough, and I can convey the rest of what you've shared if needed. Police reports usually only require the tangible facts, anyway."

Her heart sank. If there was no longer any use for her, then...what now?

As if echoing her thoughts, L suddenly asked, "So then, what are your plans?"

She blinked. "Huh?"

"You did have a plan, didn't you?" He finally turned to her, his gaze as piercing as ever. "When you first joined the case. You were eager for the day when it'd finally be over so that you'd be free to go."

She considered him uncomfortably. "I guess I was, back then."

"Well, now that day has come. So, Jubilee Jenkins...what is next for you?"

She stared back at him, not knowing what to say. What could she say? That what she wanted back then was no longer what she wanted now? That what she wanted now was...

What did she want now, anyway?

"I'm not exactly sure." She looked down at her lap. "I guess, back then, I'd always assumed I'd go back to Wakahisa. But now—"

"But now your visa is about to expire," L interrupted.

She whipped back to him, her eyes round. "What? It is? Wait—how did you know that?"

L looked towards the roof of the car. "I like to keep tabs on my colleagues."

She stared at him, the implication of his previous sentence finally hitting her. "I—I guess that means..." She swallowed, her heart sinking further. "That I'd have to go back to the States."

He measured her for a long moment. "You miss your old place of work, I take it?"

"I—" Memories of Meirin and the other children flashed through her mind, making her heart wrench. "Well, yes. I miss the kids. I didn't get to properly say goodbye to them when I started working on the case."

"I'm sorry," L said quietly.

"No, no." She waved her hands. "We're past that, remember? I just meant that I would've liked to at least see them again, to clear things up. And for closure. There was one little girl, in particular...she's probably still upset that I disappeared." Jubilee smiled down at her hands as she remembered all the times Meirin had grasped them with her own tiny fingers, or when the little girl had fallen asleep against Jubilee during story time, her pudgy arms wrapped around Jubilee's waist. "We had a pretty big bond."