Best One-Shot Death Note Fanfics
Death Note one-shots under 10k words — complete reads in one sitting. Curated from AO3 and ranked by kudos.
Top 25 One-Shot Death Note Fanfics
Ranked by AO3 kudos. Mid-length Death Note fics — short stories under 10,000 words.
Would Kira have gay sex?
by itiaskia
L puts Light in a compromising position
Pictures on Skin
by Shadow_of_Quill
In a world where life experiences mark people rather more literally, Light has some unfortunate truths drawn on his skin - not that anyone notices. Has now been translated into Chinese by SoleilCam! Has now been translated into Russian by Warmi!
Interested in Learning More
by Shadow_of_Quill
Light isn't asexual. He just has... unusual interests. And Ryuuzaki is very observant.
my best laid plan
by astralpenguin
He was in the shower when he saw it.Just grazing the top of his left hip was a line of text that hadn’t been there the previous morning.‘I didn’t think it would actually happen.’ When someone lies to their soulmate, their lie is written on their soulmate's skinThis causes problems for Kira
See Me
by Shadow_of_Quill
Light sometimes thinks he'd give anything to have someone see him for who he really is.
Four
by FoolArcanas
L gets kissed. He doesn't get an explanation. Confusion ensues - must investigate further.OR; Three times when Light kisses L, and one time when L does.
Roleplay
by TrashKing (Vanya_Deyja)
"Pretend you're Kira.""I'm not--""For the purpose of this conversation pretend you are. Please." 5am, in their suite at taskforce headquarters, handcuffed together, L proposes a thought exercise.
Dirty
by FayJay
Set during the period when Light had given up the Death Note, and did not know he was Kira. (Sequel to 'Clean', but can be read as a standalone.)
Birthday Boy
by xxbeyondxbirthdayxx
At 00:00, Matt turns eighteen.At 00:09, still a virgin and still hopelessly in love with Mello, he downloads Grindr in the hope of fixing at least one of those problems.
Blind Faith, Open Eyes
by iloveao3forever
"The case had only fallen deeper into the ditch, for the team were now aware of a second Kira. Light would no longer be the sole suspect, his girlfriend, Misa Amane had managed to worm her way onto L's list as well. He watched them both sharply, always calculating two steps ahead, anticipating what
What You Need
by lulu0zyx
“I’m sorry about last night.” It’s not Mello that should be apologising, really, but he feels he owes Matt something. Especially since he’s about to propose one of the most outrageous proposals that has ever been proposed.
ThrashNet Fanart
by Lawlightcortispeak
Idk I just wanted to draw Fanart of Matt x Mello for symph0ny0fdestruction's ThrashNet series cuz it's so goated^^Btw I also posted this and other Fanart on my Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/mattsterofpuppets (Yes the username is absolutely copied from Matt's in ThrashNet)
Scared Beast
by Anonymous
“It’s okay, Ryuzaki. We found you, we’re getting you out of here.” The voice pauses. “I’m so sorry it took us this long. I...” An inhale. “Hold still, I’ll take that off.” Beast swings its leg up blindly in the direction of the voice. It doesn’t hit anything, but there’s an answering yelp. Someone f
Good Memories and Nightmares
by BouquetsOfChlorosis
"These are the memoirs of a forgotten generation; the voices of the lost children of Wammy's House. The dead, the living, and those who were never truly either.” — The Archivist, c. 2025 In 2020, Near receives a package from a former resident of Wammy's House who has vanished without a trace. Inside
Soup and crackers.
by rottenredapples
Just a short Mellodramattic story of Mello getting sick while Matt takes care of him.
Mello vs His Own Sadism
by Oediopismo
Mello, being part of the mafia, experienced certain daily doses of horror. However, on one of his last visits to brothels, he realized that he could do at least one thing in his life that would positively affect someone.
A race against fate itself.
by Imfromgaydisneyland20
L Lawliet knows he’s bound to die to Light Yagami’s hand.That’s inevitable.Bound by their shared fate.He’d seen it coming, seen firsthand in his last life, his other universe, as Light Yagami watched the life drain from his eyes.He couldn’t stop it then.…He could stop it now.
mail for Mail.
by rottenredapples
Mello and Matt grew up in the Wammy’s house together, each year growing closer together until they were inseparable. On December 13th Mello turned 18, he was required to leave the Wammy’s House, he promised he would write to Matt and they would meet again. It was boring without Mello, but as promise
Mare Incognitum
by CoralFlower
Sometimes I feel lobotomised. I've been reading a lot about Rosemary Kennedy—just to practice English—and of course it is not at all the same; I still retain my identity and the function of my body—but all the same. I feel like something was taken from me and if I just lick deep enough into her I'll
The Tale of Three Kingdoms
by atl_as11
The Yagami kingdom and Wammy kingdom have been rivals for the longest time, heated by a conflict decades ago. Despite this rivalry, King Yagami is determined to get land from the Wammy. Unfortunately, he has to negotiate with the current king, Lawliet, who happens to quite stubborn.
Uncomfortable Epiphany
by X_jet_black_wings_X
Light Yagami picks up a different kind of magazine to read. This, in turn, gives him one [TITLE DROP HERE] [i.e.- What if Light Yagami had picked up a gay magazine instead?] NOTE: this is not that well-written please spare me
【M2M】只言片语
by Muterced
matt 视角下mello的到来和两人的解剖 Wherever you go，I’ll follow.
HOPES AND SADNESSES
by estere_13
Light Yagami was walking with one arm shot. He was losing hope, of surviving. Suddenly, he hears a voice.
BANG BANG BANG by BBpanzu Death Note song fic
by Number1yuriandyaoifan
Basically inner monologues of L written by me to the lyrics of that one Chainsaw Man fan song.I added a lot of things that aren't canon so beware!
in my mind, i'm annotating you
by Anonymous
Light blames his inability to sleep on L.
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About This List
This list of 25one-shot Death Note fanfics spans 65,714 total words. Kudos range from 2 on the newest entries to 25,404 on the most established. 56% are marked complete — check the status flag before committing to a longfic. The most common rating is Explicit (8 of 25 fics).
Recurring tags across this list: Fluff · Alternate Universe · Canon Compliant · Hurt/Comfort · Enemies to Lovers.
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