The Inmate
By: xxlostdreamerxz
Disclaimer: No, I do not own Death Note.
Summary:To unravel the workings of a crime syndicate, L allows himself to be kidnapped. And it is here, within this dingy, dirty cell, that L makes his first friend.
Chapter 1: Day 1
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The rain pattered softly outside while the wind whispered tantalizing tales in her ears. The girl buried her head in her arms, resisting the urge to shiver. It's already been over a week… the police should have found me already. She shook her head lightly to clear away the depressing picture that her mind was constructing. I won't die here. I won't.
"Are you cold, miss?"
The girl's breath hitched, before turning directing her stare towards the man crouched against the way adjacent to hers. "I'm fine, thanks," she whispered, feeling distinctively uncomfortable at the intensity of his stare.
Her cellmate.
About a couple of days ago, the boy had been tossed in here, covered with bruises and supporting a split lip. He had the physic of a teenage boy and with his baggy white shirt and plain jeans, and not to mention, that messy black mop of hair; she would have been comfortable dismissing him as a typical teenager…had she not seen his eyes and the calculating intelligence within them.
"Here."
She looked up just in time to catch a sweater flying her way. The girl frowned slightly, staring from the boy to the article of clothing in her lap. "It's alright," she said evenly, handing the sweater over. "You're injured; you need warmth more than I do."
The boy chewed his thumb thoughtfully. "No, my injures are not severe." He stared unblinkingly at her face, as if trying to decipher some arcane puzzle. "Besides, is it not the socially correct thing to do… offering a shivering female my sweater?"
This time the girl blinked. "Well, yes," she said amused. "But we're in a cell; I don't really think the laws of social decency matter here."
"Fair, enough."
The two of them lapsed into silence, as the girl nudged the sweater on. It was quite warm. Pleasantly so. And for the first since she had been kidnapped, the girl smiled sincerely. "Thank you."
The boy nodded curtly.
"What is your name?" she queried, hugging her knees to her chest. "I don't think I've asked yet," she said, slightly embarrassed. And I can't believe I haven't yet. We've been cellmates for almost two days.
"You can call me Ryuuzaki," he said after a pause. "What is yours?"
"Aiku," she said with a smile.
"No surname?"
The girl tilted her head, allowing her long auburn locks to fall onto her face, and gave him a searching stare. "I think the less people who know who I am the better," she said finally. After all, I doubt Ryuuzaki is really yours.
"I see."
Aiku frowned at his short responses, but powered onward, determined to uncover more about the mysterious boy. "So why did they capture you?"
Ryuuzaki gave her sideways stare. "I suspect for the same reason they kidnapped you." He shifted slightly on his legs, so that he was sitting in a fetal position instead of crouching. "They want money and will thus hold us hostage until their demands are met."
"And if they're not?" Aiku asked quietly, eyes downcast.
"Then they'll kill us," he said impassively.
Honey brown eyes narrowed in puzzlement. "Why are you so indifferent, Ryuuzaki?" she demanded, feeling decisively out of sorts. "You don't want to die, do you?"
"No," he stated calmly.
"Then why, so calm?"
Ryuuzaki's expression turned serious. "Because I have trust in the legal system," he stated, chewing his thumb calmly. "The criminals will face justice one way or another. And we will have our retribution."
The girl's eye ticked in annoyance. "Revenge doesn't make much of a difference to a corpse," she retorted.
"Not revenge, Aiku-san," he corrected. "Justice."
Aiku resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"Besides," Ryuuzaki finished with a small smile. "I believe that there is an eighty two percent chance that the police will uncover our location soon." I am wired, after all.
"And the remaining eighteen percent?"
The boy's smile grew. So she isn't simple. "It's probably best if we don't think about it," he said calmly. "The probability that it would occur is fairly small; thus, it would do us no good to dwell on 'what ifs."
Aiku's eyes softened. "I guess," she agreed.
They both fell into a comfortable silence; the only sound being the gently pattering drops of rain against stone.
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L frowned lightly as he stared unblinkingly at the girl slumbering only about a couple of feet away. When he had allowed himself to be kidnapped, he had not predicted that he would sharing a cell with another hostage. A friendly one at that.
It quite complicated his plans.
If he accidentally, or purposely, angered anyone from the crime syndicate, chances were, they would probably take their anger out on his cellmate. According to the police reports that he'd read, the criminals here enjoyed manipulating human emotion to ensure their hostages' complete obedience.
They'd take two victims and toss them in a cell and leave them to their own devices for a couple of days until they started to bond. Then, voila! The hostages would have no choices but to obey the crime syndicates' every whim. Why, you ask? If one of the hostages refused to obey a command, the other hostage would be harmed.
L's frown grew deeper, his nails digging deeper into his arms. He did not want to get Aiku involved in his plans. The girl's life would be in jeopardy if he chose to play out his game. But really, was it fair to put one life before hundreds? L felt decidedly uncomfortable as his mind quickly supplied the answer.
"No."
Little Matt needed two full weeks to break in their system and locate all the crime syndicates' bases. And in order for the boy to achieve this, he needed to stay here and broadcast the interference signal.
It was necessary.
And yet, the thought did little to quell L's raging nerves.
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A/N: This was just a random idea that popped in my head. I'm not exactly sure if I want to continue this fic, so REVIEW and let me know. Thanks for reading!