Is this my first DN fic on this site? Huh. I feel like I should apologize. xp

A long time ago... years... someone called T2014 asked me to write a Death Note slash. Well, I like Death Note, but there is SO much slash fic out there for it, it wasn't a very high priority for me. Lately I've had some ideas floating around, so I'll take them down and see what happens. Not promising to wow you here. Hope you like it, though. Also not sure how long it will be, or how long it will take to get to the yaoi bits. Sorry... I try to jump in and do one-shots, and they insist on taking their time with character development... like that's necessary! lol

Best-Case Scenario

One: Incarceration

To Matsuda, I think it looked like a big game. I suspect Light Yagami of being Kira, so I place cameras and wire taps in his home. When that yields no results, I confront him directly. Still unable to gather conclusive evidence, I turn my attention to the second Kira. Then Light throws a curve by requesting to be locked up. Maybe I shouldn't have taken him up on his offer. He was clearly up to something. But taking a calculated risk (and the bait) was part of this wits battle, and something I'd already done by showing my face.

Was it a game? In the way that generals "playing" with their soldier-pawns is a game. Sometimes it seemed as if there weren't enough players—and other times too many. But when Light entered his cell, it was hard to remember that this match was not just between the two of us. Matsuda was usually the one to remind me.

"Is it really necessary to handcuff him, too?"

I was tempted to ignore the question, but if Matsuda voiced it, the others were probably thinking it. "We don't yet know how Kira kills," I said.

"Maybe you should shackle his legs, too," Aizawa said sarcastically. "In case he kills someone with his toes."

Matsuda laughed nervously.

"If you feel additional precautions are necessary, I won't stop you from adding them," I said.

No one answered.

A few minutes later, Matsuda said, "Wait a minute... if his hands are locked behind his back, how's he supposed to go to the bathroom? Or eat?"

"Obviously, he'll need help with those things, as Miss Amane has."

I could feel, as much as hear, the response from the room at large. Up to that point, the others had known that Watari was taking Misa to the bathroom and so forth, but I think they'd been willfully ignoring the implications. Now that Mr. Yagami's son was the one enduring this kind of demeaning restriction, it hit too close to home for them to ignore.

"But that's..." Matsuda started.

"Light asked for this," I reminded him. "He knew what his confinement would entail when he agreed to it, and even went so far as to ask me not to release him until I was sure of his innocence. I'll listen to your concerns, but the final decision to release him is mine alone." There was no point in being vague; it would only lead to messy arguments later.

"But you haven't handcuffed the chief," Matsuda tried again.

"Mister Yagami's confinement is, in my opinion, unnecessary. The possibility of his being Kira seems extremely small to me... less than one percent. If he has any involvement, it would only convince me more of Light's guilt. Ergo, the heavier restrictions on Light are still valid."

"Oh. I... I guess you're right." He didn't sound sure. Possibly, he was just having trouble keeping up with my logic.

When dinnertime arrived, Watari asked me if it mattered which prisoner he fed first.

"We shouldn't keep either of them waiting," I said. "I will feed Light myself."

"Are you sure?"

Watari rarely questioned me, but I understood his concern. "So far, you are the only one who has had direct contact with Miss Amane since her arrival. For now, I would like to keep it that way."

"And Yagami?"

"He already knows my face and has had direct contact with me for some time. Now would hardly be the opportune time to kill me, with many eyes and cameras on him. Besides, seeing him in person each day may help me detect whether he's planning something. Kira would hate being dependent on his adversary for anything, so if the confinement is just part of some plot, my being the one to care for him will be maddening."

"As you wish; please tell me if I can do anything else to help."

"Of course. And—have Matsuda take something in to Mister Yagami."

Matsuda was undyingly loyal to his chief, but also a terrible liar. If Yagami were up to anything, receiving his meals from Matsuda wouldn't help him in the slightest.

I had a lot of practice balancing objects, so it wasn't too difficult for me to get a tray of food and water into Light's cell without spilling anything.

Light looked at me with something like confusion. All he said was, "You're a waiter now?"

I offered him the smallest of smirks. He could do better than that. "Watari chose foods which we hope will be easily conveyed from plate to mouth," I said, setting the tray beside him. "I think chopsticks will be the easiest method, don't you?"

"You don't mean to uncuff me, then."

"Did you think I would?"

He shook his head and then gave me a rueful smile. "I thought there was about a five percent chance."

"Then, I hope you're ninety-five percent not disappointed," I quipped.

"I'm not very hungry."

"Then, this will likely be over soon." I gathered some food and lifted it to his mouth.

Looking far from enthusiastic, he opened his mouth to receive it. When he had swallowed, he said, "Why didn't you have Watari feed me?"

"Watari is feeding Miss Amane."

"I could have waited."

"I'm sure." I offered him another bite, which he took.

"You don't want Watari feeding me," he said shrewdly, the next chance he got. "Is that because you're afraid I'll kill him, or because you wanted to see me up close?"

I doubted Watari would be in any more danger than I would, so that was a very small factor in my decision. I waited for Light to take his next bite before I answered him. "It would be foolish to pass up the chance to check in on you in person."

He nodded once. So much quicker to understand than Matsuda, and much less offended on his own behalf, too.

He seemed to be hungrier than he claimed, or perhaps the taste of the food had awakened his appetite. He ate and drank nearly all I had brought him. When he was done, I brushed over his mouth with a napkin for the sake of thoroughness, though I couldn't see any traces of food.

"Thank you," he said, not looking at me.

"Do you need to relieve yourself before I go?"

He sighed, seeming to deflate slightly. "You're not planning to uncuff me for that, either... right?"

"I'm afraid not. You're going to be in view of the cameras, or at the very least, my eyes. Having your hands free won't make much difference, will it?"

"I guess not." He looked slightly uncomfortable. "I knew what I was getting into... let's just get it over-with."

"One set of eyes, or the cameras?" I asked.

Though the cameras covered every inch of the cell, they were all outside it. This meant that if I positioned myself correctly, I could shield him from them enough for some semblance of privacy. Of course, if the cameras weren't covering him completely, I wasn't going to take my eyes off him. It would negate the entire experiment.

He took a moment to consider. "It's not like I have anything to hide... you had cameras in my house—I doubt you excluded the bathroom there. Still... if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer just one set of eyes."

I nodded. "Very well. I'll do my best to cause you as little discomfort as possible."

"Thank you." He stood and we went to the wall-mounted toilet in the corner. He hesitated, not sure how to approach the next step.

"Face the wall," I suggested. I figured that looking at me while I opened his clothing was probably the very last thing he wanted to do.

He did as directed without question. I moved his wrists up to the small of his back so his hands would be out of the way. Then I reached around his bound arms and found his belt buckle, unfastening it as efficiently as I could while making as little contact as possible. It was all in his favor that I have such long, flexible arms and hands. Once the belt was out of the way, I unbuttoned his trousers and opened the zipper.

"Ready?" I asked, knowing that the show of concern was more likely to do him good than the extra second or two that I waited for an answer.

He merely nodded in response, and I quickly worked two layers of clothing down his legs, keeping between him and the cameras. Then I stepped back slightly to give him room to turn and sit—without his hands free, aiming from a standing position would be treacherous at best, and I was certain he wouldn't want help from me in that department.

Of course, I had to help him stand afterward. He turned away from me again to let me return his clothing to the proper position, and as I zipped and buttoned his pants I said, "You might just leave the belt off... your pants seem to fit you well enough that they won't fall off you without it, and if this were a real prison, you wouldn't be allowed to keep it, anyway."

"Take it," he said.

I worked the belt through the loops and coiled it around one hand. "I'll come help you brush your teeth at bedtime," I said.

"Oh, god..." I wasn't sure if the exclamation was out of annoyance that I would be back so soon, or because he had not yet thought about needing help with brushing his teeth. "Look, if I'm not eating again tonight, you might as well do that right away."

"I might."

He sighed. "You want to wait a while and space out your visits," he said, guessing it in one.

"That will probably help with the boredom," I pointed out.

"Whatever you say."

"Besides... you might have to pee again by then."

"Something tells me I'm going to develop a very strong bladder in here."

"Poor Light," Matsuda was saying when I reentered the observation room. "Having to go through all this to clear his name..."

"If he does clear his name," I said, going back to my usual chair, "it will all be worth it, don't you agree?"

"Um... I guess."

"But you're going to owe him one hell of an apology," Aizawa muttered.

"I am not afraid to apologize for a mistake," I declared. "Though... it has been some time." In fact, at the moment, I couldn't remember the last time I'd been mistaken about something.

Watari brought in our dinner then, and silence fell over the group.

I glanced at Misa's viewing screen and she seemed the same as usual: a mixture of fear and annoyance. Then I looked back at the three monitors on which I had views of Light. He was sitting on the edge of his cot, staring straight ahead of him.

I myself can go for long periods without external stimulation, but I wondered how Light would fare. He was used to attending school each day, interacting with peers, reading, watching TV... how would he cope, being alone with his own thoughts? Most people would find it tortuous after only a few hours.

It should have been a relief to Light that I waited a while before returning to help him brush his teeth. (I did this with a bottle of water and a bowl for him to spit into—it seemed far and away preferable than making him spit into the toilet.) He didn't say much more than was necessary, other than "Good night" when I left.

"Good night," I answered. "I hope you're able to sleep."

"Yeah... me too," he murmured.

It was in the very early morning that Light finally did get to sleep. I expected nothing from him after that, but paid even closer attention that first night, because his proposal was that he might become Kira in his sleep. And, even though it sounded preposterous, I respected his intellect enough to want to thoroughly disprove his theory.

Sleep does strange things to people sometimes. I wondered what kind of dreams Light might be having—whether he was Kira or not. In the serene relaxation I almost never observed on his wakeful face, Light looked at peace. No schemes to kill anyone... no indignation at being wrongly accused. Calm.

Objectively, I knew that Light was an attractive young man. But seeing him like this, giving it much more thought than I had when observing him in his own home, I think I really saw it for the first time. This was a face that inspired a feeling of goodwill, and perhaps kinship. I enjoyed talking with Light when he was awake, but there was always something on the edge, something that irked me and kept me from being able to relax. That something was nowhere in evidence now. This was someone I wanted to talk to about ordinary things... things that had nothing to do with the investigation. Someone who might potentially be... a friend.

I don't really have friends. I can't afford to. There is a reason I am the three greatest detectives in the world, and it is the same reason I can't collect any friends: eventually, someone would try to use them to get to me. As Eraldo Coil and Deneuve would be hired to track me down, friends would be used as hostages. Thus, if I wanted a friend, I had to be my own friend, just as I had to be the three greatest detectives in the world in order to protect myself. It wasn't just protecting myself, of course. It was protecting my success as an investigator, and by extension, protecting all the innocent people of the world. That probably sounds pompous. So be it.

But Light Yagami... Here he was, showing that he was willing to undergo confinement, deprivation, humiliation, all in the name of justice. Here was someone who would not easily be manipulated. Someone who didn't scare easily, and who (until that day) was careful not to put himself in compromising situations. His own father was an experienced police officer. Perhaps this was a friend I could afford.

If he were innocent. If not, he might be a very dangerous friend to keep. Still, some little part of my brain, at the back of everything else, began to lay minuscule plans for a best-case scenario. If Light is innocent, then when this is over... And that was further than my conscious mind dared think.

Maybe the "How does Light pee with his hands behind his back" question has been answered fifty times by other people... I don't know. I can't vouch for the direction my mind goes sometimes. Either you like it or you don't. x_x

Now... do I go on from L's POV, or try Light's, or do what I'm really tempted to do, and give you some Ryuk? lol