Dark Delicacies

Chapter Three: Deadly Delicacies

Light screamed. He was struggling against bonds he couldn't see. In a ring, the ground burned around him. He was kneeling in black fire, wrists spread and bound, chained to either side. The fire burned in a fierce intensity with an agony unlike Light could imagine, but what was worse, the fire was black, and even the light it gave off was black, so there was no telling when the torture would end. It was a fate worse than hell, burning in oblivion. Light threw himself forward, fighting against the binds, but he was slowly giving up, fading out the pain.

There was another beside him. The only light Raito could see was the red-lit glow from its eyes.

"…Light…," the voice grated like death and Raito drowned in the terror of it, "…do you…remember?"

It was still dark when Light woke up, stumbling out of bed. He banged one foot on the ground, catching himself short from falling. Glancing over at L, he settled back. The detective was still fast asleep. Light's chest was throbbing and he lifted a hand past his shoulder, rubbing the skin down his neck. He felt damp with sweat and longed to take a walk around, to shake himself off and relax, but with the handcuffs, that would be impossible without drawing attention from L. Steadily, Light eased himself back into bed. He closed his eyes, but after a nightmare like that, he didn't fall back to sleep anytime soon.

- - -

Sunlight spilled through the window. Weak rays shined down upon the room, broken and shaded by a passing cloud. A bright slant hit Light between the eyes. He winced, rousing awake. The sheets beneath him ruffled as he repositioned his shoulders. He rolled to his side, and was startled to find L already awake, sitting up in his usual manner, legs pulled close to his chest.

L watched him. Since the past week Light had been released from his prison cell, during which he was strongly suspected of being Kira, he had been having these night terrors every time he slept. L continued to study him, but Light held an impassive stare, and that impassive stare eventually turned into a fed up glare. His expression gave away nothing, but even the best actor couldn't fool L. "I see that you're up," L said.

Light strained his legs over the siding, turning his back to him and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. "Yeah," he muttered in response.

"Did you sleep well?"

"All right," Light answered. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long," L lied. "I was worried."

"What about?"

L strummed his fingers over his knee. "You do know," he said, "We are being followed."

"I know. I assumed it was the reason you wanted to stay here."

"True," L told him. "It is also the reason why I wanted to get away from the lab last night. I notified Watari on our way here and asked him to move the task force station to its new location. We were indeed followed here to the hotel, but at least the team and our information is hopefully secure now. There were cameras located outside the station, so I am hoping something was caught on film. I just contacted Mogi to have the rest of the team begin searching through the tapes before we arrive –,"

There was a knock at the door. Light raised his head. He rose to open the door, with L forced to follow behind. His head was still groggy and pounding. Ignoring the headache, he bit back his tongue, gripped hold of the handle and pulled aside the door…

"Light-kun!" Misa chirped and bounded forward, wrapping her arms behind her back. She lowered her head and smiled. "Good morning! And how did Misa's Raito sleep?"

"Fine," Light replied.

"Misa has breakfast set in my room," she looked past Light towards L and her bubbly composure faltered. "I suppose Misa has no choice but to invite you as well."

L returned her remark with a genuine smile and placed his hands into his jeans. "I hope there is cake."

"You can't be serious." Misa frowned as L walked past her.

"Serious? I happen to have devoted a good many of my meals towards the consumption of such sweets."

Misa called back to him, "It's only a matter of time before all those teeth fall out of your head!"

"Highly unlikely," L turned back to face her, "And believe it or not, I do have decent dental hygiene. Plus," L said, adding with slight amusement, "If it is true what they say that 'you are what you eat', then that must make me extra sweet."

Light found himself tempted to laugh at this. He hid his mouth behind the back of his hand, and it went unnoticed by the others. L was of course in all jests, joking, and only saying what came to mind to get the last word in with her.

Heat flaring in her cheeks, Misa threw her arms over her chest, "Are you implying something?"

Answering her, L replied, "All I am saying is that maybe if you were to eat cake, them you too could be as sweet as me."

Misa balled her hand into a fist. "That's it," she said, stepping forward, "Since that sugar hasn't rotted out all your teeth yet, then maybe I should help with that!"

Light cleared his throat and stepped between the two. "Misa, how about some breakfast?"

As if forgetting all wrangles she had with L, Misa dropped her hands to her side and wrapped an arm around Light's. "Yes, come!" she said, tugging him along.

It had been true when Misa had told them breakfast had been set in her room. When they entered, a long cart had already been rolled in. A white lace tablecloth decorated the entire set. The silverware was set with more than they could have possible eaten.

"I wasn't sure what you wanted," Misa explained, "So I had my agent order a little of everything."

L seemed content, and Light could see why. A bedside menu lay spread next to the cart. Misa picked it up. "Here we are," she said, "Um…it says we have here…blueberry pancakes with cinnamon maple syrup…and those are sugar waffles with berries and whipped cream…croissant french toast with soft caramel apples…banana muffins with – what is that? – mascarpone cream frosting?…," she continued down the list, "Yogurt with berries and granola, grapefruit, cream biscuits, scrambled eggs with smoked salmon…,"

"It's very European," L commented. He busied himself by grabbing several plates from the cart and settling at a near by table.

"You're welcome," Misa told him, half-heartedly. She stopped and laid aside the menu, "If you want something different, Light-kun, I can order something else."

"This is plenty," Light told her, "Thanks."

She smiled and reached forward, taking up a glass of orange mimosa between her fingers. She handed Light a similar glass. He nodded politely and took a sip.

"Where's the television remote?" L asked.

Misa set her untouched drink back on the cart. "Over on the bed, I think."

Light looked over his shoulder. "I got it," he said, tossing the remote to him. L caught it and switched on the power. By default, a news channel appeared on screen.

"…Yukiko?" There was a pause. "An apology to viewers. It seems we have lost audio reception from our onsite reporter…but please stay tuned. This is breaking news coverage from NHN –,"

At that moment, a phone began to ring.

"I wonder what's happened," Misa said, still watching the news broadcast.

Startled, Light broke his eyes from the television screen to glance down, because the ringing he found, was coming from his cell. The caller's ID read "unknown".

Though L still remained seated, all his concentrations were now on Light. He raised a hand, silencing Misa. Her eyes widened and she quieted when she realized the two of them became unusually tense.

Light ran his nail over the keypad of his phone and snapped it open. He paused momentarily before speaking. "Hello?"

"Raito, I'm about to send you a message…watch the news broadcast carefully and stay on this line."

Light kept the phone held to his ear and focused his attentions on the television set. The news anchor sat quietly, his hand muffled over his ear to amplify any audio receptions. "…Yukiko…a word from the station if you can hear us. Can you repeat the situation down there?"

There was a static break in the broadcast.

"This is Yukiko speaking…Hideaki…are you still there?"

The cameras were now all on the onsite reporter.

"Point the camera that way…yes. I'm not sure how well the shots are coming, but if you can see on my left, it was over there five people were found dead this morning. Reasons for deaths are still unknown. Police autopsy reports have yet to be released…wait a second…what?"

L stood up and stepped closer to the screen. Misa covered her mouth, and her eyes widened in horror. Without warning, the reporter onsite shrieked and jumped back. The camera fell to her feet. The lens shattered, but the broadcast was still connected to the station. Light didn't flinch, but tightened his grip on the phone.

"The man you see behind the camera is now dead."

Light cursed. Whoever was responsible for these killings, was he proving he had the capability to kill without having to even see his victims? No. The man behind the camera could had been somehow heavily drugged, and just collapsed, just like those victims in the Wakayama case. But it had to have been more than that. The timing of his collapse had been too perfect, and this murderer knew it. He wanted to prove he could manipulate something as complex and widespread as a television station, as well as his victims to precision, though how he had either of those capabilities was beyond Light's reach. Whoever he was, this man was dangerous. He had to be stopped.

"Tell me, Raito," the man behind the phone spoke, "Are you Kira?"

"…tell me who this is."

"Don't avoid the subject. Let me reiterate my last question. Now, as we speak, you have a poison running through your body. I've infected you with a dose of Compound 1080. In three days, you'll be dead. There is no antidote. Now listen carefully. I'll be waiting in the hill gardens of Tsukiyama twice a day, for exactly one hour. Once at midday, and once at midnight. I have genetically engineered an antidote. It took me years to develop such an antidote and even with all your resources, it would be impossible for you to recreate one similar to it in the next three days."

"What do you want?"

"I want to meet you, Kira. Believe me, the poison is excruciating, though you won't be feeling its effects for another three and a half hours. You have three days. I'm confident that you will be motivated to find me before then."

"You've made a mistake," Light told him truthfully, "I'm not Ki –,"

"And another thing. You keep out business a secret, and you come alone, or else, there will be consequences."

"Wait –,"

But it was too late. The line disconnected.

Light pulled the phone slowly from his ear. He lowered his arm, then realized, he was still holding the drink Misa had handed to him. From what he knew of Compound 1080, it dissolved easily into liquids, leaving it tasteless. Realization hit him. Calmly, he closed the phone. The poison must had been stirred in both drinks, not just his. L was without a glass and Misa hadn't touched hers yet.

More importantly, they had a crucial lead. This unknown killer was somewhere close by.

"Light-kun?" L said, breaking Raito from his thoughts, "What did he tell you?"

"He killed that man behind the camera, and I suspect he's also responsible for those other five deaths we saw." He set the cell against the cart. "He's close by."

Misa exclaimed, "Could he be here at the Shizuoka?"

"Most likely."

"He told you all this?" L inquired skeptically.

Light stopped when he saw Misa reach down to pick up her glass. He strode towards her and grabbed her wrist. "Hold on." There had only been two drinks. He reached for his cell, knocking over her glass. It tipped off the cart, and in an attempt to catch it, he yanked L roughly back by the handcuffs to shake his balance, and more importantly, to catch L off guard from fully watching what he was about to do. He was about to stage an accident.

Light bent down, not too fast, but fast enough that he stumbled when the chain slackened behind him as L was pulled towards him. It forced Light to take one step too far, and he caught himself off balance, angling his hand against the floor. He dropped his own glass in the process. The two glasses shattered against each other, and as he fell forward, Light pressed his palm into the shards, slicing his own hand in the process.

Misa kneeled on the floor at his side. "Light-kun, you're bleeding…hold on! I'll get some bandages."

Light grimaced and lifted his hand. The alcohol and citrus burned immediately into his skin. When Misa returned, she set a first-aid kit down on the floor. "Let me rub some hydrogen peroxide on that…" she scrabbled for the bottle, but Light stopped her. "Thanks Misa, but I'll be fine. Let me clean this up under some water first…," he stood up, grabbing the bottle from her. L followed behind him and Light reeled back. "I'm just going to the bathroom," he raised his cuffed hand. "Can you remove these for a moment?"

L studied him skeptically. "This isn't a private matter. Why do you want to be alone?"

"Because it's a violation of protocol for you to say otherwise, and I do want to be alone."

L bowed his head. "Fine," he said, "But we have to follow regulated procedures, as always." He patted down and searched Raito, running his hands between the folds of his jacket and clothes. Reluctantly, L unlocked the handcuffs. "Remove your jacket."

Light did as he was told. The detective found nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to rouse suspicion, so he nodded approval. Steady on his feet, Light locked the door behind him.

He ran the sink water high under warm water and emptied out a few, heavy gurgles of the peroxide down the sink. It stung his injured hand, but that was the least of his worries. He held the nozzle of the bottle underneath the running water, flowing it over the top. The water turned hot and ran over his hand, but he didn't care. He threw his head back and downed the contents from the bottle. Light's chest suddenly heaved. He reached for the toilet. Bending over, he coughed, heaving the contents from his stomach. The fit left Light utterly exhausted, but his exhaustion was soon forgotten. The poison had probably already absorbed into his system. His attempt might have been too late. He kept the sink water running to drown out all other sounds. Breathing hard, Light wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

Damn it, Light thought. How could this have happened?

He had to figure out a plan before it killed him.

A/N: Sodium monofluoroacetate, also known as Compound 1080, is in fact I real poison. I didn't make that one up. :) Truly, there is no antidote for it, and supposedly, drinking hydrogen peroxide with warm water does makes you throw up, though you should only try that if you've ingested something you shouldn't have.

Again, thank you so much to all my reviewers, Nocturnal Smile, Serria, bang on the head, judi42, and Nightwing Gurl! As always, I love to hear from you all. Thank you Serria for the awesome feedback. And thank you Nightwing Gurl and bang on the head for all your support!