Chapter 4

Hi! I'm super sorry about the long wait for this chapter; it shouldn't be happening anymore. I'm going to try and update this story every week on Monday. (The updates might be a bit slow for the next month or so, because I'll be away at a physical therapy rehabilitation center for the next month, so I'm not sure how often I'll have time to write. I'm going to try and write ahead a bit before I go away, though)

Okay! Thanks for waiting, and I hope you enjoy the chapter! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note

Previously:

"Call them off." The man ordered, pressing the knife harder into his skin. Blood was flowing freely now; not enough to kill him, of course, not even a big wound, just a small scratch, but it elicited a soft groan of pain from Ryuuzaki. He quickly bit his lips after realizing his mistake.

"Okay, okay!" Soichiro shouted. "Just let him go!"

The man smiled, his grin twisted. "Good. Now…listen to him scream."

Ryuuzaki was only confused momentarily, but all was clear when he felt a stabbing pain in his shoulder, and everything went black.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LLL

Ryuuzaki's head pounded, and his shoulder throbbed painfully. He heard a voice calling out to him; it was familiar, so familiar, but he couldn't bear to open his eyes.

"Ryuuzaki," the voice called out. He opened his eyes briefly, trying to see the person speaking to him, but the light was bright, and he closed them immediately. He lifted up one of his hands as though to cover off his eyes, but it send a crashing wave of pain throughout his whole arm, and he hissed, turning slightly on his side.

"Ryuuzaki, come on. Wake up." The voice said, bringing Ryuuzaki completely back to reality. He opened his eyes slower this time, slowly adjusting to the light.

He groaned and looked up. Light Yagami stared down at him, traces of blood, soot, and dirt in his hair and along his entire body. Ryuuzaki looked down at himself, seeing almost the same amount on his own body.

"Light? I thought you were…p-passed out." Ryuuzaki asked, shuddering a bit from the cold in the middle of his sentence.

"I was, until I found you unconscious in a puddle of blood. Your own, might I add. Dragging you out of that…wasn't…the best." Light scowled slightly, but then looked back at him with concern. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"Mmmph…someone stabbed me, I believe." Ryuuzaki murmured, closing his eyes again for a moment.

Light rolled his eyes, and then slapped Ryuuzaki's face lightly to keep him awake. "I figured that out. And stay awake, I don't know how much blood you lost. It could be dangerous if you went to sleep now."

Ryuuzaki sighed, nodding and sitting up slightly. Suddenly, he noticed that a piece of fabric was wrapped around his shoulder, dried blood seeping out from underneath. He looked up at Light and saw that a large strip of his shirt had been torn off, and his sleeves were completely gone.

"I…did you do this?" Ryuuzaki asked in a confused tone, much unlike his usual voice. It must be the blood loss, he reasoned.

Light nodded. "You were losing too much blood. I don't think you would have lasted without it."

Ryuuzaki nodded. A brief silence enclosed upon them as they looked around at their cage. Three of the walls were made of concrete, while the last one, which faced the hallway, was made of prison bars. A door, also made of prison bars, was on that wall. A lock hung from it, attaching it to the rest of the wall so that they couldn't escape. They couldn't see much of the hallway, but it was fairly medieval; the hallway walls were made of bricks, and torches were inside of small holders, the fires lit and raging.

Dust lined the corners of their prison, and there were several patches of dried blood on the floor. This brought Ryuuzaki back to the present.

"Light, we need to get out of here before something worse happens." Ryuuzaki announced, pushing himself upwards.

"Ryuuzaki, I don't think that's such a good-" Light started, but then stopped, watching Ryuuzaki with interest. He was almost standing already. Just as he made it to his feet, he gasped and held onto his shoulder, his knees buckling. He fell back into a sitting position, gasping slightly. Light smirked and sat down next to him.

"That…didn't go…according to plan." Ryuuzaki huffed. Light chuckled.

"Well, obviously. You're hurt, Ryuuzaki, you have new limits. Don't push them." Light replied, and Ryuuzaki looked back at him for a moment. He seemed to be changing slightly; was it the environment? The torture? Was it simply sobering him up, bringing him closer to the way he had been before he had been put in captivity by none other than L himself? Maybe the captivity was bringing the memories back up…Ryuuzaki sighed, knowing that he didn't have enough data to make a decision at the moment, and turned away.

"You're right." A voice, Light's voice, pulled Ryuuzaki back again. He whipped his head around again, his hair bouncing.

"Well, of course I am. But…what was I right about?" Ryuuzaki replied, slightly dazed from the standing.

"That we need to get out." Light answered simply.

Ryuuzaki nodded. "How do you suppose we'll go about that, then? Pounce on them when they open the doors? Neither of us are in the right state to do that, we're not healed enough-"

"No, no, that could work!" Light interrupted. "I mean, we'd have to wait a while to regain our strength, but we could do it. Knock the man out when he comes to get me. And then we…we run to the closest exit, and get out!"

Ryuuzaki chuckled. "Regain our strength? Light, I don't think the torturing is going to stop anytime soon until I give them the information they want. You're going to get weaker and weaker."

"But you'll get stronger!" Light pointed out. "You can go get help."

"And leave you here?" Ryuuzaki said, bringing forth a silence.

"Well, yes."

"You can't honestly think I'm that cold-hearted, Light. Surely you know what they'd do to you as soon as I was gone, you can't be that stupid." Ryuuzaki looked Light in the eyes, examining him. What was going on? First he acts like he did before, when he suspected Light was Kira, and then he offers himself up as a sacrifice?

"I know. But if you go fast-"

"It's not up for discussion. We're going together. Otherwise, there would be no point." Ryuuzaki replied, watching as Light's shoulders sagged, and he sighed.

Suddenly, the door opened, and two men stood inside of their room. They dragged Light and Ryuuzaki to their feet, one of them purposely grabbing Ryuuzaki's shoulder. He bit his lip and hissed loudly, refusing to scream. The man chuckled and moved them into the torture room again.

He attached Light to the same torture chair, and they began the process again. Asking Ryuuzaki his name, waiting for his refusal, and then pressing a scalding brand on Light's skin. The process repeated until both boys were exhausted. Ryuuzaki knew he had to stop himself from revealing his name, but they were applying to his pressure point. The only thing keeping him sane was the thought of escape; the promise that they would be out of this situation soon. Both of them, whether Light liked it or not.