A/N: Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing. We are 1/3 of the way through this 30 day challenge. Shout out to NATARYA and LadyTeldra for reviewing.
NATARYA: My chapters should get longer in a few days. I've been writing between finals, graduations and birthdays. Heh. Though I think 1,500 words in a day is a pretty good chunk of text. Though, when I started my first fanfic ever, Fourth Time's the Charm, I did spend a few days pumping out up to 3,200 words in a day. All depends on time, my dear.
LadyTeldra: I love your reviews. You made me laugh. Though, I'll be sticking up a warning here soon for more...sensitive subject matter. No material in this fic will be explicit, but it may get into the sensual side that may be, ah, not work safe. Tell me if you ever feel I need to up this to an M rating.
Fool's Gambit
By Catsitta
10.
"Is this somehow supposed to make me feel better about this situation?"
Instead of a couple inches, there was almost ten feet of chain between her and Ryuuzaki, connected by glittering cuffs that neither of them possessed the key to unlock. The detective seemed honestly confused by her frustration.
"This is my lifeline, Light," he said. "Light will not kill me if he is bound to me. And my associates have been informed who to arrest should I die."
"You just want to watch me shower, you pervert."
"Pervert. Light keeps calling me that," Ryuuzaki murmured dreamily. "I am...a pervert? How did Light come to this conclusion?"
Light did not answer, she merely stalked away, slamming the bedroom door between them and ignoring the resulting bounce back open. This would take some figuring out.
.
The next two days passed at a crawl. Ryuuzaki was far from used to spending his time in the presence of another individual, and this person needed sleep of all things. He lost one laptop before forming this conclusion. This temper of Light's was quite unexpected. Everything he did provoked the teen into doing something, usually physical violence. According to the records, Light was calm and never one to end up in physical altercations. What made Ryuuzaki special?
As he nibbled on his thumbnail, he pulled his focus from the boy sleeping on the bed to stare at the document before him. It was a written transcription of second Kira's latest message. It was an odd, coded reply that included various locations and possible deaths and a dark reference about shinigami. Death Gods. What did showing our shinigami to each other mean? Was it a reference to how the Kira's kill?
He sighed and found his gaze trailing back to Light.
In sleep, he was sinfully mussed and blissfully innocent. There was no pinch between his brows, no narrowness of his eyes. Light was kind and at ease in rest. And that perfect hair was in utter disarray. Part of him wanted to fix the disorder. To pull loose strands away from that angelic face. To reveal that straight nose and high cheekbones and long, dark lashes.
Ryuuzaki picked up a cup of cold tea and sipped it.
"What is Light doing to me?" he whispered. L never took prisoners like this. Never studied and admired them in their sleep. But Light was beautiful, in both body and mind. Despite what the few who knew him thought, he was not immune to a pretty face. He liked human beauty same as artwork or a startling natural landscape. He marveled it. Wanted to stare longingly with no desire to capture or touch. But with Light. That powerful, witty mind that was always with a response. An IQ that rivaled his own. A subtle naivety lurked behind that calm facade and quick to spark anger. Light was brilliant and passionate and...
...a suspect. After confining Light, his Kira percentage skyrocketed. 1 percent quickly transformed into almost 98 percent certainty. Ever since Light came into his custody, Kira's former pattern of kills sputtered to a stop, replaced by the actions of this new Kira. Circumstantial evidence was enough for L to present Light to the Oligarchy as Kira, have him publicly executed as they demanded. But...there was no proof of how Light killed. It unsettled the detective. And, to his shame, aroused more than just his curiosity.
It was unprofessional. This entire case caused him to abandon all precedent. And there was a very good chance that he would be unable to hand over this boy to his employer for them to murder. Ryuuzaki was selfish, childish and hated to lose. If he wanted something, he made it his. He never wanted a person before. Never felt the urge to grab and claim and never let go. He'd known geniuses before, knew that he was attracted to ripe minds, but the burn always fizzled long before he ever felt the inclination to act. It was different with Light. He was interesting. Lovely.
A mass murderer.
Kira.
Blood. He tasted blood. Ryuuzaki blinked and pulled his abused thumb from his mouth. How strange.
His eyes slid back to Light. The white lawn of his button-up shirt gleamed in the faint glow of Ryuuzaki's dimmed laptop. Part of him pondered why the boy slept in his clothes, but the rest of him shrugged it off. Likely he did not trust his jailor. Understandable.
"He will be the death of me..."
A/N: (A little insight into L's head. Next up will be the clash of the kira's. Also, Tuesday's update will be very short. I'm goin' to Disney. ^_^ My friend is in the college internship program so she can get me in for free. I haven't seen the girl in months. Anywho~see ya'll for another update tomorrow. Remember to review! It makes me smile each time I see one in my inbox.)