Light ran on, holding Near close as he ran, his breathing heavy from running so much. Paris, while a beautiful place, was far from where he wanted to be right now. He could feel Near going limp in his arms, but he didn't try to wake him – the poor kid needed sleep, after all that torture. What kind of sick creature was B, anyway?
He ran around a corner, then gasped and was forced to turn back as he saw a black-haired figure with red eyes walking towards them. He'd seen them, how could they escape now! They had to hurry…
He tripped on trash and cried out in pain, twisting his body to make sure that Near didn't hit the hard road. As he twisted, though, he saw Backup coming close with a rope, and then he shook Near awake before he shoved him behind the dumpster, the lasso B had flying through the air and catching the auburn-haired teen.
"You're far more trouble than you're worth." Backup hissed through clenched teeth as he tightened it around Light and then walked over to pick up Near, who was half-asleep, closer to the sleeping side. "But, getting L and punishing your father for ruining my fun with L is worth the trouble." He grabbed one end of the rope. "Let's go, Yagami-kun." He smirked, then tugged him along, going back to the room of that girl he'd killed.
"H-Hey! Let go!" Light tried to get away, but the lasso had him tight, and he could only squirm. It didn't help that he couldn't speak French, so he couldn't even call out for help! After a while, he finally resigned himself to his predicament and followed B's lead.
When they got back, Light was shoved in a clean bedroom that had what looked like Backup's clothes in a suitcase, and then he lay Near down on a bed. "I need to fix the lock on your room." He glared at Light. "Give me what you used to pick the lock, Yagami-kun."
"N-Near has it." Light stammered, scared of the red-eyed kidnapper.
"I see." He started to reach in Near's pockets and opening his hands, finally finding the paperclip clipped onto Near's sleeve – it was white, so it was hard to notice if you weren't looking. He pocketed it, then turned and left the room, closing and locking the door behind him.
Light struggled in his bonds. "H-Hey! Untie me, at least!"
"Nnn…" Near rolled over slightly, and then his gray eyes opened and he sat up and looked around. "Light, where are we?"
"After you dozed off, B caught us again and shoved us in here." Light sighed. "Is the bed you're on too far from me for you to help untie me?"
Near looked at him and gauged the distance between the bed and where he stood, and then nodded. "I think so." He then slid off the bed and limped over to Light, forcing himself to ignore the stinging as he got to Light and then he worked to untie him, hoping to finish before Backup got back, so that one of them could fight.
But, this rope was tied pretty well, and Near could feel his stability failing before he finally dropped to his knees, whimpering in pain.
"Well, well, Nate. Looks like you're recovering."
Near froze and looked up at Backup, his eyes shaking. "R-Ryuuzaki…"
"Well, you used the right name, at least." He shrugged and then walked over to Near, grabbing him as he tried to crawl away and picking him up. "Still, I can't have you running off again, can I?" He then cackled and carried Near out of the room.
"Hey! Untie me! Ryuuzaki!" Light yelled as the door was shut on him.
'No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!' Near thought frantically, looking around in fear as he was carried back into that room and shoved into the chair. He tried to escape it, but Backup locked the straps and grinned coldly at him. "R-Ryuuzaki…please…"
"How quick you are to beg, Nate." He made a "tsk tsk" sound. "What would L say if he heard you?" He walked over and Near turn something being turned as the chair Near was on lay back into a bed.
His eyes widened as he saw a hose above his head, and he shivered and glanced at what it was connected to. To his despair, it was connected to a sink and the temperatures could easily be changed. "Ryuuzaki…please…don't do this…"
"Sorry." Backup said with a tone that clearly stated that he wasn't. Then he walked over and tied a blindfold over Near's eyes, ignoring his pleas and cries. "I don't like it when you try to escape, Nate." He walked over and turned the water on cold just a bit, smiling as the hose begin to drip onto Near's forehead. He could hear the boy squirming already.
"Please, turn it off!" Near cried, the memories coming back to him and making the ordeal worse. "Turn it off, I beg of you! I'm sorry, Ryuuzaki!"
"Pathetic." Near heard the sound of a lighter being opened and whimpered, shivering as the flame neared his already-damaged feet. "You've been limping, but I'll make it so you can't walk." Backup cackled as he heard Near's scream of pain.
The pain was too much and, combined with the memories, it was a nightmare that he experienced as he was awake. How long could he endure before he fainted again? It seemed to be forever, and he just kept on screaming until he couldn't scream anymore, tears slipping down his cheeks and soaking the blindfold as he lay there quietly, the water still dripping on him.
Backup turned off the lighter and then Near heard him walked out of the room and close the door, leaving him all alone.
…
How long had he been left alone now? The albino child had lost track of how many minutes he'd counted, but he knew that it was at least an hour or two. He was falling into a state of unconsciousness when the hose stopped and the blindfold was removed, Backup's cold, red eyes gazing into Near's gray ones.
"Still awake? I forgot how much endurance you had, Nate." He said, and then the chair Near was strapped to came back up and the straps were removed. Then Backup stood back and grinned at Near. "Get up."
Near nodded and slowly got off the chair, but screamed in pain and fell over, caught by Backup before he hit the table with several sharp objects, as he felt a searing, agonizing pain in his feet. He started to sob, clinging to Backup as he picked him up and carried him out of the room, and was afraid to see what kind of mess he looked like now.
Light looked over from the bed as Backup came in with Near in his arms, fury in his eyes. "What the hell did you do to him?!"
"Examine his body and find out." Backup sneered as he dropped Near on the bed before he turned and left, closing and locking the door so they couldn't get out.
"Bastard." Light mumbled, and then he looked at Near. "What'd he do to y--?!" He blinked as Near suddenly hugged him. "Near?"
"I can't walk anymore…" He whispered softly. "I'm scared, Light…"
"Don't worry, Near. We'll get out of this." Light promised, nodding. The poor kid, so traumatized and hurt…if only he could find all the bastards that would do this and send them to their execution! Kids like Near didn't deserve this abuse, and he vowed to defend them. Starting with this one right here – he intended to never, ever, harm Near.
He heard some shouting outside the door, Backup's voice, and then hid Near and himself on the other side of the bed as he came in.
"If you want your successor alive for much longer, L, you'll come alone!" He snapped, and then hung up. His red eyes scanned the room, and then he turned and slammed the door shut, locking it.
"What am I here for?" Light mumbled, then looked at Near, who was rubbing his eyes. "You sleepy?"
"N-No." Near shook his head. "I'm just…" He sighed. "I'm tired, but I'm not sleepy. Does that make sense?"
"You mean, emotionally instead of physically?" Light asked, and Near nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'm tired, too." He held his head with one hand. "I wish I had something that I could use to make all of these bad people go away. I know it would leave you without a job, but a world without crime would be just awesome, don't you think?"
"Crime is inevitable, Light." He curled up against him, wincing as his toes shifted. "It comes and goes throughout the passage of time, and no one can change that." He closed his eyes. "All we can do is catch the criminals that come up."
"Still…" Light sighed. "Sorry. It was a silly, impossible dream." He closed his eyes. "I shouldn't be so unrealistic."
"I do agree with you, though. A world without crime would be nice." Near said, nodding. "But, we have to think realistically about this."
Light nodded. "I know." He then stood up and gently lay Near on the bed. "You relax, I'll stand guard so that freak doesn't hurt you again." He stroked his cheek gently and smiled.
"Thank you, Light." Near smiled, and then curled up slightly on his side, relaxing. He wouldn't sleep, though. No, those dreams would come back to haunt him, and now they would have him pathetically begging to be let go. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the stinging pain again, and then opened them again when he felt his legs being moved, and looked over to see Light examining his feet. "…Light?"
"This is pretty bad…it looks like you were still healing from the last time, and now there's more…" He shook his head. "Why would the sick bastard do that?" He said, and then looked up as they heard Backup's insane laughter outside the door. "…What'll he do with us once he has this 'L' guy?"
"I don't know." Near whispered softly.
"Great."
Near nodded, then looked over as the door opened and Backup grinned at them. He only got a moment to react before he was grabbed and roughly dragged out of the room, pulled away from Light. He tried to reach for Light as he was dragged out, but Backup gave him two choices – be dragged out or walk out, and they were both painful. Once outside of the room, he was shoved into a chair roughly, crying out in pain as his head hit the back of it.
"L will be here soon." Backup said with a wide grin as he tied Near onto the chair. "And I don't want him grabbing you and running off again, do I?"
"That explains the laughter…" Near mumbled, mostly to himself.
They heard knocking on the door and Backup looked over and then walked over to open it. "Ahhh, L! So glad you could make it!" He said cheerfully.
L brushed past him, avoiding the hug he tried to give him, and went to Near's side. "Near, are you alright? What did he do to you?" He knelt and looked at Near's feet, cursing under his breath. "Don't worry, they'll recover. Where's Yagami-san's son?"
"Heeeeey, don't ignoooore meeeeee!" Backup whined as L went to the door to the room Light was in. "It's loooocked, you gotta use the key." He held it up, grinning. "But, you have to earn it, first!"
L tried the knob, then kicked the door, but it didn't fall. "…Fine. How can I 'earn' it?" He looked over at Backup. "Tell me, B."
"How nice, you refrained from being mean to me." He pocketed the key, then beckoned him over as he went towards his own bedroom. "C'mon!"
L walked over, seeming to obey, and then swung a leg up, slamming Backup into the door. Then, while he was dazed, he grabbed the key and ran to unlock the room Light was in.
Backup stood up and glared at him, holding his head. "You're mean, L! Mean, mean, mean!"
"Take a look at Near's feet and tell me who the 'mean' one is." L said coldly as he walked in. A bit later, he came out with Light and nodded to Near, Light running over to untie the boy. "If anyone is 'mean' here, Beyond Birthday, it's definitely you."
"You're so cold to me." Backup sighed and shifted slightly. "And you don't come to me unless I'm being mean, L."
Light picked Near up and then looked over. "L, I got him out!"
"Good." L nodded. "There's a car waiting outside, I'll be with you shortly." He said calmly, and then waited until they were gone to act.
CRASH!
Light looked over his shoulder as he heard the sound of a vase breaking and what definitely sounded like a heated argument going on in there. He looked at Near and sighed. "Do they do this a lot?"
"I don't know." Near shrugged slightly as they got into the elevator. "I know one thing, though. I'll be glad to be home, after this."
"Yeah, me too. Good luck with your feet." Light smiled and then her went out into the parking lot. An old man was waiting by a car for someone and, judging by Near's smile, this was their ride. He carried Near over and then helped him in, gently buckling him up before he sat next to him.
Near curled up slightly, wincing in pain. "Where's L?"
Light looked out the window at the building, waiting. How long would they wait?
*~~**~~**~~**~~*
I think we're coming to a close, maybe I shouldn't have made the chapters so long. Well, it was fun to do, and that's what matters to me.
Review, please!