INFECTION

BY DXM Junkie

Summary: During the investigation, and outbreak appears in Great Britain. It's known only as the rage virus, an infection that kills anyone who's exposed. Forced to divert his attentions away from the Kira case and towards the new developing worldly crisis, L brings the soft and uncalculating Light Yagami with him to the UK. There, things change. AU Yaoi

SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION: Please join my C2, "6 Minutes and 40 Seconds" (The name derives after how long you have to write the details of death.) This is my Deathnote Yaoi C2 with only LXRaito, MelloXMatt stories, mostly lemons and mature content. Arigatou Gozimasun!

Chapter Twelve: Unconscious

Light woke a good eleven hours later, his neck stiff and his body worn out. He had nightmares during a greater portion of his sleep, terrifying memories of running away from blood strewn people with jet black eyes. He dreamt of L running with him, of his death. Sitting up slowly, Light let himself massage the back of his neck, the knots feeling large and radiating the stress he felt inwardly because of his situation.

Sitting there in the darkness, he stared off into the blankness with half lidded eyes, unseeing anything in front of him. L had kissed him, Light recalled to himself in vivid detail. Those words in the same sentence were unprecedented.

He would have never associated them prior to that, so why was he now? Touching his hand to his lips for a second time, he slowly stood up and walked over to the wall, hands searching for the light. After flipping it on and letting his sight adjust, Light walked back and retrieved the sweatshirt he had been using as a pillow, and then checked his watch. It was three forty three AM, far too late for anyone besides L to be up. He knew that L was probably worried about him, (well, he hoped that L was worried about him because he felt that he was worth the consideration.)

Stepping out of the room, he walked slowly down the stairs. It was dark so he could barely see. Reaching around, he found the door that lead to the main store and stepped through, perturbed at how dark it was. He knew that he was going to end up stumbling back to the store, and, if L hadn't locked it already, he probably would just have to sit in silence and glare at the great detective, showing him that he wasn't that easily forgiven. After reaching a quarter ways into the store he passed through the CD section and noticed a human form sprawled out on the floor in a lazy manner. Stiffing, he for a moment thought it was a corpse, or worse, an infected.

Grabbing the Glock out of his pocket, and clicking off the safety in a quickly motion, Light cocked the gun to the side and slowly stepped forward, cautiously and silently. Reaching the form, he pointed the gun, until he saw a flash of red hair on the floor because of a reflection up above.

It was Rachel, that girl they were stuck in the mall with. She was sprawled out on the floor, apparently sleeping, her arm covering her head and surrounding her was an array of opened CD cases and a CD player. She had probably been taking advantage of their free reign of the mall and passed out. Light noticed that she dressed a lot like Misa did back at home and he sighed, wondering what the huge fetish that people had with gothic clothing was about. Light could care less one way or another, but he didn't see how leather clothes and black nail polish was meant to be seductive or evil in any way whatsoever.

Sighing, Light put the safety back on and put the gun in his pocket, then taking off his sweatshirt and throwing it on top of the sleeping adolescent. She didn't move at all, and Light decided to just leave her there. She would be safe, he was sure, because the infected weren't as loud anymore so he figured the main streak of danger was gone now that they had made sure that the mall was impenetrable.

Still, he gave once last glance to her before reaching the front of the store. It was easier to see this time because his eyes had adjusted to the dark, but he still almost ran into things. Mentally, he decided that this would be the last time he wandered around anywhere without a flashlight on his person because running into things of this nature could cause bodily harm. As if the cuts on his arms weren't enough.

The mall was just as dim as the night before, and quiet except for the faint shrieks and pounding noises from outside, though they were becoming the norm more quickly than any had anticipated. Light ran into Rachel's dog, Cujo, over by the water fountain. The puppy was sleeping against the fountain itself and his head lifted up lazily when Light walked by. Light was glad that the dog didn't appear to be the type to bark incessantly. He got to the store that Light and L had seemed to take over at their territory, (though he didn't know why they hadn't picked a more appropriate store like the Best Buy or bookstore, because a teenage fashion store didn't seem either of their styles in the first place.)

The gate was open all the way and as he walked through, the familiar sound of whirling computer fans met his ears and the iridescent glow of screens assaulted his pupils, causing rapid dilatation. L was crouched over the computer in his usual manner, a half eaten box of cookies abandoned to his left and their makeshift bed on his right. L looked up when Light reached the main area, his dark eyes empty and emotionless. Light sat down next to him, sighing.

"Did you have any luck with contacting Watari?" He asked, his soft voice seeming loud in the quiet area. L's thumb went straight to his mouth and they sat in silence while the other contemplated how he wished to answer that question.

"Iie." He finally said after a long pause of awkward silence. Light nodded and turned away from L, just the mood alone making him uncomfortable. He could feel the tense muscles in the other's shoulders, and he could see the strain. It reminded him of how they had been when Light had been first taken into custody for the Kira investigation. L was on edge.

"Perhaps I would have gotten farther if Yagami-san hadn't wandered off early today and not returned because he was sulking."

So he was back to Yagami-san? Light rolled his eyes, his temper flaring violently. L knew perfectly why Light hadn't returned all day, and that it was his fault, but yet L was childish enough to blame the other for wanting a break from their joint company. Light's eyes narrowed. How dare he pin this all on him!

"I needed to get the hell away from you." Light reminded him coldly.

L's eyes also narrowed, though the expression on his face remained blank. He took his thumb out of his mouth and placed it on his knees. "Of course, Yagami-san, but you are still the main suspect of the Kira investigation so your actions only further prove by six percent that you are indeed Kira."

Light snarled vehemently, his fist suddenly colliding with the detectives left cheek with a distinct thud. His vision went red at L's low blow, his legs flying up as he stood before the detective who was now sprawled out on the floor in an ungraceful manner, his legs above his head and his hands bracing him on either side.

L finally gave an open glare, and it made Light want to smile with a sick pleasure. L stood slowly, crouching first before standing, his stance for fighting evident, and before Light could blink the other was launching his left leg into the youth's stomach. Light luckily had braced for the attack, exhaling so he didn't lose his breath, but that didn't prevent him from being flung back across the room, his back painfully colliding with the clothing rack behind him and knocking it over. The crash was loud but neither cared.

Rushing forward, they fought like Light had never remembered them fighting. Each blow was as hard as they could punch or kick, each snarl was showing the hatred that each other felt for not only the situation but their involvement in the situation, and each dodge was just another diversion from the real reason that they were fighting in the first place. Soon Light had given L a black eye and reopened the wounds on his chest, L had given Light a variety of bruises on his stomach, they were both winded, but that didn't stop them. Nothing would stop them from this moment.

Light tried to pin L to the floor in a quick move, but L had twisted his waist around his legs were able to tangle together so he flipped Light over, another snarl on his lips. Light's elbow hit the floor painfully, but he broke his lip biting it so as to not yelp. He would not let L have the pleasure of hearing his pain.

"Why do you just fucking grow up?!" Light practically screamed in desperation, his fist again colliding with the detectives face once again. They found that fighting without the handcuffs attaching them was even more dangerous because they knew that each move was free from the other person, and they knew that they other would fall with the power of their blows. That gave each man a morbid pleasure, knowing he was causing the other physical pain.

L had attempted to trip Light again but the youth regained his footing, his arms bleeding once again, the crimson trails running down his clenched fist and dripping to the floor. He couldn't feel the pain though, too much adrenaline pumping through his whole body. He wanted to kill L like Kira killed criminals, because right now L was the criminal, right now he was the one at fault.

For a moment both glared at each other, underlying emotions evident, until in a decisive move that caught Light off guard was contrived, L pushed his foot into Light's upper abdomen, Light falling backwards with such speed that the youth knew it wasn't going to end well. Light's skull cracked with a sickening noise against the edge of the table, and he was promptly knocked unconscious, his body slumping over and falling to the floor. L's breath was coming out in quick pants, his eyes wide as he stared down at Light's prone form that had somehow managed to fall in a graceful position.

He saw the blood on the floor where Light's head was, but L couldn't tell if it was from their wounds from the day before or their wounds from their fight. Desperately scrambling up, L went over to Light's form and loomed over him, his expert fingers reaching behind his skull to feel the blood that was pouring out of a shallow wound just above his spinal cord.

Rushing over to the first aid kit that had been randomly strewn about the floor the night before, L grabbed the whole thing and went back, gently lifting Light up into a sitting position and resting him against the shelf that he had fallen against originally. L's touch was soft and gentle as he picked the boy up, his body trembling slightly. Light had a large cut on the back of his head, but it was probably the hit to his cerebellum that caused the loss of consciousness.

Ripping open the anti-infection cream with his teeth, L gently applied it to the back of his head, his fingers sifting though Light's incredibly soft hair but his mind was far away from the actual treatment. L's throat felt tight as if someone had stuffed a large piece of cheesecake down his throat, and he pushed back the warmth of tears that threatened his normally steady vision.

No, he needed to focus, he told himself shaking the tears away. It wasn't guilt that caused the tears per say, but rather his inability to perceive the situation. L was confused as hell, and for the genius this was an uncomfortable and hated feeling. He resented it like he resented people interrupting him or resented blatant ignorant stupidity.

L always knew situations, inside and out. He couldn't remember miniscule details of the world's greatest murder cases, and he had solved thousands of them all because of his lone brain power. So how, the detective fathomed, could his intelligence fail him now, with this complicated and attractive youth? They hadn't been fighting because of hatred for one another, well; mostly anyway, they had been fighting for other reasons that had made L loose his precious control. It had made him sincerely want to hurt Light, something that had never happened before.

He would have never allowed himself to cause Light more than minor bruises and cuts it the past, but now Light was threatened with a concussion and it was L's fault. His hands worked quickly, bandaging his head before moving on to to his arms. L ripped Light's thin shirt off, his breath catching as he noticed dozens of bruises slowly forming on the other's torso, particularly around his stomach. They mixed with older bruises from past fights, but were horrid in comparison. He bandaged his arms just as quickly, then after setting Light against the cushions they used as a bed, L hopped up and left the room in pursuit of aspirin or some other sort of painkiller. His own body was still pumping with remainders of adrenaline, but as that supply wore out he found himself wary.

He began to feel the fire in his body, his torso now burning with pain and his cheek ached something dreadful. He reached the lounge and quietly went over to their medicine area, were random bottles of everything from Vitamin C tablets to Sudafed were stacked on one another. After some difficulty, he found the bottle he was looking for and grabbed one of the gallon jugs of water, bringing both with him and walking out with large strides.

Light was still out when he got back, and L collapsed next to him, his breath uneven again. Taking the kit, he started to apply the antiseptic to himself but it didn't seem to help much. Taking two of the aspirin for himself, L stared at Light. This was his fault, wasn't it? L was arrogant, probably as much as Light was only he hid it better. L had allowed himself to truly feel anger towards the boy rather than his normal apathetic attitude and it made him ashamed of himself. Reaching over, he let his hand touch the pale cheek, and Light's eyelids fluttered; he mumbled something and turned his head towards L.

His caramel eyes opened and they were coated with pain. L promptly grabbed three aspirin and leaned over. "Raito-kun, you probably had a concussion. You need to take some aspirin." L told him softly.

Light shook his head negative. He didn't feel like he could swallow anything at that moment. L sighed; figuring he had no choice and Light wasn't in the state of mind to fight. Taking a big swig of water and putting two of the pills in his mouth, L leaned over and transferred the pills forcefully into Light's mouth. The youth's lips felt just as soft as they had the first time, but L told himself still that the only reason he had done it was because otherwise Light would be cranky as hell when the headache got to him. Leaning back, Light's eyes were on his own but they were far more amiable, with just a hint of anger.

"That's the second time." He stated, struggling to get up but his body felt tired and worn out. L helped him sit on his own and sat next to him quietly, in his normal crouch, his hand resting on Light's upper back just in case the boy passed out again.

"Gomen nasi, Raito-kun. I didn't intend for that to happen." L stated softly, not looking at the boy as he said the words aloud. L also detested apologizing for anything, but for once he felt compelled to do it. He had only apologized to Light for a handful of things since he had met him, one of them being on the first day the infection had started and they had to cease working on the Kira Investigation for a period of time.

Light looked at L from the corner of his eye, taking in the man's form. So they were back to 'Raito-kun' again, he noticed. The milky skin of L was more translucent in the glow of computer screens, Light noticed. This was the same person who Light admired beyond a shadow of a doubt, the same person who could control any investigation agency in any country of the entire world and was a billionaire and the top three detectives that could be hired. This was the same person who had not kissed him once, but twice, and each time he looked less and less ashamed of himself and more like he had wanted to. L was L, a twisted arrogant paranoid socially retarded genius detective with an eating disorder. Light sighed, a blush creeping up on his cheeks.

"Its okay, Ryuzaki. It's half my fault." He stated, though that was a lie because both knew that it was more or less L's fault this time. L did appreciate it very much though that Light was willing to set aside something that he seemed to value so much, his pride, for him.

"I didn't mean that I was sorry for kissing you originally Raito-kun, only for knocking you unconscious." L clarified, looking at Light in his normal monotone with his midnight eyes half lidded and looking more sleep deprived than normal. Just a twitch of a smirk was on his face though, but one couldn't have seen it unless they knew L as well as Light did. Light looked away, considering this for a moment. Did L just pretty much tell him he was gay and enjoyed kissing Light? No, that wasn't it. It was never that simple when it came to the detective, there were always several factors that needed to be taken into consideration and nothing was ever surface level. L could just be saying something along the lines of, 'It was because I proved me point,' but then he would have contradicted himself with his later rising of the percentage of Kira that made Light originally punch him.

"You never actually answered my question from last night, Ryuzaki." Light finally stated after a lengthy pause, bringing his hand up to his temple. His head was killing him now with a slow ache and his body felt so battered. It felt like he had just been through hell, when in reality he was still in that hell; stuck in the mall with a bunch of people he didn't know (this included L because he really actually knew nothing about L anyways except for the things one could see outside like his disgusting eating habits.)

"If I believe you are Kira right now?"

"You always say 'right now.' I mean do you believe that I am Kira, or was Kira, or whatever the like."

L sighed, "The percents that you once were Kira are too great to be overlooked, Raito-kun. There is no way that a genius of your caliber could have been in the specific area I set up my decoy to die and not have been Kira, or someone else like you could be close by. Also, Kira had to have had close ties with the NPA to elude me for any specific amount of time. Thirdly, Kira's distinct sense of justice was probably instilled with him at a young age, and considering your Otou-san is a police chief, this also ties into my theory."

Light listened to this quietly, knowing better to interrupt. When L paused, he still didn't look at him but waited for him to continue.

"Demo, I also do not believe that Raito-kun is now Kira. I'm opting that you were either somehow controlled to be so that the real Kira could allude me and force me through evidence to believe that you are that, so you'd be nothing more than an innocent bystander, or you've somehow lost your memories of the killings."

"So even if I lost my memories I'm still condemned as a sociopathic murderer." Light said bitterly.

"No, there isn't enough evidence to condemn you. I do not want you to be Kira either, because as I have stated before you are a dear friend to me and probably my only equal."

So L thought that they were equal's too. Light had first thought that a long time ago when they had first met, first talked about the investigation. Those memories did seem fuzzy and there were some things about that time that he wasn't sure about, which made him worry, but Light knew he was Kira and L didn't think he was Kira now, so if he never became a Kira that meant he was innocent, correct?

"You're a hard person to figure out." Light finally admitted.

"I agree with that deduction, Raito-kun, but-"

"I'm/you're not the first person to come to that conclusion." They finished together, Light knowing exactly what L was going to say because it seemed to be the detective's famous phrase for writing off his strange eccentricities as nothing more than indulgences. L smiled softly, glancing over at Light again.

"So is Raito-kun still mad at me then?"

"Iie." Light replied, "Just don't do things that could be taken the wrong way. If you want to prove a point to me, find another way that won't be taken like your making fun of me." L raised an eyebrow at this statement, curious.

"Raito-kun though I was making fun of him? That was hardly my initial intention."

"Yah, whatever. Just follow my advice."

"So you're saying that I can kiss you as long as I am sincere about it and not proving a point by it?" L asked, innocently enough. Light's eyes widened and he blushed.

"How the hell did you come to that conclusion?!"

"By what Raito-kun was saying, of course. You're previous advice."

Light sighed, and despite the fact that he had gotten so many hours of sleep before, his body was becoming fatigued and weighted down because of their fight. His muscles felt strained and his eyes were starting to hurt. Sighing, he got up and went to their makeshift bed, lying on his stomach so that the back of his sore head wasn't touching the pillow.

"…Raito-kun," L commented, perturbed that the youth hadn't replied.

"You're going to think what you're going to think Ryuzaki; there is no way anything I can say will change that. You'll just twist my words to suit your intentions and write it off that it was my compliance in the first place." Light pointed out, yawing after the sentence came out.

"Perhaps Raito-kun is correct." Light let one of his eyes open lazily as he twisted around on the cushions to find a comfortable position to sleep. His arms were stinging and his stomach hurt horribly, but he just winced and allowed it, knowing it would be ten times worse come morning.

"Why do you want to make out with me so badly anyway?" Light asked, genuinely curious how the other would answer.

"'Make out?'" L asked, walking over and lying down next to Light, only he chose to curl up into his normal ball to sleep, his arms curled around his legs which were tightly into his chest. The black eye Light had given him earlier was starting to turn a purple color, and Light told himself to remember to bring some ice so that the swelling would go down tomorrow.

"Never mind, Ryuzaki. Let's try and get the computer communications up tomorrow so we can tell Watari we didn't die. I'll bet my father is freaking out right now."

"Hai. Ano, Raito-kun?"

"Nani?"

"What is 'making out?'"

Light sighed, "Forget it."

"But I'm curious."

"Figure it out by yourself."

L promptly pouted, "Urban teenage slang loses its effect on me since it's not proper use of grammar and often very innuendo. Wait, were you speaking innuendo to me?" L asked, looking up at him. Light sighed, wishing very much that he could punch the older man again but deciding he'd already had one concussion for the day and that was quite enough.

"Iie, I wasn't speaking innuendo nor was it a lascivious comment in any way, you freaking hentai."

L nodded, "Demo-"

"Urusai! (Shut up!)"

And everything returned to normal between the two genius men.