Gah...later than planned. Oh well.

Jadedone-Thanks! Um...well, I kinda was afraid I'd get shot for this because...well, to begin with, it's my first Death Note fanfic and the idea isn't very plausible (plus it's a crossover.) And two...I guess because I noticed a bit of tension between Death Note and Naruto fans on deviantart? I dunno... Anyway, heh...this really did come from a crackish roleplay, but I guess this is very loosely based... I did actually do quite a bit of research before posting this up, plus I got some help from Puppet-chan (she's an awesome Sasori roleplayer.) And I agree; I would certainly want to keep a scruffily adorable little L stray. In answer to your questions, well...the meshing of these two worlds are going to start affecting a lot of people (the very fact that Watari didn't find L sets off a chain of major alterations). So for now, there's going to be a few chapters that are mostly set in shinobi country, but I will begin swinging over to England and all that to start showing how everyone else is affected, too. It might seem somewhat like a bunch of oneshots at first, but if all goes well, a plot will begin to be spun in all of this, too. I shall try not to fail you in posting regularly!

Otherrealmwriter-Really? Thanks. Heh, to be honest, I was a little iffy on the idea (though you could probably tell that from the author's note.)

Kikino-I'm glad you like it! I know what you mean...and it was probably one of the other reasons I was a bit hesitant on posting this fic. Normally when crossovers like this pop up, it tends to either be a hit or a miss, so one has to be a bit careful when writing it. And agreed-chibi L is quite adorable! As for your question, it's not going to stick completely in L's childhood. There's going to be some time skips every now and then, and if plot development goes well, I plan to bring Mello, Matt, Near, and BB into all of this, too.

Gah, one more thing. I noticed I forgot the disclaimer's in the last chapter... I don't own Naruto or Death Note! Please don't send your lawyers; I've already spent all my money on college and gum and I need any I receive for new glasses (as my current pair almost literally snapped in half for no reason last night.)

Night four in a strange new place.

Nights one, two, and three had been spent on the journey home.

The first night, L had positively passed out from stress, blood loss and shock after his feeble and honestly pathetic little struggle against his…kidnapper? Caretaker? How could one refer to a random person that just picked him up off the street without giving any reason (or reason to believe that there even was any reason) for doing so? This certainly couldn't be an adoption, not legally…nor was it probably intended to be seen as such.

And anyway, L wasn't about to go calling this…this stranger anything close to 'father' or 'Tousan' or 'Otousan' any time soon. One, because this stranger was just that: a stranger. And secondly, the young boy wasn't about to condemn this man, as strange as he was, just like that.

Due to lifetime experience, the title of 'father' or anything relating to it in other languages was a distasteful, unfavorable title to him. The term of the word had become skewed.

But these thoughts only ran vaguely through the young boy's head. All of it was just so much for him to absorb. He was known to be observant, intelligent-far more than one would expect from a six year-old child. But this drastic, sudden change…managing to escape from home, managing to even be alive, and all by the hands of a stranger…it had all sent even his mind spinning, reeling in confusion. Everything seemed to rush by him in a blur. He was caught off guard, and he hadn't felt this sort of shock, the feeling that everything just couldn't possibly be real since he had received news of his mother's death two years ago.

Definite brain overload.

In all honesty, he didn't even have any sort of clue where he was going. He didn't know who these people were or what they were taking him to. He heard the word 'shinobi' mentioned…

Shinobi… Weren't those fiction…?

Whatever he was heading into…as strange as it seemed, he couldn't say that he really cared. All he was certain of was that he was leaving home now…away from his father. And at the moment, while he was vaguely even conscious, he had decided that wherever he was going, whatever he was heading into…just about anything would seem better than the life he had been living.

Anywhere would be better than home.

So he didn't struggle anymore. He conceded to whatever was to happen to him, unable to do much more than place his life into the hands of fate and the one that had taken him. What other choice did he have? He was too weak to rebel against any of this…for now, at least.

Besides, this man…he couldn't be too bad, right? After all, the man had taken the time to bandage up L's injuries…

Unable to sort out all of his thoughts, unable to come up with any sort of question to ask first, he remained silent throughout the journey. He would respond when requested, yes. Thankfully he could understand them; his mother had been Japanese, so he had managed to learn most of the native language at an earlier age. But…he didn't say anything. Not in English…not in Japanese. Again, as what had happened when his mother had died…it was as if some part of him had shut down. He was literally speechless.

On the second day, he was conscious enough to provide a name. But his name…it wasn't his real name. Not that he had much of a reason to hide his real name. But maybe if this was a fresh start… He didn't want to be called by his real name anymore. He didn't want to use the name that his mother and father used for him.

And so, he chose a new name.

It was very simplistic, merely a part of his original name.

The name he had given to the man and his partner (through writing, anyway) was L.

In turn, he learned the names of his abductors. The one that had carried him off was Akasuna no Sasori. His partner was Orochimaru. L made sure to store these and any other facts that he could glean throughout the second and third day into his memory. With hope, luck, and a lot of effort, perhaps he could somehow manage to figure everything out…once he had enough pieces of the puzzle.

When they had finally arrived at the base of the organization they had spoken of, there was a meeting. Sasori had announced that he wanted to actually keep L…at least until he was better. That was where the conflict started.

L had been through a lot in his six years of life. He had seen many things, learned many things…but never had he seen anything as unusual as the members of this organization, the Akatsuki. It was even enough to actually intimidate him. With Sasori being the only one he had decided more or less safe by far, he had determined by at least eighty-seven percent that the safest place in the room would probably be right behind him.

Hidan appeared to be fairly normal, but extremely foul-mouthed and bad tempered. This was made very clear when he began arguing with some of the other members about some thing or another. L made a mental note of this, deciding that going near this person would be a very bad idea.

Kakuzu seemed…normal. More or less. L's wide ebony eyes did detect quite a number of stitches on the man's arms, so he could only imagine what sort of possible disfigurements could be hidden beneath the excessive clothing. As he listened to the man ramble on about money and what kind of financial ruin a child's coming could bring to the organization, he made a small note that this man was greedy and bad-tempered. Again, probably a good idea to stay away from this person.

Konan seemed normal, though even his six year-old mind could never be convinced that the blue hair was natural. L detected some sort of closeness to the leader, different from everyone else…but since he had only witnessed all of this for the first time for a very short period of time, he couldn't draw any sure conclusions.

He had already met Orochimaru. Though the man didn't seem so bad…even Sasori didn't seem to trust him half the time, even if they were partners. He seemed to have the charm of a snake: charismatic, yet eerie. Ominous and creepy. L had decided that he wasn't about to trust the serpentine shinobi anytime soon.

Kisame and Zetsu were two of the strangest, yet…probably much better than Hidan and Kakuzu. Kisame seemed to be a humanoid shark with a giant sword, while Zetsu was a half black, half white, human Venus flytrap. Kisame seemed to be more amused than anything, and Zetsu seemed understanding…almost. He must've been a schizophrenic or something, considering how he would say something reasonable, and then say something…creepy to counter it.

The snack comment, for instance.

And then the leader…he didn't really get a good look at the leader, to be honest. The man stayed mostly in shadow… But he did catch glints of metal on the man's face, which gave L the impression that the man had many piercings.

He listened as the conversation continued. When the leader had given the okay for him to stay, they then moved on to other topics. Something about a…jinchuriki. He knew a good deal of Japanese, but couldn't seem to recognize the term. Not long after the meeting began, it dispersed-most likely because Hidan and Kakuzu's arguing was beginning to escalate into something violent. This seemed somewhat common, but Sasori led L off before anything too serious could happen.

Night four and he had yet to say a word, but Sasori had made sure to lay down some ground rules all the same. His mind was spinning with even more thoughts as he lay curled up on a spare futon in Sasori's room, the blanket tangled around him. He couldn't sleep…but then, he could never sleep. Not much, anyway. The dark bags underneath his uncovered eye proved it. So in the darkness, his ebony eye darted around to look at the humanoid shadows of puppets and puppet pieces, as well as various tools and weapons strewn here and there. The only thing he didn't really see, oddly enough, were strings to animate the puppets with…aside from the strings that would be used to help hang puppets from the ceiling or wall while they were works in progress, anyway.

He got his last surprise of the day when Sasori walked into the room, probably thinking that he was already asleep. The dark, hunched figure of the man stopped next to the bed on the other side of the small room for a moment before a clicking noise could suddenly be heard. It sounded like clasps or locks suddenly coming undone. The back seemed to shift somewhat, and from L's position, he couldn't really tell what was going on at first.

But then, as if emerging from a cocoon, a cloaked man arose from the former body. The former body…it had been a puppet all this time. L watched as the man pulled a cover from his head, a mask of some sort, and noted short hair. It was then that he realized…considering the heat and lack of oxygen in a cloak and mask, as well as a puppet body, how could one still possibly manage function properly?

He had seen just about everything at this point.

In fact, if this man's true body was really another puppet body…he wouldn't be too surprised.

...

Leader-sama had said yes.

On the conditions, of course, that L was supported on Sasori's salary, and not the funds of the organization itself. After all, this was a criminal organization, not an orphanage. It had been enough to keep Kakuzu content, at least for now. Also, it was to be made clear that L was not interfere with business, and that he be educated in certain matters so as not to cause trouble for the Akatsuki. Matters such as secrecy, for instance.

L had listened to these conditions with rapt attention, knees drawn in to his chest in that odd posture he sat in, nibbling on his thumbnail as the dark, wide eye that wasn't bandaged watched him. When Sasori had finished explaining all that needed to be explained, L merely gave a silent nod of understanding.

Of course, even these instructions didn't keep the dark-haired boy from tailing after the puppet master wherever he went. Even before he had completely recovered, he had stuck to Sasori like a second shadow. The redhead supposed that he really couldn't blame the boy, considering the rather hostile environment. More so, considering that the newest target for most of that hostility was the child himself.

While the sudden increase of human company had been unusual, even uncomfortable for the scorpion at first, he soon began to grow used to the child's presence, or at least had grown to scarcely notice it. He didn't really bother to use Hiruko when he was alone (or around L now, apparently); it was his favorite puppet to wear, yes, but it was bulkier than what was practical for when he was merely working on his puppets. And after the first night that L spent here, he could tell that there was really no point in hiding his true form. After returning all the way from Europe, some work needed to be done on Hiruko. The boy obviously didn't sleep much, and had caught a glimpse that night while it was being worked on.

L had yet to speak a word, but he had already displayed a great fascination in books. Every morning Sasori would begin to set up the tools of his workshop, and all the while L would make several trips in and out, carrying in books two or three at a time and stacking them up into a rather high tower, one higher than even himself. Most of the day would be passed in almost complete silence; Sasori would work on his puppets as he usually did while L would be curled up towards the back of the room, absorbed in his reading and occasionally stealing fascinated, curious glances at the redhead's work. By the time night fell, the entire stack of books would be completely diminished. Whether the information from them was actually read and retained or not, Sasori couldn't tell-the boy seemed to be barely the age of six, after all. Then again…since when did age matter? But he could certainly identify the look in the dark, sleep-deprived eye of the boy from seeing it in his own: a yearning for knowledge, one that would never be completely fulfilled. One thing was at least made certain to him…

…He would really have to begin buying more books.

Author's Note-On the whole name thing...yeah, I know L's name really is L Lawliet, but L seems like it's just an initial (then again, I guess if you can have random names like Beyond Birthday and Mail Jeevas...) So the L once stood for...something. But now it's his official name. Anywho, please review! And...evil flames will be used melt pens and keep them out of Light's reach.