Later than planned again...but then, I haven't been feeling too well recently. Ah well. While I'm still feeling a bit better, here's the next chapter.

Kikino-I'm glad you're glad I updated. Heh... Really? Well, I hope this chapter turned out to be a bit more interesting. For now, these are a bit oneshot-ish, but there will be more storyline solidification coming up in the next few chapters.

Shinta-Light/Raito will probably be making an appearance, though a bit later on. As for yaoi...I'm not entirely sure yet. There probably will be hints of shonen-ai in the Saso/Dei pairing and the Matt/Mello pairing, since I'm real big on those two. L/Light...I'm currently a bit neutral on that. So we'll see.

As for my disclaimer! I do not own Death Note or Naruto. Do not send your lawyers after me; I'm just a humble fanfic writer that has no money.

Caring for a child was much more difficult than Sasori had anticipated it to be.

Yes, he had expected there to be challenges…it would be foolish not to. But living in the state he was in now…he had nearly forgotten what it was like to be human, much less how to actually care for one.

For instance, he had forgotten just how much a human child could consume.

He couldn't figure it out-the boy was a twig already. There was no doubt that L was almost severely underweight, and losing more and more as the days passed. And yet, the dark-eyed boy would eat just about anything given to him, and certainly not pick at his food. The first time he had actually gotten a full-fledged meal though, he seemed a bit surprised, his visible eye wider than usual. He had responded with a confused but happy smile in thanks, and had consumed it in almost record time.

And so now, despite the dent it made in his work budget, he was providing regular meals for the young one, which would be consumed with hardly any poking or prodding or question. The boy did have rather unusual eating habits-eating with his hands when chopsticks probably would've been better, or even when he did use chopsticks, holding them delicately with one in each hand, in the most unusual way he'd ever seen. L would play with his food, too, making little towers and the like-not out of pickiness, but out of amusement. After all, he would still eat his food in the end.

And yet…

"That boy of yours is wasting away, Sasori…" a serpentine voice came from the doorway.

Sasori frowned, then looked down at the boy rather than his partner. L was still curled up as he usually was, reading through the book that was currently in hand, but now he seemed a little…tense. He always seemed to tense a little more whenever Orochimaru was around. The redhead figured that this was probably understandable, though-the serpentine Sannin did tend to give off an eerie air. He scarcely noticed anymore, having grown more or less used to it, but the child…

"Yes, I've noticed," he replied. "But I am providing him with regular meals, and he does eat all of what I give him."

"Perhaps that's the problem," Orochimaru replied. "This boy must have quite the metabolism…" He took a step towards the little bookworm. The boy tensed further, and Sasori could feel the stinger in his stomach give a small, subconscious quiver. But…surely he hadn't grown attached to this child enough to feel protective of him, had he? Of course not…he was Akasuna no Sasori, after all. He didn't need anyone, nor did he need to feel protective over a human being, especially one that was so small and insignificant.

Annoyance was the only explanation, which, with his short temper and Orochimaru's pestering and creepy attitude, wasn't too unlikely right now.

All the same, the paste-white Sannin had noticed Sasori tense when he drew close to the child. Was this…L boy beginning to form a soft spot in the scorpion's heart? A weakness? It almost made him chuckle. Of all the things or people…

"You can relax, Sasori," he said with an amused expression, taking a few more steps towards the boy and kneeling down next to him. "I have no intention of harming your little…" He searched for a word, then finished, "Pet." He held one hand out to the boy and opened it, revealing botan, rice candy.

L stared at the candy for a moment, then looked up at Orochimaru and pointed to himself, as if to ask "For me?" When the smiling man nodded, he took the small pieces of candy, observing and studying them for any sort of tampering.

Sasori was watching warily as the scene unfolded before him. "L," he spoke up. The little insomniac stopped in mid-observation and looked over at the redhead, wondering if he had done something wrong.

Orochimaru rose to his feet, giving Sasori a grin. "It's just candy," he said. "I said that you could relax; the candy isn't poisoned or anything. I won't interfere with your projects." He then added, "However, I will provide you with some advice-what you choose to do with it is up to you." He turned his gaze on L. "Clearly, regular meals will not help this boy in getting any healthier. Rather, I recommend switching his diet to sweets and fruit, as well as vitamins so he'll have a somewhat decent and nutritious diet, at least."

The puppet master's eyes continued to watch him suspiciously. Why would he be interested in L's well being? It wasn't advice given merely out of the kindness of his heart-his partner wasn't that simple. He was half tempted to spear the Sannin…out of annoyance for interrupting his work with matters so petty, of course. But as his mind was still in debate, he silently watched and settled on allowing the man to leave without much event…for now.

But once the snake was gone, he did turn to L and plucked the candy from the boy's small hands. "Let's get you something sweet…" he said, tossing the candy into the trash. "And safe."

The wide eye of the boy blinked, but then his expression turned into a smile and he nodded, setting down his book and climbing to his feet to follow the scorpion to market.

...

L had been staying with Sasori for about a week and half, and day in, day out, the daily ritual of artwork and reading had gone by without much event. The only thing that had really changed was L's diet (which, as much as Sasori hated to admit, had helped in making the child healthier) and that some of the bandages had been removed; both eyes could now be seen, both wide and watching him. He still bore a few scars, yes…as to be expected with injuries like the ones he had found the boy with. Those would probably be with him all his life.

The boy still couldn't stand or walk straight up, but remained hunched over, leaning forward, sometimes balancing precariously on the balls of his bare feet. There must have been severe damage done to his spine in the past…and Sasori might could have repaired it, but chose not to. He was willing to bandage the child, but not to go so far as to put the time and effort into a full-fledge spinal repair. Besides, for all he knew, it was possible that L didn't know how to stand or walk or balance any other way.

No longer did L wear the tattered, bloody clothing that he had been found in, but the clothing that had been given to him wasn't brand new, either. Rather, Sasori had given him one of the spare robes that he would use for his puppets. In exchange for this amount of kindness that surprised both himself and L, the boy would give him a faint, grateful smile and wouldn't really bother him for the rest of the day. L wouldn't wander far or cause trouble for any of the other members…Zetsu had even gone so far as to say that L was a good boy.

And then the routine had been broken with a sudden surprise.

That day…L spoke.

Apparently the boy's curiosity had been peaked. He had been stealing more and more interested glances at Sasori's work lately, and finally he lowered the book and climbed to his feet, walking over to stand next to him. His nose barely reached the surface of the table, so he couldn't get a very good view from where he stood. After a moment, he rose up onto his tiptoes, fingertips grasping the edge of the tabletop to aid in balance.

"Sasori-san…?" he spoke up. "What have you been working on?"

At first, the puppet master thought he had imagined the question. But then he looked down at the ebony-haired boy, who was peering at his work with wide, curious eyes. For a moment, he wasn't entirely sure how to respond to this new development. Now that L was speaking, he could probably answer a few questions. What official caretaker should he shuttle this boy off to, for instance.

Then again…considering how he had found L…

So he settled on calmly answering L's question, as if the event of his speaking was commonplace. "Shinobi puppetry," he merely replied.

"Puppetry…" L repeated in a thoughtful murmur. One hand left the table so he could nibble on his thumbnail, as he often seemed to do when in thought or solving some sort of problem.

The eyes of the man flickered downwards to look at the child, and for a moment, he was reminded of when his grandmother had first introduced the art to him.

Perhaps this boy was interested in learning the same trade…?

Almost immediately he opposed the idea and wondered what foolish notion, what softness on his part, had even made him hesitate for a split second to even consider such an idea. It was enough that he was keeping the child here and caring for him, and he didn't even have any intention on letting the boy stay long; he certainly wasn't about to take on the role of teacher, too. He had enough to occupy himself with already. The last thing he needed was to attempt teaching puppetry to a boy who probably didn't even know the first thing about…well, the very basics of shinobi education. The boy had probably never even heard of chakra. And even if he was willing to put forth the time and effort, was it really worth running the risk of ever being possibly betrayed by his own art? In his experience, students and successors tended to have a rather nasty habit of backstabbing their teachers-especially if the said students and successors turned out to be geniuses.

…No. He would let the boy poke and prod at some of his tools and puppet parts, maybe. But it was then when he firmly decided that he wasn't about to attempt teaching this child any time soon.

...

Among Sasori's projects, there was one in particular that kept him busy, especially in past couple months or so. It was the only project that was a joint effort between himself and his partner, and they had been working on it since his acceptance into the Akatsuki.

When Zetsu had joined, he had arrived with a boy that was damaged even more severely than L had been upon first arrival. Hardly any more than a vegetable, apparently the injured boy had been in his care for the past few years before stumbling across their organization-it was an amazement that the schizophrenic hadn't eaten the kid yet. Leader-sama had been more inclined for Zetsu to abandon the useless boy (he was on the brink of death, anyway), but it took a few privately uttered words to quickly change his mind. In fact, along with the decision to allow this boy-Tobi, as he had been dubbed-to stay, an immediate order had been given to Orochimaru and Sasori. And those orders…?

To fix this comatose boy through whatever means or jutsu necessary. To help him regain consciousness and function so that eventually, he could prove be of some use.

So Sasori would spend about an hour or two each day to work on this project, and they were making some great progress on it. In fact, the project seemed to be in the final stages. Orochimaru had used some jutsu or another to release Tobi from his comatose state. Even in the brain, there was a great deal of damage, so the first thing that had been spoken from the newly-awoken lips was something completely nonsensical, lacking in meaning or comprehension. As Sasori finished patching up the left side of the boy, he hoped that such ridiculous nonsense wouldn't become a permanent aspect of Tobi's personality. He wasn't sure if he was patient enough to deal with such.

Of course, this daily hour or two would be spent alone if Orochimaru wasn't working with him. L had been forbidden to come in; worst-case scenario and the curious child could end up 'interfering with business.' But…even then, when he emerged from the room, L would be crouched next to the door in the hallway, silent with his book in hand.

When Project: Tobi (as it had been designated) had reached full completion and the patched young man had been able to walk and leave the room, he had insisted that he would only do so if he could wear the orange mask that had been lying nearby, with only one hole for an eye and swirled with black. His wish had been granted, but…that was pretty much the end of any sensibility or seriousness from him. When he did leave the room, one of the first things that he had noticed was L.

Crouching in front of the bookworm, he asked, "Are you a project, too?"

L looked up at the unfamiliar young man, blinking a couple of times. Tobi was about twice his age, perhaps a little more, but he was closest to his age. Sasori and Orochimaru emerged from the room and to look for the young man-their project had escaped the room quicker than expected.

Orochimaru was the first one to spot him.

"They seem to be getting along…quite well together, don't they?" Orochimaru commented with an amused grin as they stopped behind him. The redhead sighed and reached down to pull the masked young man away.

"Let's not scare the kid, Tobi," he scolded.

"Am I a…project…?" L repeated to no one in particular, pointing to himself in spite of what else had been said. That was the one of the first times he had really seriously considered such a question… What was he, anyway? He certainly wasn't a member…and he definitely wasn't anybody's son, despite how much as he tended to stick to Sasori. Why was he here?

"Oooh, I see! He must be the son of Sasori-sempai!" Tobi exclaimed. He then looked up at Sasori, then back at L. "But why does he have black hair? His hair should be red like his tousan's! Unless…" He suddenly tsk'ed and wagged a finger at the wide-eyed boy. "Rebellion is not always a good thing, you know. Nope, nope."

L snapped from his thoughts and stared. Red like his…his…

…What was this guy talking about? For once in his life, he was beginning to get the feeling that the situation was almost…too stupid for him to really deal with anymore.

Sasori could feel his stinger quiver. Patience…patience… Though all the while, he just knew that Orochimaru must've been taking some sort of enjoyment out of all this.

"Tobi, if you can't behave then we're taking you back to your room," the scorpion stated firmly.

"Aw…" Tobi said as he settled down a little, not squirming nearly as much anymore. "Alright. Tobi will stop." L could almost swear that this…Tobi person…was smiling underneath the mask now. "Because Tobi is a good boy!"

Author's Note-Yes, yes, I know about Tobi. I already have plans on how to make the Madara thing fit, so no worries on that. Um...so I'm gonna get to work on the next chapter. Please review and flames that aren't constructive...will be thrown to pro-kira supporters with the words 'death to Kira' on them.