Ok, so, I know this is extremely late, but here is chapter two. Read. Enjoy. Review. ( Please? ) ...and I still don't have a beta.
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or its characters.
Chapter Two: Watching the Pieces Fall (two years in the past)
Raito wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around the detective's pale throat. In fact, the urge was so strong that he found it difficult to focus on the conversation at hand. He had just arrived with his father and Misa at the hotel where the task force was currently located. Ryuzaki and his father were in the middle of a heated debate about the fact that Ryuzaki had decided the best way to observe Raito and still be able to work would be to chain the teenager to himself. Evidently they had already had this conversation once, but his father seemed to still have reservations, and neither of them seemed to take notice of his rising temper. Forcing his father to pretend he would kill his own son was unforgivable. Raito's hands twitched.
"Yagami-san, we have already been over this and any further discussion is a waste of time and resources."
"I am only trying to ensure that this is truly necessary. Raito has a family who is very concerned and curious as to his whereabouts. But if Raito agrees to it then so be it."
Both Ryuzaki and his father were now looking to him for an answer, and knowing when L is involved, being given a choice was really a polite way of skirting around the fact that he had no choice. Everything was a test.
"I am willing to do whatever it takes to prove myself to you, and if that means that I have to let you chain yourself to me, then go right ahead. I have nothing to hide from you." Raito declared while trying to swallow his pride long enough to sound genuine.
"Watari." Ryuzaki immediately turned towards the older gentleman, holding out his hand.
Watari merely nodded and clasp one end of what appeared to be a six foot long pair of handcuffs onto Ryuzaki's wrist. Raito followed suit moving to stand next to the detective. Extending his arm out for Watari to cuff him to the eccentric man who wanted nothing more than to prove he was Kira would be a moment that Raito would remember for the rest of his life. As the cold metal locked over his wrist, it was almost as if he could feel something inside himself shift. What shifted and where he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he knew this was a defining moment. And he still wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around the detective's pale throat.
The next couple of hours went by too quickly for Raito to really dwell on anything specific. After being attached to Raito, Ryuzaki had unveiled his new task force headquarters, a mammoth building the detective had built just for the purpose of catching Kira. All precautions taken, and no expense spared. The building was a veritable fortress. Hours were spent inputting everyone's information into the security system, a network of screenings and codes. Now that they had all been give security clearance, everyone else, including Misa escorted by Watari, had gone home to collect what they would need to settle into headquarters.
"I suppose Yagami-kun would like to see where he will be staying." Ryuzaki's soft baritone broke through the silence that a had fallen in the others' absence.
"Uh, sure."
The detective lead him through the building. Aside from the two of them, the structure was empty. It almost felt like trespassing. The sound of Raito's shoes echoed down the barren hallway, and even the slight padding of Ryuzaki's bare feet could be heard. Walking down the hall, Raito took note of the view out the glass lined hallway. The sun was setting, and the lights of Tokyo filled his vision. Suddenly he felt a tug on his wrist. When he looked back, he was surprised to see Ryuzaki fixedly staring out the window, the hand linking him to Raito still stuffed in his pocket, the other resting on the glass. His breath slightly fogging the window. Raito hadn't noticed the older man stop. Curious as to what had caught the detective's attention, he glanced back out the window but saw nothing out of the ordinary, nothing special. Yet Ryuzaki seemed unaware of him and the cuff digging into his pale flesh.
"Ryuzaki?" Raito pulled lightly on the chain. "Ryuzaki?"
"Tokyo is full of people."
The out of place comment caught Raito off guard.
"Yes, well, it is one of the most populous cities... in... the world." Raito started incredulously, but Ryuzaki turned from the window and merely continued down the hall as if he hadn't said anything. Raito stood watching the detective only to soon find that he was being dragged toward the elevator at the end of the hall. In the elevator Ryuzaki fidgeted rubbing his bare feet together. Raito could only assume he had something on his mind. Ryuzaki was digging in his pockets only to pull his hands out and huff.
"What?"
"I don't have a lolli."
"Oh."
"Fortunately, I believe, Watari said something about a tray being left in our room."
The elevator dinged. Ryuzaki shuffled out with Raito falling in behind. They stepped out and made their way towards the last door at end of the corridor.
"Yagami-san and Watari are in the other two suites on this floor." Ryuzaki lazily gestured to the two doors they passed.
Ryuzaki pushed open the door of the room they would share. Raito didn't know what he expected, but for some reason he was pleasantly surprised. The room was simple and minimalistic, in a modern way. Neutral colors dominated the theme with little touches of varying shades of blue. It felt expensive, and while Raito's family was well off, they were by no means rich. Room seemed to be the wrong word to use. This was a suite. This first room appeared to be a sitting room of some sort with several doors leading to where, he didn't know. And Ryuzaki only seemed interested in getting to the overladen tray that sat on a table by wall that was made of glass much like the hallway downstairs.
"Yagami-kun can feel free to help himself," Ryuzaki said as he perused the tray himself carefully selecting a bright red lollipop from what looked like a bouquet of lollipops in the center of the tray.
Raito felt his hands twitch again.
"I don't really care for sweets, Ryuzaki. Besides, Watari said he would bring dinner up when he got back, you should be careful. You're going to spoil your appetite if you don't watch out." Raito watched as Ryuzaki selected another lollipop, a blue one, to slip into his pocket and snatched up a handful of sugar cookies.
"This is my dinner. Watari will bring Yagami-kun something."
Raito's eyebrows scrunched together, "Don't you eat anything other than sweets?"
Ryuzaki brought his finger to his mouth cocking his head to the side to observe Raito. "I suppose if one does not consider certain fruits as sweets,...then yes."
"You're serious?"
"Quite."
"But you..."
"My eating habits are of no concern to Yagami-kun," Ryuzaki interrupted.
"But that can't be healthy."
"Yagami-kun is concerned for my health?" Ryuzaki tilted his head to the other side, a hint of sarcasm lacing his voice. "I can count the number of personal facts that Yagami-kun knows about me on one hand. He does not know enough about me to base any such concern. However, to ease his fears I will tell him that Watari sees to my needs and health. Yagami-kun need not worry."
"I'm not worried about you. I just don't want to be handcuffed to someone who might fall into a diabetic coma."
Ryuzaki quirked an eyebrow as he sucked on his bright red lolli. He rolled it from side to side in his mouth while gazing at the ceiling. His eyes finally snapped back to Raito trapping him with his black gaze. "Perhaps, Yagami-kun was not allowed sweets as a child? Had to watch the other children enjoy them and has come resent the sugar as the cause of his unfulfilled desire?"
"Where do you get this shit?" Raito huffed crossing his arms over his chest.
"And having come to resent the sugar, he has developed a self-preserving concept that sugar is below him? If sugar is below Yagami-kun, then, perhaps, so are those who enjoy it? Most individuals enjoy some type of dessert or sweet...Kira believes most individuals are below him. This draws a fascinating parallel between Yagami-kun and Kira"
"That is one of the most absurd round-about pieces of inductive logic I have ever heard. Just because I don't like sweets doesn't mean I'm Kira." Raito almost shouted. "If you want to use inductive reasoning, I might as well conclude that you are Kira because you have stated that you are childish, and Kira is childish. Therefore opening up the possibility that yourself are, in fact, Kira."
"Kira would want to raise suspicion towards L."
It wasn't so much the statement, but more Ryuzaki's disregard that tore through the last of Raito's self-control . Almost without thought, Raito's hands rose to finally grip around that thin, pale throat to shove the detective against the glass wall. He could feel Ryuzaki's Adam's apple flex under his hands. Exhilaration and adrenaline coursed through his veins. Of course, this was also the moment Watari came strolling in through the door pushing a cart carrying what smelled like a very fine Italian meal. Raito seemed to take almost no notice of the elderly man's entrance, but Ryuzaki's eyes followed the cart and found the two slices of tiramisu.
"Watari has brought Raito-kun's dinner, I believe." Ryuzaki wheezed around the lolli still stuck in his cheek even though fingers were digging into his throat as his eyes flicked to meet his suspect's.
"Ryuzaki, you are only interested in the tiramisu," Watari interrupted, "And, Yagami-kun, while I understand that Ryuzaki most likely deserves you placing hand-shaped bruises on his throat, I would appreciate it, if you would release him before your meal gets chilled."
For a moment Ryuzaki could feel Raito's grip tighten further cutting off his air supply. Yet just as suddenly as Raito had shoved him into the glass wall, he turned away leaving Ryuzaki to fall unsupported to the floor in a heap. Ryuzaki didn't even give a second thought to purpling marks now decorating his pale skin and immediately found his feet. Unsurprisingly, Ryuzaki made it to the cart first.
Plucking his slice of cake and forking a bite into his eager mouth, he turned to Raito.
"I feel I must forewarn Yagami-kun that I live by a certain philosophy that once is once. Yagami-kun has been allowed this 'once' to act with violence towards myself. This I can forgive, but any further violent actions taken against my person will be met with equal force."
Raito's head shot up to look at Ryuzaki, disbelief on his face.
"You're a right piece of work, you know that!" Raito's fists clenched at his side. "You're so pale and scrawny that I seriously doubt you could ever back up that claim."
"Yagami-kun, please take a seat and tell me what you think of this baked penne. Ryuzaki finish that cake," Once again, Watari acted as a mediator between the two genii.
Raito sat down and began to eat his dinner even though his irritation with the sugar addict had ruined his appetite. As Raito ate his pasta which was quite excellent, he watched Ryuzaki out of the corner of his eye. The detective had perched himself on the couch in that awkward way of sitting. Raito wanted to reach over with his foot and knock the man onto the floor. Ryuzaki seemed to actually be playing with his food rather than relishing it as usually.
Watari reached out and took the plate from Ryuzaki's hands.
"Trying to delay our agreed upon conditions by playing with your cake is pointless, Ryuzaki," Watari scolded.
Agreed upon conditions? Raito had no idea what Watari was talking about, but he could see Ryuzaki tense. To see any visible reaction from the stoic man was a bit of a shock. After all, he had just cut off the man's air supply, and Ryuzaki hadn't even batted an eyelash. Watari pulled something from his pocket. Ryuzaki seemed ready to spring with his eyes never leaving the older gentleman.
"Watari, I assure you, that is not necessary," Ryuzaki stated. "I promised I would sleep or at least make an honest attempt to while Yagami-kun is here."
Raito strained to see what Watari held in his hand that had set off the usually calm detective.
"And I am going to ensure that your health is seen to whether or not you agree with my methods. For this little arrangement we agreed that I could do as I see fit and that you would comply."
"I hadn't considered that you would resort to something so drastic. A miscalculation on my part. I do not wish to comply."
Watari reached out and snatched Ryuzaki's wrist pulling him up to stand on his feet.
"You will comply, or I will end this ridiculous farce. We will go back to how things were before joining up with the task force."
Raito could see Ryuzaki try to pull his arm from the older man's grasp.
"Hey, what are you doing to him?" Raito's aggrivation with the detective forgotten. His curiosity shifting to concern. "What's in that?"
"It is merely a sedative, a benzodiazepine, Yagami-kun. As you have probably concluded, Ryuzaki suffers from acute insomnia. When he has stretched himself too thin, I find it necessary to intervene."
"This is not information Yagami-kun should be given, Watari."
"When you chained yourself to him, you removed your right to keep certain things private. We discussed this. Now, hold still."
"No," came the firm monotone.
The sound of flesh striking flesh resounded in the room. The scene was frozen like someone had hit the pause button. Watari's hand was still raised the air. Ryuzaki's head was thrown back, twisted at an odd angle, cheek a burning red. Raito did not understand what was going on, but it was obvious that he was witnessing something that went much further than his involvement.
"Now, do we need to divulge more information in front of Yagami-kun or will you give me your arm?"
Ryuzaki experimentally moved his jaw with his head still tossed back. He hadn't moved a muscle. His eyes flicked to Raito's over Watari's shoulder. His eyes were dark and fathomless as always, yet Raito felt that the sugar addict was searching for something. However, it seemed he was unable to find what he was looking for and dropped his eyes to the floor with a soft, barely audible sigh.
"Ryuzaki?" Watari pulled on the thin, fragile looking arm.
"Proceed," Ryuzaki allowed Watari to straighten out his arm. Watari pushed up the detective's sleeve and with cruel and startling accuracy found the vein in the crook of the pale elbow. Ryuzaki looked away as the needle pierced his skin. Watari pulled out the needle and released the detective's arm. Ryuzaki let his arm fall lifelessly to his side.
"How long?" the monotone asked.
"Approximately ten minutes." Watari answered.
"Then, I suggest Yagami-kun and I use the facilities, and that Yagami-kun allow me to show him to the bedroom." Before Light could respond, Ryuzaki was moving toward one of the doors on the far wall, dragging Light from his chair and dinner.
"Can't I at least finish my dinner?!?" Raito all but whined as he stumbled to his feet. His cheeks burned with humiliation, and his stomach was most certainly not satisfied.
"Unless Yagami-kun wishes to sleep on the floor then he should do as I suggest."
The sugar addict all but yanked open the bathroom door and motioned Raito towards the sink. Raito began his nightly routine of washing, cleansing, and moisturizing his face to maintain his flawless complexion. When he reached for his toothbrush, he looked up in the mirror.
"Shit! Ryuzaki what the hell are you doing!?!"
Behind Raito, Ryuzaki had proceeded to drop trow and proceeded with delicately balancing himself on two feet to squat precariously on the toilet in his usual crouch.
"I would think that Yagami-kun should be able to see that I am using the facilities." The sound of a fluid hitting water fell over the silence that filled the air in the wake of Raito's shock.
Raito could think of nothing to say. All he could do was turn around and try to brush his teeth without looking in the mirror. It was beginning to dawn on him just how much of his privacy he was giving up by allowing the detective to put him on a literal leash. Raito finally felt it was safe to turn around when he heard the toilet flush. Ryuzaki moved passed him and began to wash his hands.
"Yagami-kun should make use of this opportunity and relieve himself."
Raito could feel the pink creep across his face as he carefully tried to keep his modesty and still take a piss. He flushed the toilet and turned around to see Ryuzaki standing at the sink taking extra care to brush his teeth while standing there in his white shirt and boxers, his jeans carelessly discarded on the floor.
"Has Yagami-kun finished?" Ryuzaki asked as he rinsed his toothbrush.
"Yeah, come on and show me where my bed is."
Raito couldn't help but notice that Ryuzaki's mouth quirked at his comment.
Once out in the main room again, Ryuzaki motioned toward one of two remaining doors.
"This door leads to Watari's room; however, Watari will only use it during an emergency." Ryuzaki pointed to the other door, "That is the room Yagami-kun and I will share during our time together"
The detective tilted his head to the side as if to indicate that Raito should go first. Sighing in exasperation, Raito stepped around the man and opened the door, not really caring what was on the other side as long as this day finally ended. He carelessly swung the door open and stepped into the dark room. Behind him Ryuzaki flipped the light switch. Blinking in the suddenly bright light, Raito's eyes fell on the only piece of furniture in the room. A single queen size bed sat against the far wall with the glass wall to the right.
"What the hell is this, Ryuzaki?!?" Raito turned to the detective.
"Yagami-kun is aware that our situation arose quickly. Watari was unable to get another bed on such sort notice. Besides, with this," Ryuzaki held up his wrist, the chain dangling before his face, "Connecting Yagami-kun and I, it would be most difficult to sleep in separated beds anyway."
"There is no way in hell that I am sleeping in the same bed as you." Raito pulled himself up to his full height, staring down the pale faced man.
"Yagami-kun can say as he likes, but I will be getting in the bed now." That monotone grated against Raito's already frayed nerves.
Raito watched the sugar addict move to the bed with Watari following behind him. Ryuzaki stumbled before he made it to the side of the bed, but Watari caught him with an arm around the detective's shoulder.
"We will resume your usual treatments tomorrow, Ryuzaki, but tonight your body needs rest." Watari spoke to him as one might an invalid which had Raito raising a questioning eyebrow.
Ryuzaki merely nodded and climbed into the bed. The sedative obviously taking effect because as his head hit the pillow his body curled up, knees to his chest, thumb to his mouth. His ever open eyes finally falling shut. His black lashes brushed the bruises under his eyes. Watari pulled the cover up over the smaller man and looked up to Raito.
"Yagami-kun, I feel it is necessary to tell you, for the sake of clarity, that whatever you see in these rooms needs to stay within these rooms. Ryuzaki's life depends on the secrecy built around him. He also requires a certain level of care to function as he does. Your cooperation in these matters is not requested but required." Watari turned back to Ryuzaki to ensure the sedative had indeed pushed the insomniac passed consciousness.
"But aren't benzos addictive?" Raito's mind spun at the implications of Watari's statement.
"Ryuzaki suffers from acute insomnia. Occasionally, it is required to force his body to rest. However, this extreme is not often required."
"You said something about his regular treatment?" Raito questioned, his suspicions growing.
"As I said, Ryuzaki's lifestyle requires care." Watari stated simply. "Goodnight, Yagami-kun, and remember what I've said."
The elderly man brushed passed him and out the door. Raito could hear the main door to the suite open and close.
Raito looked at his watch. It was ten thirty. A proper bed time when not studying for finals. As he removed his pants, the chain stretched between him and the sleeping detective making his movements awkward as he folded his pants. Raito grimaced as he climbed into the bed. He disliked how the cold chain brushed against the bare skin of his leg below his boxers. Glancing over at his bedmate, the detective, for once, appeared dead to the world around him.
Raito couldn't help but be confused. Ryuzaki was a mystery and considering all he had witnessed in this evening he felt that perhaps all that he had assumed about the man may need to be reaccessed. It was like he had started a puzzle only to have his little sister knock all the pieces off the table. He had watched the pieces fall and yet found himself struggling to find just where all the pieces had fallen.