Surrounded

Light blinked dumbly at the building before him. There were many things wrong with this picture. First and foremost, it was a building. Something man-made, distinctly well built, orderly and meant as living quarters. Second, even if it wasn't a bat infested cave or swamp log, the most he would have expected was a shack as disorderly and queer as the man himself. The neat, two-story wood house Light found himself standing before was certainly the very last sort of dwelling he would associate with the untamed Ryuuzaki.

Light choked down a curse as the cat man ambled his way up the slight incline toward his house. That's fairly close to how the entire journey had gone. Ryuuzaki would walk at a pace just out of arms reach with the occasional non-comment to goad the teenager on. It was infinitely infuriating to try to hop fast enough to deliver a well deserved smack upside the head just to have the feline take one perfectly measured step to carry him centimeters out of reach at the last instant, only to resume his previous stroll as though nothing occurred. It was utterly maddening, but Light followed anyway.

"You could've just told me we were going to your place." Light mumbled as L pushed open the door to his… house. It actually looked more like a renovated inn. There was even a stable, though he doubted there were horses residing there.

L nodded absently in agreement and closed the door when the brunette walked in. He watched as the teenager began to shiver uncontrollably now that they were out of the storm. Light stared around the place as though expecting something horrible to be lurking in the corner – not including Ryuuzaki. There was very little furniture. A square dining table sat in the middle of the lobby with a couple of wooden chairs arrayed around it, a fire place dominating the left wall. There was a narrow stairway along the right wall that led to the second floor and a door at the back of the room that probably led to the kitchen.

Light resisted the urge to give voice to the fact that he still thought Ryuuzaki would live in a hut. The teenager shifted uncomfortably as the prickling between his shoulder blades indicated that those black eyes were once again trained on him.

"Is there anyway that I can get cleaned up and changed?" Light asked. It had momentarily bothered him to be so imposing, but then he reminded himself that everything he had observed of Ryuuzaki suggested that the cat man would not know what should be considered invasive and rude. He glanced to the side and behind him when no answer was forthcoming. No one was there. Light felt his eyes widen as he went through a complete circle to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"This way." Light's gaze snapped up to the stairwell, where Ryuuzaki was already halfway to the top. Chocolate eyes narrowed in irritation before the runaway princess decided to follow. It was unnerving how stealthy the unkempt man could be. Light slowly mounted the steps, being careful not to put too much weight on his sore ankle. He managed to catch up to the leisurely feline near the top and gripped the banister as he tried to catch his breath. Why was everything so difficult while limping? He glared at the scruffy man before blinking in surprise. The sleeve of his shirt was torn at the left bicep, stained a diluted red. Light found himself reaching forward unconsciously as a flash of concern and curiosity came to the forefront of his thoughts. He recoiled as Ryuuzaki side stepped him and turned to stare dispassionately at the suddenly flustered princess.

Light felt his face flame in response to their eyes meeting – in anger, of course. Was the man freaking psychic? How did he always know? It didn't help that he was several steps above the teenager as well. Light was not accustomed to being towered over. Embarrassed or not, Light refused to look away from what he had now labeled The Blank Stare of Doom. He briefly envisioned his mother's patronizing voice: 'One must not be too intractable.' His gaze sharpened into a glare at the memory of those endlessly pointless lessons. What could he say? There was just something about the man that made Light want to strangle him. Strangle him… and enjoy it. Light shook his head with a self-deprecating smile, finally breaking eye contact. He had known the man for less than a day and already he could bring out the worst in Light.

L turned to finish the last two steps and led the way across the inside balcony at the top of the stairs to the hallway. Obviously he assumed the issue dealt with. Mentally grumbling at having to move again, the brunette limped along behind.

--

Light couldn't suppress the grin that was attempting to invade his face as they entered the bathing room. Everything was neatly tiled and organized, with towels sitting on a shelf along one wall and soap and everything else on a rack near the bath. What shocked Light was the fact that the bath looked more like a pool. It was floor level and looked as though it could comfortably hold seven people – with room to spare.

"It is an artificial hot spring." Ryuuzaki informed him as though it were the most natural thing in the world… on the second floor, no less. The older man just shook his head when Light's eyes seemed to beg for an explanation as to how it was accomplished (considering where technology was at that point). "Between the physics, plumbing, waterworks and engineering that went into this, it would get far too tedious to explain." L stated, putting an end to that conversation before it had a chance. Light shrugged and began to undo his shirt. Slender fingers stilled as he noticed the Nekomimi watching him. Again.

Light cleared his throat, expecting him to take the hint. Nope. Ryuuzaki just continued to nibble on his thumb as he stared. An awkward silence settled around the pair as Light tried to think of a way to politely get his host to piss off.

"Do you mind?" Light asked gruffly. The digit lowered slowly from his mouth, his face looking as though a grand epiphany had occurred.

"Not at all, Light-kun," Ryuuzaki informed him graciously. "You may proceed." Light stuck his hands on his hips in exasperation.

"No, 'Light-kun' may not proceed." Light snapped in response. "He wishes you to leave the room first." L's ears flicked forward.

"Is Light-kun aware that referring to oneself in the third person is a sign of mental instability?" He inquired. Light glared.

"Is Ryuuzaki-kun aware that I am tired, and hungry, and about this close—" He held up his index finger and thumb with about an inch of space between them, "—to drowning him in that bath?" L's eyes remained as unresponsive as ever.

"I was not aware, thank you for informing me."

Light rolled his eyes and started to strip from his clothes, too annoyed to bother with modesty. If the pervert wanted to watch, that wasn't his problem. Light tossed his shirt to the side and started on his pants, unaware that the Neko had turned away in favor of rummaging through a cabinet for bandages and disinfectant for his arm. Light eased into the steaming water while L took the opportunity to settle into a crouch next to the pool. The teenager shot him another glare, convinced that the gargoyle-like man had been watching him the entire time. L felt no need to correct this assumption.

Light sighed in relief as he allowed himself to sink into the soothing water. It caused his ankle to ache like a bitch, but he had long since determined that it was nothing too serious and so ignored it. When he finally felt at least a little more human, Light turned his attention back to his unlikely host. Said host sat crouched at the edge of the pool, the left sleeve of his shirt rolled up to the shoulder, an unmarked, glass bottle of disinfectant sitting next to him as the strange man proceeded to stitch up his own arm. Light grimaced as he drifted closer. That could not be pleasant, and it looked so awkward considering how Ryuuzaki held the needle: pinched delicately between thumb and forefinger. Light shook his head. Maybe the man was a masochist; that was barely one step below self-mutilation as far as Light was concerned. The princess started as he realized the Neko was still staring at him. No, not paying attention to the neat little stitches he was sticking in his skin. Light felt himself go slightly green at the thought.

"Does this happen often?" Light inquired quietly when it became obvious that the cat man was using the needle expertly without bothering to track its progress with his eyes. Those eyes remained as blank as ever. Just when Light was about to give up on receiving an answer, pale lips parted in speech.

"Often enough," L murmured, still watching his 'guest.'

"Oh,"

--

The room was plain. Dimly lit with one candle, the faint light revealed a single bed with beige blankets and a side table which held the aforementioned candle. A single chair sat at the right of the doorway, so it was a great surprise when Ryuuzaki simply closed the door and left him there once showing him to the room. Light had half expected the man to insist on lurking in that very chair and watching him while he slept. He shrugged and decided not to question this unexpected result. He walked over to the bed and flopped down on his back, hands behind his head. The last thought to cross his mind before slipping into oblivion was that he probably shouldn't be so willing to put his life in the hands of someone who could be a psycho killer.

L eyed the wood door for a few moments before turning away to shuffle back down the hall. He had too much to do to waste his time babysitting a runaway princess. He made his way back into the main lobby and dropped to the floor. Not in his usual casual position when alone: he was far too paranoid with another living creature sharing the building with him, and so reverted to his knees-to-chest crouch in order to concentrate better.

The Nekomimi gripped a report between two fingers and began to read, occasionally shifting his eyes to a map spread on the floor before him. When finished with that, he discarded the first and picked up a different one, then another, and another. He went meticulously through each one before setting the stack of parchment aside and frowning fully at the map. L clasped his hands on his knees and stared. They were getting bolder now, that much was obvious. He wouldn't be able to keep bluffing them forever; when the time finally came… L bit at his thumb. No. He wasn't going to let that happen. End of story. Or would he…? Black ears twitched slightly at the thought; maybe he could force them into action prematurely. Something they wouldn't be able to resist… A slow smirk twisted his otherwise expressionless face.

"Leon-sama!" L's head came up attentively as the female voice struck his ears with an urgency that would not be ignored. A grey blur whizzed up from an unknown source and stilled right before the thoughtful Neko. L watched calmly as the mouse stopped to catch her breath.

"Naomi-san," L chided, "what have I told you about honorifics?" The grayish-brown mouse shook her head impatiently, obviously not interested in conversation.

"Leon," She said between gasps, "They're… here, right now!" L paused for a grand total of five seconds to allow his mind a chance to digest the information and think of a plan; any longer was impossible given the situation. He was up in an instant and down the hall. The Neko could hear Naomi Misora's tiny feet skittering on the wood floor behind him, ignoring her insistent questions as to what he was doing. He threw the door to Light's room open and grabbed the brunette without a second thought, not about to let innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire.

"Where are they?" L asked in a bored tone, as though discussing the weather would be more interesting and relevant. He paused as the mouse gave him her reply: everywhere!

This might complicate things.

--

Light sat bolt upright in shock as his door slammed open. Next he knew he was being roughly dragged down the hall by his upper arm. Still drowsy from his half-sleep, he couldn't quite follow the conversation going on between Ryuuzaki and… something he assumed was invisible since he couldn't immediately locate the person attached to the voice.

"Why does she keep calling you 'Leon,' Ryuuzaki…?" Light grouched tiredly, struggling to find something to focus on to reorient himself.

"Irrelevant information, Light-kun." Ryuuzaki informed him.

"Who the hell are 'they'?" Light tried again, now relatively back to normal and struggling to pull his arm out of the other man's vice-like grip.

"I'll explain later." Light had to be content with that as L booked it down the stairwell. The teenager had no doubt that, had he been alone, the Neko would have simply vaulted the railing at the top and jumped to the first floor. Light winced as his ankle sent shooting pains up his leg.

"Hurry…" came the insistent urging from the unknown female voice. "Come on!" Light found himself picking up the pace as that voice continued to harass them. He had no idea what was going on, but it couldn't be good and he had no mind to stick around to find out first hand.

Light recoiled as Ryuuzaki wrenched him around and headed for the door that Light had originally thought led to the kitchen. A loud rumble and crash shook the house just as L got them through the doorway, almost causing the pair to lose their footing. Light lost his balance completely and was stuck being forcibly held up by the Nekomimi's bruising grip. The princess barely got a glimpse of the room before L grabbed a fire lamp off the side of the wall and smashed it on the lone desk in the room scattered with various papers. The fire quickly engulfed the desk due to the oil in the lamp and began to slowly spread to the floor and the rest of the area.

"What are you d—?" Light grimaced as Ryuuzaki quickly made his way to the fireplace near at hand and kicked in a panel of wall which turned out to be a disguised escape route. By then Light could hear a familiar snarling and howling from upstairs. His face noticeably paled as realization dawned. He did not question the man further as the feline pushed him through the opening and sealed the portal behind them.

The three sat panting in the dark of the constricted space. L allowed twenty seconds for the trio to catch their breaths before grabbing onto Light again and guiding him down the pitch black passageway. He and Naomi could see perfectly fine in the dark, but he doubted the human would be able to see his own hand in front of his face. His suspicions were confirmed when Light repeatedly stumbled over nothing as they went.

The group slowly began to relax when no sounds of pursuit were evident, though L still kept his ears strained. Just because they couldn't hear anything, didn't mean they were not being followed. The tunnel began to slowly narrow and become more cramped as they neared the end: to the point wear they had to crawl single-file in order to continue.

Light cringed inwardly as a spider web hitched itself in his hair as they went. He didn't even want to think about all the bugs that could be skittering up his pant legs as he crawled through the narrow burrow… or the fact that pervert-san was getting an eyeful behind him as he followed an invisible person in the pitch dark to some unknown destination. Nope. He wouldn't be thinking about any of that for a while.

He paused as Ryuuzaki tugged on his ankle to get his attention. Light's heart was still pounding as he craned his head back in an attempt to see the neko; he was having a very hard time keeping himself from panicking in the tight space when he couldn't see anything. A large pair of eyes gleamed in the dark: night vision, most probably.

"What?" Light hissed quietly when the Neko said nothing. The luminescent orbs blinked.

"Remain still." Light gritted his teeth, but did as he was told. He didn't like the thought of having the feral thing pounce on him and physically enforce his command in the enclosed space. They crouched in relative silence, the minutes ticking by. Light sighed impatiently and shifted to ease the ache in one leg. It felt like forever before a skittering up ahead heralded that the wait was over. Light squeaked and jumped back when he felt a spray of dirt in his face, unable to see that it was just Naomi coming to a stop before him.

"It's not going to be easy," she informed the unlikely pair, "there is only one person immediately within the area of the exit, but he could easily alert others." She explained breathlessly. L nodded in acceptance, while Light continued to look bewildered.

"Light-kun," Ryuuzaki murmured to get the teen's attention, "we're going to switch positions now." Light nodded and paused. How were they supposed to manage that? "Lay on your stomach." The princess sighed and did as asked; he was already covered in dirt and this was not the time to pick fights. Light tensed as he felt the slight brush of limbs against the fabric at his sides as Ryuuzaki gingerly picked his way over the prone teenager. Light thumped his head on the ground with a scoff. It felt so weird sensing a distinct presence above him, but unable to see it in the darkness. It was a little creepy, to be honest.

"Gah!" L's eyes bugged as Light cried out and suddenly shot up, squishing him against the ceiling. The Nekomimi froze, uncertain how to proceed with the squirmy, panicky teenager beneath him.

"What happened, Light-kun?" L demanded urgently, quietly. The princess paused at the sound of his name as though brought to his senses, causing the Neko to cringe inwardly as the slight vibrations from Light's chuckle irked L's oversensitive nerves.

"Sorry," He didn't have to see Light's expression to know he was embarrassed. "Something was on my face… I think it was a beetle… or a centipede."

"… Ah." L said, unable to think of a better acknowledgement at the time. He grimaced as the teenager shifted uncertainly. "It would be best if Light-kun were to lower himself now." Any other day he would have shoved the boy's face into the dirt without a second thought, but they had to remain quiet and that would not be accomplished if he goaded the princess. Not to mention, more physical contact would be inevitable if a fight ensued in the enclosed space and L had had more than enough to last him for the next thousand years. Which was illogical, because it was impossible for him to actually live that long… He dispelled the pointless thought in an instant when it became possible for him to move freely once again. Light heard shuffling first above and then in front of him as Ryuuzaki continued forward.

"Let's go," Light nodded and rose back to hands and knees. He was seriously tempted to kick the feline every time he dropped an order as though expecting to be obeyed without question – which he was, but Light wasn't quite prepared to acknowledge that at the moment.

"It's just a little further," Naomi assured them, though L certainly did not need the reassurance. The Neko was more preoccupied with dispelling the memory of having the human pressed against him. He shuddered, glad that the dark masked it from the teenager following him. His whole front and limbs still tingled from the contact, like a million little spiders crawling under his clothing. L shook the distractions away as Naomi told him that they were at the end. He tilted his head up to eye the tiny opening, ears perking to pick up any stray sounds.

Light slumped into a sitting position as they stopped a second time, scowling miserably when he still had to bend his neck and upper back to avoid burying the top of his head in the muddy ceiling. He craned his neck forward when near inaudible whispers drifted to his ears from the two beings in front of him, and jumped when a small, warm fur ball latched onto his shoulder.

"Shh," It was Naomi. Light felt tiny forepaws brace themselves on his cheek as the fuzz-ball straightened to whisper in his ear. "Leon's going to take care of the sentries – you stay here." Light glanced forward to see those glittering eyes staring at him in the dark; which was still creepy. The princess nodded his understanding and settled down to wait, but why the hell did Naomi keep calling him Leon? Light mentally shrugged and added that to the long list of questions he intended to bombard the man with when this was over.

Light choked down a yelp as dirt suddenly sprayed him. Moonlight filtered in through the sudden gaping hole in the tunnel, nearly blinding when compared with the stifling darkness of the narrow burrow. L was nowhere to be seen. Light felt a moment of panic, almost certain that the Neko must be in the middle of being mauled by rabid creatures. He vaguely heard the sounds of a silent struggle above ground and had to suppress the urge to move forward and poke his head up to see what was going on – which he managed for an entire ten seconds.

"Boy," Naomi hissed quietly, "I told you to stay put!" Light shrugged as he peered above ground in time to see L hit someone over the back of the head, obviously deciding that it was taking too long for the lookout to suffocate into unconsciousness. Light waited a few seconds longer, but decided it was safe to surface when Ryuuzaki simply stood in his usual hunched manner and stared at the sentry. Bored eyes turned to regard the dirt-covered brunette as Light pulled himself out of the hole.

"So," Light approached casually, attempting to brush himself off (and failing miserably), "what next?" Ryuuzaki scanned the area curiously for a few moments before seeming to pick a direction at random and going that way. Light rolled his eyes and trailed after, unaware that had he been paying attention he would have noticed two of three things. First, that the creature L had taken care of was not entirely human. Second, the silent observer lurking not three meters away in the underbrush to their left.

The third thing even L could not know.

Author's Note: Yay! Long chapter! I don't like the choppiness in the middle section, but I'm at a loss as to how to fix it, so I just left it as is. ;

Alright, you have to listen to "One Week" by The Bare Naked Ladies. It suits this story like you wouldn't believe. XD It's sort of L and Light's unofficial theme that inspires me to write about them in here. 3 No, sadly I don't own that song either or any that I may list in this fic. Btw, I am highly aware that L might seem a little OOC with the fact that he's a little more… ruthless (not sure if that's the word I'm looking for, but oh well) but there is a very good reason for that. My reasoning is that he probably would be if he had to take matters into his own hands on a regular basis rather than wait for some agent to handle the situation. Besides, there's some back story and whatnot (hey, different story, different circumstances) that you don't know yet, so yeah…

Give me some feed back here: is this taking a good direction, or am I being too loose with the character translation? Oh, one very important question: Smut or no smut? It won't be happening for a while if I do (just because I like to thoroughly develop characters and their relationships before throwing in something intense like that), but I figure I'd better start asking now if I hope to get enough opinions to help decide. I will also have to take into account the story tone and everything, so I'll have to know early so it doesn't seem out of place.