A.N: Thanks to all of those who reviewed! If you haven't read my profile, I started college recently. That means updates will be slower. I had a lot of free time today, though, and wrote this up just for you! :D I'm not giving up on this story, so don't let gaps between updates fool you. Just that education comes first. This one is a bit short because of my limited time, but I figured it was better to have a shorter chapter than no chapter...

Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note... would I be rich? I would definitely change the ending XD Guess it doesn't matter, since I don't own it.

Ch 8

Light had always thought torturing people was wrong. He hadn't even wished it on his greatest enemy. Death, he had wished. But it was only going to be a heart attack, followed by Light's own smug satisfaction. It was going to be relatively quick and painless.

Unfortunately for L, Light had decided L no longer counted as human.

Such was why Light was standing before the chair-bound L in the hallway outside the closet. It was deemed stupid to have L in the room with the front door, or even the kitchen which was equally close. So they settled on the hallway.

As for L, he stared up at Light with hazy eyes, grey nearly swallowed up by his big-as-ever pupils. Indeed, black was a better term for those eyes. Black, depthless pits, holding the cruelty and sinfulness to torment a god.

Light felt his lips pull into a grimace, despite his best efforts. "How are you feeling?" At least his voice didn't betray him.

"...does it matter?" The first words the detective had spoke to Light. Really, Light had expected taunting and witty comments. But, then again, L's situation was pretty bad...

"Of course it matters," said Light, interested to find that his words made L shudder. "I brought you something to eat."

L looked up, equal parts hopeful and detached. "Cyanide?"

"Close." Light revealed the salad he had been hiding behind his back. L's shoulders seemed to droop even further. If L's hands weren't bound to the arms of the chair, he would probably be chewing holes through his thumb.

He stabbed some salad with his fork, pressing it to L's lips. The ex-detective shook his head, nearly dislodging it from his neck with his frantic movements. "Do you know what will happen if you refuse to eat?"

L paused in his frantic movement, staring up at Light with wide eyes. Whatever crossed his mind must have been pretty horrendous, because he opened his mouth. Really, all Light had been planning on doing was plugging L's nose, as had been done to Light.

Face contorted in clear painful disgust, L swallowed the bite. "Can I have water?"

Light laughed at that. "Would you have given me water?"

L seemed to shrink at that, the point clear. Light wasn't forcing him into some kind of pet, punishing him for misbehaving and rewarding him for good behavior. Light was merely forcing L through the same things Light had been through. Whatever L had been cruel enough to do, he would have done unto him.

That's right, L, thought Light. I'm going to make you wish you had shown me any kindness.

It was a stupid plan. Matsuda knew that. However, sitting around and planning ways to catch Kira when you're probably under his control was also a stupid plan. He just hoped what he was doing wasn't because he was controlled...

He brushed his fingers over the Death Note, fearfully. Mogi and Soichiro were discussing their nonexistent options, and had ordered Matsuda out of the room when he had said one too many 'pointless' things. For the first time in his life, he had purposefully gotten himself kicked out. All he had to do was take it... He picked it up.

Beeping immediately filled the air. Matsuda dropped it back into the topless glass box it resided in, freezing as Soichiro, Mogi, and Watari all ran in. "I... I just wanted to look at it!"

Eyes were rolled, his lie too-easily bought.

Maybe he needed a smarter plan...

Mikami was working on another case when the doorbell rang. He frowned, going over all the people it could be.

No one.

He easily located Misa in the kitchen. "Can you look through the peephole and find out their name for me?"

She swallowed a large bite of banana. "Sure." She glanced out, only to gasp. "Matsu-chan!"

"What?" asked Mikami, frowning. She turned so she was facing him, contact-less brown eyes wide with worry. "Touta Matsuda. He's a part of the task force! How'd he find us?"

"That doesn't matter. Go write his name in the Death Note. And make the cause something quick, but that leads him away from here."

"No, he's stupid."

Misa and Mikami both looked over with surprise as Light walked into the room. He still didn't look 100 percent, dark rings under his eyes giving away his restless nights. Mikami was sure nightmares were the cause.

"Mikami, just answer the door and talk to him. If he seems threatening, then we'll kill him. If we can leave him alive and make you seem unsuspicious, it'll only be a benefit for us. But Misa needs to go hide somewhere."

"Yes, Kami," Mikami agreed, as Misa joined Light behind the wall, close enough to hear and far enough to not be seen.

Mikami opened the door, the incessant doorbell ringing finally coming to a stop. Doe-brown eyes looked at Mikami, and the lawyer decided Light was right. This man truly was an idiot. "Yes?"

"Um... well, I..." Matsuda opened and closed his mouth for a second, before seeming to gather his thoughts. "I want to join you!"

Mikami raised a brow at the man. It was highly unlikely he was asking to join Kira. And if he was, it was probably with the intention to be a double agent for the task force. Did the other taskforce members send him, not caring if he died?

That would mean the main group knew about them, though. The best plan of action was to figure out whether Matsuda was alone, or if this truly was a group plan. "Join me in what?"

The man looked left, then right. In a conspiring tone, he whispered quite loudly, "In supporting Kira!"

Mikami glared at the man. One of his neighbors was paused with their hand on the handle of their apartment, listening in. It would be better to pretend he had no clue what the man was talking about, but then he would likely spew off more unnecessary words. He had no real choice. "Come in."

Matsuda looked surprised, slowly stepping into the apartment. "Uh, thanks. So is... is Light ok?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mikami said. Maybe the man was a big enough idiot to think what Mikami had just done wasn't because he actually was in connection with Light. Everyone knew he was a Kira supporter, so it didn't really matter if his neighbors heard that (though he had dropped his media appearances to practically nothing when it came to Kira supporting recently).

"But then..." Matsuda blushed, only to shake his head. Determination clearly regained, he said, "I found a tape. L was torturing Light. And worse than he already had been. Abusing Light. And..." The man now seemed close to tears. He wiped his eyes roughly. "I couldn't see why the justice system is better than Kira if that's what they do to criminals. So I want to help Light. I don't really want to worship Kira, but I agree with what he's doing and want to help."

Mikami stared hard at the man, believing every word. "How did you find me?"

"At the end of the tape, it showed you entering the room. You knocked L out and took him and Light away."

"Who else has seen this video?"

"No one!" Matsuda pledged. "I was the one who found it. I have it at my house."

It would be really helpful to have someone from the taskforce on their side. And while the man clearly wasn't a genius, he had been able to find Mikami from a glimpse of him in a video. That had to take a lot of time on the internet. So at the very least Matsuda had persistence and dedication, if not intelligence. Those were useful qualities.

What would Kami want Mikami to do?

"It'll be suspicious if you visit here too many times, but I'll need you to bring the tape to me so I can destroy it. When you return with it, we'll discuss further interaction."

That would give Mikami time to learn what Light wanted to do with the situation, while keeping Matsuda from being a problem.

For his part, Matsuda was very pleased. "Of course! When should I bring it? In an hour? Three hours?"

"Tomorrow, at... 6 p.m. Will that work?"

"Oh, yeah. That's fine."

Light glanced down the hall at the chair-bound and gagged L, grinning widely. "Did you hear all of that?"

A.N: So, whatcha think? :P