Disclaimer: My name is King, I listen to Britney Spears because she's awesome and I do not own Death Note.
Devil's Trill
I: The Problem of Evil
CH5
Protégé Moi
Light barely registered the first ten hours of Wednesday.
At one in the morning, L showed up at Light's house again and while Light would rather not recall the thankfully mild details of the encounter, the man did leave a peculiar second business card with a name 'Lind L. Tailor' scribbled carelessly at the back.
Around seven AM, Light was summoned to the headquarters where he met his father, the team, a cranky Ryuzaki and crime pictures of L's newest victim Lind L. Tailor. The only crime the man seemed to be guilty of was having too many L's in his name thus displeasing the real one.
…Quite literally, as L left a note at the back of Tailor's L-card proclaiming that he didn't like Tailor's name.
At eight, the L Investigation Team acquired a warrant for Yotsuba's financial records as well as records of its top eight (now seven) executives.
After that, Light really wasn't sure what happened.
"To pull off something like that, it totally had to be pre-meditated for weeks," Matsuda was saying at around ten in the morning, "I mean, the fake wall was there for a few weeks, and the Yotsuba-L seems a little too professional. If you ask me, to hire that kind of guy you'd need to be waaaay at the top of Yotsuba, to have the money for that kinda hitman, I mean..."
The front door of the headquarters burst open and the first thing Light thought was that somebody was really coffee-deprived because they started yelling.
And then something like a tire suddenly blew up somewhere within the room, and then another one, and Light really wasn't sure what was going on or how ten car tires got into the investigation quarters, or how the twenty tires with accompanying explosions that followed could fit into the quarters at all...
So Light just stood dumbly in the middle of the room, clueless and stunned.
And then Ryuzaki jumped him, and Light thought the bastard finally showed his true colors as L, and since the room was filled with loud BANG BANG BANG Light felt quite disoriented, but since Ryuzaki attacked him and was obviously going to beat him for whatever reason after he tackled Light to the ground, Light grabbed the nearest pen and stubbed Ryuzaki in the leg...
...But Ryuzaki, whatever the fuck was on his mind, or however the fuck Ryuzaki's mind could still function with all that damn noise, he wouldn't bulge and Light was pinned to the ground and shoved under the nearest desk, and all he could hear was BANG and BANG and Ryuzaki had to knock over stacks of papers to actually fit under the desk with Light and then some more BANG and all Light's thoughts seemed to run in a single stream of endless unprocessed information and it really confused him...
And then he saw Matsuda, running off somewhere with a gun, how silly was that man - running around with a loaded weapon like that, and then more screaming and noise and Ryuzaki pinning him down with his entire light body, and Light trying to break free and papers flying and then it was all over, and Light still hadn't figured out what happened.
Someone called out, someone yelled to call for an ambulance and someone called for survivors.
Which was really odd, and Light really would go check it out if it wasn't for the soft weight of Ryuzaki pinning him to the cluttered floor.
Why was he under a desk with Ryuzaki on top of him? Yes, they were fighting because Ryuzaki attacked him, but Light realized at some point he stopped fighting back and Ryuzaki in turn held back the offence.
Which was also odd. The man shifted a little and Light gained the ability to turn his head so he cocked it to the side towards the direction of the commotion where thankfully a frame of the desk greeted him. Somewhere far off he saw people on the ground.
And then some blood.
He turned to Ryuzaki again and peered at the man's wounded thigh: mentally applauding to himself for a good stab that bled quite nicely (that L-bastard Ryuzaki, jumping him like that), Light turned to the side again...
But blood on Ryuzaki's thigh and blood over there and the people on the ground really, really didn't fit together...
What the hell...
Earlier that day...
Light did go to school on Tuesday, if only to warn his professors and file an official form that he will be taking the rest of the term off for the obviously phony reason of 'vacation'.
Though he wasn't really sure what he'll be doing for the course of the next three or so university-free months, Light had the general idea: he will be brooding, sulking and walking around with sharp kitchen utensils out of pure paranoia whilst attending various therapy seminars.
He will make peace to his father, but tenaciously won't move in because whatever L had on his mind, it surely did not include a housefull of people; putting little Sayu's neck on the line was unthinkable. If it wasn't for that, being with his family would've put him at ease the supposed therapy seminars never could.
He'll borrow some money (doing that was like so below Light Yagami up until that very day) and live off of that for a bit until he turned nineteen and could get a real job that did not involve nightshifts with drunken men, angry drivers and frequent robberies where the people were so insanely stupid, they sometimes forgot to take the money.
He will buy an arsenal of small stilettos and pepperspray if L's intent turned from sexual to murderous.
Yes. And he will refuse L if (when) the bastard comes again, for as long as he can, and that would be so long that L would hopefully die of blue balls by then.
Yes.
L wasn't stupid enough to show up two nights in a row, was he?
Light sure hoped not.
Right. I'll have to google where they sell pepperspray... tomorrow.
Yes, tomorrow.
Satisfied with his plan, Light hit the pillows like a sack of potatoes fell fast-asleep.
...
He was dreaming of apples, red and powdered rosy apples when he was aroused quite pleasantly from his sleep.
"Mmm..." he murmured to the sloppy and wet kisses planting themselves on his shoulder and neck, trying to roll over from his side to his belly.
It was unusually dark as Light batted his long lashes against the cold of an open palm, trying to blink the sleep away. "Huh..." he muttered, trying to sort things in his head when another round of sweet nipping trailed along his pulse and his scalp was pleasantly massaged.
What a wonderful thing to wake up to, Light thought as a lazy groan left his lips and he leaned further back into the touch.
He shivered as a small wind came over the freshly-deposited saliva on his jaw-line and L's free hand traced his spine right down to the lowest vertebra possible.
Oh yes, in spite of his disoriented state at the fine border of sleep and wake, Light had a clear idea of just who would do this to him at bloody one in the morning.
And damn it all to hell if he didn't like it, safely with his clothes on and everything.
"Hello L," Light purred at nothing in particular seeing as his uninvited guest was directly behind him and right out of his line of sight should the hand covering his eyes ever come loose.
"On familiar terms, are we?" L's lips pressed into his ear and the boy made a tiny squeak of approval; hating to disappoint, L tentatively dipped his tongue into the hollow forcing another tiny sound to flee from Light's own lips.
"Mmm..." he purred again, trying to roll over again only to be grabbed tightly across the waist.
"Mh, lemme turn...", Light's speech part of the brain wasn't fully awake yet, just as everything else.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," L whispered against his ear again, and as if to answer Light's questioning 'mh?', "I have no blindfold," he added simply.
"Oh."
But Light was fully alert now, suddenly yanked awake by the situation, though he added another 'mhhh' to keep up the appearances as he casually stretched out, one of his hands going up to where between the headboard and the mattress, he jammed his trusty weapon...
"If you are looking for that fish knife, I have removed it for your safety. It is not wise to sleep with a potentially harmful object in your bed."
Aw, damn it.
L kissed his cheek and settled his wandering hand on simply resting on Light's hip.
"I will have you, but I'm afraid not tonight."
"So what do you want now, L?"
"Truthfully? I am afraid I do not know. Nor do I know why I am here of why I've done what I've done."
Okay?
"...what did you do?"
"I started something foolish."
L took Light's hand and pressed a piece of hard paper into it.
"You already gave me a card," Light stated blankly.
"Ah, but this is not your card, Light; it's somebody else's; a piece of somebody else's."
Light felt his piece of paper and indeed, it was a piece of a business card. A half.
"Where's the other half?"
"You will find out later today, but that is beside the point. You are to figure out a mystery, Light."
"Why?"
"For a sense of accomplishment, I suppose. So that you will know when."
"When what?" But L was already up and leaving and Light knew better than to turn around and peek.
"When what?" he whispered to an empty room half an hour later when he finally dared to move.
Half of a business card, carelessly torn away from the rest of its body. Light read the back: Lind L. Tailor.
A name? A name of a victim, perhaps. After all, L's cards were left with dead people.
Light promptly dismissed the implication of receiving one himself.
That day, Light was wearing that beeping fucker of a wrist-watch – the same watch that betrayed him so just a few torturously-long days ago. Why Light wore it was beyond his understanding, but it was around the time his father hesitantly handed him L's-Raid-on Kanto-Casefile that the traitorous piece of technology beeped 7AM, Wednesday.
Ryuzaki stole some long fax paper from somewhere and was currently entertaining himself by drawing; saying Ryuzaki had no artistic talent whatsoever was an understatement though - whatever the odd man was viciously scribbling with a purple crayon, it most certainly looked mountainous and swirly.
After a few minutes of observing the man, Light figured Ryuzaki was trying to draw a straight line.
Wow. It must be hard to draw when you're hovering above your drawing with your knees up like that. The way Ryuzaki held his crayon didn't help his artistic talents either: the thing was pinched delicately between Ryuzaki's long and thin fingers (the gesture typical of him), implying that the crayon was radioactive or something.
The overall situation looked ridiculously stupid, and when Light tried to communicate this to Ryuzaki in a polite manner, he only got barked away by the irritable hermit.
Anyway.
"I have a hunch," Matsuda announced first after reading the reports twice. "It's kinda too early to tell, but it can be a pattern. Look at this: so murders occur with set days in-between them. Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday... Saturday-Sunday is 1, Sunday to Wednesday is 3. So 13?"
"What is L now, some sort of lame teenager obsessed with a stupid goth number?" Mogi wasn't the most patient man on the team.
But Matsuda had a point, a point Light noticed a few minutes before while Matsuda was still studying the reports.
But the difference between days wasn't all that bothered Light.
"Don't know," Light said hesitantly, "Matsuda's right though. It's not just the days. Koi Pond Murder was on Saturday 3AM; shooting was on Sunday at 10AM. 3AM plus 10AM is 13."
"But what about Mr. Tailor than, Raito-san?" Light ignored Ryuzaki's grumpy it's-too-early-to-do-anything tone.
"Lind L. Tailor was today, Wednesday at midnight, as in, Wednesday 0AM. It was like... a confirmation that 13 was made already."
Matsuda was glowing, as Light's confidence in the idea grew.
"This makes 13 in days, and 13 in times... there are really two options to consider from this point. One, if we're lucky, L made his 13, he's happy he's done here and he goes away. Two, another murder will happen, and if the pattern stays true, it will be tomorrow, making it Saturday (1) Sunday (3) Wednesday (1) Thursday."
"Worth considering," Soichiro furrowed his brows in thought. "And time-wise it will be either at 13 o'clock, as in 1PM, or at any random time before that so he can kill again three days after that to complete his 13."
"Right dad. It's impossible to make 13 after 1PM, so it will have to be either at 13th hour of tomorrow or at any random time before that, say at 3AM again, and then 10AM three days later. Really though, since it was 3 and 10 instead of 1 and 3, he really wants us to add, so it can be anything, like 5AM, and 6AM three days later..."
"If the pattern is correct," Ryuzaki added lamely.
"Right. It does seem kind of... weak," Light insulted.
"And what's the point sending us a 13?"
"Don't know. A code maybe? 13? B?"
"B?"
"Seems a little far-fetched, but maybe. B."
The five grown officers and two adolescences started at a B Light just drew out of 1 and 3 with Ryuzaki's purple crayon.
"Odd."
"Yes."
"Is L sending a message of some sort?"
"He never did anything like this before."
"Maybe he wants to play?" Aizawa spat.
He wants to play alright. Don't you, Ryuzaki? You son of a bitch! You are playing with me personally, don't you; you want to see me figure it out again, don't you? Bastard.
Since the death of Lind L. Tailor, it was more than obvious to Light why L was doing it, and why 'Ryuzaki' kept up this whole masquerade.
At first it was to check if Light recognized him. When Light did, L was going to kill him at a first given opportunity. But before the opportunity arose, Light did something L wasn't expecting him to do: Light was smart and he (to his dumb luck) displayed his intelligence right in front of the bastard.
In the long run, it saved Light's life, but the boy wasn't entirely sure for how long his death was going to be delayed.
At this point, L was simply nosy, bored, interested in what Light would do next.
So he threw a puzzle at him this morning, something he was curious to see Light solve. For entertainment purposes, nothing less, and both he and Light knew Light won't be able to reject the challenge.
In the time-frame given for this 'game', Light was also to find evidence and convict Ryuzaki as L, otherwise he'll be dead.
Oh so very dead indeed.
Ryuzaki snatched back his crayon.
"Raito-san is saying that 13 is B?"
"Hmm..."
There was one other thing L wanted from Light, and as he made it clear that night, the bastard wasn't going to just take it.
Oh no, he wasn't.
Hell no. L obviously thought himself an icon, someone Light was just supposed to bend over for. Bend over and beg for more, willingly.
Light figured that to L, having to take sex forcefully would be insulting. Anything less than having Light spread out in front of him like a cheap whore would offend L; no, L would drive Light into willing submission.
That would be when L would finally, truly win his own little game.
This meant that the event of a day ago, and then the event of only few hours ago were going to repeat themselves, again, again, and again.
And if Light still refused, it was comforting to a degree that L won't force into him, though without a doubt he would still touch...
"Yes, I see... B... Indeed, however Raito-san, what does B have to do with L? If L is sending us a message, however childish that may be, it should spell L, not B; B seems ratherwrong, maybe we got the 13 backwards..." Ryuzaki trailed off, wistfully looking up at the popcorn ceiling.
If Ryuzaki was expecting Light to spontaneously come up with something else, he might as well get a book.
Light came up blank.
It was highly publicized on TV that the next day (Thursday, proving Light and Matsuda's theory correct), at 7AM sharp L has committed his fifth (fourth) murder in Kanto region of Japan.
It was also highly publicized that half of all surviving officers of yesterday's attack on the NPA headquarters resigned from the L case and went back to their respectful generaldetectively duties.
The names and photographs of the five remaining on the case detectives were also made a little too public for their comfort.
"I have a wife and two little girls," Aizawa deadpanned, muting the blabbing Demegawa from Sakura TV. "And Chief has a wife and two children, one still in primary school."
"It's okay, Shuichi," Matsuda called the troubled man by his first name, "you did the right thing, we're proud of you."
"Not a very wise decision since the attack was obviously a warning from Yotsuba. Many of your fellow men that quit had no family; I feel Aizawa-san and Yagami-san are both putting themselves as well as their loved ones under unnecessary risk."
"Ryuzaki-san, you're not helping," Light smiled at Ryuzaki icily and the awkward injured man cowered away from Light and his grand writing utensil-stabbing skills.
"I am merely making it clear that everyone remaining on this investigation team has made themselves as well as their families Yotsuba's potential targets."
"We are L investigation team, for crying out loud! It's dangerous enough as it is, and really we shouldn't be the ones investigating Yotsuba at the same time! In any way, I want my son off this team, Ryuzaki-san. Immediately."
"This is the eighth time Yagami-san made such demand today."
"It's okay dad, I want to stay..."
"...as we are short on men and Raito-san has proven to be a huge help..."
"...and convict that as L."
"...Raito-san is relieved of his duties," Ryuzaki scowled at Light's accusing finger pointed at his own person and rubbed the spot on his jeans where the stab-wound would be hiding under the faded blue fabric.
"No way."
"Would the two of you shut up?" growled Aizawa.
It was quite sad, really. Both Aizawa and Light's father had identical expressions on their faces: one of despair and worry. If Yotsuba wanted to scare the officers off its trail, is sure did a damn good job so far.
And if it couldn't get to the officers themselves, it would go after their families.
Light loved his mom and little sister. Though Sayu was only eight, he was sure the hitman hired by Yotsuba won't be defeated by the adorableness of the little girl alone.
He himself was unsettled, probably as much as his father even.
Ryuzaki sighed.
"I have a solution," he declared almost lazily.
The Chief inspector looked up and Light immediately didn't like the look Ryuzaki had on his face.
"More like, you have a proposition, Ryuzaki-san?"
"Could be that, yes. Proposition it is than. See, I am very good at hiding my own person out of harm's way. I am sure I could provide the same for your respective families until Yotsuba business is sorted out, given you yourselves stay on the team, gentlemen."
"You could hide them safely."
"That I could."
This was a deal, even Matsuda seemed to understand. Ryuzaki Rue was a shrewd businessman after all, and even if the man in front of them wasn't Ryuzaki Rue, he still had to keep up the appearances.
Meaning, he wanted a trade.
"And in return, you want...?"
Ryuzaki's face contorted into a dry and humorless up-twitch of lips; in no way did it resemble a smile and overall was quite unpleasant.
"A few things, really. I have promised you new Investigation Headquarters already, but that is weeks away from completion. You shall receive that however you may not use it in L investigation."
...so what do you want again?
"Instead, the investigation is to be moved to my own personal quarters; more then suitable to be temporary headquarters, I assure you. Relatively of course, that means I want to be included on every aspect of your investigation."
A very comfortable place for you to be, I'm sure...
Light didn't like his family under L's protection, but he was sure it would be better then none. After all, even if he screamed wolf again, nobody would listen to him.
He supposed it would have to do.
"In addition to the L case," Ryuzaki continued, "I want you to investigate Yotsuba in a parallel fashion. I feel that Yotsuba has personally threatened my well-being and therefore must be dealt with appropriately. That means the Yotsuba-L and whoever employed him."
"Letting you on L team...Ryuzaki-san, even if you do get all the appropriate legal clearances, I don't think... and besides, both cases are too high-profile for a small team to handle-"
"I have not finished, Mogi-san. Aside from good intent, I believe every officer in this room should receive something – although three of you are not married, I am sure you have immediate relatives who may also be targeted by Yotsuba. They shall be taken care of also, all expenses including work-absences paid for."
"Of course I understand that L parallel to Yotsuba is quite heavy; the investigation of Yotsuba will be paid for as a private-detective job. Paid heavily, might I add."
It was obvious everyone was going to agree; though Light had a feeling Ryuzaki was going to throw in a little wrinkle, he also had a good idea what that might be.
"One last thing. Yagami Raito-san stays and helps with the investigation."
Ah, and there it was.
"What!"
"I will not have my son exposed to this! Raito goes with his mother and sister!"
"Raito will go nowhere if his mother and sister go nowhere."
Ryuzaki was not a pleasant person to deal with.
"Dad, it's really okay, I want to stay and help-"
"You are not staying; I am not putting you into anymore danger-"
"He will be a lot safer on the team then by himself."
"Unless Yotsuba decides to send a shooter with a semi-automatic to us again! A shooter, mind you, so good that we never caught him even though he walked right into police headquarters and right out!
"Yagami-san, think about your fellow detectives and their families before you make a rush decision."
"Chief's right! It's totally unfair to Raito-kun to make him stay!"
"Matsuda, I want to stay-"
"Come on, Ryuzaki-san. Think rationally, why do you want the kid here in the first place? He's smart, we'll give him that, but he's a child."
"Mogi, I-"
As if the commotion was nonexistent, Ryuzaki limped his way into the most comfortable-looking furthest chair in the room, drew his knees up to his chest and coiled himself into a little ball. Guiltily keeping only his large round eyes above his knees, he comically muttered something and everyone had to go quiet to understand him.
"What was that?"
"Raito-san is a lot more interesting and pleasant to look at than five boring old farts..." came a guilty muffled reply.
Gauche silence filled the room as six pairs of outraged eyes fixed themselves on the black-haired thing-like person. Pathetically, Ryuzaki completely hid his face in his knees and covered his head with his long spidery arms.
"My son is SO not staying for this investigation!"
"Dad!"
"So... uh, you just happen to have an over-equipped skyscraper in the middle of Tokyo at your disposal?"
It was really no wonder that shortly after the "Raito-san stays"-"no he's not" tag-o-war, the investigation team was relocating the surviving L-evidence into a forty-story building Ryuzaki labeled his 'personal quarters' where no one other than a cleaning crew seemed to live.
Of course, 'surviving evidence' was still boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes of papers and computers and other crap for which Ryuzaki could really humor the team with professional movers and carts.
And of course the bastard didn't. Instead, five poor 'old farts' also known as honorable officers of law were struggling up and down elevators, and were too busy being overall entertained by the eight floors with top-notch equipment of dedicated headquarters.
And yes, of course Light wasn't on any of those eight floors.
Instead of keeping to the allowed areas of the building he snuck a few floors higher to what Ryuzaki told them were strictly-restricted areas.
...of course he got caught.
And damn if it wasn't awkward.
Ryuzaki's thin and slouched person stood lonely in a doorframe though which Light tiptoed a split second ago. Darn, he was sure there was nobody there when he came through... nevertheless, caught in Ryuzaki's piercing stare, Light felt almost physically frozen in the spot.
A moment later his deer caught in headlights expression changed to 'well hallo there, can I help you!' casual look and he sure as hell hoped Ryuzaki didn't catch his momentary uncertainty. Though still quite intimidated by the stare, he tried to appear sporty and chillin'.
It's all good, eh?
"Uh, Ryuzaki-san?" he tried in his friendliest tones.
"I have made it clear that these floors are off-limits to the investigation team, why is Raito-san wandering the floors that are off-limits to the investigation team?" said Ryuzaki, unamused.
"I got lost," Light stated very seriously.
"Try again."
"I... uh, was looking for the bathroom?"
This was entirely stupid, and for whatever reason, Light felt comfortable doing it; besides, whatever eased that wicked stare Ryuzaki was sending him, right?
"No."
"No?"
"Alright, you got me. Paperwork ran away and I went looking for it."
It was awkward, really; as far as being in closed quarters and alone with Ryuzaki went, this was a first. L, sneaking into his house at night was a different experience entirely. L was there and Light could do nothing about it. L wouldn't allow Light to see his face or give any indicators that he was in fact, Ryuzaki Rue.
Though Light knew the contrary, L on the other hand preferred to regard himself and Ryuzaki Rue as two different entities.
That meant he could not confront Ryuzaki for his indecent acts upon him, and it was awkward; Ryuzaki would act like he had nothing to do with it, and it a sense, it would be just liketelling.
And then there was the disgusting fact that he was, in fact, standing in front of the man who forced indecent acts upon him.
It was a horrible feeling, it was.
And as ridiculous as it seemed, Light was a lot more comfortable with the character of Ryuzaki Rue than the character of L. Because he could see Ryuzaki, and to the world, Ryuzaki was just another face in the crowd. He had a face. He had rules restraining him. He was real, as real as a person with a face could be.
Damn you for confusing the fuck out of me you two-faced bastard...
Emotionally confusing the fuck out of him, that is.
"Oh? Does this paperwork you are sneaking around my personal quarters to find look like a bloody axe or a smoking gun? Really Raito-san." Ryuzaki gave him a bored glare at which Light just smiled cheerfully.
"No-no, we ran out of business cards downstairs so I was wondering if I could borrow some of yours."
"How ill-humored."
"Indeed."
Finding nothing else to say, Light tried leaving by heading straight for the exit.
Ryuzaki, of course, didn't take the hint.
"Ryuzaki-san, I've done wrong by sneaking around and I'd like to rejoin the investigation team now," said Light, sending the best possible clue.
But Ryuzaki just stood there like a roadblock.
"Ryuzaki-san, please move so I can rejoin the investigation team."
"...would Raito-san like some tea?"
"No thank you, Ryuzaki-san. I would however, like to rejoin the investigation team.
"Tea it is, then."
Ryuzaki left the doorframe and headed further into the depths of the floor, disappearing behind some corner, leaving Light to dully stare at his dust.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Light merrily decided to ditch the bastard and went for the elevators.
"Partial reason these floors are off-limits," called Ryuzaki from somewhere not far, "is because they require a pass-key to exit."
...
Light glared angrily at the dial pad by the elevator.
Damn you.
"And would you happen to know what the pass-key is, Ryuzaki-san?" quipped Light in one of the friendly tones from his vast selection.
"I happen to know the pass-key, yes."
And you're not gonna tell me are you?
Light sighed in frustration.
Tea it is, then.
He found Ryuzaki perched up in his usual position in what appeared to be a bastard-child of a kitchen and an office, complete with couches, coffee-table and for some reason, two fridges.
The tea kettle stood on a countertop, undisturbed.
"I thought we were going to have tea, Ryuzaki-san," Light tried.
"We are."
Oh my god, Ryuzaki was expecting him to make it.
What the hell kind of host-skills are those?
With a calm smile but fuming inside, Light turned on the kettle and tried looking for some cups and tea, his first logical choice being to open one of the cabinets...
...Oh dear God. Candy. Bags and bags of candy, soft candy, hard candy, liquorish, gummy bears, juicy drops, caramels, minties, Hershies... lollipops, cookies and jellybeans, dozens of bags were tightly packed into the cabinet, all different colors and shapes, all sugary and cavity-inducing...
Light showed a sack of marshmallows out of his way, grabbed a box of tea from the pits of the diabetes heaven and slammed the cabinet-door shut, thinking of the nightmares he'd be having for weeks to come.
Earl Gray.
Will do.
That was just one flipping cabinet.
One.
He'd hate the thought of what lay waiting for him in the rest of those cabinets should he be unsatisfied with his selection of tea.
Unwilling to take any risks, he politely asked Ryuzaki where he kept the cups, and encountering only a dozen or so cans of chocolate-covered almonds, he chose two large mugs over a large selection of expensive-looking china.
"Would Raito-san like some cake?"
Cake? Cake?! All that sugary garbage wasn't enough?
"No thank you," Light turned to face the wall as Ryuzaki opened up a fridge, too afraid of what he might see should he peek.
The man came back to the table with a hearty slice of lemon torte by the time the tea was done.
"Here you go."
"Thank you."
Light sipped his tea and Ryuzaki ate his dessert, in silence. Light even made to comment when the black-haired hermit shoveled something like nine spoons of sugar into his own tea.
It was so damn awkward.
Ryuzaki broke first.
"So, I hear this isn't Raito-san's first time assisting police with a case."
"No, it's not, but it was never something on... this scale."
"..."
"..."
Light sipped his tea quietly, thinking of how the antisocial freak really, really sucked at smalltalk.
."Ryuzaki-san?"
"Yes, Raito-san?"
"Please get to the point."
Surely there had to be one; he wouldn't be locked up on a random floor alone with the bastard if there wasn't one.
Right?
"Raito-san has stabbed me with a pen."
This again? Please.
"I apologized for that a dozen times already; I really thought you were trying to attack me," he said lazily.
"Raito-san is rather ungrateful," Ryuzaki pouted over the cake.
"Is this about the shooting again? I thanked you for that already, many times. My dad thanked you many times. Thank you Ryuzaki-san for saving my life yesterday, again."
"Ungrateful indeed. Raito-san fears guns, I assume?"
"Fear guns... everyone fears guns Ryuzaki-san, you know, they kill people?"
"Raito-san is afraid to die than?"
"Well, sure. Everyone's afraid to die."
Don't provoke him Raito.
"Not all people, they rather don't want to. But you particularly seem to fear guns."
"Well, alright I do. What of it?"
"Nothing, it's just a curious fact; good to know a mare presence of a gun would disorient Raito-san in such a manner."
For future reference?
In the presence of the team, being around L was alright. Knowing there is an escape somewhere was also good if you were pulling his leg.
It was entirely different when you were locked in in the L-lair with L himself, and no one knew where you were.
Don't diss the lions.
"I see."
"..."
Light sipped his tea and Ryuzaki slurped rudely at his sugary concoction.
Disgusting.
"So... you like candy?"
"And I assume Raito-san does not?"
"How do you know?"
"Raito-san didn't put any sugar into his tea."
"Oh."
"..."
"..."
"As nice as this is, Ryuzaki-san, I have to rejoin the team right after," Light tried dropping the hint again.
"Of course."
"...right. So... is this your house? I mean, do you live on this floor? I kinda thought you'd live in the Penthouse or something."
"Raito-san and I are in the Penthouse."
Huh?
"...no, I pressed 13th floor on the elevator."
"This building is run by a command computer and I have taken liberties to override any elevator command above floor eight to deliver the passenger straight up here."
What?! Light squeezed his cup so hard that any harder would crack the thick ceramic.
"You... were expecting someone?"
"I have known Raito-san would be unable to suppress his urge to sneak and eventually would try something unwise."
Light's eyebrow twitched.
"So what are you hiding on those floors, Ryuzaki?"
"Oh, just things," Ryuzaki waved off the irate brunette.
"Not dead bodies I hope?" Light hissed.
"Everyone has skeletons in their closets, Raito-san."
Instead of getting up and punching the dirty bastard square in the jaw, Light angrily sipped his tea and proceeded to glare across the table where Ryuzaki nibbled on his torte.
Grr, I hate you!
Finishing his tea, he slammed the cup down.
"Thank you, Ryuzaki-san. I would like to rejoin the team now, so would you please enter the pin-code so I can leave."
There, straight to the point, Try to dodge that one you slimy git!
"No."
"No?"
"No."
"And why I beg you not?"
"Because I do not wish for Raito-san to leave yet."
Light angrily popped one of Ryuzaki's jellybeans. There bastard, I'm eating your candy. One less for you, so HA!
Yes, Ryuzaki didn't like his candy being eaten without permission. He got up and made his way around the table.
"And why not, Ryuzaki-san?" Light deadpanned coolly around his jellybean, uninitiated.
"Because I rather like Raito-san."
Light choked on the stolen candy.
"Ryuzaki-san," he tried, "if you want friends, I suggest looking elsewhere seeing as I suspect you of being a serial killer and all."
"I do not like Raito-san as a friend," and Ryuzaki grabbed him by the shoulders and went straight for his lips.
Holy shit.
Light just stood there, clueless and stunned just like he stood in the middle of the shootout yesterday morning.
Ryuzaki was kissing him, straight on he lips and with his tongue and everything because Light left his mouth hanging slightly open in shock. Ryuzaki tasted sweet and his sly tongue whirled around his own and somewhere in the process, retrieved the stolen jellybean.
Holy shit.
The man slid his cold hands down his spine and drew him closer by the waist with one hand while the other shamelessly pulled up his shirt and went up his abdomen, slowly and lightly.
Light closed his eyes and the kiss shifted from his mouth to his jaw, leaving a wet trail of saliva and he just tilted his head back...
L... this was definitely L. The way he traced muscles of his chest with his sharp, icy fingers, the way he held his waist, the way he nibbled on his earlobe...
And he had no right to refuse L his ministrations because this was just like that time in his bedroom...
Oh, this was L, so truly and perfectly L...
"Hmm? Raito-san is eager and curious? Alright, but I was not expecting him to cooperate-"
Ryuzaki's deep voice ruined it all and Light's eyes snapped open as sharp awareness dawned on him. He could hear his voice.
If L considered himself and Ryuzaki Rue two different entities, then this was Ryuzaki doing this, not L.
Not L that slipped unnoticed into his room and did sinful things to him. L had a right to do those things to him because he was L and Light hardly had a choice.
This on the other hand, was Ryuzaki Rue, a bastard businessman in his fancy Penthouse.
L as Ryuzaki Rue had no right to touch him, he had no right to anything because he wasn't an illusive murderer, he was just a face in the crowd and he had a damn face, and there was no immediate veil of danger surrounding him and it was just so wrong because Ryuzaki was a man for Christ's sakes...
Unaware of Light's thoughts, Ryuzaki was merrily undoing Light's belt.
No way.
Light grabbed the nearest pen, stabbed Ryuzaki in his uninjured thigh and ran away.
Hastily entering 1-2-3-4-5 as the pin-code miraculously worked.