Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note. Spoilers for episode 25 and of L's real name. Some slight OOC but I'm trying my best to keep it true, but story will eventually turn into a AU.

Please read and review- it inspires me. Thank you to those who reviewed my last chapter, and to the ones that added me to your favs and alerts. I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!

"dialogue"

'thoughts'

- Everything to Save-

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Chapter 4

"A. a DATE?" Light gasped, as Ryuzaki blushed and looked at the floor. 'Why did Matsuda have to blurt that fact to the auburn-haired teen now' L thought in irritation, as he squirmed under Light's disbelieving stare.

"You have a date?" the teen repeated again, much to L's annoyance. The detective whipped his head up and glared at Light sharply.

"Is it that difficult for you to accept the fact that I have a date, Light-kun?" L asked quietly.

Light stared back at him, a small smirk on his face. "To be honest, Ryuzaki, It is hard to believe," the teen replied sarcastically. "I mean, look at you, you don't exactly look like a ladies man,"

That comment from Light earned a laugh from Matsuda, who immediately quieted as L turned and looked over at the task force member angrily. "I believe we are well-secured for the evening, Matsuda-san. You may go," the detective said, as he dismissed the younger man from his duty.

Matsuda blushed slightly; he had forgotten that Ryuzaki could be quite sensitive at times. He bowed, then said, "Yes, Ryuzaki-san, I'll see you tomorrow then," then nervously bowed again and turned towards the bedroom door. He paused to look back at Light. "Good night, Light-kun," he said, giving the teen a shy smile before closing the door behind him.

L immediately secured the many intricate locks on the bedroom door, then turned and padded over to the chair next to the bed. Light was right behind him, the chain leaving him no other choice but to follow L. The teen sat down on the bed, pulled back the sheets, and slid wordlessly into the bed.

L thought about reaching for his laptop but decided against it. He was tired tonight and without another thought reached over and turned off the bedside lamp.

He stared into the darkened room, trying to get his eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. He hoped that sleep would not elude him as it usually did, and he prayed that he wouldn't dream of the horrid nightmare that had evaded his slumber the last two weeks.

The detective brought his legs up and rested his hands and head on his knees. Briefly, he thought of tomorrow night. Was he taking too big of a risk by going on this so-called date? He knew that he had to go through with it, not only did he need to, he wanted to. This might be his last chance to ….

"Are you awake, Ryuzaki?" Light's voice broke through the silence and startled the detective from his thoughts.

L sighed. "Yes, Light-kun. What is it?" he asked.

L could feel a slight tug on the chain as Light shifted on the bed and reached to turn the lamp back on. The detective blinked against the sudden glow and turned in the teen's direction.

"Was that necessary, Light-kun? I am tired and I need to try to sleep in readiness for tomorrow night,'' L replied quietly.

Light glared at him, his eyes narrowing. "I find it unbelievable that you're going on a date when your only priority should be finding Kira!" the teen snapped at him, throwing up his hands for emphasis, and causing the detective to have to steady his body as the chain went taught and nearly pulled him off balance from his position in the chair.

L sighed inwardly. In his mind, Kira had been found; he wasthe teenager sleeping in the bed next to him, and Misa Amane was the second Kira. The detective was 97 percent sure that he was correct in his assumptions, but he still did not have definite proof. In addition, another unforeseen complication had developed…

"You sound rather…jealous, Light-kun," L replied, staring at Light with a hint of a smile, as he brought his hand up and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"I'm not going to respond to such an idiotic comment, Ryuzaki," Light said, before he rolled his eyes and quickly looked away. Why would he be jealous of the detective? He didn't care whom the man dated…why would he. There were other important things to do than care about what the older man did.

The detective noticed that Light seemed to be deep in thought and wondered what was going through the teen's mind. L wished he had the ability to read minds instead of always relying on his own deductions. If only he knew what was in Light's heart or if the teenager even possessed one...

Light suddenly looked back at L, his honey-colored eyes filled with confusion. "I only ask this because I'm curious, Ryuzaki. Who do you have a date with?" he implored.

"It is an old acquaintince of mine, someone I've known for years," L replied, determined to be vague as possible.

"Oh," Light said, shrugging dismissively, and turned to cut the bedside lamp off again. "Well, good night."

"Good night, Light-kun," Ryuzaki responded softly, as he brought his legs up and closed his eyes.

OOoooOOO

"Watari? Watari!," L yelled, as he watched in horror as his guardian gripped his chest in pain and crumpled to the ground, the screens of the monitor going blank as the detective realized that suddenly his whole world was collapsing down around him.

The detective was still trying to process that the man he loved like a father was probably dead, when he too felt a crushing pain to his chest and couldn't breathe. His hand twitched, causing the spoon he was holding to clatter to the floor as the detective fell sideways out of his chair.

Memories flooded through him, as he tried in vain to draw a breath. In his last few seconds he realized he was on the floor, Light was holding him and looking down at him in shock. L stared up at the teen, the red glow from the darkened computer room shone across the teen's face, making him look evil.

No!

'Not now, not yet…" the dying detective thought. He wasn't ready to die, he still had so much life left to live….

The sound of maniacal laughter assaulted L's fading senses. He fixed his dying gaze on Light, silently pleading for the teen to save him somehow.

"I WON, L Lawliet! It was fun while it lasted but now it's over. I will rule this world now and you can't stop me!" the teen shouted, his eyes glinting a deep red and a evil triumphant grin fixed on his once handsome face. Now the person once known as Light Yagami just looked demonic and insane.

"You are Kira. I knew you were but I hoped that maybe you could be redeemed..." the detective thought as he finally closed his eyes. "I was wrong and I've lost," was his final thought.

"Enjoy your stay in nothingness, L Lawliet." was the teen's last words to him, before …

OOOoooOOO

Light awoke with a start when he was pulled forcefully out of bed when the chain around his wrist went taught and knocked him to the floor. Ryuzaki lay in front of his chair thrashing around as if in agony.

Light rushed to the detective's side and began to shake him. "Wake up, Ryuzaki, wake up!" he said loudly, and then began brushing back the man's mop of ebony hair that was soaked with sweat.

Ryuzaki stilled and slowly opened his eyes. As he saw Light, he let out a whimper and quickly slid away from the teen.

"G...Get away from me, please get away," the detective whispered; his wide eyes were full of fear as he looked at Light. His skin was so pale that he looked like he was one of the living dead.

"Get a hold of yourself, Ryuzaki! It's me, Light, You've just had a nightmare, that's all," the teen said soothingly to him, as the man's breathing started to return to normal.

However, the teen had a feeling that the nightmare was about him due to the way the detective reacted to him. Light found he didn't like Ryuzaki looking at him as if he was some sort of monster.

Light watched as the Ryuzaki shakily pulled himself up and began to walk to the intercom system on the wall. Suddenly, Ryuzaki stumbled and Light rushed to catch the spooked detective.

"It's okay, I've got you Ryuzaki." Light said, as he held on tightly to the older man. He felt the detective shudder under his touch as helped the man regain his balance.

"What's wrong? Why are you acting like you're terrified of me?" Light asked, absently wondering when he began to worry about the detective. Why was he concerned about the man that only wanted to prove him guilty of being Kira and sentence him to death?

"If I'm correct in whom I think you are, you should know why," the detective answered coldly, as he pulled himself from Light's grasp, and walked to the intercom and pushed the button.

"Yes, Ryuzaki?" Matsuda sounded as though he had just woken up.

"I crave cake and would you please bring the key now, Matsuda-san," the detective ordered, as he and Light locked eyes during the exchange.

An audible sigh could be heard through the intercom. "Yes, Ryuzaki, I'll be there with your cake and the key shortly," Matsuda replied wearily.

Light walked over to the detective and gripped him by his bony shoulders. "I'm going to prove to you that I'm not who you think I am- that I'm not anybody you should fear. I'm Light Yagami, that's who I am- not Kira!' he insisted, his eyes blazing in anger.

"Let go of me, Light-kun," the detective warned. He could feel the ache in his jaw from where the teen had punched him last night in the shower. He was not going to let that happen again.

"Is that what you really want? Perhaps you would like this better," Light whispered, then quickly pushed the detective against the bedroom wall and crushed his lips to Ryuzaki's.

The detective broke off the kiss and wrenched himself away from Light as far as the chain would allow. "Please, Light-kun, don't do that again," Ryuzaki replied, his voice dangerously low.

"You did it to me, Ryuzaki. Surely, you remember that you groped me in the shower last night too. An eye for an eye, isn't that your motto?" Light smirked at the detective.

"Yes, that is my motto, and it seems I still owe you one," the detective said, as he gingerly felt the bruise on his jaw from where Light had punched him.

"Bring it on then!" Light taunted, as the detective stared at him. The tension in the room was becoming very high.

There was a sharp series of knocks on the door. Ryuzaki gave him one intense glance and then went to unlock the bedroom door, as Light sighed in relief- he was sure that the detective was about to kick him in the face to give him a similar bruise.

Matsuda stood there with a tray in his hands and nodded at the two-chained men. "Good morning," he replied in greeting, as he walked into the men's bedroom. "You have a busy day ahead, Ryuzaki-san," he replied, as the task force member looked over at Light and gave him his usual shy smile.

Light nodded at him. "Good morning to you, Matsuda-san," he replied, but the teen's thoughts were on Ryuzaki, who had taken the tray from Matsuda and set it aside.

"Please unlock me from Light-kun," the detective murmured, holding his wrist out to Matsuda, who immediately did so and let that end of the chain fall to the ground. 'Now unlock Light-kun so he can get dressed which should take no more than 3 minutes," Ryuzaki ordered to the men.

"I haven't had time to pick out my clothes yet!" Light complained, slicking his hair back with his unchained hand in a nervous gesture.

"Then I suggest you pick fast, as you only have 2 minutes and 47 seconds left to dress before I chain you back up wearing only your pajama bottoms," the detective said firmly, as Light swung open the closet door, grabbed an outfit from the hanger and rushed into the bathroom to dress.

Matsuda stared at Light, then over at the detective. "Did you two have a fight, is that why you really have that bruise? Maybe you should have a camera installed in here." he suggested.

"With all due respect, Matsuda-san, none of this is your concern. Please make sure Light-kun is dressed. He now has 1 minute and 29 seconds." The detective responded, as he went over to the intercom and summoned Mogi to the bedroom.

"What's going on, Ryuzaki?," Light asked as he came out of the bathroom, wearing black trousers, shoes and was hurriedly buttoning the red dress shirt he had chosen.

"You will be chained to Mogi for the remainder of the day. I have things I need to take care of concerning my date tonight, among other things." the detective replied cryptically, his eyes not meeting Light's.

After Mogi arrived and was informed that he would be chained to Light (which the large man wasn't happy about) and the two were secured, Ryuzaki took the key for safekeeping from Matsuda and then turned and left the room without a second glance, still wearing his blue cotton pajama's.

Light and Mogi looked at each other warily. "Now what?" the older task force member asked Matsuda.

"I don't know yet. Ryuzaki hasn't given us any instructions," the young man shrugged.

Light noticed the tray still held the cake that Ryuzaki had requested and realized that it remained untouched. The teen sighed worriedly.

Matsuda noticed the uneaten cake too. "The Kira case is really getting to him, isn't it Light-kun?"

Light shifted uncomfortably next to Mogi. He realized he'd much rather be standing by Ryuzaki. "I think a lot of things are bothering him, Matsuda-san," the teen responded, as he thought back to the horror that had crossed over the detective's face when Light woke him from his nightmare.

Why did a part of him relish the thought of Ryuzaki's terrified look, while another part hoped that the detective would never look at him like that again?

OOOoooOOO

L rested his head against Watari's shoulders. The elderly man gently patted the young detective on the head. "I'm worried about you, Watari. Please take all possible precautions. There is so much at stake here; perhaps I should cancel my date with ..."

Watari cut L off in mid-sentence. "They have waited a long time to see you and I know how you used to feel about them, so give yourself this small pleasure, Ryuzaki. You deserve a bit of happiness, don't you agree?' the man replied gently to the young genius detective he considered as his son.

"I suppose you're right, Watari. Thank you for cheering me up," L said, as he gently moved away from the old man, and turned to go.

"Ryuzaki?"

L turned back to his mentor. "Yes, Watari?"

"You've developed feelings for Yagami Light, haven't you?" Watari asked, shocking L with the question.

L said nothing, but blushed and looked at the floor.

"Please be careful. Something that looks beautiful on the outside doesn't mean that there isn't a monster lurking underneath." Watari warned.

"Can a ugly monster and a beautiful angel co-exist in the same person? Is that possible?" L whispered, his large eyes searching Watari's for the answer.

"What does your heart tell you, Ryuzaki?" the man replied.

"The percentage that they could is less than 2 percent, the monster would always destroy any good that the angel had," L said softly.

"Percentages are not always right, Ryuzaki. Once again, listen to what your heart says. You may be surprised, but it is for you to figure out," Watari concluded, as he turned his attention back to the surveillance cameras.

L padded out of the room towards his bedroom. Watarai had confused him- why would he warn him about Light one moment, then tell him to trust his heart?

Light was Kira. L was sure of it, and for the first time in his life – he wanted to just run away from an investigation, especially this one, his most important one.

He thought about his date tonight. Maybe this was his way out from Light Yagami and the damn feelings the teen made him feel.

Things were going to change.

To be continued-