Disclaimer: The Maiden of Autumn owns nothing.

Thank you to all the readers and reviewers- please, continue to enjoy the story.


Light slowly awoke to the feeling of something wet on his nose. Confused, he groggily opened his eyes, blinking a few times- and then shot straight up as something warm, wet, and smooth licked his cheek. Recoiling, he frantically wiped at his face, grimacing in disgust. He eyed L, who was just sitting up, ears perked and watching Light intently.

The detective had just licked him. Licked him. Gross- he didn't know where L's tongue had been lately and he frankly didn't want to know.

"L!" he exclaimed, annoyed. "That's disgusting."

L only sat back on his haunches, dipping his head and giving Light a wolfy grin, tongue coming out to lick his lips a few times.

Dropping his hand, Light eyed L for a few moments before shaking his head. "You can't just go around licking people, L. It's gross and unsanitary," Light scolded, slpping out of the bed and making his way to the closet. After a bit of internal debate, he pulled out a set of clothes for himself and tossed them onto the bed.

L let out a yelp as the clothes came flying at him and leaped off the bed, curling his legs under him and using them to propel himself onto the middle of the floor, landing with his hands on the floor first, followed by his legs.

It was far leap, and Light stared, amazed at the distance that L had crossed so easily. The detective crouched in the middle of the floor in his seemingly preferred position, one hand resting across his crouched knees, and the other braced on the ground. He let out an annoyed huff at Light, flattening his black ears back.

"Calm down, L." Light rolled his eyes, turning back to the closet. He reached out, before hesitating as he perused the clothes hanging up. L's clothes all consisted of his old ones- baggy jeans and long-sleeved, white shirts. He glanced back at L, who was watching him interestedly, yellow eyes alert.

God, those eyes still startled him, even though he had thought he had started to get used to them. Turning back to the closet, he hesitatingly passed over L's shirts and chose a one from his own selection- a simple black, short-sleeved shirt. He thought L might be more comfortable in something less constricting without long sleeves. However, he'd give L the baggy jeans- they were probably more comfortable than the more fitted slacks Light usually wore.

He pulled a pair off the hangar and tossed them onto the bed as well, before going to the bathroom to take care of his morning needs. He motioned for L to follow him, and the detective eyed the door warily before following Light in hesitatingly.

Guess he still had a slight fear of the bath, then.

Once in, Light brushed his teeth, and briefly considered doing the same for L's teeth, before he eyed the detective's sharp canines and decided against it in order to preserve his fingers. Teaching L how to use the bathroom facilities was slightly more tricky, but Light felt that L had gotten the hang of it after demonstrating and then helping L do it himself. He remained distant through the whole ordeal, treating it as a necessity- taking care of a child, perhaps.

Still, it was with relief that Light opened the door and went back into the bedroom, L following after him, as always. Light quickly dressed himself, then picked up the baggy jeans he had chosen for L and gestured the detective over. He came quickly, eyeing the jeans and Light's new clothes with some curiosity.

Light ran his eyes over L's form, wondering how he was to get the pants onto L, before finally shrugging and kneeling down in front of him.

L's yellow eyes grew wide as Light grabbed ahold of L's oddly-shaped foot and jerked the first leg of the jeans over L's foot. The crookedness of the canine-shaped foot made it somewhat difficult, and Light accidentally jerked too hard while trying to get the jeans on, because L gave a loud yelp and fell to the floor, landing on his side.

L pushed himself up, eyes wide in shock and stared at Light, flicking his eyes down at his held foot and back at Light. He flattened his ears back and let out a small whine before trying to get back to his feet, clawed hands scraping at the carpet. He wasn't sure why his alpha had brought him down to the ground- he had done nothing wrong!

"Calm down, L," Light growledin exasperation, giving a good tug on L's foot, feeling the rough pads on the bottom scrape against his fingers, thicker and rougher than the ones on L's hands. So he was right, then. He doubted anything could get through the thick pads of skin on L's feet.

L stopped and looked back at Light before lowering his head, his tail pressing flat against his legs, regarding Light with a wary and fearful gaze. He was unsure of what Light, his alpha, was going to do next, but being brought down to the ground like that often did not bode well.

"Jesus," Light breathed, shaking his head as he loosened his grip on L's leg, yet not letting go. L was looking at him like he was afraid Light was going to eat him, or something.

Eat him…. The mental words brought thoughts to mind that created a steady, warm thrum in Light's stomach, and he quickly, pushed them way, not daring to look up further than L's leg to prevent certain thoughts from going further in his mind. It was insane, this…attraction… that Light was beginning to foster towards his friend, this detective, and it felt so wrong.

L was an animal; perhaps not fully physically, but he was mentally. Light refused to even try something while L was like this- the thought of doing anything with L while he was in this state sent a ripple of disgust through him.

A unbidden through ran through his mind as he accidentally looked up, taking in the smooth lines of L's torso. Maybe… once L was L once more…

No. He stopped the thought before it could finish. He would not allow his unbidden desires to shatter their bond of friendship. He didn't know what had caused this sudden build- up of warm feelings whenever he had L close to him, but he refused to allow it to go any further.

With hurried movements, he jerked the pants over L's crooked feet bones and pulled them up, in a rush to get this over with. L's proximity was causing him to have thoughts that he didn't want to dwell further upon, and he also felt guilty for scaring L by grabbing his foot and bringing him down like that- he wouldn't want to be restrained in such a manner, either.

Seeing L still glancing at him fearfully, Light let out a long breath and reached out to ruffle L's hair, running the pads of his fingers over the outside of L's black, coarse-furred ears. The coarseness of the fur contrasted sharply with the smoothness of L's flyaway hair, although he was somewhat glad- L's ears, when flattened back were easily lost among the thicket of black hair, so the contrast allowed Light to distinguish between what was hair and what was fur.

Eventually, L relaxed, and Light was able to reach down and adjust L's pants over his sharp hips before zipping and buttoning them up. L wriggled a bit as the pants contracted over his hips, and remembering, Light reached around and gently pulled L's black tail over the hem of the jeans, letting it free. L stopped wriggling and moved his tail experimentally up and down, his yellow eyes taking on a distinctly more pleased look, making Light smile in relief and stand up, reaching over to the bed to grab the black shirt.

L huffed, shaking his head as soon as Light released him and he swiftly stood to his feet, looking down at his new clothes. L frowned in displeasure at the pants covering his legs and growled softly.

"Hush, L," Light muttered, coming over to L with the shirt. "Complaining isn't going to help you any."

L flicked an ear at Light's words and swiveled his head to look at the shirt in Light's hands. He narrowed his yellow eyes at it and curled a lip at the black item.

Light, annoyed at L's behavior, growled in irritation, stepping forwards and holding up the shirt. L stopped immediately, eyes widening at Light's dominant personality and averting his head to the side submissively.

Light nodded, pleased, and moved forwards to raise grasp first one, then the other of L's arms and slide them through the short sleeves of the shirt, careful to avoid contact between L's sharp claws and the fabric of the shirt. Ripping the shirt would render it useless, and Light didn't want to bother having to put another shirt onto L.

He tugged the collar of the shirt over L's head, brushing L's ears back first, making sure not to bend the ears painfully.

He adjusted the shirt, making sure it fell into place on L's torso and stepped back, L raising his head to glare at Light balefully as he did so. Light just rolled his eyes. "I know you don't like clothes, L, but I can't have you wandering around naked, can I?"

But I suppose I could, Light mused thoughtfully. We're all males here… well, except Misa, he amended.

No, he couldn't have L walk around nude when Misa was in here, and though they all were males, he doubted that any of the team members would be pleased with Light if he simply allowed L to walk around sans clothes.

But shoes… Light glanced down at L's crookedly-shaped feet, considering them. No normal shoe would fit onto L's feet- maybe a boot, but shoving L's feet into them would hurt. And there was really no point in putting shoes onto the detective. He went around barefoot, anyway, and the pads of the feet were thick enough to act as shoes themselves. L's feet wouldn't be getting hurt anytime soon.

There's not much else that can be done, Light thought, sweeping his eyes over the fully-dressed, wolfish detective. I guess… we should head down. Light's stomach rumbled quietly at that moment, making Light blink. If I'm hungry, then I'm sure he is, as well. I don't know the last time Beyond gave him food…

Beyond. Shit. He needed to see Beyond and question him some more, but with L being his constant shadow… Maybe Watari or his father could keep L for him. L seemed to regard them with respect- not as much as he did towards his alpha, but still, enough that L seemed likely to listen to the two.

Deciding on that course, Light nodded to himself and headed towards the door, L shaking himself quickly to readjust the clothes and his fur before swiftly following Light out.


The building that L had constructed in the early days of the Kira investigation did have a kitchen; it was only used by Watari, though, to prepare meals for the members when they stayed later than they should have, or before L was kidnapped, to make any sweets that he couldn't buy.

Light made his way to the kitchen to find Watari waiting for him, Light's usual breakfast already ready.

Since L's kidnapping and his subsequent taking over as "L," his mother and sister had been informed of the whole situation- his status as a Kira suspect, the clearing of his name, who he was working under, and how L came to be kidnapped and his taking over L's title. While shocked at first, the two women had quickly understood the situation and Light had made the headquarters into his semi-permanent residence, until he had found L.

Watari was the one who prepared Light's meals and handled his cases, keeping his status as "L's" caretaker, although Light managed better for himself than L did. He was simply not used to depending on another for everything, as L had been.

But it was still nice not to have to prepare his own toast and coffee in the morning, his customary meal. As hungry as he found himself to be in the mornings, it was a welcome revelation to find that his breakfast was already prepared- the toast and coffee still hot- and waiting for him.

But he ignored his own hunger as he saw L's eyes narrow and his head raise, sniffing the air to detect the scents of food issuing from the room. He probably hasn't eaten for a longer period of time than I have, Light thought, and ignored the toast in favor of addressing Watari.

"Watari," Light asked, "have you figured out L's food?"

"I have, sir," Watari confirmed, going over to the fridge and pulling out a large slab of thawed steak. It dripped blood onto the ground, but Watari maneuvered it onto a plate, setting it into the oven which Light saw was already heated up and then washed his hands, talking as he did so. "I contacted the branch of the local zoo that deals with the larger carnivores after taking care of the room switch last night. I was informed that they fed their wolves a special carnivore diet, which consists of mostly ground beef and beef heart, and is infused with vitamins, minerals, and other proteins as well. I told them that I was interested in starting a zoo in our area as a cover, and they offered to get me in contact with their supplier, but I declined. I would not want L to be eating something meant for animals."

"I understand, Watari," Light said. "So, you got him something else?" He gestured to oven that the meat was in, seeing L eye the oven he knew the meat had went into, licking his lips as he did so in a gesture that was purely predatory.

Watari rinsed his soapy hands, nodding. "Yes. After hanging up with the zoo, I called the local butcher's shop. I was aware that L, as he is now, would not want to eat the food he used to before Beyond kidnapped him. Instead, I've set it up for 2¼ pounds of meat to be delivered daily, in three cuts each weighing ¾ pounds. This will serve as L's breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. However," Watari continued, drying his hands and pulling out a large white bottle from beneath the counter and opening it to show that it was filled with white powder, "a teaspoon of this will need to be sprinkled over the meat you feed him- once again, three times a day."

"What is it?" Light asked, watching as Watari set down the bottle and opened the oven. He pulled out the steak, still raw, but steaming slightly, obviously very hot and transferred it from the plate to a large cutting board waiting on the counter.

L wouldn't want to eat cold meat, Light realized. Wolves in the wild ate freshly-killed, still warm meat that was recently killed. While Watari couldn't provide that, he could simulate the warmth a fresh kill would provide, and Light was struck by the thoughtfulness and care that Watari had put into this. No doubt it was hard to see the person that Watari had cared for be reduced to this, but he was trying his best to adjust and care for L as well as he could.

He watched as Watari scooped out some of the white powder and sprinkled it onto the steak, patting the powder in so that it was absorbed into the meat until it couldn't; be seen anymore.

"It's an extra-strength nutrient formula," Watari replied, washing his hands again. "It contains all the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that the human body and mind needs to stay healthy, all combined in a balanced amount. It was what I had L take on a daily basis before he was kidnapped- how so you think he kept so healthy while eating what he did?" Watari asked, smiling. "When he was younger, he kept getting sick and began to have the shakes, along with numerous other health issues due to his sugary diet. His body was beginning to shut down because of the lack of essential nutrients and overflow of sugar. Eventually, I gave L an ultimatum- either subject himself to a balanced diet I provided for him, or let me put this powder into his sweets."

"This," Watari shook the bottle as he capped it, "is tasteless, odorless, and undetectable in its texture. However, it did help him greatly- he was surprised to notice the effects the powder had on him after a week of taking it, and he grudgingly admitted that I was right. His health and mental functions improved shortly after he began taking it. But it allowed him to stay healthy and still keep eating what he wanted, so he didn't complain."

Light blinked, disbelieving. "So that's how he stayed healthy…" he muttered. "I always did wonder…"

Watari nodded. "Yes, the ultimate secret. Of course, I'll have to change the contents now, because of his altered diet. I suspect that he won't be eating sugar anymore, so I'll have to include glucose in the formula, and take out the protein, because he'll be getting plenty of it. But otherwise, I'll keep it the same. A wolf's body doesn't need all those things- they get all of what they need in the wild. However, L's body his still human for the most part, so he needs the same things that a normal human does."

"Do you think eating raw meat will hurt him, though?" Light questioned, seeing L's eyes fix hungrily on the slab of meat, and he extended his neck to sniff in its direction, tail waving slowly behind him in an interested motion.

Watari shook his head. "No. After you brought L out of the cell, I managed to take a few samples of blood from the area before I had it cleaned. After a few tests, I was able to separate some of L's blood from the worker's that he attacked- and yours," Watari explained. After examining L's blood more closely, I compared it to a sample of a wolf's that we have on hand- we have blood samples from various predatory animals for cases in which the victim looked to be killed by an animal," Watari explained, seeing Light's confusion. "Sometimes, we need to discern if there was an animal at the scene, and blood testing is the best way to get it. Plus, blood is the best way besides hair or skin to get an animal's DNA. There have been times when saliva is apparent around the murder
wound, and we need to DNA test the sample to discern what type of animal it was- or if it even was an animal. It's more logical to take a small droplet of blood from a large tube filled with it rather than keep a bundle of hairs from the animal lying around."

"Ah. I understand," Light nodded. "Go on."

"I compared L's blood to both a human and wolf's- Beyond, as much as I hate to admit it, did his job quite thoroughly and expertly. There are traces of certain antibodies in L's blood that are found in a wolf's but not a human's. It is these antibodies that prevent any disease or illness gained from eating raw meat from affecting the wolf."

"Which means that L won't get sick from eating raw meat," Light summed up.

"No," Watari said. "He'll be fine."

"I see," Light replied, before getting up and going to the counter, picking up the cutting board with the meat on it. He was reluctant to set it on the table, so instead set it on the tiled ground. While Light felt guilty making L eat on the ground, it was more reasonable. The floor was easier to clean up than the table, and Light had a feeling that L eating could get messy.

He gestured for L to come to him and he did, yellow eyes turning feral as he eyed the slab of bloody meat. His clawed fingers twitched as he crouched down a few feet away from it, eyes running over it briefly before flicking up to Light, watching him, seemingly waiting for him.

"What?" Light muttered, sliding the meat over closer to L. "Come on, I know you want it. I saw you eyeing it- don't stubborn, for fuck's sake…"

Watari coughed suddenly, making Light look up to him. L's eyes never wavered, remaining on Light.

"The zoo also informed me of some of the characteristics of a wolf's behavior- especially when operating within a pack."

"What do you mean?" Light asked, admittedly confused. He didn't like to admit it, but he was at a loss. It was obvious L desired to eat; he just didn't know why the detective wouldn't.

"Generally, in a pack, after bringing down their kill, the wolf pack is allowed to eat in order of their rank. The alpha male and female eats first, and after they begin eating, the next-ranking wolves-usually the females- come, followed by the rest of the pack." Watari looked at L, white eyebrows furrowing. "I think… he is waiting for you, his alpha, to start eating."

"You've got to be kidding me," Light muttered, eyeing the bloody piece of meat and the patiently waiting L crouched a few feet away.


L waited patiently after his alpha brought the meat. Instincts told him that he wasn't allowed to eat until after his alpha had started. Only then would he be allowed to approach and eat.

The bloody meat in front of him radiated an intoxicating smell, one his nose eagerly detected and picked up on. The scent made him lick his lips in anticipation, and he could sense the heat coming off from the meat in waves,
signifying its freshness and tastiness.

His alpha wasn't doing anything, though, and L watched him patiently, waiting for him to start eating so that he could as well.

After a few moments, his alpha brought his head down and opened his mouth- how odd human's mouths were, no canines for tearing and ripping into meat- and took in a corner of the slab into his mouth.


Light almost gagged at the sickening smell of the raw meat, coppery and cloying, as he lowered his head. Closing his eyes in disgust, he opened his mouth and reluctantly took in a corner of the steak, wanting to vomit at the
taste and texture of the raw meat in his mouth.

Nevertheless, knowing L wasn't going to eat unless he did this made him steel himself and he clamped his teeth firmly down onto a small piece of the corner, tearing a piece off with a sharp yank of his head. Pulling back, he was disturbed to feel rivulets of blood running down his chin, but he was able to push away the feeling and push the piece of raw meat under his tongue, pretending to chew and swallow.

He flicked his eyes up as he heard the soft scrape of padded feet against the floor and saw L sliding closer, no longer watching him, yellow eyes instead fixed predatorily on the steak.

Light slowly stood up and backed off, grateful beyond belief when Watari appeared next to him with a paper towel and glass of water. He took the paper towel and held it up to his mouth, letting the square of steak fall out from under tongue and onto the paper towel, quickly rolling it up and tossing it into the trash. He was handed the glass of water and quickly took a mouthful, swishing it around in his moth before spitting it into the sink, relief washing through him as the coppery tang of the raw meat was rinsed out.

"Fuck, that was nasty," Light gasped in disgust, wiping his chin with a moistened towel. Shaking his head, he handed off the towel to Watari and rinsed the glass out, setting it to the side.

"I think L would disagree with you," Watari chuckled, a small spark of mirth lighting in his eyes.

Looking over, Light saw L crouched in front of the meat, reaching out a clawed hand to press down on it before bending his head to sink his canines into the steak, tearing off a chunk and devouring it. Blood dripped onto the floor and smeared onto his chin and the tip of his nose. Little growling noises came from L as he ripped into the slab of meat, tearing it apart in sharp jerks of his head. His claws dug into the meat, holding it in place so that it wouldn't slide around and try to get away as L ate.

Light found this both oddly fascinating and disturbing at once, and sat down at the table, eating his own breakfast as L ate his. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight in front of him, watching intently as L devoured the meat messily, leaving behind the bone. With long licks, L cleaned up the blood and little scraps of meat left behind on the cutting board, before leaning down and taking the steak bone in-between his teeth.

Standing up, he backed a little ways away from the cutting board before crouching down, shifting until he laid on his side, legs tucked to his stomach and tail curled over his knees. L loosed his grip on the bone enough so that it slid to the floor, before grasping it between his hands and leaned down to chew on it, sharp canines and strong molars cracking through the hard bone.

Light watched in fascination and repulsion, before glancing over to Watari, who was steadfastly ignoring the spectacle and instead making his own breakfast. "Watari," Light said slowly and quietly. "I don't think that we should let the other members of the team see L eat. They're already unnerved by the changes in L- seeing him eat would only make them even more so."

Watari sighed and nodded. "I agree, Light."

A sharp crack resounded through the kitchen, making Light flinch and look to see that L had broken the bone cleanly in half, and was beginning to bite and gnaw on the first half.


"Light," Watari said, stopping Light as he went to get another cup of coffee, L having finished eating the first half of the steak bone and now steadfastly working on the second half. "There were some things that the zoo also saw fit to tell me about a wolf's behavior after I asked."

"Like what?" Light questioned, refilling his coffee cup.

"They need social interaction- they're a very pack and family-orientated animal, and need social contact with their pack members. They indulge constantly in play and the such- even alphas play with lesser members of the pack occasionally. This helps strengthen familial bonds within the pack. I admit, I'm worried what will happen if the urge to do so suddenly strikes L. he other members might not know that he is attempting to play with them and react accordingly."

"That…could become a problem," Light said, glancing at the still-chewing L. "Especially with his claws and teeth- he might cause damage to them accidentally."

Watari nodded. "Indeed. There were also other things the zoo informed me of, but I simply wrote them down, instead. And I made copies of them, as well as printing out general information about a wolf's psyche. I suggest that you hand them out to the team members, so that they will be better informed of how L's thought process works. It might make them more confident in dealing with L, and more comfortable with him."

"That's actually a very good idea, Watari," Light said, nodding. "I'll hand them out to the team and explain more when we go into the workroom."

Glancing over at L, Light saw that he had finished off the last of the bone and was licking the back of his hand, cleaning it off with long strokes of his tongue.

"I suppose that since L is finished, we should go," Light said reluctantly, setting aside his cup of coffee.

Watari nodded and reached over to the counter and grabbed a manila envelope, handing it to Light. "The information is in here," Watari told him.

"Thank you, Watari," Light said, opening the envelope and riffling through the papers in it. "This will be most useful."

"I hope so," Watari said. "And, do you want me to move Beyond into the interrogation room? You expressed a desire to talk with him once more, after getting L out of the cell."

"Yes. I need to talk to Beyond again. And make the necessary arrangements for our return trip to the warehouse. I hope to go later today- make sure that none of the police have disturbed the warehouse. I need to get the blueprint's location from Beyond, and if the police have moved anything around, that's only going to make everything harder."

"I understand; I'll do that right away." Watari glanced L, who had moved onto cleaning his face, using his long tongue to clean up the blood from his chin. "He has fallen quite far, hasn't he?" Watari asked sadly. "I suggest you get a towel and clean up the blood before you meet the others. The sight might disturb them."

Light nodded, sympathetic to the older man's feelings. "I'll make sure to do that, Watari. And don't worry," Light said reassuringly. "We'll find a way to get him back."


L hadn't taken kindly to having his face and arms wiped with a cold, wet towel, but Light had managed to clean all the blood from his body eventually.

He set the dirty towel on the table, not knowing what else to do with it, and then, sighing, grabbed the large manila envelope, started pulling out the papers as he left the kitchen, knowing L was right behind him.

The rest of the team was waiting when Light got to the computer room, and thought hey glanced at L warily, he made no move to do anything towards them and they relaxed.

"I'd like you all to take a look at these papers," Light addressed them, handing out a paper with the information to all 4 men in the room. "Watari was kind enough to gather this information, and I think it might help with the situation at hand."

"What situation?" Aizawa asked, taking the paper and scanning over the first few sentences, eyebrows raising.

"L." Light said simply, handing the last paper to his father before setting the manila envelope off to the side. "I know that his state is confusing to deal with and slightly frightening, based on what you've seen, so to help make you more comfortable being around him, Watari has given me this information on a wolf's psyche to distribute to you all."

They read over the papers in silence, looking up at L on occasion as they read something that caught their interest. L watched them all interestedly at first, but soon seemingly growing bored, he dropped into his crouch and shifted to lay on the ground on his side, hands tucked under his chin. His ears flattened slightly, relaxing, and his eyelids drooped, fluttering shut half-ways until they were at relaxed slits.

Light couldn't help but chuckle at the sight and L flicked an ear once at the sound.

"So…" Aizawa finally broke the silence, looking up from the paper. "Basically, we just treat him as an actual wolf, go around our business as normal, and if he takes interest in us, act submissive towards him because we're of a lower ranking in his mind?"

Light nodded. "And if he jumps at you suddenly, don't panic- he's just trying to play. Wolves play like boys do- they wrestle and roll around on the ground, although wolves do use their teeth and other advantages as well. But he won't hurt you- wolves are very caring animals towards their packmates, so he'll be careful enough not to break the skin or harm you seriously."

"Wow," Matsuda said, looking up. "This is actually really fascinating. I mean, I know it's really crazy that something like this happened to L-I mean, Ryuuzaki, of all people, but it's still kinda cool. It's almost like getting to be a wolf without actually being one, with the way Ryuuzaki treats us and we have to act."

Light laughed once- Matsuda always could see the good side of things. "I guess you could look at it that way," Light allowed. "Now, are there any questions at all? I think Watari did a good job of explaining everything in the paper, but if there's any questions, I might be able to clear them up."

"I think we're good," Mogi quietly said.

"Good," Light said, glancing over towards L, who had fully closed his eyes by now, and was letting o small puffs of breaths, his ear occasionally twitching. "Watari has transferred Beyond to the interrogation room- I need to speak with him to get the location of the blueprints. We're going back to the warehouse today- it should be safe, so I'm only going to take Watari with me."

"What about L?" Aizawa asked, gesturing at the dozing detective curled up on the floor. "He seems pretty attached to you. I don't think he'll be too happy, being left behind."

"I was hoping to leave him behind with all of you, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there," Light told them. He waved his hand over at the manila envelope, starting towards the door. "There's another piece of paper in there. Give it to Misa and explain the situation if you see her, please."

"Misa left while ago to meet a friend," Soichiro said, setting the paper aside; on it was nothing really new, and he knew how to handle L based on his past experience. "I can't remember the name of her friend. I think it was
Mo…Moi… Moik… something like that," Socihiro told his son. "I don't think she's going to be back too soon."

Light stopped and shook his head, bringing up a hand to his forehead. "Ugh… Alright. Just… don't let L near her if she does come back and I'm not around. For some reason, L doesn't like her too much."

"Really?" Matsuda asked interestedly, looking up from his paper. "Why?"

Light shrugged, opening the door. "I still haven't worked that one out. I think it might be because she was hugging me too tightly and it was aggravating the wounds on my chest. L must have picked up on it and considered her a threat. That's the only explanation I can think of, although I don't understand his sudden personality switch towards her…" He trailed off and looked at L, who was still relaxed and asleep.

"He shouldn't wake up, but if he does, don't let him come after me. L subconsciously recognized Watari because he knew him for so long. He's also known Beyond for a long time, and with the negative memories of Beyond, I'm not sure what L would do if he saw him again."

Light left, closing the door quietly after him.

The four left in the room looked at L, then at each other.

Soichiro shook his head. "Alright, let's get back to work. He's not going to harm you- just don't wake him up."

L let out a huff in his sleep and his hand twitched, as if to agree with Soichiro.


Light made his way to the interrogation room, seeing Watari waiting outside of it with the interrogation kit.

"I don't think I'll need that, Watari," Light told him. "Beyond already knows what I'll do if he doesn't give me the information I want, so he'll probably talk to prevent that. Thank you, though."

"Alright," Watari said. "But I'll leave the bag here in case you end up needing it. I'll go and gather the equipment we'll need to return to the warehouse. I've called the police; they've left the warehouse alone, meaning that nothing should be disturbed. Would you like your gear?"

Light hesitated, thinking for a moment, before answering. "Yes, and you should suit up as well. I don't know if L was the first of Beyond's experiments- he mentioned L being the best one, which implies that Beyond experimented on more people than just L. Do you think we should gather some gear for L as well, in case he does end up coming?"

Watari thought, before nodding. "I think he should- just a light issue, since the armor is going to be uncomfortable, but he should have some protection. I'll gather some, just in case."

"Thank you, Watari," Light said. "We'll leave right after I get done with Beyond."

"Of course, sir," Watari agreed and left, heading out to get the equipment together.

Taking a deep breath, Light faced the door to the interrogation room, where the object of his utmost hatred waited, steeling himself before he opened the door and went in, not bothering to close it behind him.


L came to slowly, his eyes fluttering open and ears twitching as the sound of humans around him flooded into them. Confused, he sniffed the air before registering that the humans were his pack- the familiar, imprinted scents confirmed that.

L raised his head up groggily, yawning widely with his tongue lolling out, before closing it and licking his lips. L rolled his shoulders before stretching his arms in front of him, and then shifting to stretch his back ones out, languidly stretching his cramped muscles. He decided to yawn again, just because it felt good to do so and because it helped him shake away some of the sleepiness and become more alert.

He gave himself a good shake before standing to his feet, yellow eyes taking in the familiar figures of his packmates. For a moment, he was tempted to go and pounce on one of them for a friendly romp, but the distinct lack of the scent or sight of his alpha made him freeze, head whipping around as he scanned the room for any sign of his alpha.

A distressed huff left L's chest as he sniffed the air once more, this time searching for the distinct scent of his alpha. He finally detected it- and on the right track now, he swiftly loped out of the room, following the scent of his alpha and ignoring the surprised yelps of his pack.


"Beyond Birthday."

Light eyed the man in front of him, tied to a chair and regarding him with baleful red eyes. He was still dirty and blood-encrusted from their last encounter- Watari must not have seen fit to give him a bath, although he did bandage Beyond's toes where he had removed the nails and the other various cuts and burns.

He crossed his arms and stepped closer to L's kidnapper, a smirk tugging at the corner of his full lips. "I think you know why I'm here. I need the location of the blueprints, and I think you know what will happen if you don't tell me."

"What? Torture me some more? That's a very long process," Beyond taunted, a sadistic glint in his eyes. "I might be more amicably inclined to tell you what you want if you answer a few of my questions or bring in L so I can see how he's doing."

"Fuck you, you sicko," Light replied, narrowing his eyes. "You've put me through so much in the past day just because of what you did to L. What makes you even think that after all I've gone through, having to take care of L and deal with all the shit that your messing with his mind caused, I'd give you what you want?" Light demanded.

"Because if you persist in torturing me, I might just blurt out something that'll make the chip in my mind explode and kill me," Beyond chuckled. "And then, how will you get your precious blueprints? It'll take weeks for you to find the blueprints in my warehouse unless I tell you."

Light glared at Beyond, before a thought struck him. "Why can you tell me the location of the blueprints without the microchip exploding?" Light asked suspiciously, and that that suspicion only grew as Beyond's pupils dilated and his breath hitched- signs of nervousness, no doubt at something being brought up he was trying to hide.

"Does it matter?" Beyond asked nonchalantly. Hiding. Light could tell he was hiding something.

"What are you not telling me, Beyond?" Light pressed.

"Nothing," Beyond snarled. "If you want to fucking know so badly, the blueprints are-"

Beyond was cut off by the sound of a feral snarl ripping through the room, and Light whirled, seeing L standing in the doorway, yellow eyes gleaming with feral hate and lips curled in a hateful grimace. Beyond looked past Light, his red eyes fixing on L's tense figure.

"Ah, so I do get what I want," Beyond cackled, delight in his words. "Hello, L. So lovely to see you once more."


L loped through the building, following the scent of his alpha closely until he stopped in the doorway of a room, freezing at the sight before him.

Red eyes gleamed twistedly, excitedly at him, making disgust and fear and hate all tumble and churn in his stomach.

L didn't know why a sudden wave of hatred crashed through him, directed at the human with the gleaming red eyes, but it was as if every nuance of hate and fear he had ever harbored in his being came to the surface once he locked eyes with gleaming red. There was something off about those red eyes, something sick and twisted and wrong and not right.

It raised L's hackles and made him snarl threateningly, fear and hate for the human coursing through him.

And then, het human spoke, and though L could not understand the human language, the delighted, sick glee in the human's repulsive vice made something inside of him snap.

Tensing, his muscles coiled and he sprang, pushed over the edge by the emotions surging through him.


Light saw it coming; he had had L spring at him enough to tell when this was coming.

But it felt different this time. When he had attacked Light and even Misa before, L had been angry, even somewhat fearful- he had been protecting himself as he saw fit.

This time, however, pure hatred burned in L's slightly slanted, feral eyes, locked fiercely onto Beyond's restrained body.

As much as he hated Beyond, as much as the small, sadistically sick part of him would have delighted in seeing L take his revenge on Beyond and rip the bastard's throat out, Light did need the psycho. He couldn't be allowed to be killed yet.

So once again, Light intervened in L's murderous intentions. He wasn't fast enough to knock L aside, as he had done with Misa. Instead, he had time to throw himself in front of L, his sideways momentum carrying both him and L off to the side, Beyond whipping his head around to watch the two with a sick fascination as Light landed on his back on the floor, L on top of him, also on his back.

L was writhing, thrashing in Light's grip, clawing and biting to get free, even though he knew it was his alpha he was harming. But something, some urge compelled him to rush at the human and tear his throat out, rip at the delicate flesh until it ripped and tore and bled and the human was dead.

L let out a howl of frustration, eyes narrowing as he fought against Light's grip.

But Light held on, ignoring the scratches L's clawed feet and hands, and occasionally teeth wrought upon him, burning lines of pain on his skin. He bit back a curse as L's claws raked over his older, yet still fresh wounds, making him gasp as they tore open once more.

Maneuvering, he shifted to wrap his legs around L's restraining and pushing them down on the floor, pinning them there. His arm pressed against L's throat, holding it firmly against his shoulder and his other arm wrapped around L's torso, pinning his hands against his slim chest.

In this way, Light was effectively able to restrain L, although he wouldn't stop fighting, letting out snarls and growls as he tried to fight his way free, his yellow eyes never leaving Beyond's.

"Seems like he's not doing so well," Beyond commented casually.

"Shut the fuck up, Beyond," Light hissed, L punctuating his statement with a small howl as L wrenched an arm free, trying to use it as leverage to pull himself up. Light grabbed for L's arm, but the detective was too quick and used the slackened grip to free his other arm legs jerking free as well.

Crouching, L jumped for Beyond once more, but Light quickly reached out and desperately grabbed L's tail, the yank making him cry out in pain and make him miss his mark of Beyond's throat, his deadly teeth instead sinking into Beyond's shoulder. This invoked a strangled cry of pain from Beyond, shifting in a futile attempt to get away from the teeth tearing into the skin and muscle of his shoulder.

Although he had missed, L still had Beyond in his grasp and yellow eyes narrowing into burning slits as he clamped down on Beyond's shoulder, jerking in an attempt to get Beyond onto the floor so he could go for the jugular. The ropes restraining Beyond to the chair prevented L from doing so, however, and it only served to implant his teeth further into Beyond's shoulder, burying themselves so deep they nicked and scraped against Beyond's shoulderbone.

Taking the opportunity granted to him, Light scrambled to his feet and reached out for L's neck, pressing through the black fabric of L's shirt and digging his finger into a certain point, making L stiffen before his grip on Beyond's shoulder loosened and he sank to the floor, eyes sliding shut and lying limp.

Panting heavily, Light stood up, eyeing Beyond's shoulder, gushing blood, before he reached into his pockets for his cell phone and dialed Watari's number. Luckily, he picked up on the first ring.

"Light? Is there something wrong?"

Light nodded, though he knew Watari couldn't see it. "Yes, I'm afraid so," he said grimly. "I have an unconscious L and a torn- up Beyond Birthday. You might want to bring the surgical kit and some painkillers- and cleaner, as well," Light added, seeing blood running down the arm of the chair and down the leg, pooling on the ground. "There's blood on the floor again."


Edited version uploaded 4/8/13