Burn

by xLion'sRoarx

When BB, a dangerous criminal, escapes from jail and sets his eyes on Light, the entire investigation is thrown into chaos. The Kira case flies off the metaphorical tracks, and as Light's world comes apart at the seams, his own emotions bar him at every turn, turning calculations into reckless actions and throwing into danger everything that he has fought to protect. LxLight

8. Dark River

Welcome to chapter eight! I completely forgot to thank the reviewers in the last chapter, and now I feel bad… so thank you so much if you reviewed, and even if you just read the latest chapter. It's really awesome reading your feedback, and its good to know that people appreciate all the work that goes into this story.

Warning: in this chapter, there is a lemon. It's moderately short, but it's still a lemon, so don't say I didn't warn you. There's going to be a hell of a lot more of them in the next two to three chapters. You have been warned.

Chapter 8: Dark River

By two in the afternoon, four days later, we still had no leads on where Beyond was or what he was doing. All we had to go off of were his murders. And the murders were becoming… disturbing. Beyond was using his power in ways I'd never seen before. He'd gone from killing randomly to spelling out my name over and over again without rest—and he was becoming increasingly creative in how he was spelling it out. Some of his victims were smearing my name on the walls with the blood they coaxed from their slit wrists. One had carved my name into another man's stomach before slitting his own wide open. Another used gasoline to spell it out before lighting it on fire. It had been the size of a football field. But Beyond was being careful—he never used my last name, so the authorities never had any proof that it was really a name. For all they knew it could just be another act of insanity. To spare my father's mind, the fact that this was happening was being hidden from him. He had no idea that Beyond's obsession had reached this level. The successors and L, however, knew all too well where all of it was headed. They were watching me like a hawk, refusing to leave me alone. Near had even volunteered to watch us while we slept to assure neither of us vanished—though we had turned him down.

While we were floundering about, snatching at shadows, Soichiro took control of the Yotsuba case. He'd used L's resources to have cameras set up all over Yotsuba Corp, and it had paid off. On the very first weekend after the installation of the cameras, the Yotsuba Board of Directors met, and the task force discovered that just as we'd believed, Kira was a member of the Board. Most likely Higuchi, L and I agreed. Upon the discovery that Kira was among the board members, my father very strongly advocated for the arrest of every one of them. But of course, L wasn't satisfied with just that—he wanted to wait until he could discover Kira's method of killing. But my father, being the advocator for justice that he was, insisted upon capturing Kira immediately, before any more lives could be lost. He was only dissuaded by my quick thinking and a risky phone call. It bought us some time to figure out who Kira was and track down Beyond.

But until one of the two Kiras messed up and revealed themselves, all we could do was stumble about after them and watch the footage.

†††

"I didn't expect the task force to catch on to Yotsuba this fast," Beyond sighed to himself as he crouched on the Yotsuba Corp rooftop. "I'd hoped that the idiots would be able to handle being Kira for a little while longer, and give me a little more time to capture Light. It's too bad I haven't managed to get my hands on him yet—although, that party was quite the temptation! But not to worry, I'll have him soon enough. In the meantime, I suppose I should get this over with." Beyond looked down at the photograph in his hand. Kyosuke Higuchi. Kira. The one who had killed on such an easy pattern, and only to benefit Yotsuba. "I'd hoped that he would make tracking him down just a little harder. It's obvious that he isn't nearly as intelligent as me." Or Light. Beyond grinned at the thought of the caramel-haired teen. He felt a jolt of anticipation as he thought of the fact that after tonight he would have a second Death Note—and that meant that his god would soon regain his memories, and with any luck, agree to work with him to take down L. His teeth glinted in the moonlight. After this, it would be almost too easy to break L. All he had to do was flaunt Kira around in front of him, memories completely regained, and the raven-haired detective would shatter. He would go insane in his attempts to rescue Kira from himself. It was all too good!

That was why he was here, at Yotsuba Corp. He was going to kill Higuchi. Tonight. Now. He would take possession of the second Death Note, and he would give it to Light once he was in his custody. Beyond grinned at the thought of the newly in love Light regaining every scrap of memory from his time as Kira. He imagined the horror, the pain, the… agony. It would be exquisite. It would be the final nudge that would push the younger Yagami over the edge, and bring Kira to the forefront of his mind for Beyond to play with.

Beyond moved across the rooftop, eyes cast downwards in a search for the access hatch. Upon finding it, he dropped to his knees and smashed the lock with the hilt of his knife. It was old and rusted, clearly ill maintained. All the better for him. He slipped through the hatch with ease, leaving it blatantly open behind him. Now… Beyond flipped Higuchi's photograph over and squinted at the words scribbled on the back. "Let's see here… one floor down from here, first office to the right after exiting the elevator." Shoving the picture in his back pocket, Beyond strolled off down the hall towards the elevator. He'd looked over the schematics of the building ahead of time and memorized all the important stuff so he wouldn't end up getting trapped. Oh, no, he wasn't concerned about such a thing—but it was always better to be safe than sorry. On the off chance that L managed to catch on to what he was doing, Beyond wanted multiple escape routes. Thus, he knew the exact location of every elevator door, every stairwell, every fire escape. And there just happened to be an elevator door a few hallways from here.

As Beyond walked, security cameras swung in his direction, as if seeking him out. He didn't bother to hide his face—why should he? He wanted L to see what happened here, after all. The murderer stepped into the elevator casually. There were no employees around; it was very late. But even if there had been employees, Beyond knew that they would have been too stupid to realize that there was a murderer walking among them.

The elevator whirred quietly for a few moments, then dinged. The doors opened, and Beyond immediately headed to the right. Several feet away from the elevator resided the door he was seeking. Large, dull blue, with a gold painted handle. A plaque was hung up on the door with Higuchi's name sprawled across it in block letters. Oh yes, this was the right place. Beyond threw open the door without hesitation, knowing that on this particular day, Higuchi had chosen to stay quite late in order to finish some paperwork. He should be here, and alone.

Higuchi looked up the instant the door opened. His beady eyes widened in surprise, and a pen slipped from his fingers. His notebook was on his desk, flipped open to a mostly filled page. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded, trying and failing to sound threatening. He shot to his feet, snapping, "Identify yourself or I'm calling security!" He reached for the phone.

Beyond grinned, stalking forward, twirling his knife between his fingers. "You haven't noticed? Your phone hasn't made a noise all day… the line has been cut, Kyosuke Higuchi." As he spoke Beyond inched closer and closer, examining the so-called Kira through slit eyes. So… this was the man that would call himself a god. He wasn't much to look at, just like his picture entailed. Square jaw, droopy eyes, leering nastily even though he must have been scared. Beyond felt bubbles of rage in his throat. How dare he? How dare this man, this flawed, hideous man call himself Kira? He was not Kira, he was not a god! He was an imposter. An imposter! The knife jabbed out to point at Higuchi.

Higuchi eyed the knife and immediately backed away, reaching back for the pen he'd dropped and angling it towards the Death Note. There was a name half written on one of the lines. He must have been in the middle of using it when Beyond burst in. "What's your name, son?"

He cackled. "Sorry, imposter, but you won't be getting my name. You see, I don't want to be killed. But I could kill you." In demonstration, Beyond removed his notebook from where he'd tucked it beneath his shirt. He'd made a habit of keeping the thing on him at all times, just in case something came up.

Higuchi's eyes went wide. "Is—is that…?"

"The Death Note you're so fond of, yes. I could write your name right here and now, perhaps control your actions for a bit. But I won't. Do you want to know why, imposter?"

The man didn't even try to deny the accusation. His fingers twitched nervously, the pen barely remaining in his grasp. "Not particularly, kid."

Beyond clapped his hands together excitedly, announcing, "Because I want to do it myself! You see, it took me all of a day to figure out who you were and what your motives were. I'd hoped that I could leave you alone until I captured the real Kira, and that you'd continue to evade the people hunting you until the time was right. However, your idiotic mind has landed you directly in their line of fire. They're coming for you, imposter. And if they get you, then they'll force you into revealing the Death Note and how to use it. And if that happens, L will kill me using it in a heartbeat, just to save his precious Light." He inched closer to his terrified victim one step at a time, well aware of how ready Higuchi was to lash out at a moment's notice. Beyond continued, "I don't want to die just yet. So I need to kill you. And you've made my life so much more difficult by being such a moron…" Beyond was standing inches from the terrified man. Despite how horrified Higuchi must have been, to his credit, he wasn't panicking. He was completely still—although, Beyond figured, he might have just been frozen by his own fear. Amused, Beyond reached out with his knife and traced it up Higuchi's cheek. A line of red appeared. "…So I'd like to blow off a little steam with you."

At this point Higuchi finally seemed to come to his senses, lashing out blindly at Beyond. His fist glanced off the murderer's shoulder weakly. Beyond laughed. "Is that the best you can do?" he snarled, sweeping a leg out and sending Higuchi sprawling to the floor. The man was on his feet again immediately, this time snatching a stapler off he desk and using it as a projectile. Beyond dodged it with ease and continued towards him. A paperweight was chucked his way, and that too was avoided.

Beyond darted forward and clasped a hand around Higuchi's wrist to stop the punch he was about to throw. The other hand darted down to catch the kick directed at his groin. The man was utterly helpless. Beyond reached up and clenched his fingers around Higuchi's throat, pushing him into the wall with a dark chuckle.

"I don't have the patience for your futile resistance," Beyond snarled, raising the knife. Another line of red appeared. Another. Another. Blood dripped down his face with each new cut, splattering and crusting the tips of his obsidian hair. He grinned, lapping the blood from the blade of his knife like a cat. "Mmm…" he purred. "Delicious." His grin only widened at the look of horror on Higuchi's face. "Please," he whispered, "Scream. I want to hear you scream." He jabbed the knife harshly into Higuchi's shoulder, ripping a cry from him. "Good… now do it again."

Stab!

"Again!"

Stab!

"Again!"

Stab!

"Please!" Higuchi screeched. "Please, stop this!" Scarlet liquid had soaked his white shirt in large, sickening patches, beginning to dribble to the waistband of his pants.

Beyond twisted his knife violently, prompting another scream. "Stop? Now, why would I do that?" His expression turned feral. "You're still alive, after all…"

Higuchi barely had time to register the statement before the knife came back down, splattering blood across Beyond's shirt and face. The monster laughed, teeth flecked with red, glaring into the imposter's eyes with the promise of hell gleaming within.

†††

Hours later, Beyond tucked his knife back in his belt, grabbed the Death Note, and strode from the room, slipping the door shut behind him.

†††

"Oh god," Soichiro whispered, eyes glued to the report on the screen of his computer. "L… look at this."

Both L and I moved to stare over the chief's shoulder. The sight that met us was revolting.

The body of the man we had presumed as Kira was mutilated. If it hadn't been for the caption—President of Yotsuba Corp Murdered in Random Act of Brutality—then I would never have known it was him. The body was covered in blood; I couldn't locate a spot on him that wasn't painted red. His clothing was completely missing, there were slash marks up and down his arms and chest, there was bruising around his neck… the list went on. I forced myself to turn away with I noticed several missing fingers and a severed ear. I nearly gagged at the horrific nature of it all. Was this… to be my fate? Would Beyond take a knife to me in a similar fashion?

"Amazing," L whispered, though I could tell he was shaken. "He even gouged out the eyes and tongue…"

That time I really did gag, as did several other members of the task force. L and his successors were the only ones that maintained their outward cool. "Ryuzaki," I spluttered, once again nearly forgetting to call him by his pseudonym. "You don't think it was… him?"

"I have no doubt that this murder was committed by Beyond," he said smoothly. He pointed to the lower part of the report, a section I hadn't read. "The report mentions the security cameras—Beyond made no attempt to erase or edit them. He shows his face multiple times, and while the authorities have no record of this man in their systems and therefore cannot hunt him down, I know him well." L pointed to a slightly blurry photograph. I leaned closer, both eager and unwilling to know what my pursuer looked like.

"That's Beyond?" Matsuda asked dumbly. "Ryuzaki, he looks almost exactly like you!"

He was right. L had described Beyond to me in detail, telling me that they were almost twins. But I'd had a hard time believing it—L looked so unique, I didn't think anyone else could look anything like him. Clearly, though I was wrong. Just as L had described, Beyond was nearly a carbon copy—but like a poorly done forgery of a priceless painting, there was something off about him. However, I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. It was strange—I was certain that if you put L and Beyond back to back, I'd be able to tell the difference without a question. But if I were asked, I didn't think I'd be able to verbalize the difference. It was almost psychological, as if their different ways of thinking translated into some, unidentifiable physical feature.

"It is an unfortunate resemblance," L murmured.

"Why did he kill Kira?" Mogi questioned. "Shouldn't he be happy that someone is helping him out by killing people?"

"No," Near chimed in thoughtfully. I jumped, not having realized that the boy was standing on his toes in an attempt to look over my shoulder. "Beyond and Kira do not share the same goal. Kira—or at least, Yotsuba Kira, merely wanted to help his company grow. Beyond, on the other hand, just seems to want Light. And what's more, if Beyond does have a way to monitor us, then he would have known we were about to go after the Yotsuba Board of Directors. That would have been a problem for him, seeing as if we had managed to capture Kira, we would have discovered his method of killing. After that, finding Beyond would have been much easier. It was in his own best interests to kill Higuchi."

"Of course," L murmured. "It's so simple, it's almost embarrassing."

Soichiro dropped his head into his hands. "This means that we once again have no leads," he noted bitterly.

"An unfortunate situation to say the least." L bit at his thumb. "Successors, do you have any ideas?"

I half expected Near to come up with some grand scheme, seeing as his intelligence had solved more than one mystery already. But he just shook his head blankly. Matt and Mello wielded no results as well, each of them looking just as stumped.

"Face it, L," Mello muttered. Even he looked discouraged. "If Beyond doesn't want to be caught, he's not going to be caught. That's all there is to it. All we can do is wait."

"I refuse to accept that," L responded. His voice was even, but his anger was painfully obvious. "We can do something more, and I intend to figure it out."

Matt bowed his head, looking sorry for the stressed detective. "Then what should we do next? We've been chasing a shadow for days, and I for one don't see a next logical course of action."

"Check everything again," L ordered, a slight tremor running through his voice. "We missed something. I know we missed something. A pattern, a clue… anything!" His voice rose in volume steadily until he was nearly yelling.

"L…" Matt's voice was soft, almost pitying.

L immediately turned away, unwilling to let anyone see his anger. "I," he rasped, "have solved every case I've ever accepted. This one will be no different." He turned up the brightness on his computer until it was near blinding in the dim room, leaning into it as if it were his only comfort. He reached one hand out to scroll through the document he was working on, dropping the other one to rest on his knee. I threw a glance over my shoulder to make sure the task force wasn't watching. Then I discreetly reached out and laced our fingers together, rolling my chair slightly closer so no one who looked over at us would see. L threw me a grateful glance, giving my hand a light squeeze.

We remained that way throughout the rest of the day, until late at night, L rose silently, leaving the successors to work, and guided me to our room.

†††

The instant we reached our room, L's lips were on mine. Also the same instant we reached our room, my arms wound around his waist, and his darted up to tangle in my hair. This had become normal in the past few days—normal to the point of L lying to the task force just so he could duck into the kitchen to kiss me senseless. I suspected that the task force might have been beginning to suspect something—after all, L had been taking an awful lot of breaks as of late, and all of them were far longer than they should have been. I also suspected that the successors weren't fooled by L's excuses in the least. Every time L announced that he was taking a short break, the successors exchanged a series of exasperated glances.

"Stop thinking," L murmured against my lips, and I knew I must have been spacing out. His fingers twisted in my hair, tugging my head back so I was forced to look him in the eyes.

"Stop thinking?" I echoed in amusement, letting out a soft gasp as L turned his wicked mouth on the juncture between shoulder and neck. "That doesn't sound like you, L…"

"Maybe I want to forget for a while," he responded in between long pulls on my neck. There would be a mark, I knew. But that too was becoming normal—in the past four days, L had successfully marred near every inch of the flesh covering my neck and shoulders, even going as far as to take his teeth to choice sections of my chest. But despite the level of marking I'd endured, L had yet to dip any lower than my stomach—I could tell he wanted to, could feel it in the way he touched me, but he hadn't dared. "Maybe I want to forget," he repeated himself, hands going to my jaw, holding my head in place as he thrust his tongue past my lips, taking full advantage of my vulnerable position. There was a light tug on my collar, and I knew that L had turned his attention on unbuttoning my shirt. This, too, was common practice between us now.

L drew away for a moment, and I saw that his features were relaxed, lips curved upwards in a smile. But his eyes—his eyes were different. They were half-lidded, clouded… lustful. I'd never seen him look quite like that before, not even after the most intense of our little sessions. L's fingers twisted in the collar of my shirt, which now hung completely open, revealing every mark, every scratch from the past four days. L made use of my collar to push me against the wall as his lips crashed back against mine in a harsh, heated kiss. I groaned as his knee came up to rub at the space between my legs, and immediately I could feel all the blood rushing to one very specific point in my body.

"L!" I gasped. "What are you—?"

He growled, gripping me by the shoulders and walking us towards the bed. One shove had me sprawled on my back, gazing up at him in anticipation. This… seemed different than all the other times. L seemed different. His eyes were glazed as he threw himself onto the bed, straddling me as his tongue found its way back into my mouth. Only when my lungs ached for breath did he pull away, instead moving his mouth down to lap at the side of my neck, sending shivers through me as he passed over all his previous marks. I turned my head away, making the flesh more accessible to his probing tongue. L hummed his appreciation as his hands returned to my shirt. Swift fingers slipped my arms from the sleeves, prying the shirt from my body and unlocking the handcuffs in order to throw it away from us. The cuffs didn't go back on.

His hands undid the latch at my belt. "Hey," I protested, half jokingly. "What's with the sudden enthusiasm?"

He didn't even slow his actions, popping the button of my pants open and pulling the zipper down. "I've realized something," he said, voice low.

"Hmm?" I murmured, distracted by the way L had hooked his thumbs into my belt loops, by the way he was tugging at them slowly, as to still give me time to stop him.

"I've realized that we have no idea how much time we have left…" He paused his movements in favor of kissing me again in that slow, passionate way. "…And yet I've been allowing you to stay beside me, completely pure and untouched, despite the attraction we obviously share. I've been holding back. But you don't want me to hold back, do you? I've been wasting days doing nothing but kissing you when I could be doing so much more…" He drew back, staring me in the eyes. "Isn't that right, Light?" I knew he was asking, as he'd asked me many times before, is this okay?

And as always, I nodded breathlessly, drawing him in for a short kiss. "If that's the case, then why am I the only one being stripped?" I protested, yanking at the bottom of his shirt. He grinned toothily, hands going to his shirt and stripping it from his own form. It went to join mine on the floor before he returned his hands to my belt. He had it off in a heartbeat, and was back to tugging impatiently at the belt loops. I raised my hips to aid him in sliding my slacks off my body, leaving me in nothing but my black boxers. Once again noticing the imbalance in our state of dress, I pulled at his jeans. They came off with ease, and immediately a blush painted itself across my face when I realized that he wasn't wearing anything beneath.

"Really?" I asked, fighting the warmth in my cheeks. "No boxers?"

"What?" He asked, a knowing grin on his face. "I find them impractical."

"Of course you do," I laughed, rolling my eyes. I reached down and gripped the waistband of my boxers, yanking them off myself in one, smooth motion.

L pouted. "I wanted to do that."

I grinned up at him, eyes half-lidded. "I'm sorry, would you like me to put them back on just so you can remove them again?"

His eyes flashed. "No," he murmured silkily, lips returning to my neck. "I am very against you being clothed at the moment." He pulled my mouth open with his thumb before plunging his tongue inside, setting my blood alight. The hand that wasn't grasping my face palmed over my chest, pinching a sensitive nipple between two fingers. I writhed weakly as a gasp was drawn from my slightly swollen lips at the jolt of arousal sent straight between my legs. As I lay beneath L, his hands, lips, and teeth invoking these sinful reactions within me, I dimly thought that this was the last thing I should be doing. Especially with the task force just a few floors away, and my life on the line. And, of course, the fact that Beyond was quite possibly watching all of us through the security cameras. But somehow, as L's hand slid down my chest and stomach to grip my arousal, it didn't seem to matter.

To hell with it, I thought, lacing my fingers through L's hair and pulling him into yet another heated kiss. If I'm going to die, I'm at least going to go out knowing that I gave L this, at least.

A sudden jolt of pleasure brought me back to present time. L's lips were attacking mine as he pumped his hand up and down over my arousal, each stroke increasing in speed and pressure.

"L!" I gasped, feeling pressure building deep within me. "If you keep that up—!"

He hummed against my mouth, pausing his motions to run his thumb over the head of my cock. The action sent a pleasant thrill running up my spine, and once again I didn't seem to be able to control my own actions as I arched up into L's touch. "Light…" he whispered, stroking up and down, but not quite resuming the mind blowing pace he'd set mere moments ago. "My Light…" He pressed his lips lightly to the center of my throat, and the near-gentleness reminded me of that second night, the night in which we'd exchanged nothing but soft, chaste kisses. But this was definitely nothing like that night, I reflected, as L's lips moved an inch lower and repeated the kiss, this time with more passion. Just an inch lower I felt his lips again, accompanied by the barest touch of his tongue to my skin. I barely concealed a moan as the detective moved another inch lower, then another, and another, each time growing just a little bit more passionate, biting just a little bit harder. There would be a trail of marks, I knew, but I couldn't bring myself to care. All that mattered was L.

I felt him pause, breath rolling across the flesh just below my navel. "L?" I murmured, wanting to ask him what he was doing, but unable to form a full sentence.

In response I received a near predatory grin. His hands sealed over my hips, holding me down, and the next moment I felt L's lips on the head of my cock, pressing lightly, teasingly. A moan wrenched itself from my lips, seemingly against my will, as a surge of pleasure coursed through me. L's eyes stayed locked on my face as he repeated the action, this time flicking his tongue out for just a moment, just enough to be completely maddening.

"You're such a tease," I accused him breathlessly, straining against his hold.

"Am I?" he asked with a smirk. "We'll just have to fix that, then..." Still grinning, he leaned down and wrapped his lips around just the head, swirling his tongue over me, tightening his lips. I let out a sharp gasp as I felt him take me just a bit deeper, suck just a little bit harder. He was moving maddeningly slow, applying just enough pressure to drive me insane. His fingers dug into my hips as I bucked up against him in an attempt to get him to move faster. "Now, now," he chastised, pulling away slightly. "Behave yourself, Light." He didn't wait for my response. Instead he dipped his head once more, taking me into his mouth for a second time, this time sinking his lips down as far as he could. He paused for a heartbeat as the head of my cock brushed the back of his throat, no doubt trying to familiarize himself with the sensation. As he paused, his tongue laved up and down my arousal generously. He sucked hard, and I felt the pool of heat low in my stomach grow.

"L!" I whined, reaching out and tangling my fingers in his hair. "Please—!"

He hummed, sending tiny bolts of pleasure up my spine. Then, slowly be pulled off me until his lips were sealed only over the head. Just as slowly, he slid his lips back down until he could go no further. He repeated the process, this time slightly faster. Then he repeated it again, and again, each time growing more and more sure of himself, more and more confident. With every thrust he wrapped his tongue around me further, tightened his lips more, sucked me harder. It didn't take long for him to relax his throat, letting me penetrate his mouth to the fullest extent. That coil of arousal grew with every motion L made, with every lap of his tongue and every deep, insistent suck. I felt myself coming to my end. And then L hummed again, sending vibrations tingling through me, and I thought for sure that I would die right then and there if I didn't reach completion. I let out a long moan as I felt myself reaching my limit. Just a second more, a moment longer, and—

L halted his motions completely, drawing away with a wet, vulgar sound.

"What're you doing?" I slurred, convinced I would loose my mind if L didn't continue. "Why'd you stop?"

L's hands left my hips as he raised them to once again palm over my chest, rolling my hardened nipples between his fingers. "I can't have you finish too early, now, can I?" he murmured.

I had half a mind to throw him off me then and there, to reach down and coax myself to completion—but the mind blowing kiss L had just instituted was enough to keep me preoccupied, if only for a moment.

I let out a soft whimper as L broke contact without warning. He crawled off me suddenly and bent to open a drawer in his nightstand. He growled in irritation as whatever he sought evaded him, then made a content noise as he triumphantly pulled something out of the drawer and slammed it shut. He was back on top of me before I had a chance to ask him what he was up to. He straddled my waist and fiddled with what he had removed from the drawer. I heard the soft click as a cap was opened, and for a moment my mind went blank. It didn't take a genius to figure out what L was holding. L squirted some of the clear liquid onto two fingers, holding his hand up so I could see what he was doing.

"Is this okay?" he repeated his earlier words softly, his lips brushing my ear.

I was caught in an internal conflict for a moment—one part of me wanting to beg L to continue, and the other part warning me about the pain of what was about to happen, the humiliation. But before I could dwell too hard on the immanent pain, I smiled at L confidently and gave him a short nod. "It's more than okay."

L shot me an adoring look, then pushed a slickened finger against my entrance. I barely had time to register the slight nip of pain before the finger was pushing in. I gasped in a mix of pain and pleasure as L moved that finger back and forth. It didn't take long before L, deciding I was ready, pushed in a second finger, then a third a few moments later. His fingers prodded and stretched me open, the actions producing a dull burn. L's face contorted slightly as he began curving his fingers slightly at different angles every time he pushed back in. A few attempts later L found what he was looking for. The tip of one his fingers brushed tantalizingly against something deep inside of me, igniting my senses as an almost painful jolt of pleasure shook my body. I moaned before I could stop myself, pushing myself further onto L's fingers. Upon hearing my breathless sounds he drew back to gaze at me, lips slightly parted as he watched my reaction. He seemed to like whatever he saw in my eyes, for he chuckled, purring out,

"You like that, don't you, Light?"

He jabbed his fingers back against that pleasurable spot, and my vision turned white. When his free hand returned to my arousal, I thought I was going to pass out. "L!" I moaned. "Please!"

He looked up at me innocently. "I'm sorry, Light, but what do you mean by that?"

I hissed at him, slightly irritated. "You've done enough preparing."

He leaned in until his face was mere inches from mine. Both hands had stopped their movement. "Does my Light want something? All you need to do is ask…"

The bastard was really going to make me say it. I reached up a hand to grasp his collar, pulling him in for a brief kiss. "I want you to take me, L," I snarled, burying the remaining shreds of my dignity. "Stop teasing and give me what I want!"

His eyes were glazed with lust. "If that is what my Light desires…" He was squirting more of the clear liquid onto his hands now. He stroked himself a few times until he was sufficiently lubricated, then positioned himself at my entrance. "It will hurt, Light."

"I don't care," I breathed. My hands wrapped around his neck, legs hooked over his hips as he bent over me. "Do it."

And just like that, he was pushing in. His eyes were locked onto my face, constantly watching for any sign of discomfort as he slid further and further into my pliant body. I was sure that there was pain, but the pure pleasure of being so close to L overwhelmed all but a few pricks of it. When he was fully inside, hips flush with mine, he paused to gauge my reaction. "Light?"

I tugged him down, littering light kisses all over his face and chest in reassurance, despite the small flickers of pain lacing up my spine. For a heartbeat the both of us stayed perfectly still—me in an attempt to quell the pricks of pain, him in an effort to stop from hurting me. I dipped his head, pressing his forehead to mind, and I could feel the blood rushing beneath his skin, the heat of the restraint he was trying so hard to maintain. He wouldn't last long this way, I knew. So in a breathless tone, I tilted my head up to brush our lips together. "Move," I whispered.

He complied. L locked his lips to mine in earnest as he began to thrust, slowly at first, then more and more swiftly as his restraint failed him. At some point in his passionate display, the pricks of pain were chased away, and a warm feeling of pleasure replaced it. It wasn't long before I was raising my hips to meet L with every thrust, panting and moaning his name. And then L struck that same spot, harshly, and I almost screamed. A grin danced across L's lips as he realized what had happened, and he repeated the action again, striking that same area again and again until he was able to hit it precisely with every snap of his hips.

"L, please—!" I begged.

The smile didn't drop off his face as he reached a hand down to grasp my cock. He stroked me in time with his thrusts, latching his teeth onto my neck at the same time. I gasped at the sensory overload assaulting me. "I'm going to—!" I warned.

"Then come," he murmured heatedly, giving me a particularly harsh thrust. I held out for a few more moments, a coil of heat building within me, then cried out as I came, spatters of white dirtying L's stomach and my own. My own release must have brought L to his, for it was only a few more insistent thrusts before he buried himself deep within me, and came with a moan.

"Light!" He held himself in place for a moment more before giving out and collapsing onto my chest. For a moment we just lay there, chests rising and falling in unison, lips parted slightly. L's arms were curled around my shoulders, mine draped around his waist. It wasn't until a few minutes later, when my breath had evened slightly, when I finally spoke.

"L…" I whined. "Pull out…"

"Just a minute longer," he murmured, his nose brushing the skin of my neck.

I moaned painfully; my back was already aching, and I was sure I'd be in hellish pain later. But it had been worth it… oh yes; it had been very worth it. Another moan was drawn from my lips as L lifted himself slightly and pulled out very, very slowly. The sensation left flickers of pleasure in its wake. "L…" I whimpered.

"Shh…" He rolled off me, immediately crushing me to his chest. My back was suddenly flush with his dirtied chest, his spent cock grinding into me from behind.

"I should clean up," I protested weakly.

"Sleep first," L insisted, tongue lapping at my neck lovingly. "Clean later."

I was too exhausted to disagree. So instead I turned my head and offered my lips to L. He chuckled lightly, offering me a soft kiss, before draping an arm across my chest and leaving it there. A few heartbeats later his breathing evened out, and he was out like a light. I found amusement in that, even through my swiftly clouding mind.

Hmm… I thought as my consciousness faded. I guess even he can get tired…

†††

Beyond lounged back in his chair, his laptop open before him, displaying L and Light's room. He supposed any decent person would have turned the video feed off after their clothes has come off—but then again, Beyond wasn't a decent person.

When it was all over, and L and Light were fast asleep in each other's arms, he shut the lid of his laptop and turned to Ryuk. "Now is the time," he told the shinigami with a cold smile. "Ryuk, I will be going out for a few hours. I expect to return with the Yagami boy before dawn."

The shinigami cackled. "You saw how they're sleeping; curled around each other. How are you going to separate them without waking L up?"

Beyond bent down and snatched his shoulder bag. He reached inside and rifled through the contents, giving a satisfied grin when he found exactly what he needed. "That's a secret." He stalked over to the door and opened it, crossing the threshold halfway before turning back to Ryuk. "I'd like you to get a few things ready for me, if you don't mind."

Ryuk tilted his head to one side curiously. "Oh, and what's that?"

The murderer pressed a finger to his lips. "Listen very carefully, Ryuk. Here's what I need you to do…"

†††

Beyond stood outside the task force headquarters, head tilted backwards to stake in the full height of the building. L did a good job, he reflected. If I weren't a genius then I probably wouldn't be able to get in. He knew from the security cameras that L's room was up on the highest floor, and that Near, Mello, and Matt's rooms were right next to his. And as fate would have it, Watari's monitoring room was just a few doors down. Good. All of my problems are in one place. This is going to be embarrassingly simple… Beyond's eyes darted upwards as a gust of air swept over him. "Ryuk," he greeted as the shinigami appeared, hovering over his head. "It is done?"

Ryuk nodded with a grin. "Everything is set up just the way you want. I just flew over here to watch the show!"

Beyond nodded. "Very well. Just don't do anything that would jeopardize the mission." He looked back up to the top of the building.

"So what's the plan?" Ryuk asked eagerly.

"You're going to fly me up to the roof, and I'm going to get in the same way I got into the Yotsuba building."

"What?" the shinigami whined. "Come on, why do I have to do it?"

"Because it'll make things more interesting."

"You already said that! You said that when I set up the cameras, and nothing's happened since!"

"Something's happening now, you dolt!" Beyond snapped angrily. "So fly me up to the roof!"

Ryuk looked highly displeased, but Beyond had no doubt that he would obey. After all, the shinigami was curious to a fault—he wouldn't be able to resist seeing what was going to happen.

"Come on," Beyond ordered when the shinigami was too slow in agreeing. "If you wait all night, I won't have time to go through with it!"

There was only a brief pause before Ryuk finally grumbled, "Fine, fine. But you owe me for this, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I owe you more apples…"

Ryuk shot the dark-haired murderer a toothy grin. "You guessed it." He reached out an arm, allowing Beyond to grab hold of it. "Don't fall!" he advised. "It's not my job to catch you, you know."

Beyond opened his mouth to shoot back a scathing reply, but before he could, Ryuk shot up into the air. For the few moments the journey lasted, Beyond was almost convinced that all the air had been sucked from his lungs. For all the few weeks he'd known him, Ryuk had always moved at a slow, leisurely pace. But now he moved impossibly fast, darting upwards on swift wings. Before he knew it, he was being dropped rather harshly onto the roof. The breath was forcibly removed from his lungs as he landed on his back.

"Ryuk…" Beyond growled irritably.

"What?" he asked innocently.

Beyond pushed himself to his feet with a groan, testing his jarred muscles to make sure nothing was out of place. He adjusted his shoulder bag and spun around, searching for the door that would lead him inside.

There it is. Beyond stomped noisily over to the door. It was locked, quite foolishly, from the outside, and with a shiny new padlock. Good, this was good! A lock he could deal with. He pulled his set of lockpicks from his bag and set to work on the lock. He was appalled when it clicked away so easily—had they really thought this would keep him out? No, they probably figured that he would never try the roof in the first place. After all, it was only accessible by one of two ways—from the inside, or with the power of flight. Beyond shoved the door open and peered inside. There was a long, dark hallway leading away from the door, with doors lining the hall on either side. He wasn't yet close to where L and Light resided—though, from here, he wouldn't have to worry about being on the right floor. A soft, electronic sound drew Beyond's attention to the security cameras lining the walls. They were everywhere, he noticed with distaste. No matter, he could dodge them with a little effort.

Beyond moved silently down the halls, ducking into rooms whenever a camera moved its muzzle towards him. It didn't take long until he reached Watari's monitoring station. The old fool was staying a few doors over from L. Beyond reached into his bag and pulled out a towel, which he shoved against the bottom of the door. Next he pulled out a small canister and punctured it, slipping the muzzle under the door. He waited until he heard the telltale thud of the old man collapsing, then moved on. He repeated the process with Near, Matt, and Mello. All too soon, his prize was the only one left to knock out. Though, of course, he wanted to have a bit of fun first.

Beyond slipped into their room undetected. The fingerprint scanner had been a problem, but he had simply dragged Watari's body to the door and used him as a key. After he'd done it he supposed that he should have just cut off a finger, but in his excitement he hadn't been thinking too clearly. Beyond slowly moved to the bed, drugged rag in hand. He took a moment to observe the sleeping forms of the two beings. They truly were adorable, he thought—curled around each other so thoroughly that he almost couldn't tell where one began and the other ended. He gazed down at Light's beautiful face, his hair resting around his head like an amber halo. He was god-like. Stunning. It was almost a shame to bring harm to such a perfect being. Almost.

Beyond moved his gaze to L. His eyes raked up and down over the detective in a way that might have seemed loving, had he not been a psychopath. As Beyond leaned forward, he felt the knife tucked into his belt press into his side. Oh, it was so tempting to just lean down and slit his throat… but no. That would be too easy, he knew. L had to suffer for what he had done—for rejecting him all that time ago, for siding with A, for thwarting him in LA and throwing him in jail. For trying to keep him away from Light. Beyond had done oh so many things in his attempts to pay L back for everything he'd done. He'd even gotten his hands on Mello for a few days at one point. He'd made some good progress too, until L came bursting in and ruined everything. He'd barely escaped with his life. It wasn't a mistake he intended to repeat. This time, he had everything planned out.

Beyond offered L one last glance before leaning down and sealing the drugged rag over his nose and mouth. After a few long moments to make sure the detective was properly knocked out, the murderer gave his form a sharp tug, disengaging him from Light in a heartbeat. He tossed L carelessly against the wall, where he slid to the ground and didn't move. Light, on the other hand, was awake immediately. Beyond noted with amusement that both L and Light seemed to have pulled boxers and a shirt back on before falling asleep, probably just in case someone walked in to wake them up. Well, that was no fun… Beyond would just have to undress Light again. The murderer chuckled, twirling his knife between his fingers. This was going to be a lot of fun…

†††

I awoke to the sensation of L's body being wrenched from mine, and the sound of him hitting the wall. I was on my feet in a heartbeat, terror jolting through me as I searched for whoever had pulled us apart. Sleep was gone from my mind faster than light as my eyes flitted around the room. It was then that I saw him… Beyond Birthday. He stood mere feet from me with a savage grin on his face. A knife was clutched in one hand, a large, threatening thing that gleamed menacingly.

"Light Yagami," he greeted, teeth glinting.

"Beyond," I choked, flattening myself against the wall. "How did you get in here?"

"Secret," he purred, stalking closer. As he neared I saw a terrifying glint in his eyes, a hint of madness in the way he watched me. "Don't worry, god!" he whispered, his tone low and dangerous. "I will kill Light Yagami and leave this beautiful body all for you!" He was still advancing. I tried to back up further, but there was nowhere for me to go. I was trapped between the bed, the wall, and Beyond. Cornered. The word bounced around in my head. I opened my mouth with the intention of screaming for the successors, but Beyond had a hand over my mouth before I could draw breath. "Now, now," he chastised. "Screaming won't do you any good. Everyone who would hear you has been knocked out cold." My eyes found a rag on the floor beside L, and I knew immediately that he'd been drugged. The successors were probably in no better condition. My stomach twisted and turned nervously, and I was reminded of that horrifying moment right before a massive drop on a roller coaster.

"Aren't you going to drug me too?" I managed to ask, hoping my voice didn't sound too terrified.

He threw his head back and laughed. "No, I'd prefer to do things the old fashioned way with you." His forearm came up to press across my shoulders, pinning me. I knew I should move, try to fight him—but my body had frozen up in terror. His other hand brought the knife up to my face. I felt a brief flash of pain before warm liquid began dripping from the cut he'd made on my cheek. "The cameras haven't been tampered with, by the way," he informed me, tracing the knife along my jawline just lightly enough so that it wouldn't break the skin. "L is going to see every minute of this. He's going to hear you scream—" He lowered the knife to my arm and slashed brutally, the blade slicing through flesh effortlessly. A screech pushed at my teeth, but I managed to hold it back, only letting out a gasp as he crushed me against the wall. "Come now, Light," he whispered as blood dripped from the deep cut, spattering the ground. "Scream for me… make all of those beautiful noises you made for L…"

A blush rose to my cheeks. I hadn't forgotten that he'd been watching every second of my night with L.

"Yes," he purred. "I saw every moment, every expression you made. And I look forward to recreating those expressions…"

My eyes widened. "No, you can't mean—!"

"Oh, but I do," his lips brushed my cheek as he spoke, hot breath rolling across my face. "I told you that I was going to make you scream, Yagami." His tongue darted out to lap at the cut on my cheek. My fists clenched as I struggled to hold down my reaction to the revolting move. "Do you want to know what the worst part about your situation is?" His hands reached for my shirt, dipping beneath the collar.

"Don't," I hissed, voice strangled.

"The worst part about all this is that it's all L's fault," he went on, tugging at my collar. "He was the one who kissed you first, the one who initiated your relationship. If he hadn't done that, then I would have hurt you a little, maybe tortured you for a few days just for my own amusement. But it would have been over soon enough, and I would have given you your memories back. But now, now that I know I can use you to hurt L… there will be no end to the horrors I'll force you to endure. Who knows?" His voice was hardly more than a whisper. "Maybe I'll use my powers to control your actions. I could make you do anything, you know… I could make you beg for me." A hand forced my chin up. "I could make you put on quite a show for L."

"Bastard!" I growled, attempting to hide the fact that my body was completely seized in terror. Something in the back of my mind screamed that something was wrong, that I should be very concerned over Beyond's threat to "return my memories." But that's insane, I reminded myself. I haven't lost any memories—and even if I had, I doubt very much that Beyond could return them.

"Now, now," he purred, "don't be like that… you don't have to worry. I'd never dare to use my power against you… not against the one, true Kira!"

So even Beyond thought I was Kira. But it wasn't true—it wasn't! "I'm not Kira," I managed through chattering teeth. "Don't you dare call me that, you bastard!"

"Let's not call each other names." Beyond leaned in until his lips were barely brushing mine. I could smell blood on his breath. "You might make me angry, after all…" His lips crushed against mine violently. Through the immediate disgust and horror that rushed through me, I was struck by the realization that this was nothing like kissing L. He had been soft and sweet, passionate and caring. But Beyond… he was stone cold. Harsh. The kiss was more tongue and teeth than anything else, a brutal clash between two beings. Beyond's teeth yanked on my bottom lip, and I felt the skin split and blood drip down my chin. This wasn't pleasurable in the least. It was painful.

Beyond pulled back just long enough to suck the blood from my skin before latching his lips to my neck. I gasped in disgust, turning my head to one side in an attempt to throw him off. I realized too late that I'd exposed my neck to him.

"So willing," he purred, tongue tracing mindless patterns on my skin. "What would L think if he saw you so ready to submit to me?"

I regained my senses at the thought of L watching the scene and thinking I was giving in. I couldn't—wouldn't let him think that! "I'm not willing!" I snarled, raising both arms and pushing him away violently. The monster staggered backwards by several steps. "You're disgusting!"

His eyes glinted. "You're going to regret that." He advanced on me with the knife raised just over his head. Oh god… he was going to kill me! I had to fight back! I forced my frozen legs to move, lunging at the murderer and punching him in the center of his chest. Unfortunately Beyond had anticipated the move—he dodged out of the way in a blur of movement and slammed his elbow into my back. I crashed to the ground breathlessly. I sensed the knife whirling towards my head, prompting me to roll out of the way and spring to my feet. This time Beyond was caught off guard as I swept my foot out and tripped him. He rolled upon impact and rose immediately.

"A good fighter!" he complimented. He swung his fist towards my face. Instantly I moved to the side, only to feel something connect with my legs and send me crashing into the wall. A sharp jolt of pain shot through my chest, only worsened when Beyond's threw his full weight onto me, his body crushing me into the wall further. "It was moronic of you to fall for such a juvenile trick," he whispered playfully, a Cheshire-like smile on his face. The pressure on my chest increased, and for a heartbeat my world went white. A cry was torn from my bleeding lips.

"There we go!" Beyond cooed. "Finally making some noise, I see!" The pain was becoming agonizing. If I didn't do something, and fast, I was going to black out. I managed to jab an elbow back into Beyond's chest, forcing him to stumble back. I took the opportunity to whirl around and punch him in the face as hard as I could—which unfortunately wasn't very hard seeing as even raising my arm sent pain lacing up my chest. Damn it… I hoped he hadn't cracked a rib. Beyond laughed, teeth bare and bloodied. "It's over!" he cackled. "You can barely raise your arms!"

I knew he was right—I was fighting a losing battle. But I refused to give in. In a last attempt to win, I feigned a kick. When Beyond moved to avoid it, I darted to the side and jammed my fist into his side. But the moment I made contact he whirled around and grabbed me by the wrist. He jerked my arm above my head, pulling a scream from my throat. Beyond grabbed the other wrist and repeated the action. I bit back another cry as his fingers settled against my damaged chest, pressing lightly. "Does it hurt?" he whispered. "It's going to get a whole lot worse, you know." I felt my back hit the wall. The knife came up, tracing a mindless pattern into my bruising flesh. Blood dripped from the shallow cuts, soaking my shirt and falling in droplets to the carpet below. "I would love to play with you all night," he sighed. "But unfortunately, that stuff I hit L with isn't going to last forever. So as disappointing as it is, I think I'll have to end our little fight." He slammed me into the wall brutally, snapping my head back against the plaster. Large, blurry dots covered my vision, and for just a moment I lost grip on reality. My vision cleared just in time for Beyond to slam me back against the wall for a second time. Then he did it again. And again.

Darkness edged my vision as my head struck the wall for the fourth time. I struggled to stay awake, to pull my arms from Beyond's hold—but it was no use. He was too strong for my weakened body. I briefly considered how embarrassing this would be when L watched the footage. Beaten by a wall? Pathetic!

"You're still conscious?" Beyond snarled. He pulled me back one last time, and with his full strength, slammed me against the wall as hard as he could. I felt something in my chest snap, felt my head crack against the wall. That was it—the darkness was taking over, reaching out its arms to me in an inviting embrace. I wanted to turn it away, to escape the darkness—but with every moment I felt myself growing weaker and weaker.

I felt Beyond's grip on me slacken. I managed to hold myself up, but only just. My knees were shaking violently; I could barely feel my legs. I threw one arm back against the wall in an attempt to brace myself. But as a terrible tearing sensation rippled across my skin, I realized that I'd further opened the deep would slashed across my arm—blood spattered the wall, and it was a matter of seconds before I lost my grip due to the slick, scarlet liquid. Beyond was murmuring something to me, saying something, but I couldn't hear it. The only sense I had left was sight—and even that was quickly fading. I whimpered, feeling my legs give out as my whole body went limp. Beyond released me completely, and I was unable to stop myself from sliding to the ground. As my cheek met carpet, I caught one last glimpse of Beyond before my body gave in to the depths of unconsciousness.

He was grinning.

This is the end of part one of six. I'm actually really eager to get through the first two parts, because after that is really when the story picks up and you start to get to the main storyline (because believe it or not, we haven't even touched on most of the main elements of the storyline). This early part is my least favorite, but I'm absolutely in love with part four. You'll see why eventually.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and leave a review if you did!