Law and Right

Warnings for this chapter: Angst, fluff, violence, language WIP.
SPOILERS: All manga, all anime, L's true name.

Important names
Hayate -- a name meaning "smooth," Mogi's alias.
Kenshin -- a name meaning "modest truth," Soichiro's alias.

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Law and Right

Chapter 22: Cunning

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Days of early morning walks had gotten Light used to the cool air, the strange chill that sometimes slid down his spine when they passed the alley where he'd been raped. He didn't sweat as much, didn't look around like he was being followed, or tremble whenever someone brushed past him.

He was growing used to being out in the open. Having that taste of freedom, so much greater than the one that met him on the roof. His hands were in his pockets that morning, his expresion relaxed with almost a smile on his lips.

He and his father were speaking about Ryuzaki in rather abstract terms, about the relationship and how it was growing. It had become a favorite topic of discussion between them, and it was clear that Soichiro was growing used to the idea of his son being homosexual.

Soichiro was just expressing his approval, putting his hand on Light's shoulder when it happened. A van rolled to a stop next to them, and they both took a few steps back, a defensive posture as the door slid open.

There was a semi-automatic weapon with the business end pointed at them, and the gunman had a cheerful little grin on his lips, with the stick of a lollypop poking out. "Well hello there, Yagami-san. If you don't mind, I'm afraid we've got a bit of business with your son. Come on and hop in, Light."

Light glanced at his father, raised his hands slowly and moved forward. "Matt, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah, and I bet you know who's in the driver's seat, too. We don't wanna hurt anybody, so get in and we'll take off without anyone worse for wear," Matt assured easily, rolling his shoulders.

"L will not be happy," Light said as he slowly moved forward.

"Yeah, well, he'll be less happy when he knows we've got Kira," he grinned widely at Light.

"And who would that be?" Light cocked an eyebrow.

"You, of course. Maybe not this time around, but you were once and you know enough about the notebook to give us an edge. Get in, we're gettin' impatient," Matt gestured into the van.

With one last look at his father, Light climbed in and sighed in relief when the door closed behind him without a shot fired.

"Awww, how cute. He thought we were actually gonna shoot," Matt laughed, putting the safety back on the gun and tossing it into the back, pulling out a pair of handcuffs to snap around Light's wrists.

"We may not do things by L's book," Mello said with a glance in the rearview mirror as they pulled away from the curb, "but we aren't don't kill senselessly."

"Only when it suits you?" Light asked dryly, shaking his head a little.

"You're one to talk, Kira," Mello shot back. "Sit back and keep quiet. We're gonna be on the road for a while."

Soichiro pulled out his cell phone, hit the speed dial for L and sighed when the detective picked up. "Mello has Toshio-kun."

There was a long silence before Ryuzaki replied. "Then we will have to move very carefully, Kenshin-san. Please return to the building."

"He knew our real names and who Toshio-kun was," Soichiro added, and it was the last thing he got out before a car swerved out of control. The screech of metal and a man's yell were the only sounds before the call dropped.

"Hayate-san," Ryuzaki said softly, "Please go down to the street and check on Kenshin-san."

When Mogi returned, his face was grim. "He is still alive, but it doesn't look promising," he said quietly. "A car spun out of control and pinned him to a building. He's on the way to a hospital now."

Ryuzaki pressed a thumb to his mouth, closed his eyes tightly. "I believe," he said softly, "that it is now safe to assume that Mello, Matt, or someone working for them, is Kira. They will also have abandoned their base with this new move. Near, when was the last time that Mello received a shipment of chocolate?"

"This morning," Near replied, tugging on his hair.

"Then it is likely that they were planning this," Ryuzaki replied with a deep frown. "If any of you wish to visit Yagami-san, I will have his condition monitored so that you can say goodbye. If this is Kira's work, then he will be gone soon."

"Does this mean we're dropping our aliases?" Aizawa asked with a deep frown.

"No," Ryuzaki replied. "Yagami-san is being removed from the case so that, if he survives, he has sufficient time to recover. He is no longer a threat to Kira."

There was a great deal of uneasiness then, but firm nods all around as they set to work, to hunt down Mello.

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me where you're taking me," Light mused, settled in the back of the van, his arms folded comfortably behind his back where they were cuffed.

"You're supposing right, Light," Mello said easily. "It's not like you'd recognize the place, anyway."

"That far out of the city, huh?" Light shrugged. "Well, I suppose that's a good thing. Less chance for me to be recognized."

"You thinking of running away from L?" Matt chuckled.

"No. I just don't enjoy running into people who know me," Light smiled faintly. "It causes problems."

"Yeah, dead people walking around are pretty hard to deal with," Matt agreed. "The thing I wanna know, though, is why did L keep you alive?"

A sad smile rose on Light's lips. "You know who Misa was?"

"The actress? Yeah, I've seen her stuff. She got killed a few months ago, didn't she? Right around the beginning of the new Kira case," Matt replied.

Light nodded. "She was the one that's responsible for my existence right now," he said with a soft smile, "she gave L the reason he was looking for, to keep me alive. He wanted to, but couldn't justify it until she gave him the reason to, it seems."

Mello choked on the soda he'd been drinking, glancing at Light in the rearview mirror. "You're fucking L?! Damn, I thought for sure he was scared of sex," he swerved to avoid a collision.

"We're not... fucking," Light grimaced, shaking his head a little. "We're together, yes, but not quite that far along yet."

"But gettin' there," Matt gave a cheshire grin, laughing when Mello made a gagging sound.

"That's mostly my issue," Light replied quietly.

"Yeah, we know about that, too. Public record," Matt stole a bar of chocolate from a box, unwrapped it.

"You're gonna replace that," Mello snapped. "Give me one," he held a hand back, grinning when another one was pressed into his hand. He bit into it viciously and sighed happily as the chocolate melted onto his tongue. "God, I love this shit."

Matt broke off a piece of his own bar, put it in Light's mouth and laughed at the odd expression Light made as he pulled it all the way into his mouth, savored the flavor.

"Anyway, when we found you had a pattern, we decided it might be a good idea to get you outta there," Matt said lightly. "No sense in having such a treasure trove of information sitting right there for Near to pick at.

When Light finished his piece of chocolate, he raised an eyebrow. "You don't much like him, do you?"

Mello snorted. "I'd rather be thrown to a pack of angry, starving wolves than deal with him again."

"So cheerful," Light mused. "Though I can't find reason to disagree, myself. He's unpleasant."

"Yeah, well, you ought to think so," Matt replied quietly, "but you've got to figure out the why of it for yourself."

"You do realize that doing this made you look like Kira, right?" Light asked easily. "If you had pretended not to know our names..."

"L would have figured it out anyway. Why else would we kidnap a random guy walking down the street?" Mello shook his head. "There was no way to avoid that, but we need you."

"And why is that?" Light raised an eyebrow.

"Because L values you, and we need a bargaining chip. We know how it looks, and we need to buy time to get the proof. You're going to buy us time," Mello replied.

"We know Near made our base, so we stocked up and moved out. To keep them from moving in, we've got you," Matt added.

"Then I'll give you a bonus," Light replied, "I'll help you prove your point."

"Eager to be Kira again, huh?" Mello smirked into the rear view mirror. "All right, then."

In the back of the van, Ryuk chuckled.

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A/N: Mello and Matt make their first big appearance! =3