A/N: Last chapter, guys! Questions shall be answered! Thanks to Rain.E.Day, Serria, Xhadow Kiss, Mod.Or.Rocker, Shadow-L-Chan, Meng-4-2, CaeliaDanan, judikickshiney, Necrophiliac1118, and Andrea Tyler for reviews!

So, this chapter seems a little sudden, but this was always going to be a threeshot, so, here's my third shot. Shot of what, exactly? I can't really say. I was possessed by a free-floating B muse when I wrote this thing (a couple of weeks ago) and you know how those can be.

If you guys have been holding out for the B/Light, it's in here, not in a terribly consensual way. I mean, what did you think B meant the last chapter when he said he takes without asking?

-smacks self- BE WARNED.

With any luck, the first chapter of my new story, Friendly Fire, should be up tomorrow. It's my long project du jour, getting a lot of the characters together in a serious AU setting (not like MissUnderstanding), and I think you guys will like it. Suspense, action, everything.

Thank you all so much! Glad to know I'm not the only one with a soft spot for B!

Much love,

D

Act Three: Trapped

Light headed out to the hotel at 9:00 pm, just as B's note had indicated. It was a nice hotel, not inexpensive, and not too far away from the Kira Case Headquarters—how convenient. B was so thoughtful that way.

Feeling, strangely, not too nervous, Light approached the front desk and cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he asked, somehow knowing which name to give. "Do you have a Rue Ryuzaki listed?"

The concierge looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back, guarded, polite. "Rue Ryuzaki, huh?" She typed the name into her computer. "Yeah, he's here."

Of course. So predictable, B. "Could you please tell me which room he's in?"

She glanced back at the screen. "Hmm, that's funny…Room 1313. Would you like me to call him for you?"

"No, that's alright. He's expecting me." 1313. BB. Light wondered vaguely how B had managed to swing that.

He headed for the elevator and pressed the button, tapping his foot lightly on the carpet as he waited for it to come. He couldn't help that he was impatient. Fidgeting, he glanced at his watch. 9:03pm, 30 seconds. 45 seconds. Timing was key. Light straightened his jacket and waited.

When the elevator came, it was empty. Light and a woman, heavy-set, foreign, boarded. He stood on the other end, keeping his distance, and paying no attention to her, too preoccupied with what awaited him thirteen floors up. The woman got off on the fourth floor, just as another passenger joined him, slinking past her in the doorway.

"You need the room key," said Beyond Birthday. "Besides, I thought you'd get lonely, henh henh. Nine floors is a long way to go."

Light said nothing as the doors closed and the elevator began to move again, shaking them a little as it did.

"It's no fun if you aren't talking back," B pressed. "Don't worry, I'm not going to try anything in here. Not enough time."

Light glared at him. "So, you're going to try something elsewhere, I assume."

"Oh, you know what they say, Light-kun." B stifled a giggle. "Do or do not, there is no try. I plan on doing. Succeeding." He eyed Light, a fly caught in his web. It was such an odd expression for L's face to be wearing. "And I don't expect you to put up much of a fight."

"You don't," Light said dryly. "Why is that?"

"Oh, you know." B leaned his head on Light's shoulder and brushed the side of Light's face with his fingers. "You're intrigued by me, even if I am a criminal. I have Lawli's face. And you…" He toyed with one of the buttons of Light's shirt. "You miss Lawli's face, Light-kun."

The elevator dinged. Perfect timing. "We should get out," Light managed uncomfortably. "We're here."

"Oh, so we are. Follow me."

B walked out of the elevator in the same, hunching way that L always had, which disgusted Light. This man, this thing, was not L, no matter how hard he tried to imitate him. The childish mannerisms which L wore seemed somewhat menacing on Beyond Birthday, his inversion, his confused counterpart. Still…there was a strange truth to what B had said. Light needed L out of the way to achieve his goals as Kira, but he had, somehow, regretted killing him. And with B here, acting the way he did, Light was remembering some of the things he had tried so very hard to forget over the past year.

B inserted the key card into the slot, holding it with his thumb and index finger. The little light on the lock flashed green, and he turned the handle, letting Light in before closing the door behind them and locking it.

"Would you like something to eat?" B asked politely. "Although I'm not sure how fond you are of strawberry jam. It's all I have."

"That's alright," Light said, leaning up against a dresser and pressing a hand to the handle. He removed his jacket and set it on the top. "I know better than to accept anything edible from a serial killer."

"Oh, so you have read up on me." B was pleased. "Flattered. Henh henh. Although I must say, that's an incredibly ironic statement coming from you, Light-kun." He bared his teeth in a grin. "Won't you sit down? The bed is extremely comfortable."

"Forget it, B. It won't be that easy." Light paced around the room, stopping just short of the queen-sized mattress. The room was a bit too small for his liking. "You promised me answers."

"So I did." B climbed into a chair and sat exactly like L had, with his feet flat on the seat and his knees pressed to his chest. "Well, ask what you like, I'll see if I can satisfy."

What did he mean, "see if I can satisfy?" He either knew or he didn't. Light shook his head. "What was your relationship with L?"

"Ooh," said B. "The jackpot." He giggled. "Let's just say I probably have more of a right to the title of L than you do. Lawli was my idol when I was young. Not too much older than I, but so bright, so brilliant, that's what they said. That was my Lawli. You didn't even know his real name, did you?" Light shook his head, and B sighed, disappointed and oddly reminiscent. "L Lawliet. Lawli. I was raised to succeed him, but I wanted to go farther, to surpass him. And I tried." He laughed again, that harsh, grating laugh. "Oh, how I tried. I tried every way I could to beat him. My beautiful little Lawli…" He stared off into space for a few seconds, and Light swore he saw a glint of red in those wide, crazy eyes. "He liked to pretend he didn't know me, and he told that Misora girl he'd never met me, but oh, he knew me. And I knew him. I thought the only way to beat him was to become a criminal, a criminal who he couldn't catch, so I did several criminal things. More than several, and very criminal. Henh henh. You know about the Serial Murders, but those were the tip of the iceberg. It was all for him, though. All for Lawli."

Light was repulsed. "What did you do to L, B?" he asked quietly, feeling nauseous.

B shook his head, cracked his neck. "Not yet. You'll find that out later." He reached under his chair and drew out a container of strawberry jam. He licked his lips as he unscrewed the cap. "Next question."

"Who's M?"

B, his fingers in the jar of jam, looked up. "Uh-uh," he said, withdrawing his fingers and licking them off. "That one's off limits. You have to find about M and N when they get to you. And trust me, Light-kun, they will get to you. They're very determined when they put their little minds to work."

M and N? That's no answer. Light opened his mouth to protest B's evasion, to ask for further explanation, and then closed it, realizing it would do no good to try to reason with this man. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he snapped. "How did you know about me?"

"That's the easiest one," B said, shrugging, licking around the edge of the jam jar. "I followed Lawli here, and he led me to you. I only had to follow you a little while to figure out just who you were." He smirked. "Lawli kept you on a chain, I remember. Pretty little plaything, weren't you? That's what I thought, anyway. That's what I would have done if I had you on a chain. Played with you."

Light forced a bitter laugh, increasingly wary. "I'm glad I was handcuffed to L, then. So how did you end up with Shinigami eyes, if you don't—"

B capped the jam and set it aside, as if he suddenly weren't hungry. "Sorry," he said. "You're out of questions. You've had four already, and I answered three of them. And there's one more I still have to answer. One and three is four. And do you know what else it is?"

"B," Light hissed. "B, don't screw with me."

In two swift strides, B had crossed to Light and pushed him onto the bed. Like L, he was much stronger than he looked. "I just love it when you say my name, you know," he murmured in Light's ear. "And, henh henh, screwing with you is exactly what I plan on doing."

Sitting on Light's torso to keep him down, B pulled a length of rope out from under the pillow. Ignoring Light's flailing legs, he somehow managed to tie Light's wrists together and loop the rope around the headboard. "You're not making this easy, you know," he said, reaching for more rope. "You're much easier than Lawli was, though. I had to drug him to get him here, and then I had to wait for him to wake up." He pressed a quick kiss to Light's temple and moved lower to bind his ankles. Light twisted and turned, but it wasn't easy to shake B's hands off once they were on him, and he was soon, effectively, tied to the bed. With this feat accomplished, B laid his head on Light's chest and sighed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Light snapped threateningly. "Do you know who you're dealing with? I know your name, Beyond Birthday."

"I know you do," B said. "But you wanted to know what I did to Lawli, so I'm going to show you, the new L. You're entitled to it. You've inherited it." He kissed Light's neck.

"So, what are you going to do?" Light asked. "Kill me?"

"What, right now? Or do you mean after?" B laughed. "No, Light-kun. Not now, and not after. It's not your turn to die yet." He giggled.

"I'm going to kill you," Light growled.

"I know." B sighed. "But it's worth it. So very worth it. You're L, after all. Kira, too. Aren't I lucky?" He sat back and admired his prize. "And you are pretty," he mused. "Very pretty. In such a conventional way. Not like Lawli, of course. Lawli had that dark hair and all of those interesting angles. Lawli was beautiful." He looked up at Light. "But you must know all of this already."

Light looked away.

"You left the shades open one night, you know," B continued. "I could see you two. I saw you kiss him. And I saw him...I saw him touch you back. And I was so…what's the word…jealous. I was jealous of Little Lighto, moving in on my Lawli. What right did you have to him? How long did it take for you to convince him to let you in?"

"It doesn't matter," Light said sharply.

"But it does, Light-kun." B began to unbutton Light's shirt with one of his hands, the one sticky with jam. The other hand stroked Light's shiny hair. "See, I know something you didn't know. There was a part of him that would never belong to you. I took it from him. I had him, just like this. He was so…well, you can imagine. So whole before I got my hands on him. And when I was through…it must have been the way you always dreamed of seeing him, lying there broken like that. You're Kira, after all, you would want it like that. And I don't think he let you see that side of him. I don't think he ever did."

"I don't believe you," Light said. "You're lying. He would never give in to you. He wouldn't let you break him. You've probably never even met him."

"I might be lying," B admitted. "But that's between me and Lawli, and one of us is dead. And the other isn't telling." He laughed. "So what's the difference?"

He kissed Light on the mouth, then, more gentle than Light would have expected. It surprised him. He wouldn't have reacted the way he did except that B looked like L, and B tasted like L, like strawberries, and B was so very, very persistent. Light closed his eyes and somehow forgot for a moment that B wasn't L, forgot where he was, and ended up kissing him back. B felt it and smirked into the kiss.

"I knew it," he said, pulling away, looking very satisfied. "Little Lighto misses B's Lawli. Isn't that right?"

"It's just…the strawberries…" Light managed. His mind was working at a mile a minute, protesting, trying to rationalize, anything.

"Hmm." B kissed him again, roughly, running his hands along Light's shoulders, behind them, and under his shirt, against his back. "You said it wouldn't be easy, but you were wrong. You're so easy. Little Lighto's so very, very easy. I probably didn't even need to tie you up for this."

"You're wrong," Light snarled, glaring.

B smiled and nipped at his throat. "I don't think I am, Light-kun. Would you like a percentage? Lawli loved percentages."

He tried to jerk away from B, but B was on top of him, now, pinning him down. "Don't call me Light-kun."

"Why not? That's what Lawli called you." B trailed kisses down Light's chest. "Don't get so worked up over it. After all, names don't matter much in the real world unless they're written in one of your little black books." He began to fumble with Light's belt buckle. "You see, I'm not calling you L, even though you are L. In fact, I'd much prefer it if you called me L." He smiled. "I'd like that very, very much."

"Not a chance," said Light. "It's been twenty minutes."

"What does that have to do with anything?" B asked. "Is Light-kun's coach going to turn into a pumpkin?"

"No." Light nodded at the hotel room door. "The police are here. If my timing is right."

B looked at the door, cocking his head to the side. Just that moment, there was a pounding on the door. "Open up in there!" someone called. It was Aizawa's voice. The pounding came again. "Open up! We know you're in there."

B blinked at Light, and a sudden understanding crossed his features. "You cheated."

Light shrugged as best he could with tied hands. "It wasn't cheating," he said. "I played by my own rules. You'd know all about that." He smiled. "This is the end, B."

B tilted his head to the side, then laughed again, one last time. "Henh henh henh. You know, I like you, Light-kun. I like your style." He leaned down. "I just want one more kiss, then, for the road. You wouldn't mind that, Light-kun. One kiss."

Because B took without asking, he went ahead and kissed Light anyway, and Light arched up into the kiss, because, for one more delicious, breathless moment, L was back.

Then the door burst open.

Someone grabbed B and got him off of Light, and someone else began to untie Light's hands. Aizawa. Concerned. "Damn," he said, eyeing the state of Light's shirt and pants. "You weren't kidding. Are you alright?"

"Yes," Light said, sitting up and rubbing his wrists, not the least bit mortified. "It's a good thing you got here when you did, otherwise…" He glared at B. "All of the evidence you need to convict him for sexual assault or attempted assault is on that camera I planted on the dresser. There's no audio, though."

"Pity," said B sarcastically. One of the other officers was handcuffing him. He looked something like a kicked puppy and Light wasn't sorry one bit, because he damn well deserved it.

"I can't say I approve of your methods, Light," Aizawa said. "There must have been some other way..."

Truthfully, there were many other ways, but none of them would get Light his answers. He didn't say this out loud and, instead, told Aizawa, "You didn't always approve of Ryuzaki's methods, and look how far he got."

"Yes," B murmured softly. "Do. Poor Lawli."

Aizawa shot B an odd look. "Ryuzaki's dead," he said to Light. "And you might have been killed, Light. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself."

"I was fine," said Light, completely calm. "Although, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell my father about this. He's stressed enough as it is. He wouldn't approve of me running off and trying to catch the guy myself." He looked down, and, as if noticing the condition of his clothing for the first time, started to button up his shirt.

"True enough." Aizawa sighed. "I'd be worried sick if I were him. Jesus, Light, that was some damn reckless thing you did."

"Oh, believe me," Light said coolly. "I had everything under control."

Inside of his desk in his apartment, in the false bottom of a drawer, Beyond Birthday's name was written on the Death Note, with a few, incredibly crucial additional details. Arrives in hotel room at 9:05pm with a guest. Is arrested by the police at 9:20pm. Dies three days later in prison from a heart attack. Remembering that, Light had to smile.

Sorry, Beyond, he thought. You should know better than to mess with Kira.