A/N: *pokes head cautiously in, and yelps as she gets hit by various flying objects* AHH! I'm sorry! Don't kill me! I didn't mean to make you wait so looong!

*lowers defensive stance* Anyway, I've been having some writer's block lately. (Sort of) explanation is on my profile. Yes. Also, thank you dadou and alinecat for informing me that it autoset me so that I cannot receive unsigned reviews or review more than once in a chapter! Le Gasp! Well, I changed it, so you can now review to your heart's content XD and make me a veeery happy person.

And in my defense, I was stuck without internet for a while…then something kind of personal came up (as I told my beta, I can't explain what, but feel free to imagine me leaping from tall building to tall building in the dead of night wearing a black jumpsuit and clutching a priceless diamond in one hand that I'll use to save an orphanage from being sold in place of an explanation) Yes.

In case any of you were wondering: on Nov. 29, my word count for National Novel Writing Month was 50, 292. I turned it in and became a NaNoWriMo winner. It's been a huge confidence boost for me—writing chapters of this story feels easy compared to having to write, on average, 2,000 words day for a month. And gosh, I'd been typing in font 9 or 10 so long, that this font looks enormous to me XD Anyway, did anyone else do it? Did anyone else win? Speak oop!

Well, I gave you some fluff last chapter—yay for fluff!—but it's just going to get more serious from here on out, just to warn you xP But I will be putting lighthearted moments in, most likely on accident, as I can't write anything for long without adding comedy elements ;_;

By the way—does anyone else feel like writing an A/N helps get them into the swing of the story? It's like a little warm-up for me. Thoughts on this?

But I digress =) now, enjoy the next chapter! (Love you all so much, really do 3)

"I think we may have to kill him."

The words caused a small uproar around the room. A thick male voice argued, "But we can't kill him now! We've already made so much progress!"

Another voice, seemingly reasoning, said, "It's not like he actually knows anything. You know by now what precautions we take. You're only being paranoid that he might know something because something might have slipped. In any situation in which he could tell somebody, he's not coherent enough to do it anyway."

"I just say we kill him and be done with it. Better safe than sorry. Plus, isn't the one in B68 ready to take his place now?" asked the first voice, sounding slightly annoyed. He himself knew something that made him desperately need this death—just, just this once.

"I'm just a little annoyed that we'll have to start again from the beginning," said the second voice.

"But I hear B68 has already had some experience, so we'll be able to work twice as fast, and without the same mistakes that we made with the earlier ones." The speaker of the third voice seemed to have changed their mind abruptly. "I can personally pay for the death myself. I know somebody."

"I say we do it," said the first voice. "If nothing changes, it should happen a few months from now—when everything's ready. We should give B68 a good head start, though. I need to know we've already gotten somewhere in a few month's time. So, when everything's ready."

"Yes. When everything's ready."

Nurse Amane shook her head sadly, and L sighed. According to her—and every other doctor he'd spoken to here—BB wasn't going to make a recovery any time soon. In fact, he might never make a recovery. L wondered vaguely if BB would miss him if L stopped visiting so frequently—it had become more of a chore than anything else—and it had never really been a pleasure in the first place. All things considered, BB was just slightly creepy, even before he'd been diagnosed with his small myriad of psychotic disorders, the first and foremost being the whole "copy everything your older cousin does" phase, where he'd purposely dressed like L and made his hair messy.

Now his hair was just messy as he didn't bother with it and only bathed when forced to, which wasn't often, as it was only a routine cleanup procedure occurring anywhere from once a week to once every two weeks. It was just too much hassle to do it any more than that. On a good day, BB would be quiet and remain limp as he was dipped into the warm water, but on a bad day, he fought the doctors kicking and screaming. It awkward to L; even though he knew BB had a legit disability, he couldn't help feeling slightly embarrassed, even though he knew he shouldn't.

It was just another reason why L tried not to focus too much on feelings—when they got in the way of rational thought, there was a troublesome internal conflict. L, of all people, did not have time for such trivial matters.

"L," BB croaked from the bed. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands twitched, and L felt a strange mixture of pity and unease take root inside him. He pushed it away quickly, and tried to be the strong cousin.

"Yes?"

BB blinked in surprise, furrowing his brow. "You're really here? Usually you don't ever answer…" His eyes were clouded and confused, even on a day as good as this. The repercussions of his disease had drained him both physically and mentally.

L's sense of pity grew. It was uncomfortable. "Well, I'm here now. Would you like to talk?"

BB closed his eyes and leaned his head back, as if feeling phantom raindrops against his face.

"I'm going to die." The murmur slipped from his lips nonchalantly, as if remarking on some insignificant detail. L started in surprise, wondering if he'd just heard what he thought he had.

"Pardon?"

"Soon, very soon. I can feel it."

"You're tired. You need to sleep. You're not dying on my watch," said L quietly, unsure of quite how to respond to this.

"Very soon, Lawliet," BB mumbled.

"Please don't use that name here." To his credit, L remained quite calm, even as his real name was spoken aloud. "The walls have ears, you know."

"I know," BB grinned suddenly. "I know better than anyone."

"Should I come back later?"

"Better than anyone. I hear them speaking."

"Goodbye, B. I'll come back later."

"Anyone…"

L crushed the small pang of pity that arose in his heart as he listened to Beyond, sounding so listless, unsure. He hated it—maybe this place wasn't good for him after all, he thought as he walked out the door and looked at the people walking through the hallways. He'd met people here—Raito, Near, even Matt and Mello—and they were twisting and pulling his emotions out of him, violent and uncontrollable.

And there was nothing L hated more than not having any control over something.

He stopped outside Raito's door, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. The familiar entryway now seemed impenetrable, slightly sinister.

It had been Raito's fault, L thought, annoyed. He himself had been acting perfectly fine, nonchalant, when Raito had suddenly and unconsciously decided to invade his personal space (although he hadn't thought of it that way at the time. At the time Raito had just been tired) and then, after they had left, acted awkward and uncomfortable.

L knocked on the door. Some of the security had been lifted, so when the replying invitation to come in was called out, he was able to walk in without further hesitation.

Raito was standing at the window, hands in his pockets. He looked around when L came in, and, keeping his face emotionless, wordlessly walked around the small, round table near the window and pulled out a chair for L to sit on.

L looked up from Raito's leg. "You're limping." It was slight, but it was there. Raito scowled at this, like he had been found out, and had been hoping L wouldn't notice. Or maybe he'd just forgotten it was there himself and disliked being reminded. To his credit, he played it cool. His face relaxed, and the tension drained out of his posture. He looked down at his own left leg in surprise, as if he'd just noticed it was there. "So I am."

"May I ask why?"

"You can ask, but it doesn't mean I'll tell you."

" Is Raito-kun perhaps engaged in strenuous activities that might hurt his leg?"

The smallest trace of a grin flitted over the other's features. "You could call it that, I suppose. Strenuous activities indeed."

"So he admits to…?"

Raito laughed. "I didn't say anything. You're just making assumptions, remember? Maybe I just ran into the table which is so badly placed here." He lightly lifted his leg and bumped it against the table as if to demonstrate.

"Somehow I don't think that is the case, Raito-kun." A wry little smile rested on L's lips. "But I also do not think he will tell me at the moment. He will tell me when he is ready." It was not a question, as if L already knew the answer.

"Why are you always so sure of yourself?" Raito blatantly changed the subject. "So what brings you here?"

L took on a laughably hurt expression. "I can't visit my favorite friend?"

"Probably your only friend. It's the only reason you'd bum around a psychiatric hospital."

"Raito-kun is mean. How does he not know that I have important business to attend to here?"

Raito shot him a look of disdain. "Ryuzaki. Come on. You wouldn't come here and spend at least an hour or two a day with me if you actually had something important to do. Come to think of it, doesn't your boss get mad that you come so often? You must work really weird hours if you haven't been fired for missing work yet."

"My hours are somewhat strange." L remembered many nights of sluggish typing (of course, his definition of 'sluggish' was a lot faster than everybody else's) and cold coffee and multiple bathroom breaks. "My boss…" Watari's angry face popped abruptly into his mind, although he was far from L's 'boss,' "is not overly happy about the arrangement, but will make no attempt to stop me."

Raito looked at him, hard, as if he were trying to see right through L. "It's funny, I still don't know you that well, even though you do come over so much. You always change the subject when I ask about you. All I really know about you is about your personality, interests…why do you never talk about your job? Your family? I know about your parents, but you must have somebody you've found. Who do you spend holidays with? Come on, Ryuzaki."

L's mouth felt slightly dry. He swished his tongue around. "I'd really like to tell you more about me. Too bad you can't even know my name. Maybe someday, when you're out of school and can get a job…" "Someone like you wouldn't think my job is very interesting. And I celebrate holidays with my grandfather, he found me after I was out of the orphanage."

"Huh. Sounds nice. Maybe--"

He was interrupted by a slightly frantic knock on the door. Raito sighed and rubbed his leg, but nevertheless got up to answer it. "I feel like the most popular guy here, you know?" he joked dryly as he moved towards the door.

"I'm closer," said L, who leaned out of his seat to pull it open. Doctor Teru stepped in, saw L, and stopped abruptly. He looked up and met Raito's eyes, and for a split second, they exchanged a knowing look, a mutual understanding. L's eyes flicked from Teru to Raito, and did not miss what they shared. L bit his tongue to keep himself from asking 'What?' and simply nodded. "Doctor Teru."

"Ryuzaki, good to see you again." Teru's ever-present smile returned. "Sorry to interrupt, I just needed a word with Raito. Would you mind…?"

L nodded and stood. "Sure. I can just step outside…"

"No, not necessary." The grin on Mikami's face became slightly strained. "Raito can just come out here, we'll only be a moment or two."

"Wha—oh, yeah, I mean, yes." Raito exited through the door that Teru held open for him, shooting L an apologetic look as if to say sorry. Mikami smiled, nodded, and shut the door, leaving L alone in the room.

L shifted one from foot to the other uncomfortably. Teru, and maybe Raito, were definitely up to something. L needed information. He could. But he really shouldn't. No, no, he definitely shouldn't…but he could. But, would they be back soon and catch him in the act? He cast a cursory glance at the door. There was no movement outside, only the barely-heard tones of two strained voices. He wanted to listen at the door, but that was downright stupid. No, a better and much more desirable course of action would be, of course, to search Raito's room.

There might be cameras here. But then, if they really wanted to respect privacy, there wouldn't be any. L tossed and turned it over in his mind. Well if he wanted to search, he better do it now before Raito and Teru came back. The door was loud, he'd know if the knob was being turned.

L set to work, quietly regretting not bringing a wiretap of some sort. But then, he hadn't anticipated the opportunity. Nothing under the bed—nothing in the night-table drawer. He tapped lightly on the night-table. Solid, sturdy, would not conceal anything out of the ordinary. He moved to the chest of drawers in the corner and pulled open the first one. Every shirt and sweater was neatly folded, the box that contained the chess set and board was pushed into the corner. A quick lift of the lid revealed nothing out of the ordinary, still the same battered set.

L closed the first drawer and opened the one below it. He immediately froze. A bloodstained white shirt lay on top of the other neatly folded clothes, but crumpled, as if it had been quickly stuffed in.

Kira had not shown himself capable of logical thought, he didn't care if he got discovered or not, so why would he do this?

"Oh, Raito. Oh, please, you can't have done that…not that…" Of course he probably would have heard about a murder right now if anybody had actually died—the knob of the door shook, and L slammed the drawer shut as quietly as he could, then practically leaped back to his previous seat, resting in it just a second or two before the door opened.

"Damn door is always getting stuck," Raito grumbled as he walked in. He shot L a cryptic look, as if trying to communicate something, but its meaning was lost on L.

"Hello, Ryuzaki. I hope we weren't long." Teru stopped in the doorway. "I'd love to stay and chat, but Doctor Kiyomi is sick today, so I have to cover for her on some of her patients."

"That's fine, Doctor Teru," Raito smiled. "Ryuzaki and I hadn't gotten much of a chance to talk yet anyway."

"Just don't talk so much you wear yourself out, okay?" There it was again, the mutual-understanding look that had disturbed L so much the first time he saw it. But it was over in an instant, and soon the goodbyes had been said and Teru was gone.

There was silence in the room for a few seconds before Raito sat down in the chair nearest L, turning it so that it faced the other man. "Ryuzaki," he said. "Let's talk."

L chuckled. "Don't we always? About what?"

"I don't know. Something. Books, music, current events. Whatever you want."

"You sound like you're deprived of my attention," L said, only half-jokingly. "And yet you make fun of my being here. Raito-kun is undeserving of my friendship."

"Maybe I am," he smiled. "But if you stopped hanging around you'd get lonely. So we're even."

"You speak…what is probably the truth," L grudgingly admitted. "But no matter. You wanted to talk, right? So let's talk."

And they did. For an hour or so, until L had nearly, for the moment, forgotten all about the bloodstained shirt he'd found in Raito's drawer and the looks Mikami and Raito had exchanged, as if they knew something he didn't. For an hour or so, it was just another, normal day spending his time here (Watari would say wasting it, but L knew better), and they were talking, and L could keep up the illusion for a little longer, and tried to, but suddenly Raito ruined it by saying, "Hey, Ryuzaki?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"For what, Raito-kun?"

The other shifted uncomfortably. "Being my friend and stuff. Just giving me someone to talk to."

"Why the thanks now? I certainly hope you plan to remain my friend for just a bit longer," L said quietly, not sure if he should really joke around or not. Raito certainly sounded serious, but…

"Yeah. I…sorry, that was dumb, wasn't it? I just wanted to say it. Just so you knew."

"I'm insulted that you think I'm stupid enough to not know unless you told me." L's brow rose.

"Ah, no." Raito put up his hands in a slightly defensive position. "I just meant--"

"I know what you meant," L interrupted. "I was kidding. You're certainly on edge today."

"Am I?"

"Judging by the hurt leg, the conversation you had with Mikami—in hushed tones, I might add—and the way your eye keeps habitually twitching, I'd almost say you were keeping something from me." L did not mention the bloodstained shirt, because that would be admitting he'd snooped.

"I'm not—I mean, so what, I can't have secrets? Do I have to run everything by you, now?" Raito switched tracks quickly, and L could see that he was growing angry.

"I was just worried, Raito-kun."

"Because everybody worries about poor, crazy Raito, right?" muttered the younger angrily.

"I'm sorry if I upset you." L stood up. "I need to go now anyway."

"Wait!" Raito grabbed L's arm as he turned to leave, but then released it quickly, as if it was infested with something unspeakable. "Um. I meant what I said before."

L blinked. "I know you did." "He's acting very odd today. Obviously the bloody shirt, and the issue with Mikami, but that's not all. His mannerisms…he's acting like he's on his deathbed, wanting me to know things before it's too late.

"Or maybe I'm the one on my deathbed…"

L shook that thought away, disturbing as it was, because Raito was speaking.

"—just wanted to say that. That's all. Yeah." Raito waited in silence for a few more seconds before suddenly pulling L into a quick, awkward one-armed hug, and then releasing him and rubbing his hands on his sleeves.

"What was that for?" asked L, torn between amusement and worry.

"I already told you." Raito tried to smile, but it came out looking like a grimace. "Didn't you have somewhere to be?"

"What—oh yes, I did, didn't I? Well, bye then. See you tomorrow, Raito." L gave a small wave.

"Bye, Ryuzaki." said Raito in a small voice. L gave him one last, long glance before leaving the room, leaving Raito in silence. Raito sat down on his bed and exhaled deeply, gripping the mattress for support. "Too bad there won't be a tomorrow, Ryuzaki."

---------------

It was only after L had gotten back to his apartment and finished up yet another painfully easy case that he realized that the delay with the opening of the door when he'd been in Raito's room today, and the look Raito had shot him as he was coming in, might have been because Raito wanted to give him time to search. To find the cloth.

But why would he want to be discovered? Mysteries and mysteries…

---------------

---The Previous Evening—

The note had shown up in Raito's food, although Raito was at a loss to how it got there. Misa had been the one who'd given him the food (he hadn't much felt like leaving his room, and she was always up to doing favors for him), but Raito was fairly sure Misa hadn't been the one who'd delivered the note.

It was small, just a sticky note, and on the front of it was written 'Double Shipment of Mashed Potatoes due Tues.'

But on the back, there was something much more interesting. 'Meet me in the basement at midnight. Your door will be unlocked.'

Raito read the note once more, intrigued. Whoever it was certainly had a flair for the dramatic. Meet me at midnight. Just like a Shakespearean play, only weirder. Who was it? A patient, a doctor? Ryuzaki, maybe? But Ryuzaki would just come to his room if he wanted to talk to him, so that was unlikely. The most likely options were that it was a doctor that couldn't be seen talking to him (Mikami? Takada?) or a patient that was unable to (Near wouldn't want to. Mello?), but even then, he didn't have many ideas.

It might be dangerous. But the curiosity was insatiable, so he made up his mind to go at midnight. Basement? He hadn't known they had one—or at least, he'd never paid the door next to the janitor's closet much mind before, and that was probably it. Wasn't it supposed to be locked, though, to prevent excursions like these by the building's residents?

Although 'Your door will be unlocked' sounded promising…he'd assume the basement door would be unlocked too, then.

Raito looked at the clock. It was seven o'clock. There were approximately five hours until midnight.

He'd wait it out impatiently.

----------------

At 12:01, he woke up sprawled across his bed with his clothes still on, looked at his clock, and stared at in uncomprehendingly for a few seconds before realizing the time and remembering his meeting, then swore under his breath and pulled himself out of bed. He tried the door of his room, and, to his surprise and amusement, found it unlocked, like the note had promised. He hadn't really been sure, but now it was definite.

Raito stepped quietly out into the hall, looking from end to end. All clear. He closed the door behind him. His feet, clad in white socks, made no sound as he padded down the hallway. He looked down at himself and realized that he'd stupidly gone out wearing a white shirt and light brown khakis, clearly visible in the dark. There was nothing to do about it now, though, he was already halfway down the hall, and late- it was 12:03.

He moved down the hallway, jumping out of his skin at every small creak or cough, painfully sure he was going to be discovered at every doorway. When he got to the janitor's closet at the end of the hall, he breathed a sigh of relief. The door to the right of the janitor's closet was old, and the brass of the doorknob had been nearly rubbed off by the harsh scrapes of many hands pulling it open and closed.

Raito opened the door and blinked at the sudden wall of darkness that confronted him. Wooden stairs descended into it, and a cool breeze blew across his face. He felt around the inside of the doorway, but couldn't find any light switch. It was probably at the bottom of the stares, or even in the janitor's closet to discourage trespassers.

There was nothing for it. He stepped inside, down onto the first step, and began to close the door behind him, when he realized something—he was descending into pitch black where an unknown person waited, who might have dangerous intent. It was stupid to close the door—but also stupid to leave it open, as someone would definitely see. He decided to compromise, and left the door one or two inches open.

Other than the quickly disappearing sliver of light from the doorway, there was no illumination from below. He descended the stairs, trying to be quiet, but the wooden stairs were old, and groaned and creaked as if in pain.

"Arthritis stairs," he thought. "Very funny." He breathed out a single 'Heh' even though it wasn't.

He stopped before he hit the last stair, rocking back and forth a bit on it. There was still time to go back. But he'd gotten this far, why get so paranoid now?

He stepped off the last step and put a hand to the wall, and to his surprise and delight, felt the cool plastic protrusion of a light switch. He flipped it on, and for a few seconds, nothing happened. Suddenly, two things happened at once—lights hanging from the ceiling began to flicker on around the room, casting their dim yellow light across the basement, and something slammed very hard into his side, throwing him off his feet. Raito hit the cement ground with a thud, and there was no time to think before the same thing hit him again, knocking out of him the small amount of air he'd sucked in after the first blow. The third time, Raito was unconsciously determined not to be caught unawares. His conscious mind was a complete blank, and at the moment he couldn't gain anything from it, but the adrenaline rush and the body's brute need to survive drove him to kick at his attacker, and was rewarded with an 'oof' and a heavy thud as he fell back. Raito scrambled up, and gasped. "Ryuzaki!"

The dark haired man pulled himself into a standing position, shaking his head.

"Oh." Understanding struck Raito. "B, Right?"

"That's right." B turned for a second as if looking for something. "Hey! Aren't you supposed to be helping me, Near?"

"Near?" Raito's eyes widened. "But—I don't understand! Why…"

"Listen, Kira. Your crimes have gone unpunished for long enough." Near had appeared without warning and was holding what looked like a plastic dinner knife. He seemed to be shaking a little bit. "We needed…to talk…"

"B convinced you to do this, right?" Raito's eyes narrowed.

Near gave a small, quick nod. Turning to B, he said, "I don't think I…I'm not doing this." The plastic knife clattered to the ground. "I can't."

"Traitor!" B growled. "I shouldn't have trusted you. I should have known you'd be too weak. Just like always. But no matter…" He pulled what looked like a roll of black electrical tape out of his back pocket. "I can do this myself."

Raito made the mental connection instantly, lowered his head, and ran and slammed himself into B's side, repaying the favor from earlier. He had to finish this, fast, or else he'd trigger something very dangerous, and he knew that, but he didn't know how to stop it other than to just keep thinking as Raito: "Me, Raito, Ryuzaki, I'm just fine, I won't give in to this, Teru, Misa, Ryuzaki, Raito, Misa, Ryuzaki, Ryuzaki, Ryuzaki…" The thought train was only barely keeping him suspended in consciousness, and he didn't dare stop.

He punched and kicked wildly, and B was too, and now there was no baiting, no feigning, just clutching onto each other and rolling and biting like wild animals. At some point they must have rolled across the spot where Near had been standing, because B was now clutching Near's plastic knife in one hand, and the boy himself had backed up against the wall, frozen like he didn't know who to help.

Raito realized B had a knife roughly two seconds before B stabbed him in the leg. Raito gave a strangled yell of pain and closed his eyes, knowing that if he saw the blood it would be over, and Kira would probably end up killing B and Near too, or being killed by one or the other. B punched Raito in the gut, and Raito felt the electric tape being wrapped around his left wrist. He kicked out wildly, heard a gasp, kicked again, when suddenly there were footsteps behind him, darkness obscuring his vision for a split second as someone soared over him and slammed into his attacker. Raito got up, still a little dazed, unable to comprehend the situation for a few seconds.

"Doctor…Teru?"

"That's me, alright," muttered Mikami, who was checking a now-unconscious B's pulse. "He's not dead, although I think he hit his head pretty hard." He looked back at Raito. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…fine." He was a little bruised from hitting the ground, and when surveying himself for injuries, remembered his leg, which began to hurt right on cue. "Except…oh. Ouch. It's bleeding." He gingerly lifted his ripped pants leg, and stared at it. It had only been a plastic knife, but it had been driven in deep, and the cut was only half an inch long, but it was bleeding like cra—he stopped and abruptly looked away as his head began to fog up, and he began to feel nauseous. Probably another effect of not wanting to see the blood, as opposed to a fear of the blood itself.

Mikami frowned. "What did he stab you with, a javelin?"

Raito gave a short laugh. "Nah. Plastic cutlery. Almost as effective, though."

Teru turned, saw Near. Rather than be surprised, he simply began to shrug off his coat. "I need to treat his war wound. Hold B on his side so that he doesn't choke on his tongue, will you?" Near, for a few seconds, did nothing, as if he hadn't heard, then nodded and peeled himself off the wall, coming over and kneeling down beside B to hold him sideways.

Mikami continued to take off his coat, then unbuttoned his shirt.

"What are you--"

"We need to stop the bleeding somehow, right? Plus, I have an excess of these shirts at home. Losing one isn't going to hurt." Mikami gave a thin, tensed smile, and wrapped his shirt around Raito's leg, tying it tightly before, after inspecting his handiwork, putting his white coat back on and buttoning it up all the way. He turned, and, seeing the plastic knife near B's dormant form, picked it up, adjusting his glasses as he examined it.

"Nothing's broken off, which means nothing's stuck in your leg. That's good; it would have been hard to treat you that way. But this sort of thing never would have been given to B. How did he…?"

"I…I got it for him," admitted Near, not meeting the eyes of the other two, who were now looking at him. "He told me we were going to do something important. I'm…sorry." He sounded a bit as if he were only doing his solemn duty saying it- it was obvious it wasn't something he was used to saying.

"Important indeed." Mikami gave Near a severe glare. "This has just caused a hell of a lot of trouble for me, and for you two, as well."

"I bet it's going to be a ton of paperwork… plus, the three of us won't be able to leave our rooms for at least a few months. There goes going back to study in an actual classroom in the fall."

"Listen, right now, that's the least of our worries. I don't have time to explain everything to you now, but…" Mikami frowned as if deep in thought.

"How did you know we were here?" Raito's rational thought was returning, and that was the first thing that popped into his head.

"This is going to make me sound like a bad person, but to be honest part of me didn't trust you. You weren't in your room when I went to check on you, B wasn't in his, and then I saw you left the basement door open. I put two and two together and ran down the stairs. You're just lucky I got here when I did. He would have killed you."

"He said we were going to put the body…in the grate. But I wouldn't have let him." Near looked at Raito. "I don't like you, but I saw you weren't the same as the other one… the one who…" He moved his hand vaguely across his stomach, and Raito winced. He'd heard from Ryuzaki about that. The other man mentioned it flippantly, as if he didn't believe Near's accusation, but that might have been an act for Raito's benefit. And, of all the people that Raito distrusted, and there were many, least of all did he trust himself.

"Okay, I need to think. I did have something worked out, but this blew it all to hell. Just…let me think, I need to think." Mikami put two fingers to each of his temples and rubbed, exhaling slowly and closing his eyes. Near and Raito looked at each other quickly, then back at the doctor, who was silent for at least five minutes before his eyes opened again and he nodded.

"Alright. Okay. I know what we're going to do. Going to try to do, anyway."

"And what would that be?" asked Near. "You still haven't explained what's going on."

"I can't. Not yet. But…alright." Mikami repeated the word again. It was a nervous habit. Okay, alright, it's fine, okay, great, good, alright, okay, alright. Like he was trying to reassure himself.

"Okay. Ratio, you're going to go back to your room and lock the door from the outside, shutting yourself inside. Hide that shirt after the bleeding has stopped. Tomorrow night, I'm going to come get you, and we're going to go to my house, okay? Just put some clothes in a bag, and anything else you consider precious."

"What about me?" asked Near.

"You…damn, this will be hard. You're going to go back to your room too, and I suppose I'll come get you tomorrow night too…although it'll be a little more suspicious if their most interesting patients disappear right under their noses in the same night. But it'll have to do. If I leave one of you behind for a while, it'll look stranger, and they might up security. We'll do it all tomorrow night."

"Do all what?" asked Raito, confused.

"Break you out of here, of course. But we need a reason. So you'll probably have to kidnap Near."

"What?!" Raito yelped as Near raised his eyebrows. "That sounds a bit…"

"Extreme?" Mikami laughed. "Sorry, but we're way past the point of anything but extreme at the moment. It'll be a bit hard to do, but we'll manage. We'll make all the signs point to you, Raito. Well, Kira. That he took Near and left. And then," Mikami turned his eyes upward as if some alternative would shine down in neon bright lights from above, "you'll both have to die."

Silence greeted this declaration. Near and Raito looked at each other, then back at Teru. "How?" asked Near quietly, with no trace of emotion.

"I haven't actually worked that out yet, but obviously you'll die before Raito. Or, I could have an outsider murder you both," he mused lightly. "We still have some time to decide."

"What about our families?" asked Raito.

"My parents are dead. I have no siblings," shrugged Near. "My last foster family put me here. It doesn't really matter for me."

"Raito, I think it's time we considered the possibility that you might have to go into hiding for a while," said Teru grimly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Is what's happening really that dangerous?"

"I'd say that if things continue like this, then yes, it will be. I'm sure that eventually we'll be okay, please just bare with me for a while. I'm going to leave a key in your room, Raito—and Near, if Takada's still sick I can cover for her by checking up on you, if not, I'll still offer because she'll have a lot of stuff to get caught up with. That shouldn't look too odd. Raito, you know where Near's room is, right?"

He got a terse nod in response, but it seemed to be enough. "Great. You'll kidnap Near, you two can both head out the window. I'm friends with one of the janitors, so don't worry, it won't be much of a problem unless the metal grate makes any noise when you drop it. Just climb out and run around the back of the building. Zigzag. Make it hard for them to follow your trail. If you can get to the little road, just beyond the parking lot, I'll be right in front of the gate—I have a pass to get in and out. I'll probably borrow someone else's car too, just to be safe."

"Are there cameras in the rooms?" asked Near.

"I don't think so, but there definitely will be in the hallways. Even still, put on a convincing act, just in case. Don't forget your bags of clothes and other precious things."

"Wouldn't it look weird if I asked him to bring bags?" Raito asked, trying to adapt to the situation. It was a necessary response mechanism to keep him from panicking. It wasn't really working.

"That's a good point, but it'd really only be a big problem with anyone else. Raito, your alter-ego won't even need a reason. Your 'why' can be ridiculous as you like, it will be accepted…I mean, I hope it will. If you can't find a way to pull it off, just leave them behind. You can always buy new things. Whatever the situation calls for. Just remember that, okay?"

Mikami made Near and Raito promise him that they'd follow his plan exactly before taking them back upstairs, hoisting an unconscious B in piggyback position over his shoulders. "It's sad," he whispered to Raito as they went up. "I actually used to like to talk to him, before, well…you know. He was a very interesting person."

Raito assured Mikami that he knew that was the case, but before Mikami had left him to find his own room (so that the doctor could make sure Near and B were back safely in theirs) Raito turned to him and asked quietly:

"Maybe I could talk to Ryuzaki before I leave? You know…to…say goodbye and stuff."

Teru frowned, adjusting B's position on his shoulders, as Near turned his head pointedly away. From anyone else it may have been odd, but for the younger boy it was a sign of respect for Raito's privacy, which he silently thanked Near for.

"I'm sorry, but then he'd know what we're doing. He might try and stop you."

"What if I don't phrase it like a goodbye? Just an overly-mawkish little chat. Just so he knows I appreciated his company."

Mikami looked at Raito for a second before sighing and nodding. "Alright," he relented. "I can see how important this is for you. But I'm coming in there if he's there too long."

"Thank you," said Raito, relieved. At least he wouldn't leave Ryuzaki completely in the dark.

"Raito," Teru smiled wearily. "I need to take Near and B back to their rooms, but you can get back yourself, right?"

"Of course." He turned to go.

"And Raito?" Raito turned to see Teru looking at him.

"Yeah?"

"Remember what I told you. Don't forget what to do. And I'm sorry."

He didn't say for what, but really, no explanation was needed.

---The Next Day—

Raito looked at L as Mikami closed the door, leaving him alone inside Raito's room, and Teru and Raito standing awkwardly in the hallway.

Raito crossed his arms. "You said he could visit me."

"I did," said Mikami. "I just wanted to make sure you hadn't told him anything…you looked to be getting a bit…"

"Like I needed rescuing, or like I was going to have a breakdown? I thought you trusted me." Raito was not going to tell Ryuzaki anything. He couldn't lie, though, even to himself, that he did not want his friend to find out what was going on. Somehow the thought of Ryuzaki thinking he was dead, and then grieving over him, or worse, forgetting about him, was more than he could bear. But he couldn't break his promise to Teru, either. So he wasn't going to tell Ryuzaki…

Ryuzaki was going to find out on his own.

"I did! I mean, I do, really. That wasn't what I got you for, though."

Raito's defensive stance lowered a bit. "What?"

"This morning, B was coherent enough to tell Takada that you and he had fought. He was boasting about it," said Mikami grimly.

"But," Raito struggled to think, refusing to be overcome by panic, "no one's going to believe him, right? At this point nobody's taking his word seriously."

"We can only hope so. I just wanted to make you aware of the situation. How are you feeling? No visible injuries, other than the plastic knife cut that's covered by your pant leg?"

"Not really. That leg got bit bashed and it hurts when I walk, and my back hurts from falling so much, but I can hide it pretty well. Kind of."

"Do that. If anyone questions you about last night, tries to spring something on you, be prepared. Hide it. Oh," he added as an afterthought. "And I can bring you food. Don't eat anything they give you."

"You think they'd drug me?"

"I wouldn't put it past them," responded Mikami grimly. "I have to go now. I've got to go tell Near, too."

"Okay. Thanks for the advice." Raito turned to go back into his room.

"Are you scared?"

The question caught him off guard, and Raito paused with his hand on the doorknob, and then smiled.

"I'd be insane not to be."

---The Next Morning---

L woke up, a headache already beginning to pound in his head. Thanks to spending so much time with Raito the day prior, he had missed the news of a development in an important missing persons case that he'd been working on for a while, and had needed to stay up until three am in order to catch up with his enormous workload.

He sighed. Such was the life of a detective. L glanced at the clock. Nine forty. Not bad, not too good either. He wouldn't have much time for breakfast.

He rolled over from his awkward sleeping position curled up against the wall. No matter where he was when he went to sleep, he always ended up in that position. He supposed it was a psychological thing, that the wall offered more protection. This didn't make much sense to his waking mind, however, so he didn't think about it much.

Light filtered in through the room, and L scowled (how dare it be so bright when his head hurt so much!), walking out the door down the hallway, already adjusting to his lack of sleep the night before. He opened the door into the kitchen and blinked. Watari was standing off to the side, not in his usual morning blue bathrobe, but fully-dressed, albeit looking a tad frazzled.

L frowned. "Watari, what's the matter? Is there somewhere you need to go?"

"Well, there's somewhere you'll want to go," sighed Watari. "I wouldn't, but you will want to."

"Why? Where?"

"Namikawa Hospital. Yagami Raito has gone missing."

---------------

AN: …Well, at least it's a long 'un, eh?

DO NOT FORGET TO THANK THE LUVERLY DLVVANZOR FOR BETA-ING THIS TRIPPY THING YET AGAIN! And pointing out that I am enter-key challenged, meaning that without her keen eye, Raito would have started having a conversation with himself, and you'd either be very confused or think that now he's schizophrenic too =)

So, where are they right now anyway? Japan or England? O_o

Please, thoughts, comments, questions or concerns? What's going on with this hospitally sort of thing? Who's side is Mikami on, really? How is Mello going to deal with Near's disappearance? Come on, show me your brainpower!!!

As always, reviews are loved. Makes it easier to get through my day =)