AN: Yes, it's been seven months. Long time no see, huh? Anyways, I wanted to post this to show I haven't given up on it yet, I have been preoccupied with other things. During the time I've been gone, I believe I've improved my writing somewhat, so quite frankly, I'm quite proud of the progress I've made. I recently re-read my previous chapters to this story and I cringed through them all. I applaud you all who have stuck around to read this silly little thing. I hope I did improve as much as I think I did. I have been writing other things, more abstract, which I may post on here sometime, who knows. Also, I know where I want to go with this story, however I have a hard time building up to the points I want to get to in the plot (ie L and Light finally doing the do, I know more than half of you who have read this are here for that). But, like I've always said, I'll try my best. Hope this is okay for now.

The sun was beginning to fade, its light shining and struggling to break past the mystical appearing mountains miles away from the heart of the King's empire. It's waning warmth warned all of the coming night. In these parts the atmosphere was always unpredictable, especially in the springtime, so children hurried for the comfort of home and supper, hopefully enough to satisfy grumbling stomachs. The air was light and carried a certain comfort about it, one of the reasons why many had flocked to the area. Wild flowers decorated the dark green grass surrounding the towns, and birds squawked incessantly, their dark forms flying into the looming forests nearby.

Light stood quietly in his study in front of a large window on the right of the room. In one hand he carried an open green bottle of dark blood wine, and in the other, close to his chest, was the death note. Sighing for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, he took a sip from the bottle.

In the study was one of his favorite places to think and to reflect on the day's events, as it was on the third floor of his castle and allowed the King to onlook his kingdom perfectly. Viewing the last minutes of the sun's receding glow bathing over the rooftops of residences gave a therapeutic effect, at least to his majesty. It only meant another day had been finished and marked all the more time the King had been in control of all that was around him. This time of day was the best in his eyes, its warm colors filled his eyes and caused them to match with the sky as well. He didn't believe any other time of day could beat the one he was viewing now-that is, he didn't want to believe there was, and wouldn't acknowledge the existence. The time of day in which was pitch black and the sky was sprinkled with illuminating dots was once a thing he took comfort and thrived in. Ever since the night of his father's death, he couldn't bring himself to enjoy the night any longer, even if he tried. Light's feelings weren't something he meddled in too much, however. The sadness, the pain, and ultimately, any guilt he had left from that night was gone, or at least had been scribbled over and then erased multiple times until he couldn't detect its presence anymore. The fragile fragments of himself were pieced together and closed together tightly. Vulnerable qualities had no room to stay in the King's soul, and instead tormented him from the outside urging to surge into his emotional clouds. Light would not allow it, however. He clutched the notebook closer to his chest.

A figure outside caught his attention and snapped him out of his thoughts as he leaned against the window's pane. Squinting slightly, Light realized it was the commoner who won-Ryuzaki, was it? For a second, Light thought he had trouble remembering a last name, but quickly realized he had no last name to speak of, or at least, he had no intention of telling him of one which existed. He was sure it was the latter.

Ryuzaki walked out of the castle, unaware of the King watching him as he did. About half an hour after the trials were over, a scribe of his majesty told Ryuzaki he had the rest of the day to gather his belongings from his home and bring them into the castle to move in by later that night. Although he had no other belongings besides the sack of bread crumbs, the remnant of a lunch from earlier, and the ancient clothes on his back, he still had much reason to go back to the barn. Maki hadn't seen him since the morning, and must have been a bit worried with where Ryuzaki was. On average, he was always back there by sundown. Now, the sun disappeared along with its glow.

By the time Ryuzaki came back to the barn, it was dark outside. As he approached the area, he could see the silhouette of Maki, sitting alone on a rocking bench on the back porch of her house. She swayed slowly on the bench, her feet dangling. She appeared to be reading a book at the moment.

"Maki," Ryuzaki said quietly, keeping his distance from the porch.

"Huh?" Maki looked up from her book and squinted in the dark. "...Ryuzaki? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me. Come here, I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay, hold on." She hopped down from the bench, set her book down with the pages open, and walked quietly yet quickly to where Ryuzaki was, next to the barn doors.

"I was worried about where you were, why were you late today? Something happen?"

"Yes. I'm moving into the castle of King Kira's tonight," Ryuzaki bluntly stated. He bent down as he said this, massaging the side of his ankle as he had tripped over a rock on the way over and had a small bruise beginning to form on his pale skin.

"What?! King Kira's castle? What are you talking about?" Maki held her mouth in an O-shape.

"There was a competition today to see who could be the King's royal jester, entertainer, whatever you may call it. I participated, and I won," Ryuzaki's eyes held a spark of swelled ego, "So, I'm moving in. However, you must listen to me, Maki."

Maki leaned in closer, her eyes wide in surprise and curiosity, to hear what Ryuzaki was about to tell her. "Go on…"

"I have a plan. I'm not there simply to earn money, however that is an incentive. I'll send money back to you on a weekly basis also, so you can leave this toxic environment. I don't like you living here with that man. Understand...I know about the bruises you attempt to cover up with your sleeves."

Maki's face hardened as he said this. She balled up her fists and felt them become clammy. He wasn't supposed to know.

"...How did you see them? I covered them up good. How…?" She trailed off, feeling a pain in her chest.

"Why didn't you feel the need to tell me? I could certainly have done something abou-"

"I didn't want you to see them! I didn't want you feeling bad for me or anything! I can take care of myself, okay?" Her voice cracked on the last part of her sentence. For a minute it was silent, and then Ryuzaki, although unable to see her face as she tilted her head towards the floor, heard the soft sniffles. Dark forms dripped from somewhere underneath her bangs, making tiny wet spots on the dirt below her feet with a small plip. Not knowing what to do, he stared at her, waiting to see if she would speak again. He had a difficult time imagining how much pain a victim of abuse could be in, especially coming from her own father. He wished he could empathize with her, but all he could do was try to pat her on the back as he had seen mothers do before with their children when they were upset. There was no chance Ryuzaki was going to leave Maki without something coming her way to keep her supported.

"Even if you were able to get me enough money to support myself, I'm sure...Jarren wouldn't let me."

"I promise," Ryuzaki, doing another thing he had learned from watching mothers, grabbed Maki's hand, "I'll come back to make sure you can do so, without an issue."

Maki's eyes were still shiny and wet with tears as she glanced up at him. Forcing a small smile, she then quickly rubbed at her eyes once more in frustration and shook off L's spindly hand on hers.

"Ah, I hate when people see me cry...anyways, Ryuzaki, uh, what else are you doing in the castle with his royal pain in the ass?" She managed to lighten the mood again and change the subject immediately. Maki was always good at that.

"Oh, about that...I plan on revealing the secrets behind his power. Something is up, I need to understand how he is able to execute people so easily. Even with an army of a thousand, it is unbelievable how he manages to kill off dozens of people within a matter of minutes, seconds even, all around Darbun and Galtan. Like they were simultaneously paying for their sins, all at one time...and if it's somehow an army, or perhaps spies in all corners of the cities, I want to know how he can command them so quickly, right from hearing the news about said criminal activity," Ryuzaki ranted on.

"Incredibly fast, even for the feared King Kira himself…" His eyes were focused on Maki's intently, however one could tell he was somewhere far, far off instead.

"Sounds pretty interesting, Ryuu," Maki attempted to seem interested, however her tone was solemn. She glanced at her house behind her. "Ah...hey...tell me all about it when you find out, okay? Write me or something, maybe, if you can't come down yourself. I see you've...ran into enough trouble just getting all the way across town," Maki shot a look at Ryuzaki's bruised ankle and made a small giggle. "I really gotta go now, though." Maki turned her head towards the house behind her once again, the sounds of muffled chatter coming from inside. It didn't sound friendly, either. "Must be Jarren drinking again, as usual. I'll go in through the side door today...I'll see you around, then. Bye!" Maki gave Ryuzaki a hurried hug, and before he could ask if she's sure she'll be okay for the night, she was gone in the shadows.

"You're here."

The King was standing with a lantern in his right hand, waiting by the main doors as Ryuzaki was escorted in by the guards stationed outside them.. The time was already past midnight by the time Ryuzaki was able to make it back to the castle. It seemed eerily quiet inside, as all but the King had most likely been excused to go to bed and no other guards besides the ones who had just walked Ryuzaki in from outside were around. The interior was bathed in a dim orange glow emanating from the torches littered about the walls, and the light created dark shadows around the King's eyes, shielding them from sight. Ryuzaki scratched his face.

"So, are you going to show me where I will sleep, or do you have people to do that for you?" Ryuzaki asked.

Sarcasm.

"For this? No, no I'd rather do it myself," the King began, ignoring Ryuzaki's tone. "I'll give you a thorough tour of my castle in the morning as well, but I'll give you a quick summary of its contents. Don't want you walking into the kitchen believing it's a bathroom, after all," he gave a small forced chuckle. "Well, come on. It's this way." He turned and began walking towards the staircase that was on the far left of the throne. The staircase had two entries, both from the right and left. They met in the middle, directly above the throne, and then split again to lead to different parts of the castle on the second floor. As Ryuzaki followed the King up the stairs, he couldn't help but marvel at the large painting on the wall above the stairs of what appeared to be a hand holding a bowl of apples. It was very detailed, as the hand had gold rings on its fingers and some of the fruit was even showing signs of rotting.

"This castle has three floors, not including the basement and the roof, as that is also a place of leisurement. Originally, it was supposed to have four, however during construction of the fourth, it had collapsed due to weakened material. Some of these walls are still made out of this weak concrete, in fact. But I don't fret about it much, it gets the job done."

As the two made it up to the second floor, there was a large hallway that had many doors, and the hallway bended around the corner to other places unknown. The King led Ryuzaki down the corridor to the left and once they reached the third door down, he stopped in front of it and put the hand unoccupied by the lantern on the door's golden handle. "Here you are, the guest room." He opened the door and it creaked on its hinges slightly, revealing the inside. There was a large bed enough for two people against the left wall, decorated in floral patterned sheets and drapes hanging elegantly on bars. The walls themselves were made of a whitewashed stone, and the wood for a nightstand and a coffee table in the center, including the large wardrobe, were all a dark mahogany color. Lastly, a tall window was on the right side of the room, hidden behind an indentation in the walls.

"This is the guest room…?" Ryuzaki asked himself. Never before had he been in a room of such eloquence, let alone slept in one.

"Yes. I apologize if it isn't much, but I believe you'll do just fine," his majesty faked an apologetic tone, however if viewing him from his right side, one could see he was smiling to himself in arrogance. Ryuzaki glanced at the King and nodded. "Now, if you go down this hall to the right," the King motioned to the hall outside, "there will be a painting of a field on the wall. Pass that, make a right, and the first door on your right will be one of the bathrooms. Got that?" Ryuzaki nodded once again.

"Alright, well, if you're good, I'll leave you be. I'll be at your door at dawn knocking, so I suggest you be ready. You start working first thing tomorrow as an object of entertainment. You already knew this, of course. Sleep well, Ryuzaki." The King left the room abruptly and shut the door behind him.

Ryuzaki stood blinking at the door for a moment before setting down his virtually empty sack. Other than the fact that I'll be an object of entertainment, as he likes to call it, this shouldn't be terrible. Ryuzaki took a look at the bed before proceeding to sprawl himself out on its surface, without lifting the blankets. His face sunk into the satin pillows and he sighed into them. Relaxing, however there was no way he would be sleeping much that night. A man like Ryuzaki was not the fondest of sleeping in the first place, as he saw it as more of a waste of time than anything. He was capable of no sleep for almost a five days straight, however following those days he would crash for almost an entire day. Sleep. That was something he could hardly experience relaxation in.

How could he when he was now in the infamous King Kira's castle, the King resting only rooms away from him, the one he suspected guilty-no, knew, of hundreds, possibly thousands of murders across the land? Ryuzaki pulled his knees up while he was on his side and hugged them. From where he laid, he could see the large window to his left, and remained staring out it while in deep thought until ungodly hours in the nighttime.

AN: That's all for now. I hope it wasn't too OOC, as that's my number one fear when writing L and Light's dynamic. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update this again, but I hope it's soon, personally. Thanks so much for reading.