Thank you readers and reviewers for such kind feedback. I can't tell you how much it makes me smile. Special Thanks to Actionfry for being an exceptionally loyal and intriguing reviewer. Those thanks were long over-due. ^_^

Typical Stuff:

Summary: She had expected to fight Kira and be done with it. Too bad. It's never that simple when dealing with an impulsive genius. She's in a bit too deep now to possibly get away. LxNaomi

So yadadayada.

Disclaimer: I most unfortunately do NOT own any of these characters. (really, do you think an author would write FANfiction?) the only thing I could even slightly take a claim to is whatever plot twists I thought would be cool. Naomi can't die, she's too cool.

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Unintentional By: iCream

Chapter Six: Fangs and Claws

Naomi sighed, and turned off the TV. Nothing. B and Light were laying low. Not a single report of heart attack had been reported. And therefore, there was nothing to begin working with.

She couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. Sure, she didn't expect to figure it out within a couple days, but the utter lack of any kind of information left her with too many missing pieces of a puzzle.

Deciding to grab some lunch, she whipped on her black leather jacket, placed huge sunglasses on her nose, and made sure the hood was securely over her head. It wasn't the best of disguises, but she was too irritated to care.

Slamming the door behind her, she didn't notice the little shadow that seemed to trail after her.

It was a fine day outside. The sky was a pretty, deep shade of bright cerulean, complete with lax, white clouds slowly inching across the expanse of blue. Naomi, rather ill-tempered, ignored the many couples that took the weather as a prime time to enjoy themselves. Raye was still a sore subject.

Naomi let herself relax in fragments, slowly loosening all the tense muscles in her body. She smiled indulgently as she passed an ice cream cart watching as people her age lovingly bought little cones for their small children. Such domestic actions both repelled her and drew her in. It seemed to her such a burden to watch over such little terrors day and night. But sometimes, she observed the secretive, pleased, and joyous smiles on her peers, and couldn't help but wonder what it was that she was missing. Romance and family seemed so very different, and now, she had neither.

A sudden, strangely chilly wind suddenly blew over her, causing her to turn slightly so her side could take the brunt of the cold. In doing so, she caught sight of the person who had been curiously trailing her for the better part of the morning.

Her heart jammed into her throat with alarming force. Her feet immediately wanted to lock in place, forcing her into a stumble.

Beyond.

He was still at a distance, but there was certainly no mistaking the wild, unruly hair and the particularly casual way he dressed. She didn't dare look at his face, knowing all that awaited was the sight of vicious crimson eyes and a knowing smirk. It was impossible to steel her nerves against those eyes that showed all too clearly their wicked intelligence.

How the hell had he found her?

She turned back around, not caring that the icy wind was giving her wind burn. Trying desperately to think of a plan, she sped up ever so slightly as she made a big show of glancing at her watch. The breathing that she tried so hard to keep even had begun to be erratic. Her pulse beat strongly, filling her with that curious boost of strength.

Hurriedly, she weaved her way through the jostling crowd, her mind seemingly to whirl uselessly. Her mind screamed profanities and refused to come up with a safe idea.

Shit, shit, SHIT.

She had to force herself not to break into a run when she walked past a corner. Some primal part of her thought that if she was out of his sight for a good moment, that good moment should be used to hide. The more rational side reasoned that he would only find her again.

If she were to do anything against B, it couldn't be in public. As much as she wanted to just scream and wait for someone else to take over, she couldn't involve anyone else that could potentially be used against her. In order to take on B, she would have to find a secluded place. Whether she came out dead, half-dead, or alive would be the next thing to consider.

Seeing B again awoke terrors and that feeling of fear that Naomi swore she had gotten rid of. Her hands shook as she briskly walked forward; her legs trembled like jelly, her feet like pancakes.

The feeling of being hunted followed her endlessly- the typical, creeping feeling of being prey pricked the back of her neck, warning her, that if she stopped for even a minute, nothing but a messy death would result.

Just seeing him again filled her with insecurity. She couldn't shake of the feeling that she was still so weak, easily manipulated with a few well-spoken words and insincere actions.

It felt so suffocating, like being put into an air-tight box and being asked to breathe.

Suddenly, she found herself face to face with a brick wall that she swore had not been there the day before.

The hell? Fuck this.

"Maki-san!" Beyond's voice floated over to her. Obviously, he knew that she knew that he was tailing her. Trying to initiate conversation was just another one of his tactics.

Her panic level rising, but still not allowing herself to look backwards, she spun around and lunged into a new direction, mind clouding over in fear.

"Maaki-san!" His voice sounded much milder than she remembered.

Not far from where she was, she recognized an old fight of stone stairs that led downwards into an old subway that nobody really used. Relief poured over her.

Perfect.

With undisguised enthusiasm, she fled down the stairs, knowing her stalker would follow sooner or later. The stairs spiraled downwards, allowing her to be hidden from view if someone were to peer down.

Pressing herself into their multi-grained rock, she eased her breathing, settled her heart, and got ready for the confrontation.

She heard the footsteps. They seemed uncertain at first, slowly descending into the dark tunnel with uneven intervals. Then, as if making up his mind, the footsteps evened out and pattered down.

Each step was thunderous and had but all the power of a destructive earthquake.

Naomi gritted her teeth to steel her nerves and to review her caoperia.

It seemed like ages had passed before she saw the silhouette of spiky hair. Heart beating rapidly, she got into her stance, and moved.

Her eyes blazing in utmost determination she flawlessly executed one of the more lethal moves known in caoperia. She didn't boast to be the best, but she felt it adequate enough to startle B, which hopefully would leave more opportunity to launch into a series of attacks.

"Kwah!"

She slipped gracefully up two steps of stairs, and in a swirl of ebony hair, spun around to deliver a bone-splitting roundhouse kick, angling it a bit differently than the average street fighter.

She amazed even herself at the ferocity of her own attack. However, that feeling was momentarily diminished as she triumphantly waited for collision. "Gotcha Beyond fuckin' Birthday…"

Alas, Naomi wasn't known for her genius.

With shocking agility and elegance that one would never expect from his posture, Beyond smoothly blocked her blow, used her own momentum to continue spinning, then, when her back was turned to him, pulled her leg hard.

Yelping, she crashed into Beyond, her legs flailing uselessly and her arms immediately caught as two arms snaked around her to stop any punches.

Naomi's cheeks burned as she swallowed the lump in her throat. The position was making her feel more than just vulnerable.

She felt Beyond's lips move closer to her ear. "I won't let you kick me down a flight of stairs a second time, Naomi Misora."

She tried to jerk around and free her wrists, but his grip had tightened with impossible strength. A jolt of something ran down her spine. He was warm, warmer than she was as she had been forced to tumble onto his chest. The proximity unnerved her.

"God dammit, get off me, B!" she hissed with as much venom as she could muster.

She could feel the smirk from the male behind her, but his words she did not expect. "I'm not B, Naomi-san."

She stiffened. "Like hell you aren't!" Mustering up as much strength as she could, she brought her foot back as hard as she could to collide with his knee.

He twitched in surprise, and lost his balance on the slick stone stairs.

With a sharp gasp, Naomi prepared to meet with the stone floor.

Luckily, the bottom of the flight of stairs wasn't that far. Each of them had gotten bruises and scrapes, but nothing serious. With a tremendous crash, they landed unceremoniously in a tangle of limbs. Sufficiently winded, both of them stayed put for a minute, until the newly compromising position was acutely noticed.

Naomi was flat on her back, gasping for air. All the wind had been knocked out of her, and the weight on top of her was not helping.

With a groan, B put his hands on either side of her and lifted himself up, at once freeing himself, but still trapping her.

Breathing hard, Naomi looked at the person on top of her, her eyes wide. All the fight had gone out of her, as she realized that instead of malicious crimson eyes, a pair of huge, emotionless black ones stared back at her.

It was strangely familiar.

Who was this?

--

The dark-haired genius peered down the stairs, thinking. The situation was giving him a weird sense of nostalgia. After all, he had been kicked down a flight of stairs in the past- by the same person he was following now. No doubt she would be waiting for him to appear to start a fight.

L, super sleuth, sighed. Perhaps it hadn't been a good idea to trail her. It obviously gave her the wrong impression. But he couldn't help it. He was rather curious. After Watari had pinpointed her location, it seemed only natural that L go retrieve her.

He hesitantly went down the first few steps, then deciding that he was being unreasonable, hurriedly descended. He had taken the time to learn caoperia. Hopefully, Naomi hadn't transformed into a master since the last time he saw her.

The kick was still a surprise though.

The swiftness and power behind the attack impressed L. Although it had been calculated accordingly as a possibility, the real thing was still amazing.

"Gotcha Beyond fuckin' Birthday!" Oooooh. What a pleasant reunion.

Not easily outdone by anyone at anything, it didn't take much before he had flipped her around and grabbed her wrists so she couldn't slug him.

He leaned closer, ignoring the waft of iliac, "I won't let you kick me down a flight of stairs a second time, Naomi Misora."

Watching her starting to seethe, he deduced there was probably a chance she was going to kick him again…

"Got dammit, get off me, B!"

He couldn't help a smirk. Most of the time, the mention of B filled him with annoyance. Right now, however, it was entertaining to watch her reaction to B.

"I'm not B, Naomi- san." Not that he really expected her to believe him, but he could try. There was always that 12%...

"Like hell you aren't!"

L was about to retort when she suddenly lifted her foot and jammed it hard right below his kneecap. Grunting in surprise, he found to his dismay that his footing was lost.

The only thought he had before they went tumbling down the stairs was, 'I should have expected that.'

They landed with an audible thump. With some discreet tweaking on his side, he landed heavily on her, knocking the wind from her body.

Lifting himself up, he quickly caged her in, with absolutely no regard for their present compromising situation. He looked down at her, and to his surprise, all the fight had left her. She lay, limp and breathing shallowly, eyes fixed on his own, a curious expression on her face.

Those dark chocolate eyes bored into his, and a myriad of emotions crossed them. L categorized them as fear, anger, curiosity, and was that recognition? They continued to scan his own, searching for something.

And as for L, he finally had a clear glimpse of her face. She hadn't changed much from the last time he had seen her. Her figure was slim and muscular, youth still making her fit. Her arresting eyes were framed by gentle sweeps of dark eyelashes, unknowingly half closed. She was a touch or two paler than what he remembered, but that was to be expected. Life hadn't been exactly kind in dishing out misfortunes.

They continued to stare at one another, eyes locked in an unbreakable, questioning gaze.

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Yay! Lawliet and Naomi finally meet! It took me ages to find a suitable way for them to meet again. I thought a recreation of her hitting him down a stairs a second time would be good. Anyway, there's still the little thing that she should have seen L once before, and therefore recognize him better. I'll explain that in the next chapter, I hope.

Flame and Review! This chappie seemed to me oddly rushed and full of bad grammar and run-ons, and weirdly used words. But try as I might, I can't find the problems. . It's just a nagging feeling I get. Anyway, hope you liked it.

F&R…