L rose to a kneeling position, his hand over his lower rib cage as he watched Kain with a pale face and an equal amount of wariness. He looked half-relieved, and half-shocked; though the maneuver had clearly been premeditated to a good extent, L had never fully expected to resort to it. Or... at least, that's what he'd told himself.
The truth was, he'd wanted to see Kain's face. He'd wanted to bring the dragoon down for his earlier remarks. He'd wanted to make Kain suffer.
L stayed where he was, just a few steps from Kain, but not making another move to fight or evade attack. In answer to Kain's disbelieving question, L's eyes seemed to waver between an apology and triumph. He swallowed. "I warned you," he said softly.