Okay... so welcome to my new story. I wrote this one over a few lectures at university on my laptop hehe. Anyway, there will be SPOILERS for L's real name and up until book seven. So if you don't like spoilers, turn back now. Another thing, I'm my own beta so if there are any spelling errors, please feel free to point them out.

Disclaimer: I sorely wish I owned Death Note...

Shinigami

Raito sipped at his cup of coffee and yawned. No matter what the detective said, waking up at five o'clock in the morning after going to bed at one thirty the night before was not a full night's sleep! Then the investigation team wondered why he and L got into so many fights. It was currently 6:30 in the morning and it was still an hour and a half before the investigation team arrived. Raito tensed as L shifted beside him. They had been attached by handcuffs for so long that Raito barely noticed the detective anymore except for every morning when the detective would blatantly refuse to take off the shackles that bound them together. How he hated taking a shower while L watched him. It was rather disturbing to have the man he considered a friend stare at him while he went about his morning routine.

"Raito – kun," L spoke up suddenly while staring intently at his computer screen. "How about we take a break from this case and have a tennis match?"

Raito gave him a wary glance. "Are you sure that you want to take a break from this case? It isn't like you, Ryuzaki,"

L bit his thumb making the chain that bound them jingle. "We have nothing to do until the next round of killings by Kira, Light-kun," he said.

Raito mentally gritted his teeth. "Are you sure you aren't still depressed, Ryuzaki?"

L ignored him and pressed the button with a large 'W' on it. "Watari, could you contact the other members of the investigation team and tell them that we are taking a day off and that they can do what they please?"

"I will do that right now, Ryuzaki," came the old man's voice. "I must say, I'm glad that you have accepted my suggestion."

For not the first time Raito wondered why L expected the man to be awake at all times of the day. No matter what time he paged him, Watari was quick to answer.

"Come on then, Raito – kun," L said almost impatiently as he tugged at the chain.

If Raito wasn't so worried about what L was planning he would have smiled. It was rather amusing to see the detective so excited for something that he would risk acting impatient in any form.

Raito shook his head and got up. "Okay," he said.

L led him upstairs and down a hallway before halting in front of a door with a dead bolt. L produced a key from his pocket and held it with his thumb and forefinger. He carefully placed it into the door and turned it. With a click it unlocked and L solemnly pushed it open. It swung in with a silent glide on smooth hinges. L wordlessly tugged the chain to get Raito's attention and stepped inside.

L turned the light on and Raito glanced around the room in surprise. A hint of disuse hung in the air entwined with the smell of dust. Even though the building they were in was brand new, it felt as if he was looking in an old attic crammed with boxes full of the memories of days long past. The detective ignored all of this and led Raito right to the corner of the room without sparing a glance at any of the objects. There were two tennis racket shaped cases and a tube of neon green balls. L grabbed both of these and they wove around the mess of boxes to the exit.

L slammed the door behind them and began to retrace their steps down the stairs. Raito was curious about one thing.

"Ryuzaki, why isn't that under lock and key like the rest of this building?" he asked.

"It was," the detective replied. "The light switch had a thumb print scanner on it."

Raito had to admit that the detective grew odder all the time. Together they walked down the street. They received many strange glances from passersby at their handcuffed appearance.

"Ryuzaki, how are we supposed to play tennis if we're attached to each other?"

"I took the liberty of getting the key off of Watari yesterday evening while you were sleeping Raito - kun," L said simply.

"Aren't you worried that I might try to escape?" Raito asked.

"You are Kira, Raito - kun. You have only lost your memories for the moment. Right now you are harmless in that sense and you still want to prove your innocence by working on this case with me. You aren't going to go anywhere," L said. "Also I can still observe you here, Raito – kun. There's a park not far from here with a tennis court."

Raito bit his lip in annoyance. Of course L was correct. He wasn't about to go anywhere, but still it was annoying that the detective wouldn't lay off the Kira accusations. It was rather frustrating. Still, he felt even more suspicious of L. Even though L's reasoning in allowing them to separate was sound, he knew that if the detective truly believed in that logic, that they would only be handcuffed to each other part of the time. Unless Misa was correct and L truly was a pervert. Raito fought down a blush that threatened to overwhelm his face and his composure. He cut off those thoughts before they could go any further.

They walked straight down the street for a block or so before turning onto a side street. A few hundred metres in was the park with the tennis courts that L had described. Luck was with them as there was no one else on the courts. Or perhaps it wasn't luck. It was a very secluded place. There were large trees everywhere and the sweet smell of pine filled the cool early morning air.

There was, however a beaten path that led to the courts. The pair lost no time in following the path up to the courts and opening the gate. Raito lifted the latch and pushed the door open. L wasted no time in dragging him inside. The detective produced the key from his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs. He tossed them in a corner and handed Raito a racket. Raito took hold of the zipper and placed the cover in the same corner as the handcuffs were. He took the side of the court opposite to L and allowed a smirk to cross his face. Even if the freedom was temporary, he was determined to enjoy it. He rotated the wrist that was usually handcuffed to the detective. Although the detective was acting oddly, he was determined to enjoy this.

The ball went whizzing past Raito before he could move. "Fifteen – love," L said calmly, but Raito could tell that the detective was amused.

"That's not fair, Ryuzaki," Raito grumbled before hitting the ball back towards L. He was awarded with the detective's chuckle.

The sun was high in the sky by the time that they both had enough with tennis. Dripping with sweat, they both headed off of the courts.

Boredom: Something that Raito hadn't felt in a while. Even though there was no new information about the Kira case, he was used to at least looking over the information left over from the previous people killed by Kira.

He glanced over at L, who seemed perfectly content to stare right back at him.

Raito cleared his throat. "So... what do you want to do now?" he asked.

"Work on the Kira case, Raito - kun," L replied immediately.

Raito's eye twitched. "Besides that," he said.

"Do you have any other ideas?"

Raito turned away and cast his mind around desperately in hopes of coming up with something that would entertain them for a few more hours. The snapping sound that he had come to associate with the handcuffs gave him a reason to narrow his eyes at L. The detective also had their rackets in the hand that didn't have the metal band circling around it.

"What about we - " he started and to his lack of surprise was just dragged off with the detective. He sighed in exasperation and followed him.

The detective led them off the tennis courts and out of the park. Raito took the time to breathe in as much fresh air as he could before they retreated back to the investigation building.

The street was packed with people which wasn't that unusual for Japan. What was strange was the fact that at the moment no one was paying attention to the handcuffs that held them bound to each other. He shook his head in disbelief when he realized that they weren't even on the right street.

"Ryuzaki, where exactly are we going?" Raito demanded.

The detective didn't answer but continued down the street. Raito glanced around in hopes of gathering any clue about where they were going. He noticed that they weren't on a main street and that the houses were steadily growing shabbier.

"Why are we going to the slums, Ryuzaki?"

The detective again ignored him but continued to press on. Raito came to a complete halt L stopped and looked back..

"Ryuzaki, I refuse to go any further until you tell me where we are going," he demanded.

The detective blinked. "I'm hoping to show you something Raito – kun. I thought you knew that."

Raito was irritated. What could he possibly learn in such a shabby neighbourhood?

L pulled on the chain once again and Raito followed. The eccentric detective didn't seem to have any problem with their surroundings.

There were some shouts behind them and they both came to a halt. They turned to see two men fighting on a corner. Raito tensed when he saw that one of them held a knife. The two men were in direct contrast to each other. Even from his vantage point he could see that the hand that held the knife was emaciated and sickly pale. The man attached to the hand had a shabby appearance with wild, dirty hair. The other who was being attacked was in a business suit and looked to be the nicest dressed person on the street.

"Ryuzaki - "

"Just watch, Raito – kun," L instructed him. "We are lucky that we ran into the situation I was looking for so soon."

Raito glowered. "What is the point of showing me this?" he demanded.

"Why do you think that the man with the knife is attacking the other?" L asked.

"Obviously because he needs money for drugs," came the reply. "We really don't need people like that on the streets. He should be punished for what he's doing to the man in the business suit."

"I find it interesting that Raito – kun said 'punished' and not 'arrested'."

Raito groaned, his ire rising. "Not that again. I've told you over and over again. I'm not Kira."

"I just wanted you to think about that before you regained your memories, Raito – kun."

WHAM!

L went sprawling to the ground. Slowly he brought his hand to his jaw where Raito's fist had struck him.

Raito stood over him with eyes full of anger. "Stop implying that I'm Kira!"

"I'm not implying that you are Kira," the detective breathed before swinging his heel into the teen's face. "I know it."

Raito shuddered as he was struck and this time it was the detective who stood over him. He growled and shot to his feet and hit L again. L fell backward and swung his feet into Raito's chest as he was pulled down on top of him. Raito was knocked away and onto the ground beside him. It was only then that they noticed that people had stopped what they were doing to watch their fight. They had drawn a considerable crowd in the thirty seconds that they had been fighting each other.

Raito and L both got to their feet and rubbed their injuries.

"What happened to the lovers' quarrel?" a young girl's disappointed voice came from the front.

Raito was shocked at the statement. Lovers' quarrel? And then he remembered he was still handcuffed to the detective. That was it of course. As much as he hated to admit it, L had become a constant in his life.

He glanced to the side. The only thing that showed L's surprise at the statement was the slight widening of his large eyes. The movement was so minuscule that only one who had been around him could discern it on the unassuming mask that he wore. Ignoring the stares of the crowd, they pushed through the small mass of bodies. Raito remembered about the knife fight and glanced to the alley way where it had been happening. The corners of his mouth turned down in distaste as he saw that the druggie had gotten away and the businessman was nowhere in sight.

Raito had a sense that he knew what L was getting at even though he had been accused of being Kira yet again. His mind flicked to what the druggie had done and why. He knew there was a chance that the druggie wasn't addicted of his own accord. Most were just desperate people wanting and escape from reality and just taking it too far. Therefore, wasn't it the drug dealer's fault that there were people out there like that? The answer was no. The dealer only held part of the blame for the knifing. The other part of the blame would have to be given to peer pressure, curiosity of the druggie and if someone had spiked his drink with the drug.

Raito shook his head to clear such thoughts and glanced back over at L. The detective was biting his thumb and was apparently lost in thought as they slowly wandered back the way they had originally come. He couldn't help but notice that Ryuzaki seemed rather depressed still despite their fight last week. It was strange that the detective had ordered a day off. Raito realized only then that the detective was letting off some steam by accusing him of being Kira. It was childish yes, but the detective was a childish person and Raito could admit in the safety of his own head that he was too.

"Ryuzaki, are you still depressed?"

The detective removed his thumb from his mouth to answer. "I thought that would be obvious Raito – kun."

"You aren't thinking of giving up the case are you?"

"That is something Kira would say, Raito – kun," came the dry retort.

Raito fought down the anger that threatened to engulf him. "I'm worried Ryuzaki. That's all." They walked the rest of the way back to Headquarters in silence.

As soon as they entered the building. L immediately dragged him over to where his computer sat and climbed onto the chair. Raito sat down beside him. Both of them turned on their computers and waited for them to boot up. They worked side by side not willing to break the silence.

Raito was casually browsing through the list of murders when he found something that made him sit up and wipe the exhaustion from his eyes. "Ryuzaki! Come over here."

L got up and looked over Raito's shoulder. His eyes scanned the article. His eyes widened. "Y – Yagami – kun."

"Look at this huge growth here," Raito said excitedly. "All of these mysterious deaths through illness and accident aren't natural. What's more is that every single one of these deaths has benefited Yotsuba."

"You know what this means?"

"Kira can kill in other ways than heart attacks!" they both exclaimed in unison. "And he's working with the Yotsuba corporation."

Eagerly they both went back to their computers and began to work with renewed vigor. The rest of the day passed in a blur as both genii used their combined intellect to come up with new information about the Kira case.

End Prologue.

Well, I hope you enjoyed that, I already have most of the story in my head and another chapter written that needs to be edited. I will be updating every two weeks... so see you all on November 10! I think. Too lazy to look at a calender. Don't forget to review!

One more thing, if anyone wants to know whether this will be a yaoi between Raito and L, then the answer is that I don't know yet. If the story goes that way, then it does, if it doesn't, well, I like it either way.

TBC...