The task force stood in the center of the room, chief Yagami, Mogi, Aizawa and Light on one side, Misa and Matsuda on the other. They had gathered for a very special meeting. Both Matsuda and Misa had spent the last half hour trying to convince the others of their plan.
"Absolutely not."
"But chief, it's actually a great idea!" Matsuda said, "I mean, doesn't everyone want someone to wish them a happy birthday?"
"Yes, simply wishing them a happy birthday would be fine. But you're saying that we should sing?" Yagami responded.
"Oh, please Mr. Yagami, me and Matsu spent a long time planning this party. The cake is in the oven right now, we'll have the whole thing ready to go in an hour. Even Mr. Watari is in on it," Misa said.
The Chief folded his arms, his expression still cold. She turned towards Light.
"Light, please," she said, running up to her boyfriend and burying her face into his shirt.
"Come on you guys, it'll be great, don't we all need a break from this detective stuff?" Matsuda said.
"You might be onto something there."
"Mogi!" Aizawa turned back towards his colleague, his lips down turned. Mogi shrugged.
"This is a very serious investigation. I'm not going to stop you from having your party, go ahead. But don't expect me to join in." Aizawa said.
"I never said I was joining them, all I said was he was onto something."
"You know what, it might not be a bad idea after all," Light said.
"What are you saying, Light? This is no time for childish games. Don't forget we are working on a very difficult and serious case."
"I know dad, but listen-"
...
"Dad are you ready?" Light asked. He walked up to his father who was facing the stove, watching as Misa pulled out a pair of blue mitts to remove the cake.
"Yes. Yes I am," the Chief said before turning towards his son.
"Dad this is a party, you should relax a little."
"How can I relax? There's a mass murderer out there killing people while I'm about to enjoy myself."
"Chief, you promised. We're all in on this together, as a team," Matsuda said, swinging his arms over the Chief and Aizawa's shoulders, a broad smile plastered onto his face.
"OK you guys all have to learn your lines." Misa said cheerily as she pulled the freshly baked cake out of the oven.
"Lines?" Aizawa groaned.
"Yeah, this has to be different from all the other parties Ryuzaki has gone to."
Light shook his head.
"Other parties? Really, Misa? I doubt Ryuzaki has been to any party, let alone a birthday party."
Misa's smile faded, she brought a hand to her mouth, gasping.
"Let's just get this over with," Aizawa positioned the party hat over his hair.
...
L sat with his legs pulled up to his chest as he carefully picked a strawberry off his shortcake. He glanced back up at the computer, a flood of data filled the screen. He sighed, carefully placing the strawberry back down. It had been two days since he had received any new information. It was all old news.
"L?"
"What is it Watari?"
"I have some important news for you, but I'm afraid you'll have to wear the headphones I gave you earlier to receive the information."
L was silent.
"Ryuzaki?"
"Yes Watari," he said.
L placed the head phones over his head after plugging them in.
...
Misa's phone buzzed.
"It's Mr. Watari he says Ryuzaki won't hear us come in."
"Oh, this is going to be so great!"
"Matsuda! Quiet..."
"Sorry, Chief."
Misa took the lead, quietly opening the door and tiptoeing into the dimly lit room. The task force followed suit, Light and Matsuda in the lead.
"One! Two! Three!-"
"Stop!" Ryuzaki stood, his back turned towards the task force who stood awkwardly, their mouths gaping.
Silence fell upon the room as the last echoes faded.
"Watari is relaying a very important piece of information. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll need you all to leave."
Matsuda's heart sunk, he hung his head. Wringing his hands, he quickly glanced at the rest of his team, half expecting them all to be frowning at him.
Misa on the other hand, had different ideas on what to do next...
"Happy birthday Ryuzaki!" she said, pouncing onto L's back, slamming his face into the shortcake on the table.
"Happy haunted birthday!"
"Haunted birthday?" Light asked, lowering the horn he planned to blow in L's ear. Revenge was sweet.
"Of course silly, it's Halloween," she grinned.
"It's Halloween?" L asked.
"Yeah!" Misa chimed.
L looked at the task force. Chief Yagami and Aizawa quickly removing their party hats.
"That means I can obtain a large amount of candy today...for free. Although I suppose that is rather pointless, I have as much candy as I..."
"Please Ryuu?" Misa said.
L's eyes widened.
"Ryuu?" he said.
"Come on let's go! We can stop at a restaurant and celebrate after we get all the candy!" Matsuda grabbed Aizawa and Chief Yagami by their sleeves.
"Let's go Ryuzaki, it's not like you to pass down the opportunity for free candy," Light said.
Misa grabbed L's shoulders, twirling him before letting him off towards Light. He tipped a bit before regaining his balance.
"Free candy!"
"I can't..." L moaned, turning back towards his seat.
"That's it!" Aizawa said, "I didn't wear this silly hat and put up with this party business just for you to ruin everything."
Throwing his hat on the ground, he swiftly grabbed the detective by the waist, swinging him over his shoulder before storming out the door.
"Yay! We're going trick or treating!" Misa yanked Light as she flew out the room.
"Yeah! Let's do this," Mogi cheered.
Yagami walked out the door after Mogi, a small smile crossing his lips.
...
"Ryuzaki, are you enjoying yourself?" Chief Yagami asked the young man. L's face was stuffed with cake, a little chocolate smeared onto his chin.
"Mhmm."
He had placed his orange candy bag under his feet for protection. The company had split into groups, each trying to obtain the most candy. L had by far outdone them all.
He reached for the chocolate cake, pulling it towards himself before fumbling with the knife. Chief Yagami watched as L poked the thing carefully at his treat. He sighed.
"Here, Ryuzaki," he said, taking the knife from him and slicing a large piece off of the birthday cake.
"Happy birthday," he said.
Author's Note: It's been a while since I've been on, but I just had to write a story as a tribute to L. I am a serious writer, so constructive critique is welcome and greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading.
