A/N: Thank you to the two people who have left reviews so far! (Even if one only did so because I bothered him over the phone.) I'm hoping to gain a few more readers as time goes by, but knowing even one person has read and liked this is very gratifying.

This chapter changes the focus of the narrative to Matsuda. The focus of the third person subjunctive will change each chapter. (I'm not looking forwards to, say, Misa.)

And with that little bit of info, enjoy!


Chapter 2: Raier L's Secret Habits

A month had gone by since Raier L (as Gumshoe refused to stop calling him, despite Matsuda's constant explanation that his name was, in fact, Raito, which was always followed by shock and despair on Matsuda's part over another stupid blunder and complete apathy on Gumshoe's part) had assigned the two detectives to go out hunting for clues, and so far, the only thing that had been discovered was that Gumshoe had a nose for good, inexpensive, artery-hardening food. Matsuda was starting to worry about his own weight.

"Are you sure we have no leads, Mr. Gumshoe?" Matsuda asked as he picked at his vegetable tempura.

"Well, I haven't seen any." Gumshoe sighed. "I'm afraid we're on a wild goose chase, pal."

Matsuda's grasp of English didn't include idioms, and he struggled to understand what Gumshoe was talking about. "...Kira is a goose?"

"Never mind." Gumshoe finished off his tempura and stood, as did Matsuda. "Listen, did you guys have any leads before I arrived?"

Matsuda thought hard as the two walked out of the restaurant. A moment's thought brought to mind the image of the letter N on a screen (and the look of anger on Raito's face after he saw said letter). "Well, Near – who is a genius, like L - suspects Rai... L, but I don't agree with him. After all, Ra... he was in confinement for a really long time, and then we found out you have to write names one after the other or you die, and so..."

"Write names?" Gumshoe raised an eyebrow.

"Oh! Kira kills with a notebook given to him by a shinigami!"

"...A what?"

"You know, a notebook? You write stuff in it..." Matsuda was beginning to realize that Gumshoe hadn't been given proper information. He desperately wished that L was there to handle things for him. Either L, really.

"No, no, a sneezywhatsit, not a notebook."

"Oh! Shinigami are death gods."

"...Now you're just getting crazy on me, pal."

"B-but...!"

"Let's just stick with 'a notebook', alright? So, how did you know about this name rule thingie, pal?" Gumshoe gave Matsuda an inquiring stare.

Matsuda felt himself begin to sweat a little. Being called upon to report was always difficult for him. "W-well... The rule was written in the notebook, in some ink that doesn't exist on Earth. One of the shinigami said the ink came from its realm."

"Well, then, it's simple!" Gumshoe grinned broadly. "Raier L borrowed a pen!"

"...He what?" It was Matsuda's turn to be confused.

"He borrowed a pen from the sneezygame!" Gumshoe's grin broadened still further.

"H-how do you ask a shinigami for a pen? And why would he?" Matsuda stared at Gumshoe blankly, trying desperately to figure the man out.

"To make himself look innocent, of course. Time has taught me to trust geniuses, and if this Far-"

"Near."

"Whatever. If he suspects Mr. Raier, then he probably has a good reason for it."

"B-but he's been helping out with the case, and doing a really good job!" Matsuda protested.

"If Harry Butz has taught me anything, it's that the real culprit always gets involved in the case." Gumshoe climbed into Matsuda's car, taking the driver's seat. "So, where's Mr. Raier's house?"

---

"Turn left right there!"

"Turn left then right? What?"

"No, just left! On Hanami Street!"

"All the signs look the same!"

"It's not my fault you don't understand kanji!"

After a few more loops of the block and arguments, Gumshoe managed to find the apartment complex. Matsuda climbed out of the car, breathing a sigh of relief. As best he could tell, it had only been sheer luck that even let Gumshoe remember that he should be driving on the left side of the street. The man didn't even need a Death Note to induce heart attacks.

After giving himself a moment to calm down and let his breathing return to normal, he studied the building. He'd only seen Light's apartment a few times, and those times he had been much more interested in certain blond models.

The apartment complex was very nice, from what he can see – Western in design, but with a few plum trees lining the path up to the front door. He could see a pool behind a fence, and he wished for a moment that he had brought a swimming suit for after the investigation.

Gumshoe seemed to be similarly appreciative. "Raer's well-off, isn't he?"

"Well, his father bought it for him a few years ago." Matsuda looked down at the ground. "To make it easier for him to pre-" He realized what he was saying a second later and cut himself off, trying to think of a cover. "To pretend he... wasn't investigating Kira!"

"...Why do you need your own apartment for that?" Gumshoe stared at Matsuda blankly.

"Who knows? I don't question geniuses!" Matsuda laughed nervously. If he told Gumshoe that Raito wasn't the original L, he was nearly certain that Raito would kill him on the spot, whether or not he was Kira.

Gumshoe stared for a moment more, then grinned broadly. "A good policy, pal!" He started for the front door. "Let's go investigate, shall we?"

Matsuda nodded and followed. This amount of stress cannot be healthy, he thought. I wonder if 'death by stress' is a valid cause?

---

A long elevator ride later, the two arrived in front of Raito's apartment door. A passing cleaning lady gave the pair an odd look, and Matsuda realized that they were a bit shabby compared to the surroundings, especially Gumshoe. But there was nothing they could do about it offhand.

Gumshoe looked at the door. "...Raer's not the kind to keep a key under the doormat, is he?"

"Is there even a doormat? I mean, we're inside..." Matsuda looked around for anything even remotely resembling a doormat, and found nothing.

"Well, then, we knock." And before Matsuda could stop him, Gumshoe had hit the door with incredible force. Amazingly, it didn't splinter.

A female voice from inside called "Coming!", and the sound of feet on carpet could be heard, moving rapidly.

"At least Misa-Misa's here to get the door..." Matsuda sighed. "But how do we explain ourselves?"

"We'll burn that bridge when we come to it," Gumshoe assured him.

"...What bridge? We're in an apartment building." Matsuda stared blankly.

Before Gumshoe could explain, Misa had opened the door. The young, beautiful model was dressed as a schoolgirl today, although Matsuda was fairly certain that a skirt that short was not allowed under regulations. Neither was unbuttoning one's shirt that low.

Through the fog that clouded his mind, one thought surfaced. I never took her for the sort to have a white bra...

Misa's bright smile faded a little when she saw the pair. "Oh, Matchi! Misa thought you were Raito." She buttoned up her shirt, ending Matsuda's once-in-a-lifetime view. "Who's your friend?"

"Dick Gumshoe, from the LAPD, at your service!" Gumshoe grinned at the girl. "And you are?"

"Misa-Misa, also known as Misa Amane, the model!" Misa smiled at Gumshoe. "It's been a while since Misa has met anyone from America. Luckily Misa has acted in Hollywood a few times, so she has a pretty good grasp on English... Not as good as Raito's, though." She pouted.

"Y-you're very good, Misa-Misa!" Matsuda assured her.

"Thank you!" Misa beamed at Matsuda, and he felt his pulse quicken a little. For the first time, he cursed Raito's existence. "So, Matchi, Gummi, why are you two here?"

"Well, Miss Amy-"

"Misa Amane. Or just Misa."

"Alright. Miss A, we're here because... Raer left something here and we came to get it for him!"

"...Raer?"

"Raito," Matsuda explained, then went on in Japanese with, "Mr. Gumshoe's... not good with Japanese names. Or American names, I'm pretty sure. Really, just names in general."

"What are you two talking about?" Gumshoe stared at Matsuda.

"Nothing, nothing!" Matsuda assured him nervously. "Let's go find... that thing, shall we?"

"He could've called Misa and had her bring it..." Misa pouted, but let the two into the apartment.

The apartment was very nicely furnished in a Western style, with soft-looking cream-colored chairs everywhere, art on the walls, a large flat-panel TV opposite the largest couch, and a soft cream-colored carpet. Matsuda felt another flare of jealousy as they began to search the apartment.

"What are you looking for, exactly? Misa could help!" Misa peered over Matsuda's shoulder.

"It's... a private thing." Matsuda was beginning to feel stressed again. He wasn't a great liar.

Misa raised an eyebrow. "Misa threw out his porn years ago, if that's what you want."

"N-nothing like that!" Matsuda protested. "Just something sensitive to the Kira case." The group was moving towards the bedroom now.

"Well, Misa hasn't seen anything like that." She looked at the door to the bedroom and then at Matsuda and Gumshoe. "...Do you really need to look in there?"

"He'd be likely to keep it somewhere private and well-hidden," Gumshoe pointed out.

"Fine, fine... But no looking in Misa's closet or drawers!" She opened the door into a very nice, very pink room with a double bed. Matsuda could tell instantly which of the pair had chosen the decor, and a large vanity mirror only reinforced that idea.

Misa pointed at one of the doors leading off from the bedroom. "That's Raito's closet. Misa doesn't look in there very often, except to check and make sure he's kept up his promise about not getting more porn." She smiled brightly. "He always has! Raito is a good boyfriend."

With someone like you, who needs porn? Matsuda thought, but he decided to keep the thought to himself as he headed for the closet. Gumshoe followed behind.

Behind the closet door, there were... clothes. Mostly suits, with a few casual outfits mixed in. Matsuda's hopes sank a little, but he began to rifle through the clothes just in case.

He flipped through the outfits carefully, looking for bulges in the pockets. He found little in the first few suits, the white shirt was free of pockets, and the corset was-

Wait. Corset?

He stared blankly at the simple black corset for a moment, as did Gumshoe and Misa. "...Any chance your clothes and his got mixed, Misa-Misa?" he managed to ask.

"N-none..."

Gumshoe folded his arms. "So, either Mister Raer's a tranny, or this is somehow tied to the Kira case. I'm almost hoping for the latter."

Matsuda's grasp of English did not include the word 'tranny'. He decided after a moment's thought that it probably was a euphemism for 'Kira'. "I hope so too."

"Let's take this back to HQ and ask Raer about it, shall we?" Gumshoe lifted the piece of clothing out of the closet.

"W-what about the thing for the case?" Misa managed to ask through her shock.

"We'll worry about that as soon as we're sure Raer's male," Gumshoe assured the girl.

The two headed out alone, leaving Misa to stare blankly at the closet. "He could've told Misa... She could've lent him a really cute outfit that would fit him great..."


A/N: I'm so sorry, Raito.

The corset is canon, although I seem to be the only one who remembers it – he wears it so that he can technically give up ownership of the Note while keeping his memories of it. (He tucks the note into it, then puts on a shirt over it.) It's only mentioned once, but Raito wearing a corset? Comedy gold. And I figure he kept a spare just in case.

On an unrelated note, I hate writing Misa. I don't really dislike her as a character, I like the obsessed type a lot (look at how many Subaru fanfics I've written for X), but... Her speech style grates. Heavily. Aisu hates the third person.

So, anyways, thank you to my small number of readers thus far! The third chapter, Stripping and Arrest, will be written soon, I promise. And, someday, I'll actually introduce Phoenix himself into the fic.