I grabbed the railing immediately to keep myself from tumbling down the staircase.

"You surprised me," I said, finally catching my breath. The man stood slightly hunched over, wearing a long sleeve baggy shirt paired with jeans that looked atleast two sizes too big for him. He had big, messy black hair that contrasted against his pale, ivory skin. The bags beneath his eyes told me he must not have gotten much sleep.

"Were you spying on us?" He asked, cocking his head slightly to the side. Us? So he must be… But he doesn't look like how I'd imagined L…

"No, well," I cleared my throat, "I work at the hotel."

"I know you work here. You're at the front desk. What reason do you have to be roaming up on the second floor?" For a moment I couldn't find words to talk, just his presence was enough to keep shake me up.

"I was curious about something I heard." I finally plucked up the courage to speak. "Anyway, it's getting late. I'm going home now."

"Curious about what?" I looked up expecting a remorseless scowl across his face. Instead, tired, daunting eyes stared back at me, eyebrows slightly furrowed. His thumb was touching his lip as if he were deep in thought. Those black eyes felt like they could see through my pathetic attempts to avoid the topic.

"I just overhead something. I probably heard wrong anyway. Sorry for bothering you, sir. Have a good night." I turned to proceed down the stairs when I felt a hand on my shoulder and stopped. He paused as well. Tension remained floating in the air, almost a thick, humid feeling.

"I am L." He said. My eyes widened as I turned around to face him. Why was he just admitting this to me? Surely the real L wouldn't just tell anyone his identity. "I assume this is what you overheard?"

"But if you're L," I crossed my arms, "then why would you go recklessly spreading that around after keeping your identity a secret for so long?"

"I believe it's necessary for certain people to know. You're Han Miyamoto, am I correct?"

"Er, yes I am." How did he already know who I was? Maybe this was the real deal.

"Your father works for the police." He lifted one foot and proceeded to scratch the other ankle using his toes. Just now had I taken notice to the fact that he was barefoot. What was with this guy? The top investigator, and he didn't' even wear shoes?

"He did. But he recently resigned."

"Because of the Kira case, I'm assuming. You think finding Kira will help your father get his job back?" Amazing, his deduction skills were dead on. I decided it was too late to deny anything at this point and just nodded.

"Yes." He lifted his hand off my shoulder and once again met his thumb to his lips. His eyes were pointed at me but it seemed like he was staring at something beyond.

"Would you like to join the Kira case?" He asked me finally, now making direct eye contact.

"W-what?" I sputtered, not being able to speak properly.

"You seem to be rather intelligent, from what I could tell from your school records. And you've got a good motivation to solve this case. You could be a great asset to our investigation team." I blinked several times at him. I opened my mouth to speak but he stopped me, just as I was about to answer. "But," He said, "You're also a suspect."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"I believe you may be Kira." He said. Both of us gazed at each other. He was so peculiar, but something about him was just so… intriguing. An unlikely suspect for L, and yet the perfect candidate at the same time.

"I can see why you'd think so. I mean, the killer probably has good access to police information, so they must be tied to one of the officers." I said, taking a step up so we were level with one another.

"Yes. So you've got pretty decent deduction skills as well, I see." I shook my head in modesty,

"It's simple if you put it together."

"So," He said cocking his head once again, "You'll join us?"

"I'll think about it," I replied nonchalantly, and once again turned to head down the stairs. Upon reaching the fifth step, I could still feel his presence behind me. "I wont tell anyone about this," I said, hoping to reassure him. "My father wouldn't approve of me getting involved anyway. So you can count on me to keep my mouth shut." He seemed satisfied.

"Call me Ryuuzaki." He said before I left. "Come back here tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. I'll be expecting an answer."

"Right. Good night, Ryuuzaki." I said, exiting the stairs.

"Han-chan , you're home." My father greeted me from the living room, as I entered the door. I wasn't surprised to see he was still up by the time I got off my shift. He was probably watching whatever crap was on television late at night.

"Hello otoosan." I took off my coat and hung it on the rack by the door. I hadn't exactly gotten used to doing this yet. Now that he was jobless and had plenty of free time on his hands, he'd been doing little things around the house, like adding random pieces of furniture wherever he thought necessary.

"Have you eaten yet? You must be famished." He headed into the kitchen as if he could cook anything other than frozen food.

"I'm not hungry. But it was a long day at work, so I'm going to rest now." I began to make my way up the stairs,

"Han-chan…" He stopped mid sentence as if not knowing what to say next. I stood still, my back still faced towards him, waiting for him to finish. Finally I heard his slippers scratch across the floor into the living room, and quickly ran up and shut my door, hoping he wouldn't bother to come up. I locked it and plopped myself on my bed, rubbed my eyes, and stretched my tired bones.

When he dropped the bomb that he was resigning, I actually felt relieved. I didn't want to put my father's life in danger either. I told him everything would be alright, and that the money from my part time job would be enough until he decided take his position back.

However, after a while, I began to feel like I was the parent, who was taking care of him. Day after day I'd come home to see him watching t.v., eating junk food, or out spending our money on some useless junk. I began to get angry with him, and restrained myself from throwing a tantrum on many occasions. After all, this man raised me all by himself for 18 painful years after my mother had passed away. I decided I'd let it go for the time being, and just avoid any unnecessary conversations, to prevent myself from blowing up.

I turned over to my side and shut my eyes. If I were to join this Kira case, with the help of L, we'd catch that bastard for sure. Then, father could go back to work and everything would be alright again. No more moping around the house, no more eating frozen food, and no more having to see my father walk around as nothing more than a hollow body.

Pulling the pillow over my face, I evened my breathing, and soon drifted into a deep sleep, emptying my mind of all thoughts.

Beeeep. Beep beep.

I rolled over and raised my hand to slap the alarm clock. I stretched out across my bed and let out a happy little sigh. No work today. It felt relieving to be able to get atleast 8 hours of sleep, a good improvement from my usual 4 hours or less.

I sat up straight, with my eyes still closed and let out a large yawn. I scratched my scalp and felt a little disorientated that my fingers were getting entangled in my hair. I grabbed the brush from my bed stand and ripped it through my untamed mop. After a little bit of tugging and flinching I decided I was satisfied and got up to brush my teeth.

After my morning routine was finished, I pulled a knitted sweater over my head before leaving the house, and made sure to lock the door. My father's car was missing from the driveway, so I assumed he'd already left earlier that morning. Good, atleast he'd gone out.

In the car I had absentmindedly tuned the radio to a random station and turned down the volume so I could think. Alright, so he said nine o'clock. It's 8:30 right now, and it takes ten minutes to get there. I'll be on time. The slow indie tune had transitioned into some weird techno music and I switched stations to make it easier to think. I settled on an old tune I used to always listen to as a kid. Should I join? It'll be great if we can catch him but… I'm a suspect as well. I didn't realize the car in front of me had stopped and I hurriedly stepped on the breaks. I could hear my tires as they screeched to a halt. Good thing no one was behind me. I shook my head and let out a heavy sigh. Okay, I can think about this later. First I gotta focus on getting there without being killed. I waited for the driver to advance ahead and then pushed the gas pedal. I began nearing the moment of truth.

I felt relieved as the air from the cool hotel kissed my skin. Though it was already a bit chilly outside, I always loved the feeling of the first steps into a nice air conditioned building. Perhaps I had been working there for far too long.

"Ah, Han-chan. What are you doing here on your day off? If I were you I'd be home sleeping away!" Theresa, the girl who worked for me on my off days, was standing at the desk, holding her reading glasses in one hand and a red hotel pen in the other. A bright, but sincere smile was plastered across her face.

"Hello Theresa-chan." I waved. "I'm just here visiting some family staying at the hotel. Believe me, I wish I could be sleeping too." Quickly I shuffled over the elevator in attempts to avoid any more questions.

"Han-cha-" The elevator doors slid shut as I turned away, pretending not to see her.

Alright, so my answer is yes, right? I've really got nothing to lose. I just have to prove to him I'm not Kira, and we can find him together. I twisted my mouth in frustration. But what if he won't believe me? I could be sent to jail if he's still convinced I'm the killer.

Ding! The familiar sound of the elevator door interrupted my thoughts, and I stepped into the second floor hallway. This time, I made my way to room 207 a little more confidently, although still not completely sure. I knocked on the door twice.

"Come in, Han-chan." I heard the familiar voice call to me. Slowly and shakily I pushed down the door handle.

Upon stepping inside, I expected to see spy equipment everywhere. Notes plastered on the walls, computer screens, microphones, cameras. Instead, there was a small coffee table, covered in sweets, and two small couches placed on either side. A single chair stood at the end of the table, and in it sat L. He looked over at me and revealed two curious black orbs. He sat in an odd position, with his legs up to his chest and he was holding a coffee cup in one hand and a coaster in the other. "Please, take a seat." He said, pointing towards the couch. Slowly I made my way over and set myself down, all the while feeling his gaze never leaving me.

"I see you enjoy sweets." I said.

"Would you like some?" he asked me, in an almost child-like voice .

"Sure," I said. I didn't want to seem rude, so I picked out a large cookie, though typically I didn't eat sweets without some tea to balance the sugar.

"So, what is your final answer?" he asked me, sipping his coffee. I could see the steam rise up from the cup. "Would you like to join?"

"I'm going to prove to you that I am not Kira." I said calmly, "We will find him together if that's what it takes to clear my name." I took a bite of the cookie. My stomach growled with satisfaction, since it was the first thing I had eaten since yesterday.

"I see." He put down his coffee and dropped several sugar cubes into it before speaking again. "Well, glad to have you on the team."

"Right. So what are your thoughts on the case then , Ryuuzaki?"

"Well, currently we're in the midst of investigating something."

"Investigating what?" I asked him.

"That, I cannot say." He said, picking up a plate of cake. Holding the fork oddly with only his index finger and thumb, he scooped a piece of food and popped it into his mouth. I frowned. Though I was still part of the team, being a suspect meant I wasn't going to get all the information that the others did.

"I see. Well, any information that you can tell me then?"

"Yes." He swallowed the cake, "We believe that Kira is a student. The murders mostly occur during the times that a student would get out of school, to the time that they'd sleep."

"Very clever deduction." I said, nodding. "Anything else?"

"Well, you know they're tied to the police. And also we know Kira can kill with just a face and a name. Precisely why I gave all the cops fake identities."

"That seems like a logical thing to do. But, if you really suspected me as Kira, why are you telling me all this crucial information?"

"Because, if you are Kira, then you still cannot kill them since it is not their real names. And if you aren't, then I'd like to give you as much information as possible so you can aid us in this investigation."

"You really do live up to your reputation, Ryuuzaki." I said. The room was quiet for a moment after I said this, then he did something I didn't expect. A little smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He was grinning at me. I quickly looked away and I felt my cheeks begin to redden. I munched on the cookie , just to have something to do. Why was I so surprised? It was just a smile. People smiled at each other all the time. It was a common gesture of friendship after all. Perhaps I was just startled that it had come from someone as unexpected as him. It seemed as of recently, I could never really explain my feelings very well.

"What is itt?" His question startled me. I turned to look at him and again, those dark eyes seemed to pierce through me.

"Nothing," I said, placing down the cookie.

"Han-chan,"

"Yes?"

"Are you Kira?" He asked me. I stared at him , rather dismayed, and stood up.

"No, Ryuuzaki, I told you I am not." Though rather surprised, I did not raise my voice. I barely ever did.

"Very well." He said, and continued sipping his coffee as if nothing.

Helllooo ~

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter

Heheh, oh Han. So confused .

Well, who wouldn't fall for L , am I right ;D

Anyway, reviews are appreciated!