Hi everyone!! I know I haven't updated in aaaaaaages which I am truly sorry for. I'm not just saying that I really feel sorry for putting git off and I hope I haven't lost my readers. Erian-chan pointed out to me that Raito shouldn't have met Misa yet so in chapter 2 I changed my mention of Misa to Matsuda. I have also changed chapter 2 in other ways so please re-read it. I hope you all like this belated chapter.

Warning: I have intentionally messed up the time-line in this chapter e.g. I have made Mikami the same age as Raito.

Stage 2) Make our friendship stronger:

Ryuzaki has acknowledged me as his best friend. I cannot deny that this makes me feel somewhat special. I know, I am what you would consider 'special', I'm good looking, and I have perfect grades and many adoring friends if not fans but I now feel truly 'special'. Ryuzaki has chosen me to be his friend and even though this started off as a plan to make my Raito Is Kira Percentage go down what I said was still the truth and when we catch the real Kira I hope we'll still be friends or, if the plan goes successfully, lovers.

Ryuzaki has not had a friend before and so I believe it will be for the best if I prove to him that it wasn't all words and that I truly want to be his friend. After all one of my favourite English idioms is "actions speak louder than words"

Raito's POV

I let the university door swing shut behind me and savoured the cool breeze blowing over my flushed face. Football had been rather intense. The other team's best player Arata Tanaka was back after being in the hospital with a broken leg and so the winning team wasn't so obvious.

I let my feet take me to my usual café were I could compose myself before heading home to change into more appropriate clothes and then making my way over to the headquarters. I didn't have a uniform for university so I could wear whatever I wanted. My fellow classmates often rejoiced this but it was the one thing I missed about my old school.

Before, I could just wake up and put on my uniform and only have to worry about whether it was ironed correctly or not (which it usually was). But now I had to put great thought into my clothes to protect my image. It also made the girls at the university more annoying than usual. A few years ago I had always hoped that they would be more mature but all I hear is talk about the disaster and mayhem that ensued when they discovered that their favourite clothes were in the wash.

It was surprising how something as mundane as clothes can change your attitude towards others. Even I sink so low as to have to change my clothes before I see Ryuzaki to make sure that I look mature enough for a man who wears the same white top and blue trousers day in and day out (I had often imagined childishly that if I opened his wardrobe there would be seven sets of the same clothes). But now that my strange new feelings for Ryuzaki had surfaced I was all the more conscious of it.

I opened the door of what I now think as 'my' café and sat down in my usual booth. It was not too close to the front of the shop to be hassled by other customers, next to a window with a good view of the door, but not too far to the back to be seen as a recluse.

I gave my favourite waiter my order and settled down to wait. He was my favourite for several reasons: 1) he was a guy. He was the only male employed at the café. I am by no means a sexist but the girls who worked here were of the same type, blond, stupid with big busts. 2) He was intelligent. He went to my university and was in some of my classes. It was odd, we'd never properly spoken to each other but he was usually near by. 3) He was polite. Unlike the waitresses who came out with so much makeup on they either looked like a French tart or a racoon and were too touchy-feely he was professional. He smiled and said hello and did his job with pride. Sure it was only a café but I heard it paid well. 4) He came from a respectable family. This didn't matter much these days but my father had often drilled in me the need for good gentlemanly etiquette and such. His name was Mikami and my father and told me that before his mother died she had been very reputable.

As I sipped on my black coffee I saw a girl walk up to the door. I couldn't see much of her because she was leaden with so many boxes and bags. My sister had warned of the seasonal sales coming up. Clearly someone had been on a shopping spree. I jumped up to hold open the door for her. My father may not have been around a lot during my childhood but he raised me right.

"Thank you sooooooooo much" she said as I helped her through the door. One of her boxes, a pink shoe box, fell of her pile and I quickly grabbed it. "Thank you again!" She giggled and I cringed inwardly. I'd hoped she'd be like my sister, who could clean out her bank account in minutes but was genuinely lovely, however, I could now see her large blue eyes and bouncy blond hair. She was wearing a cross necklace and I briefly wondered if she was religious. The black lacy dress that barely covered her extensive cleavage suggested not.

I helped her to a table and gave the succubus a charming smile. "It was my pleasure" I replied.

She gave me a smile that was all teeth and extended a gloved hand towards me "I'm Misa Amane." Misa gave me an appraising look. I had to suppress a shudder. This was one of the reasons I liked Ryuzaki so much. He was dignified. Completely different from anyone else I had ever dated. It was strange to think that if I hadn't realised my feelings for him Misa would have been the kind of self destructive girl I would have been attracted to. Guess I dodged a bullet here.

"I'm Raito Yagami" I replied. Wow!! What an unusual name! I wonder if he's got a girlfriend. I don't think so, if I was his girlfriend he certainly would be sitting alone. Misa thought.

"I know this may be a little weird since we've only just met but would you like to sit with me?" She fluttered her eyelashes in what I'm sure she thought was an attractive way. My hands shot of her table like they'd been electrocuted.

"That's very kind of you but I have to go now." Misa pouted and began to say something when I turned around and beat a swift retreat.

I paid Mikami for my coffee as if Cerberus were yapping at my heels.

"Going already Yagami-san?" Mikami said looking decidedly put-out.

"Afraid so. I'm just not the mood to suffer such…company" Okay, I liked Mikami and my father's training may have left a few holes. He looked concerned and so I rolled my eyes over to where Misa was eating her strawberry sundae and sniffling. A nervous grin graced Mikami's face.

"So she's not your type then?" He asked, polishing his glasses.

"No, definitely not. Thank God for that." He returned my smile with an interested one, I said my farewells and left the shop.

"Thank God" Mikami whispered as the door shut, his eyes trained on my graceful form.

L's POV

I took a noisy sip of my coffee, or as Raito-kun has dubbed it my "liquid sugar". Honestly, that boy can be as cynical as a middle aged man sometimes. Who doesn't want heaps of sugar in their coffee? I nibbled thoughtfully on my tiny fork and let my unfocused gaze glance over the data on my computer screen. I stabbed the cake in front of me and ate the morsel, thanking Watari and his obsession with 'rationing myself'.

A few years ago I had made friends with someone on Runescape. I know, the game is for people with nothing better to do but in the days before the Kira case fell in my lap the investigations I had picked up were interesting, of course, but could only divert my attention for a few days. Two weeks tops. So I had allowed myself a dorkish escape. Yes, I spent hours staring at a pixelated (1) little man but he was my pixelated man.

After a little while a girl called "Snupin" (2) and I had become friends. She may have not been the brightest bulb in the box but we fought together, I helped her with Quests and I had fun. However, she stopped coming onto Runescape saying she 'had a lot of homework' or 'exams to study for'. Eventually she stopped logging on completely.

This may seem a rather infinitesimal thing to be upset about but I was truly devastated. We had been friends or so I'd like to think. So I did what I always do when I need to make myself feel better. I ate. I ate ice cream, cake, profiter rolls, cookies, pancakes, anything and everything we had. When Watari found me he was less than pleased. I had given myself a gargantuan stomach ache and so, to limit how much I could eat within a small amount of time, he bought me nothing but tiny forks. A silly way to counter my gluttony but it did work. My tiny forks made me savour what I ate and for that I was glad.

Raito stifled a yawn to my left and subconsciously ended my mental tirade. Looking at the clock I was surprised that it was already 1 o'clock in the morning. Raito usually complained before it got this late.

"Raito-kun perhaps you should go home. Don't you need to be refreshed for university tomorrow?" I asked eyeing his slightly slumped form. One thing I had noticed since Raito had told me he considered us...friends was that he was less composed when we were alone. They were only slight things like cricking his neck, tapping his fingers against the table top (a nervous/bored habit I didn't think the 'oh-so perfect Raito Yagami was capable of) and actually taking some of the cake I offered him. Did he really think of me so highly that he allowed his mask to slip?

Of course I had noticed that Raito-kun pretended to be something he wasn't so much so that he seemed to do it without thinking. This was one of the many reasons I thought Raito could be Kira. I was disappointed and intrigued to find that he was only doing this to live up to his friends and family's high expectations of him. I sympathise with him I truly do. I know how it feels to have to change who you are to live up to your potential.

"Thanks Ryuzaki I didn't realize how late it had gotten. Thanks for worrying but I've got a free day tomorrow" he said. Raito-kun gave me an open smile which made my stomach feel odd. I was usually excellent at analysing my reactions to people but this one was foreign. It made me feel warm but uneasy at the same time. How can a smile make me feel warm? This didn't match up with any of my past experiences. Perhaps I need a doctor's appointment.

Ratio stood up and stretched, his shirt riding up and revealing his stomach. Raito wasn't particularly muscled but he was defined. His stomach was flat and smooth; his arms looked strong but delicate and his face seemed chiselled by some unknown sculpture but after his declaration of friendship yesterday his features were warmer and more animate than ever before. I alarmed myself by the high amount of oxymorons floating through my mind.

"Ryuzaki?" Raito-kun asked with a curious and confused smile which made my heart skip a beat (despite that being impossible). Had I been staring at him? Stop being such a churl and answer the boy. Something was definitely wrong with me today.

"Yes Raito-kun?" Was it me or did he seem unsure? One thing I had been sure of was that nothing Raito-kun did was on a whim. I felt suspicion sneak into my mind though I did hate myself for it. I had been trained to find double meanings in people's actions and couldn't help but find Raito's behaviour erratic as of late.

Damn, how could I possibly phrase this and make him say yes? Raito thought desperately. "My homeroom teacher once told me that no matter how intelligent or resourceful you are you should still take some time off to relax otherwise your brain would fry," this wasn't a lie either. Mr Takahashi had actually warned me of this and then went off on one of his random tangents about people who were booked into insane asylums for working too hard. I had never taken him seriously but working with L had given the stories a scary truth. Ryuzaki looked at me patiently.

I had thought endlessly what we could do together. Go see a movie: no most movies put me to sleep, no matter how good my friends say they are and with Ryuzaki's mind he'd be bored stiff within minutes. Go shopping: what would Ryuzaki want that Watari hadn't already bought for him. We couldn't go outside because people may see his face and he would be in danger. But in the café there were plenty of secluded booths were we could talk and become closer friends.

"So, Ryuzaki I hoped that tomorrow you would like to take a break with me and perhaps go to a café. We could go to that one near my school. They've recently started making these chocolate chip cookies which you'll like". I swear all hell broke lose.

I jumped to my feet quickly shocking Raito-kun. How could he even mention taking even a half hour break? I was angry at Raito-kun because I thought he knew why I worked so hard to catch Kira. Did he not really understand? He's only worried about you, a small voice said. That much is true, only a few hours ago I had caught him looking at me a small crease marring his otherwise perfect brow. I shook my head calmer now.

"Raito-kun I'm sorry." It was uncomfortable how sorry I did feel. It would have been nice to spend some time with my friend "But I cannot take time off. Every second I waste people could be dying."

"I understand Ryuzaki" He packed all his things into his book bag and got ready to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow okay Ryuzaki?" He gave me a boyish smile as if to say 'no harm done'.

"Alright Raito-kun" I said turning back to my work. "Sweet dreams Raito-kun" I said after the door had closed. I resolved to try and spend more time with Raito from now on. "Watari?"

"Yes?" The man I considered my father replied over the intercom.

"I will attend university with Raito-kun in a few days again."

"This would be good for you Ryuzaki. The investigation isn't moving forward and it would be advantageous for you to have a break." I winced slightly. When had I become so transparent to Watari?

"I am only going to keep an eye on a potential Kira suspect" I lied. A light chuckle crackled through the device.

***

Raito walked on the well lit side of the pavement. He kicked a coke can out of his way.

Stage 2) Not yet complete.

This didn't bother him to much. It was obvious that it would take longer to get Ryuzaki out of his shell and out of his clothes. I chuckled at the thought and wondered what he would look like. A pale angel spread out underneath him on the bed. Raito shook his head to clear his mind of such sultry thoughts. Ryuzaki, Ryuga, L. He was worth more than a simple hormonal fantasy. But for a moment he allowed himself to think what it would be like to have Ryuzaki as a lover. Blissful came to mind.

Raito froze as he heard staccato footsteps coming up behind him. The teen turned in time to see a blond blur leap in his direction. He only had time to curse his father and his tradition before his head hit the pavement with a sickening crack.

1) I know pixelated isn't a word so if any one knows the actually word version of it please tell me!!

2) I used to play Runescape with Snupin a smy name and i truly did have homework etc to do and i'm sorry i stopped playing.

Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it. Please review!!!!!