Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any characters affiliated therewith. I only own I/Ai.
"… And then he was fired because of that screw up. If it was me, I'd've totally ruined his life," Higuchi loudly reiterated this statement for the fifth time as he casually draped an arm over Ai's shoulders, pulling her close to him.
"Ooh!" she squealed in a near imitation of Misa. "Are you guys really that rich?!"
"Of course!" the man exclaimed, taking another swig from the glass in his hand. "We're from -hic- Yotsuba! And someday, it'll be even bigger than that U.S. company, whatsitcalled…?" Ai cuddled up closer to Higuchi, lightly tracing nonsense patterns on the front of his shirt.
"I'd just love to marry a guy who works for a rich company…" she said. Higuchi felt his face go hot at the suggestion.
But others were very aggravated by this display. Just as planned, Misa had brought the Yotsuba members over to her room where they were being observed without their knowledge. Misa had explained that Ai was her cousin, who was born in America and now worked as an up-and-coming model in Japan. But, the brunette explained, she was employed by a different, obscure agency. Nevertheless, Ai was certainly dressed like a model. And had the body to match.
"Ai's doing well. I didn't know she was this good," Light said, staring up at the screen before him in utter amazement. L didn't answer. He frowned as Higuchi's hand trailed up and down Ai's right arm, before moving lower to wrap around her waist. Even though he knew the brunette was doing this for the good of the investigation, he couldn't help but feel angry and jealous as he watched her.
"Ryuuzaki, are you okay? You're scowling…" L turned to find Light's genuinely concerned face staring back at him.
"I'm fine, Yagami-kun. I'm just worried that something might happen to Ai-san or Misa-san…" The teen didn't see L fidget with his toes as he looked back up at the screen.
"Is she really enjoying herself?" he thought to himself. "Or is she merely doing work for the investigation…?" The detective's sharp eyes caught Matsuda sneaking off to the bathroom, picking up Misa's cell phone as he went. Sure enough, the phone rang as soon as he was inside.
"Ryuuzaki, you're watching right?" came the young man's worried voice.
"Yes," L muttered.
"These eight had a meeting discussing Kira's next victim. I heard it loud and clear. It's got to be them!"
"Are you positive? That would certainly interest many courts if it is true…" L said, creeping forward in his chair in interest. "But since you were caught seemingly eavesdropping, they must surely be thinking of ways to kill you." Matsuda broke out in a sweat, and his voice went up a notch.
"I kind of figured that. What should I do?"
"Since you're still alive, I don't think they or Kira have the ability to find out your name just by looking at your face. Now, the way to get out of this would be…"
Ai saw Matsuda step out of the bathroom out of the corner of her eye. Her eyebrow twitched in questioning as she saw him glance at her with anticipation, resolution, and apology.
"Man, being drunk feels great!" he said, stretching as he walked to the balcony, opening the sliding glass door.
"Hey, e'ryone! Loo-gah-me! Iz the Taro Masssssswee showww!!!" Ai wondered if Matsuda really was as drunk as he sounded; his slurring was almost the same as a real drunk. Her eyes went wide and she was bumped forward as Higuchi leaned over to see Matsuda put his hands on the railing.
"W-What are you doing?!" Shimura yelled.
"You're drunk! Be careful!" Mido said, leaping up. Everyone was tense except Misa, who was egging him on as he jumped up onto the balcony railing.
"Yay! Go Matsui-san!!!" she yelled happily.
"Heh, heh. Dunnn worry… I'm alwayssss 'oing this…" Ai almost fell over as Higuchi ran to the door, just behind the curtains.
"STOP, YOU FOOL!!!" His warning came too late, as Matsuda fell over the railing. This threw everyone into a panic, even Ai and Misa, who ran over to look. They squeezed themselves between Higuchi, Mido, and Shimura and screamed as they saw Matsuda's body six floors down on the pavement.
"Oh my god!" Ai screamed hysterically, clinging to Higuchi's shirt. Matsuda wasn't exactly her type of guy, but he was sweet and kind. The brunette would never have wanted him dead…
"M-Maybe you guys s-should go," came Misa's shaky voice amid the chaos. "You can call me later, we'll handle things here."
"But what about us?!" one of the other models screamed, rushing to the closet with two other women to grab their bags. Ai and Misa told them all to go, before they rushed back to the balcony. They saw a blonde woman in a striped business suit scream and pull out something from her pocket.
"Wedy?" Ai thought, her heart racing. Five minutes later, an ambulance drove up and discharged two paramedics, one with black hair, the other auburn-haired. Her eyes narrowed in anger and she prayed she was right.
The next day…
"Aww, it sure is small…" Matsuda complained as he looked at the words, 'Misa Amane's manager dies in drunken fall' printed on the day's newspaper.
"Those eight probably would have checked to make sure. Be happy that you're safe now… most likely…" Light trailed off.
"Most likely?!" Matsuda's voice shot up a full octave, before Ryuuzaki threw a paper ball at him to get him to shut up.
"Aiber, since Matsuda-san no longer exists as Amane's manager, would you like to take over the job?" he asked, ignoring Matsuda's irritated gestures. The blonde man politely declined.
"I have to take care of other business elsewhere."
"All right then. Mogi-san will be her new manager. More to the point, due to Matsuda-san's mistake…" Ryuuzaki glanced at the young man, who seemed to have given up for the moment, "… it is now safe to assume that, out of these eight, at least one of them has a connection to Kira. Now we can observe each of them more vigilantly-"
WHAM! Everyone turned at the sound of a door slamming open, startled as Ai stormed into the room, her hood flying off her head, revealing her face at last to the rest of the team members. She stopped right next to Ryuuzaki and gave him such a loud slap that it made everyone wince. He blinked and held a hand to his reddening cheek in surprise.
"What was that for, Ai-san?"
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" she screamed, a wild look in her eyes, "I NEARLY HAD A HEART ATTACK WHEN MATSUDA FELL OF THE BALCONY!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME IT WAS ANOTHER PART OF THE PLAN?!" The brunette slapped him again, harder this time, sending the detective sprawling to the floor. Light shouted at the woman to stop, but retreated quickly at her murderous gaze. Ai lifted the dazed young man by the front of his collar, ready to slap him again, when he spoke softly, his voice breaking slightly with pain,
"Please don't slap me again, Ai." L said it in English, and all the anger Ai had previously felt drained out of her in an instant. "Please don't. I only came up with the plan right when you were in the middle of the party. Matsuda couldn't have told you; it had to be done immediately." Ai was panting, suddenly exhausted with the effort it had taken to slap the detective. His fingers slowly curled around the hand holding his collar and gently pried it off. Obsidian eyes found earthen ones and she was abruptly aware of how warm L's hand was. She pulled away hastily and allowed him to stand up.
"Take the day off, Ai-san," the detective murmured, prodding the sides of his face and wincing at the pain. "I'll talk to you later." He picked up his chair and sat back down. Just as he was about to speak to Light, Ai spoke up.
"Either Higuchi or Namikawa." The investigation members looked at the woman in questioning and interest.
"What did you say, Ai-san?" L asked softly. The brunette looked up at him, the beginnings of tears in her eyes. She nearly choked as she whispered,
"Kira is one of the eight. It's either Higuchi or Namikawa. There was a definite air of anticipation or… something…" Finally, she had to leave and ran back out the door she came through. L looked at the others, who had a surprised look on their faces.
"…Everyone take the day off," he said, waving his hand at them. Matsuda looked at Light, who glanced at his father, who raised his eyebrows at Mogi. Finally, all eyes lay on the detective as he shut down his computer and made his way over to the dorm elevator with Light in tow. When the detective and his chained suspect were gone, it was Mogi who voiced the question held in everyone's minds:
"What was that about?"
Note: All right, I might as well ask this now before I'm torn apart in absolute uncertainty. I would like to know from my readers if they would like either a lemon, lime, or an implied scene. Be aware that if you choose either of the first ones mentioned, it will probably take me longer to post it. (Not for reasons you may think).