"Babysitting?" The young woman spoke into the receiver, her tone obviously quizzical. "I'm sorry, I wasn't even aware that you had... Well yes, Raye and I are in Japan..."
"Right. Raye is here with the FBI, correct?" L droned flatly as he crouched in one of the hotel chairs, Emery standing before him as he ran a comb through her hair. "And it's not really babysitting, it's more... Of an assistance to the Kira case."
"Well, I suppose that's one way to look at it." The woman mused.
"I'll compensate you handsomely for your work, should you agree to it." His voice became muffled at the end as he held the comb in his mouth, attempting futilely to make Emery's ponytail even on both sides before securing it. He wasn't able to do so, and Watari took over for him. "And you're no longer part of the FBI, am I correct?" He continued, knowing the answer full well. "I'm under the impression that you resigned in preparation for your marriage."
"That's right... And I really don't have a problem doing this for you. I mean, life has become pretty monotonous now that I'm playing housewife. If nothing else, this will give my days a little more structure." The woman admitted hopefully. "But how is this going to work out? You've never revealed yourself to anyone. Even when I worked with you before, you never-"
"Actually, I did... Though I understand why you're still under the impression that you never met me, I did- in fact- reveal myself to you." L responded, mixing his tea before letting the spoon hang off his tongue. "Even if that wasn't the case, this situation is entirely different from the last; and despite the fact that I would never reveal myself to anyone unnecessarily... This is necessary."
"But why did you pick me?" The woman asked. This wasn't like before; she was no longer employed by the FBI and she would be playing no part in the investigation.
"Hmmm... That's a good question, but I suppose it's because... I trust you, Naomi Misora."
And so Naomi met L, in his hotel suite, that afternoon. He explained to her that he only needed her assistance for a few hours a day, but that she would be paid one hundred dollars for every hour she spent watching Emery.
Her mouth fell agape when he informed her of her wages. "You... You're joking, right?"
"No, I'm being entirely sincere." L assured her, taking a sip of his tea. He didn't feel the need to explain the reasoning for her generous compensation- Naomi Misora was more than capable of putting two and two together. "Though, for obvious reasons, your payments will be made in cash daily. I apologize if that's an inconvenience to you."
"N-not at all." Naomi managed to stammer. "What hours should I expect to be watching her?"
"Mmm... I believe between three and six pm daily should do it; that's typically when I'm busiest." L explained, referring to the time at which the NPA typically held their end-of-day briefings. He couldn't have Emery calling out "Daddy!" in the background while he communicated with them. Even considering his use of the voice synthesizer, that was risky; he couldn't let the NPA know that he had... Family.
That word still felt weird, even just thinking it. Family.
"Would you like me to take her out with me during those hours?" Naomi questioned. "There's a park just down the street, and a library not too far from that."
"I think that's quite a good idea. I spend a lot of time indoors, but I don't want her getting too restless."
"Yeah, a bored child does typically lead to trouble." Naomi laughed nervously. "Would it be alright for me to take her to the store with me today? I have a few errands to run..."
"That's fine. But let's go over your story before you leave, okay?"
"My story?"
"Yes. In case anyone happens to question you about the child you're walking around with." L responded nonchalantly, holding up a piece of paper with his thumb and forefinger. "If anyone asks, Em is your niece visiting from overseas. You're babysitting her while your brother-in-law works." He held the paper toward her. It was covered in bullet points.
"And if Raye asks me who I'm babysitting for...?" Naomi questioned, gingerly taking the paper from between his fingers.
"I would prefer it if you didn't inform him of your occupation at all." L said, plopping more sugar cubes into his third cup of tea. "I doubt he would be too keen on the idea of you working in close proximity of anyone involved in the Kira case; let alone the man leading it. Your safety was one of the main reasons he had you quit the FBI, was it not?"
"Well, yes." Naomi admitted after a moment- though she wasn't too keen on his implication that Raye made her quit the FBI. She looked toward Emery, who was crouched down in the corner of the room, coloring in an activity book. "He didn't think both of us working dangerous jobs was a good idea, considering the fact that we plan on having children sometime soon."
"That's understandable." L commented, his spoon hanging out of his mouth as he leaned his cheek on his hand, looking toward Emery as well. "This will be good practice for you, then." He commented, his voice slightly muffled.
"Practice?"
"You said the two of you were planning on having children."
"Oh... Right." Naomi nodded, and L glanced toward her out of the corner of his eyes. She almost expected them to shine bright red.
She looked nervous. Like she wanted to say something, but couldn't work up the courage to do so.
"Are you surprised?" L asked finally, gently stacking cubes of sugar on the coffee table before him.
Naomi was taken aback. "A little bit." She admitted. She had met him in person before. He was the young man who reminded her so much of Beyond...
He had revealed himself to her in the past; and yet she had spent all of this time so sure that she had never seen his face.
"Don't be. It's not as if I was incredibly forward in my introduction, anyway."
Naomi nodded in agreement. "You're right about that." She joked. He didn't respond- just continued stacking his sugar cubes.
She couldn't keep her eyes off him. His mannerisms were so similar to Beyond's... The entire situation was pretty eerie.
"Em." L finally called, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Emery rushed over to him, and his entire stature changed. His mannerisms were still stiff and strange, but Naomi noticed that something about him... Softened.
"I'll give you a lollipop if you bring me the briefcase from beside the bed." L promised, ruffling his daughter's fringe. She stuck out her tongue, rushing to fix what he had ruined before nodding and scuffling away- only to return moments later.
"Alright, now tell her what we went over." L instructed, placing his hand on Emery's shoulder.
She nodded, dropping the briefcase on the carpet and then opening it. Inside, among other things, was a fake ID. She handed it to Naomi.
"Daddy wants you to be called Shoko Maki from now on. I'm Em, and he's Ryuusaki."
"Ryuzaki." L corrected her, the smallest of smiles playing across his lips as he handed her a lollipop almost the size of her head. "But you did quite well regardless."
"Oh! And nobody can know he's my daddy." Emery exclaimed, as if she had just remembered that bit.
"That's right." L agreed, nodding. "And if anybody asks...?"
"Ms. Maki is my aunt! She's watching me while my daddy works."
"And your daddy is...?"
"Her... Um... I forgot the word." Emery looked down, her cheeks hot with embarrassment. "B...Brr-"
"Her brother-in-law." L reminded her, and Emery nodded excitedly.
"Yeah, that!"
Naomi laughed, looking down at the fake ID. "Shoko Maki... I think I can manage that." She commented, placing it in her purse before looking down at her watch. "It's almost three now- did you want me to go ahead and get her out of here?"
"Yes, that's probably best." L admitted, standing as he fetched Emery's coat from behind his chair. He helped her into it, reaching for her matching beanie- but she shook her head.
"I don't like that." She informed him.
"Well, you have two choices..." He began, zipping and then buttoning her jacket. "You can either wear the hat, or pull down your hood."
Emery turned away from him, crossing her arms jokingly. He turned her back around, taking it upon himself to pull her hood down for her. "Please don't give your aunt any trouble."
"I won't!" Emery promised, all smiles. She and her father said their goodbyes as Emery took Naomi's outstretched hand- ready to start a new adventure.
