Fragaria
She didn't dare look at L, even out of the corner of her eye, because that would betray his statement.
That-What does he think he's doing? What the hell does saying that accomplish? But, if I deny it, Light could get more suspicious. He might start digging around about who I am… I gave a fake last name, but if he finds out I'm a psychiatrist… He might start hiding his emotions better… My job would be obsolete.
Without showing signs of hesitation, Robin rested her head on L's shoulder as if it was a completely normal occurrence. "No need to tell people that so bluntly, Ryuga. It's not as if Yagami-san was asking me out on a date" she stated.
Light was visibly shocked at the two, but regained his composure as soon as he could. "But I am quite jealous that Hideki-san can manage to get a girl as beautiful as you, Robin" he said flawlessly.
Robin hadn't mastered a laugh as of yet, so she simply gave Light another small smile. "Hah, well I assure you that Ryuga is quite deserving of me"
Whammy's car pulled to the curb right beside the two, and Robin let out an internal sigh of relief. "It was nice to meet you, Yagami-san" L stated as Whammy got out of the classy car and opened the back door.
"No doubt we'll be seeing you around campus" Robin added.
They earned a quiet, "Yes, of course" from the suspect as they slid into the car.
Robin waited until Whammy got in the drivers side and they were pulling away from the curb before she slapped L's hand away from her. "What the bloody hell did you think you were doing? Because none of that was according to plan, Mr. Ryuga" she stated accusingly, further annoyed at the amused smile that sprung up on L's face.
His thumb was between his lips, "I was under the impression that people touch one another intimately while courting" L stated.
In the rear-view mirror, Robin caught Whammy's eyebrows shoot up at L's words, and the old man quickly raised the soundproof divider between the front and back seats. Effectively closing himself out of the ensuing conversation.
Robin paid no heed to Whammy's misguided perception that privacy was necessary for their argument. "That was not intimate-" she started with irritation, but L cut her off.
"Would you have preferred-"
"And courting? What century are you from?" Robin interrupted quickly, not even wanting to know what his finished sentence would be.
"Allow me to amend myself: dating" It seemed like L was far too amused by the argument; a scare smile on his face and his eyes twinkling in contemplation of his next rebuttal.
"You're missing the point entirely. Why on earth did you go through with that crackpot idea?-Which no doubt formed in your mind two seconds after you saw me standing there" Robin said, quickly looking away from him since his current expression only made her feel more infuriated.
"I was rescuing you from the advances of a potential serial killer-"
"What were you looking at, because it certainly wasn't me and Light-"
"Not to mention, this way you can be seen with me on campus without Light being too suspicious of who you are. You can get a good look at his emotional reactions"
Robin stopped, staring at the detective as the wheels turned in her brain. "I swear, if you ever try to kiss me I will end your ability to reproduce" Robin finally muttered, slumping back into the seat in defeat.
…
"Frederick, do you believe in god?" Robin asked so suddenly that after their long minutes of silent staring, the therapist on her computer screen startled in surprise.
He straightened his tie with embarrassment, "launching into an unrelated discussion won't distract me from actually continuing your therapy. Despite what you may think, Ryuzaki had your best interests in heart when he came to me asking about your treatme-" Robin interrupted him in haste.
"Please don't call him that," she said with a frown. "And besides, while I do admit I'm more hesitant to tell you anything now that you're in league with him, despite doctor patient confidentiality, I was actually being serious"
Mr. Frederick chose to ignore the jab at his professionalism, "You once stated in a press conference that religion was absurd but wholly necessary for the current average IQ of the population to function" he stated blankly.
Robin sighed, "I meant what I said, but what if there really are spiritual powers at work in our world? It would explain numerous things; ghosts, mythical stories, fateful events, death, resurrections…"
"What is this about?" Mr. Fredrick asked with a seriousness so intense it was almost frightening.
"Nothing," Robin said firmly, "and our session is up anyway"
…
The day was mildly hot, but Robin had thankfully dressed in a casual pink striped tank top and jean shorts. L had given Whammy a message for her to meet both him and Light at the tennis courts; that L had executed a plan that would work perfectly. So, even if she was rather reluctant to leave the safety of the hotel because of recent walking dead, Robin had been curious enough to follow orders.
"Ryuga!" she exclaimed when her eyes locked on the familiar haphazard hair from a few yards away; even though she couldn't yell the alias to get his attention.
The two boys were crowded around one of the benches inside the tennis court picking up their rackets, and she hurried closer quickly to greet them before they started. Light was dressed in a proper tennis outfit, but Robin couldn't help but smile when she spotted L wearing his typical shirt and jeans combo.
"You don't think you'll have a tough time playing in jeans?" Robin questioned from the other side of the fence, letting out a smile when she made the two boys jump.
L's eyes flicked over her entirety before he put his thumb between his lips. "Have you come to cheer me on, love?" he asked, his large wide eyes suddenly making her feel like she should have put more clothes on.
The term of endearment shocked her only briefly, "Of course, although I hope you don't beat Light too easily. I would like to see an interesting game" Robin said with a smile, her words making L shoot Light a smirk.
"Well you don't have to worry about that, I'm pretty skilled at tennis" Light said with a polite smile, although Robin could tell he was hurting at the dig to his pride. "It's probably me that should go easy on you, Ryuga"
L gave Light a competitive smile. "I doubt that. I was once the junior British champion" the detective said.
"Now boys, this is just a friendly game after all" Robin said lightheartedly before turning her gaze solely to L. "But you, come here, I have something to tell you for good luck"
L raised a brow at her, but smiled and held his ear close to the fence. "I do have to give you praise for this plan, but it can hardly prove that Light is Kira. I don't understand-" She spoke hurriedly in a whispered tone until L pulled away from her.
"Don't worry, love, I'll do my best. You must remember, I hate to loose" L stated, a smile on his face although his eyes were serious.
Hate to loose? Robin repeated in her head, Kira… Hates to loose. Oh, I see it now. She came back from her thoughts with a grin.
"Well, in that case I best be grabbing a seat then. Good luck, both of you!" Robin said before scuttling away and finding a nice shady spot under a tree on the hill to watch.
L served first, slicing the ball through the air in a highly impressive manner that bypassed Light immediately. "Hey, hey, getting serious right from the start?" Light called out in a friendly tone, although Robin could tell he was a little shaken.
For the rest of the game, the two played with vigor. As if fighting each other on a battlefield, they were fiercely competing; the ball rocketing between their rackets and drawing a curious crowd. Robin had to move from her spot and stand against the fence just to see the boys over the people that had gathered to watch.
"Who are these guys, are they really amateurs?" a guy with sunglasses beside her asked in disbelief.
"They're Light Yagami and Ryuga Hideki; the two top entrance scores this year" another answered.
Robin wanted to grin in pride for having known the two geniuses identities right from the start, but held back in the conversation and tried to immerse herself in the game instead; it was at four games out of six when another sudden voice caught her attention again.
"Hey, but what about Hideki?" A small girl with a bowl cut and glasses exclaimed. "He's holding his own with a junior champion! He's so remarkable! And handsome, too!" she squealed.
The words seemed to come out of Robin's mouth of their own accord. "Ryuga is my boyfriend," the whole group that had been talking were now staring at her, "And he was also a junior champion once" Robin added in haste.
Why would I suddenly say-That's not even true. We're not even dating for real, and yet… I got jealous. Robin thought, Maybe I should think about a career in acting.
"What, really?" A brunette haired girl next to the mousey girl asked. "Why would you date a guy like that? I mean, sure you're a little pale and you've kinda got that ice queen thing going on; but a lot of guys dig that. You could do much better"
Robin had never been one for fighting, but something made her turn on the girl. "And where is your boyfriend exactly? Surely he must be a god of a specimen, to grant you the ability to judge other people's inferior relationships" Robin said coldly, ignoring the shouts behind her that must have signaled the ending of the game.
The girl opened and closed her mouth like a fish, "I'm… sorry?" she squeaked, going white at Robin's attack.
"Come on then, where is he?" Robin asked, "Oh, wait, I see. You don't have one, do you?"
"No… I… Look, I was just giving you a compliment" the brunette stated, floundering as she tried to achieve some sort of coherent speech to gain superiority over Robin.
Robin gave her a condescending polite smile. "I understand now, you think you're so qualified because you've had experience with multitudes of men. Surely that's how you've gained your expertise. I am curious as to how fast the rate is that you go from one to the other, in order to acquire that much information at such a young stage of life"
"Leave her alone!" the mousey girl spoke up again, grabbing her friends arm and beginning to lead her away.
The brunette was flustered and obviously embarrassed, "I hope you have fun with your ice queen, Hideki!" the girl called. Robin's blood ran cold as she turned, both L and Light standing behind her with nearly identical displays of half-hidden shock.
"That was certainly cold" L stated bluntly. "What did she say in order to warrant such a reaction from you?" he asked curiously, his thumb once again trapped between his lips.
Robin was thankful she couldn't blush, but still firmly planted her eyes on the ground with embarrassment. Just how much did they hear? "She was making fun of you" Robin muttered, wanting to be anywhere except under L's scrutinizing gaze.
Silence coated them for a moment, Robin felt frozen until an arm casually wrapped around her waist and she looked up with surprise to see that it was L. "Now that you've defended my honor, will you be dueling others on a regular basis?" he asked jokingly, his amusement showing clearly in his features.
"Don't be such a twat" Robin said huffily, but gave him a grin all the same.
"…I hate to interrupt, but I've got to take my leave now, so-" Light began, but L cut him off.
"Nonsense, the winner can surely join us at the café for a celebratory snack?"
…
It was hard to create a mood that was anything but peaceful within the cherry blossom-lined path, but without fail, L had caused everything to crackle with tension by just one statement.
"Yagami, I suspect that you are Kira" L stated nonchalantly as Robin sharply turned her head to survey Light, who was flanking her right side.
Not surprised, she thought, Light's not surprised at all. He's calm, collected… He's prepared for this.
Light theatrically paused before letting out a fake laugh, "I'm Kira?" he asked, "That's not a very funny joke. What a thing to say in front of your girlfriend…" Light trailed off as his gaze wandered over to Robin; immediately catching her intense, concentrated stare in his direction. It didn't make him start in the slightest, a woman like that 'dating' a man claiming to be L had to be some sort of agent, but the expression on her face was certainly formidable.
Nervous. Robin had to fight a grin, I've gone and made Kira nervous. Now, let's see if I don't make him shake in his boots by the end of this…
Robin expressed a small smile, without dropping her concentration from his features. "Nonsense. You don't think I know who Ryuga is?" she asked, putting a heavy inflection on the detective's alias.
L was smirking at Light now. "Besides, it's only a small percentage that you're truly Kira. Although, you are quite smart. Once you're proven innocent, it would certainly be helpful to have you join the investigation" L said casually.
"I'm glad you think so," Light said, it sounded honest for once, "But I have just one question… How can I trust either of you? I have no idea if you're truly L, and as for Robin… I don't even know who you really are" he said.
Her smile was dripping with sweetness, "You don't need too" Robin said.
Even though he's already watching himself around L, and me in relation, Light can't know I'm a psychiatrist. Robin rationalized, Then he would try looking up techniques, gaining expertise about hiding his reactions. And I can't let him do that. Everything fits with him, even my gut tells me he's Kira. I can't jeopardize that in any way. For now, I'll just let him think whatever he likes.
"As far as you're concerned, Robin will just be the third wheel to our conversation" L said, "and our conversation should be all the proof you'll need to verify myself"
The rest of the walk to the café was tense; none of them spoke, and furtive glances were exchanged as frequently as those of paranoid schizophrenics. Somehow, it was a relief just to be seated when they observed each other. L and Robin watching every muscle and blink in Light's face just as closely as he watched theirs.
