Nilah: Hey! I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It really just flowed out of me. I think you'll enjoy it to! Read on!
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Chapter Seven
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The meeting went on for another two hours, much of that time spent in almost silence with only the tapping of keys and the flipping of pages to occupy the sound. Every ten minutes or so someone would hop up and say 'I think I found something!' but it usually ended up being a false picture.
It turned out that there was no little side note for people with heterochromia iridium, so it didn't show up in the search engine, and therefore each member of the task force had to look through each picture of people in the system one by one. And, what was more, they weren't even sure if Prometheus had a criminal record.
At the end of the two hours, still not complete, L said that he had to leave soon, and would like a word with Matsuda alone. At the time they had only found two criminals with two different color eyes. One of them had a brown eye and a green eye, and the other, while the blue and brown matched Koichi's description, he was much too short and didn't match Prometheus's physical profile, plus was serving a life sentence.
The officers in the room filed out, patting Matsuda on the shoulder; he figured L was singling him out to give him praise. The door shut behind the group, leaving only Matsuda, Watari and the computer embodiment of L in the room, alone together.
"I would like to congratulate and thank you for such a wonderful lead, Matsuda-san," L's electrical voice sounded through the computer, "I obviously underestimated you. I apologize."
"Oh –um, it's –"
"Let me finish," L interrupted, "I find that I truly misjudged your worth to the case. I was hasty in that judgment, but this lead proves that you are more than valuable. Before, I merely trusted you, now, I trust your decisions."
Matsuda's eyes widened and he felt utterly and completely guilty. The emotion strangled him, and he felt himself choking on his words.
"Matsuda-san?" L's voice questioned, and if Matsuda had been listening, he might had hear the expectant tone in the voice, as though waiting for a confession.
"L! I'm sorry, I lied!" Matsuda busted out, unable to contain himself, "I –I –you can't trust my decisions'! You didn't underestimate me!" He slammed his head to the desk, "I feel horrible!"
"What did you lie about, Matsuda-san?" L asked as though he didn't know, "Why do you feel horrible?"
"I –I didn't come up with that information," Matsuda admitted, lifting his head and looking at the computer desperately, although L couldn't see him, "But I took credit for it! I'm SUCH a bad person!!!"
"Matsuda-san, please, calm yourself," L stated, "If you did not come up with it, then who did?"
"There's this rookie, you see, L, and he's brilliant," Matsuda started, becoming more excited than upset with every word, "But Chief Zaki wouldn't let him on the case even though he –he's brilliant! He's only been on the force for a year and he's already a higher rank than me. And I knew he'd work on the case without authorization, 'cause he's just that dedicated and so I offered to forward any leads he got to you, because he can't give them himself without getting in trouble."
The was a pause on L's side, and Watari merely grinned from his spot next to the computer.
"I see," L said finally. "Thank you for sharing with me, Matsuda-san. For the time being, do not tell anyone else of this development."
"Oh –Oh no!" Matsuda shook his head fervently, "He'll probably kill me for telling you, anyways. He can be pretty scary when he wants to be…"
"Keep reporting his findings as your own, and I will figure out more later," L replied, "And Matsuda-san, one last question. This man, do you trust him? Is there any chance he could be Prometheus himself?"
Matsuda merely gaped. He hadn't thought about it; but now that he did, he knew there was no way. He'd seen the was Light was with fire, being there once when there was a small fire at the scene of a crime. Light was practically a statue in the face of fire, it scared the life out of him. There was no way he could set off bombs and be so close to the explosions. It just wasn't possible.
"No, no chance he's Prometheus at all," Matsuda said firmly, "And I trust him with my life, L."
"All right. For now you may keep this contact going. He has my expressed permission; he seems to be more intelligent than the others on the case. I will deal with his superiors when the time comes," L answered, "Have a good day, Matsuda-san."
And L was gone before Matsuda could respond.
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Light spent the better part of the night researching every person in Japan with heterochromia iridium, excluding he people in the system, seeing as he didn't have access to that. But it was just as well, he supposed, since he had a rather strong feeling that these were Prometheus' first crimes. He was doing this for a reason, to make a point, Light was sure of it, not because he was just a bad person, he just couldn't figure out what that point was.
He slept for three hours, falling asleep at his desk accidently, and then woke up around eight in the morning, and realized he hadn't followed any of his pre-sleep activities. So he got up and laid out his clothes for the day (today a dark red turtleneck and black everything else, except for the scarf which was the same blood color) and then took a shower, and applied the lotion to his scar, which reminded him of the day before, with Ryuzaki.
Ryuzaki had some sort of nerve. Practically making him go out of his comfort zone, then making him wear a shirt that purposely showed more of his scar, then expecting him to meet him for lunch again afterwards! Not to mention those outrageous comments about Light looking 'cute' when he was trying to be intimidating, and when he blushed…Light didn't try to be intimidating; he simply was. And he certainly didn't blush!
The audacity of the man.
Light got dressed and donned on his watch and put his wallet and notebook in his pocket, and then went back to his computer, where the information would be. He would have to go check out these people himself, when usually lower class officers were sent out to do the dirty work. The drawbacks of going rogue, he guessed.
He'd found only one man that fit the description. He doubted that the broker named Takeshi Nobu was Prometheus, but he had to look into it anyways. People with heterochromia iridium didn't have to register anywhere, and they didn't have a club or an online group or anything, so they were virtually impossible to search for. While it was a valuable clue if you actually had a suspect, it was almost useless otherwise.
After a practically wasted two hour trip to the broker's company and back to central Tokyo, Light realized that if he hurried, he'd be just on time to eat lunch with Ryuzaki…He really had considered not going, just to spite the man and his annoying 'curiosity' about his scar, but soon found himself pulling into a nearby parking space and found that his mind had apparently been made up for him.
He sat in his car for a few minutes, biding his time until he actually walked down the street to the bakery, and found himself looking in the mirror and straightening his jacket, patting down his hair (that was already perfect, each hair in place) and messing with his scarf to make it look just right. Then he blinked and stopped himself, getting out of the car before he did any other strange things and started toward the bakery.
He found himself at the door faster than he'd thought he was walking, and in a line that it just so happened that he didn't really have to wait in anymore, since Misaki apparently was having the girls bring his coffee to him when he was walked in the door. Much to the chagrin of the other customers, who'd been waiting in line for twenty minutes, but Light couldn't make himself feel sorry for them. If anything, he deserved quick coffee in exchange for his time and effort against the rules of his job to try and help Japan.
Looking over at Ryuzaki, Light frowned when L frowned, in a pouting way that was just juvenile enough to be slightly disconcerting. Light sat down across from him and took off his scarf; he didn't want to hear that from Ryuzaki at the time.
"What's wrong?" Light asked, tilting his head to the side.
"You are four minutes late," Ryuzaki pointed out, and Light raised an eyebrow.
"I told you I'd be busy, Ryuzaki," Light told the man, taking a sip of his coffee and nearly burning his tongue on the substance.
"Yes, you did," Ryuzaki replied, and still did not look pleased as he stirred his tea. Light then noticed that there were three empty plates, where something–something sweet he was sure –had been. "But Hotaru-kun is a very prompt person, and therefore any tardiness would be on purpose, which means Hotaru-kun is still upset with me."
"Or," Light suggested, although Ryuzaki was correct, "Perhaps I was busy."
"Or," Ryuzaki copied him, "Hotaru-kun is still displeased. I had to wait for four whole minutes, in which I ate three slices of red velvet cake."
"You were anxious," Raito declared, glad he'd figured something out for a change, "You ate so much because you were nervous –worried I wouldn't show. And here I thought you were so apathetic."
"Hotaru-kun is so cruel to me," L sulked dramatically, sighing to exaggerate his false woe.
"Stop brooding," Light said, and couldn't help but smile a bit at the display, "It's not flattering on you."
"Oh, I see," L nodded, and was delighted to see that he'd put Hotaru more at ease, which was not the easiest thing to do, he'd found, when the young man was in a mood. He was immaturely stubborn in a way that would probably be annoying on anyone else; but Hotaru made it rather adorable. "Well, I cannot have that. Because the other things I do, such as my posture, thumb biting and eating habits compliment me so much that brooding would just undo all my other efforts."
Hotaru laughed, and it was quite a sight. His entire face lit up and his doe brown eyes sparkled.
"Hotaru-kun!" Misaki came over, irritating L when he found that Light's smile dropped immediately, as though he didn't want to share it with anyone else. While that thought was rather nice, that also meant that L could no longer see the smile, which frustrated him.
Light looked at the waitress and raised his eyebrow, "Yes, Misaki-san?"
"You're just having coffee?" She demanded, and then looked at the clock, "Its lunch time now, have you already eaten?"
Light blinked, "Well, no, but –"
"It's your day off, isn't it?" she asked, and Light wanted to know how she knew that. What was it with the people in this bakery, including Ryuzaki, knowing about his schedule?
"Yes, it is," Light nodded slowly.
"Well then, you won't be eating lunch with your co-workers, you haven't eaten yet, and you'll probably be sitting here with Ryuzaki for the next couple hours –you need to eat!" Misaki chided, and Light wondered when this waitress had become his mother. She seemed a bit young for that. He wanted her to stop nagging, so he conceded.
"Fine then, I'll have some toast," Light replied, and that seemed to do, although she still did not look entirely pleased as she walked off.
"I think she likes you," Ryuzaki said, and Light snorted.
"Hm," Light decided that he'd take off his coat today, because while it was snowing outside and his coat was rather wet with melted snow, it was warm in here and his crimson turtleneck was perfectly dry. He hung his jacket over the back of his chair and when he turned back to Ryuzaki, he found the man staring at him, "What?"
"Hotaru-kun looks good in red," Ryuzaki told him simply, "It brings out his eyes."
Light's mouth opened and his face once again turned the same shade as his shirt, and he heard a commotion of gasps and giggles from the counter, but didn't look over this time to see it. His face burned in the most uncomfortable way as he shifted in his seat. He had half a mind to put his jacket back on, but knew that would be a sign of discomfort, which would be a defeat.
"Who –who says things like that?" Light demanded, willing his cheeks to return to their normal pallor instead of the blood stained color they had recently adopted.
"I apologize," L said, but it didn't look like he was sorry in the least, "I speak my mind. Someone once told me that I am a rather corny person."
"Well, I agree with him," Light responded, and when L frowned again, he added, "But it's not a bad thing. I find it sort of…refreshing, actually."
L grinned, "Thank you very much, Hotaru-kun."
"But still a bit annoying."
"Thank you, Hotaru-kun."
"Would you like to continue our game?" Light inquired, "Where I tell you something about me, and then you tell me something about you?"
"I'm not sure," L pretended to think about it, "I could always just speculate; I was rather good at it yesterday, with the tennis and the butter pecan."
"Here you go!" Misaki said loudly, setting the toast in front of Light, "It better be in your stomach before you leave, okay, Hotaru-kun? Or I'll charge you double!"
Light merely raised his eyebrow at her until she left, and then turned back to Ryuzaki.
"If you don't want to continue, then just say so," Light told Ryuzaki, and knew that Ryuzaki would not want to stop their game.
"No, I believe we can continue," L granted, finding Hotaru's little trick to be amusing. As much tragedy he'd probably gone through in his life, which had matured him, he still had the mentality of child, much like L himself. "It was your turn, Hotaru-kun. What classes did you enjoy in college?"
L had briefly considered asking what his major was, but knew that could give away an occupation.
"Psychology was perhaps my favorite," Light admitted, not daring to say Law, lest his job be guessed, and Ryuzaki probably would guess too, "The rest were rather easy for me."
"I see," L nodded.
"Did you mean it when you said I was your first friend?" Hotaru asked him, and L found himself to be quite surprised by this. Was it really so odd?
"Yes," L affirmed, "Hotaru-kun is my first friend. I rarely say things that I do not mean."
"So I've noticed," Hotaru gave a small, wry smile, "Why haven't you ever had any friends?"
"Ah ah," L waved his finger in the air, "It is my turn for a question."
"Yes, I suppose it is," Light sighed, twisting his lips in disappointment. L rather liked that look on him as well; it reminded him of a child that had to wait until after dinner to have a cookie.
"How old are you?" L inquired, and Light blinked, and then laughed.
"You mean you can tell I like butter pecan ice cream for no reason at all, but you can't guess my age?"
"I have a feeling Hotaru-kun looks younger than he is," L answered, scratching his head absently and he looked at Light expectantly.
"I'm twenty-three," Light rejoined easily, and then happily repeated, "Why haven't you ever had any friends?"
"I am introversive and tend to isolate myself, I like to be alone," L explained without preamble, "I'm anti-social, and didn't have a normal schooling –which, before you plan to ask about, I cannot talk about –and as I'm sure you've noticed, I'm rather strange."
"Strange people can have friends," Light said, and L gave a small grin.
"Ah, I nearly forgot you were an optimist," L stated, "I supposed I could have, but as I said, I am no social butterfly, but instead perhaps a spider that likes to hide away and dark places alone. For many years of my life, I did not want friends, and by the time I did want them, I suppose most had given up."
L scratched his head in thought and continued, "That, and I could not be friends with someone stupid. I have made acquaintances with people, and trust people of low intellect, but could not actually befriend someone that is of a much lower mental level and I am. A friend is someone I can talk to, without explaining everything."
"In short," Light teased, "You're picky."
"Yes," the corner of L's mouth tugged upward, "I supposed I am. My turn; tell me about your family."
Light looked into his coffee, took a sip of it, and then shook his head, "That's too personal."
"No, nothing too much, just tell me what your parents are like," L insisted, "You asked it of me, therefore it is not against the rules. And I answered, so you should too. Parents, friends, siblings…"
Light paused again, still pretending to be captivated by the coffee.
L frowned, surprised and disturbed by the reluctance to talk about family, including such vague things. His mind began jumping all over the place with explanations, when he reach one he bit his thumb and started uncomfortably.
"You weren't…you weren't abused were you?"
"What? No!" Hotaru said quickly, brow furrowing and eyes rolling, "No, I wasn't abused. God, that was the first wrong assumption you've had."
"I'm glad it was incorrect," L said, relieved.
"I just don't like talking about personal things, and my family is like…" Hotaru shook his head, "Whatever, my parents are great. They love me a lot, and I love them a lot too. They're really accepting, sweet and forgiving…"
' Forgiving' stood out in L's mind for some reason, but he didn't comment.
"Siblings?" L prodded when Hotaru paused.
Light was conflicted. He didn't talk about Sayu with anyone. His family barely talked about her, accept that once a year on her birthday. It just wasn't done. The only mementos were the picture of her in his room, on his desk and in his wallet; that was it. Just enough to remind him, but not enough to torment him.
"No," Light lied, "No siblings."
"Hm, I didn't take you for an only child," Ryuzaki commented, shrugging, "You do not seem spoiled enough for that, although the childishness could be because of that…"
"I'm childish?" Light snorted, "Me? Have you looked at yourself?"
"Sometimes," Ryuzaki confessed, cocking his head and gnawing at his thumb, "But I've looked at you more."
Light felt his face heating up again, for the third time because of something Ryuzaki said, but it barely got to a good pink color before his cell phone went off. It was the normal ring, ring, ring
"I think that's the first original ring I've heard in years," Ryuzaki commented, "Most are tunes and songs, now."
"I find them impractical," Light replied, pulling out his phone and, seeing that it was Matsuda, turned the volume down a few notches before answering. "Hello, Dantsu."
Dantsu was the NPA code name (it changed every six months) that you used when you were in public and couldn't talk privately.
"Drat!" Matsuda's voice said, "Light-kun! It's important, if you can't talk, can you meet me?"
"I'm busy, Dantsu," Light said, frowning. "What could possibly be so -?"
"I told him that it wasn't me!" Matsuda cried, and Light was so glad he's turned the volume down, "Not the chief, but you know, him, the guy with the letter for a na –"
"Yes, yes, I know who you're talking about," Light sighed, and massaged his temples, "We'll discuss it when I get there. Where are you?"
"I'm at your apartment!" Matsuda said, and Light's eyes narrowed, "I'm standing outside. Usually you stay in on your day off, so I just, y'know, came over, but you weren't here, so I called you. Where are you?"
"I'm having lunch with someone," Light replied, and shot a glance at Ryuzaki, who actually looked a bit annoyed, to Light's surprise, and once again, guilt. Damn the man.
"OH MY GOD! Are you –you're not, like, on a date, are you!?" Matsuda screamed excitedly, and even the low volume could not hide the loudly shouted 'date'. It made Ryuzaki look less annoyed and more amused as Light found his cheeks heating yet again.
"Dantsu, shut up," Light snapped, "I'll meet you there. Don't move."
Light shut the phone off before Matsuda could answer and tucked his phone away.
"I'm sorry, Ryuzaki, this is important," Light stood up.
"Who was that?" Ryuzaki looked up at him, eyes wide.
"Just a co-worker."
"More than that," L disagreed plainly, and Light frowned at the rebuttal.
"What makes you think that?"
"You didn't use an honorary," L pointed out, and Light realized that he hadn't, had he? Damn Ryuzaki's observational skills.
"I don't use an honorary with your name," Light shot back, pulling on his coat as he did so.
"I asked you to call me 'Ryuzaki' without an honorary," L told him, "That is because I am British, and therefore not insulted by it. You, however, are Japanese, and it is a custom to use an honorary for everyone except for close friends, family, or lovers. And if it was family or a friend you would have admitted it."
"You think he's my lover?" Light scoffed, wondering why it mattered in the first place, "That would be good reasoning, assuming he is Japanese as well. How do you know he's not?"
"Is he?"
"Maybe," Light answered, throwing his scarf around his neck and throwing the money he owed Misaki on the table, including doubt for the uneaten toast, "If he is my lover, then what it is to you?"
L paused and then said, "Nothing, I suppose."
"That's right," Light said, and then turned on his heel and took three steps before turning back to Ryuzaki with his arms crossed, and snapped, "He's just a co-worker."
Then he whipped around again, wondering why had felt the need to justify himself.
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Raito found Matsuda sitting on his welcome mat, leaning against his door. When he saw Raito approaching, he jumped up and grinned like a lunatic.
"Who is she? Why haven't I heard about her!?" Matsuda asked, practically hopping up and down beside Light as the younger man opened the door.
"Because there is no 'her'," Light rolled his eyes and opened the door, allowing Matsuda into his apartment, which he'd only ever done one time before, and that was when the man had gotten stabbed nearby and was short three pints of blood, "I was eating lunch with a contact, a person with one blue eye and one brown, to see if he was a lead. I was wrong."
"Oh," Matsuda seemed to shrink. Light shut the door behind himself and then walked over to where Matsuda was standing and crossed his arms.
"Well? Tell me what happened?" Light demanded and Matsuda squeaked.
"Uh –well, you see, L asked me to stay after, to compliment me on my work," Matsuda told him, clasping his hands behind his back, "And he was so nice, and it was the first time he'd ever praised me, and I felt really bad because, you know, it wasn't mine! So I had to tell him that it was someone else's!"
"Had to," Light repeated, glaring. Matsuda gulped.
"Well –he told me not to tell anyone. He's not going to tell Zaki!" Matsuda exclaimed, "Then he asked me if I trusted you, knew that you weren't Prometheus –get that! –and I told him I was so sure you weren't."
"And he trusted you?" Light raised an elegant eyebrow, "L asked you if you trusted me, you said yes and…that was enough?"
"Well, yeah, I mean, he knows me –" Matsuda smacked his mouth shut. Light nodded.
"You've met him, haven't you?" Light asked, balling his gloved hands in determination.
"How –How did you know that!?" Matsuda gasped, stuttering.
"I didn't, it was a guess," Light told him, " But you just confirmed it."
"I –I did –I –you –aw man!" Matsuda collapsed onto Light's couch, and it made Light wince; it would be wrinkled now. He'd have to iron it. "You can't tell anyone you know! I'll be in so much trouble."
"I won't tell," Light promised, "But when did you meet him? Why?"
"Almost six years ago," Matsuda admitted, and it clicked in Light's mind just before Matsuda said it, "The Kira Case; there were only a few people willing to still work on it."
"Wait, my dad was on the Kira case," Light shook his head, "That means my dad met L too…"
"Yeah, he did," Matsuda nodded, "He was there with me, Aizawa and Mogi. We called him…well, I'm not sure how much I should tell you."
"That is enough," Light breathed, running a hand through his hair, "Anyways…you were saying?"
"He's fine with you helping through me," Matsuda said animatedly, elated, "He says he'll deal with the others when the time comes. He said he gives you his 'expressed permission' or something. Says you seem smarter than most of the people on the team! Haha, I told Chief Zaki!"
"Permission?" Light said, smirking slightly.
"Yep!" Matsuda replied happily, standing up and walking over toward the door, "I should get going, though. I'll see you tomorrow, Light-kun!"
"Matsuda!" Light called, standing at the door and looking at the older, jovial man before him.
"Yeah?"
"If you get another minute alone with him," Raito stated, "Tell L that I appreciate it."
Matsuda grinned and nodded.
"…But that I would have done it without his permission anyway."
Light shut the door, leaving Matsuda cold and astounded.
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Dante: haha, This chapter... I'm so in love with it! And Matsuda ALMOST gave Ryuzaki away! Can you beleive Nilah did this in one night:Bows: Seriously. SUCH a great chapter, my head is spinning. And I'm so excited for the next couple of chapters as well! Keep reviewing and inspiring:3
Nilah: It's weird, like I told Dante, I'm usually horrible at conversation scenes, especially between these two geniuses, and usually I struggle for ever word but this time I was possessed by a DeathNoteGami who wrote it for me...or something...lol, anyways, I hope you guys liked it too!
Oh yeah, and I'm gonna write a one shot with anypairing for the 100th reviewer, kay? Luv ya!
Nilah & Dante
